Attaching column to sink drain attachment... what fitting?

[alntdistil]

So I'm halfway through building my boka-designed reflux still and I have one last hurdle to overcome... attaching the column to my boiler. I'm using a sink drain which sits in a hole cut in a stainless steel pot lid. It is pretty much impossible to find the proper flange size in copper. The hardware store carries one which fits but it isn't copper, I'm pretty sure it's aluminum. Anyway, I'm going to have to either create my own flange (somehow), or I'm going to order one. The problem with ordering it is that I don't know which one I want. Are they all pretty standard? Sorry if this is a stupid question but I have no knowledge whatsoever about plumbing fittings or anything. Looks like the slip nut on the sink drain is 1.5 inches.

This is what I found, will this work?

"This premium finish 1-1/2" x 8" extension tail piece features solid brass construction throughout. Can be cut to size. You'll be able to appreciate both the beauty and performance of this item for years to come thanks to superior quality finishing and solid construction."
Finish: Polished Copper
Material: Brass
Dimensions: 1-1/2" x 8"
Includes: Slip nut and washer

I know brass probably isn't the best thing to use, but the finish is copper. What does that mean? It's copper coated? Will that be safe?

Will I need to buy a 1.5" coupling to attach it to my 1.5" column? or could I solder the column directly to this flange fitting? According to this picture, it kind of looks like the diameter of the tube is slightly smaller a couple inches after the nut. Does that allow you to attach a 1.5" pipe to it?

[olddog]

You can make your own flange on the end of a piece of 2"tubing, I make them all the time to fit the tri-clamp fitting on a keg, just rest the tubing over the back of your bench vise and start to gradually beat a flange with the ball side of a ball pein hammer working round a bit at a time. When you have the copper flared out a bit you can then use the flat side of the hammer to beat it into a nice flat flange. Once you get practise at making these, you can make one in less than 10 minutes.


OD

[alntdistil]

Very interesting, I didn't think it would be that easy. Thanks for the tip. I'd imagine that it would be slightly more difficult with a smaller diameter but it should still work with 1.5" pipe, right?

[olddog]

It should work if you are carefull, its just a bit harder to start a flange because of the smaller diameter of the pipe, you would have to start with smaller taps, until you get a bit of flair before flattening it into the flange. BTW if you find it a bit hard to start, if you have a Mapp torch, heat the end of the tube to a cherry red and then douse it with some water. This will anneal the pipe making it softer, but it will work harden when you start beating it, and you may have to reheat to re anneal.


OD

[ozone39]

If you basket strainer has external threads on it (kitchen strainers do) a 1 1/2" FIP x sweat adapter should thread right on there. If you have the strainer with the fine internal threads then it will be more difficult to do with out having a slip joint. If it were me I would use the external threaded basket strainer with a 1 1/2" FIP x copper sweat adapter (FIP = female iron pipe), It looks like you have this. The strainers with internal fine threads need a slip joint in order to connect to.. If it has an inch and a half slip nut on it, pull that off and there are your pipe threads (slip nuts are NPT national pipe thread)....

[alntdistil]

Seriously? That would make this a thousand times easier... yeah my sink drain is the one with the external threads and the brass slip nut. Is there anything extra I should do in order to ensure a good seal? or will it be sufficient to just thread it right on there?

[rad14701]

I use flour paste on the threads to maintain a leak proof seal...

[alntdistil]

OK, I just got back from the hardware store and I have discovered 2 things:

First thing is that a threaded copper fitting will not screw onto the bottom of a sink drain. The threads are different. So much for being easier than I thought this would be...

Second thing, 1.5" pipe does not fit inside the slip nut.

So here's what I did (plan on doing): I bought a 1-1/4" coupling which fits nicely inside the slip nut. I plan on hammering a flange shape onto the edge of that, and then solder that on the inside of my 1.5" pipe. Will that work? Everything seems to fit. Also, I was just hammering the coupling for a good 10 min and I can't even see the beginning of a flange shape. Should I just try harder or is there a trick to this?

[rad14701]

Use heat to anneal the copper which will soften it... It will work harden as you reshape it into a flange...

[alntdistil]

I didn't try annealing it, but this is what I came up with. I took a hacksaw and cut 6 notches in the copper and used some vicegrips to bend it by hand. Kinda looks like shit but it fits perfectly. A whole bunch of paste should keep it sealed up.

[myles]

Lets be sure I have this right. You want to fix your copper tube to a hole cut in stainless steel - right?

Two simple ways to do it.

1. Stop mucking about and get a brass compression type tank connector. Clean up your stainless real good and flux it (with propper stainless flux) Screw your fitting up real tight and then solder both the backing ring and the exposed bit of thread to make it vapour tight. Rock solid and dead easy.



2. Cut some 1" long vertical slices 1/2" apart in your bit of copper tube. Hammer these out ar 90 deg to your tube, just like petals on a flower. Clean and flux like before then fit the tube from the inside. Drill through each "petal" and the stainless and rivet it together. then solder it all up to make it vapour tight.



To be honest though you are really wasting time. If you are trying to make a flange in the order of 2" in diameter - like a beer keg? Then just buy a beer keg. They come in sizes from 20 to 150 litres. These two are 30 and 100 litres.



Standard tri-clamp fitting no problem.

If you are trying to fit onto a stainless pot lid then do yourself a favour and throw the lid away. Make a new lid out of copper and it is much easier. this one is made out of the dome from the bottom of a domestic hot water cylinder.



You need to attach your lid to your pot anyway, so changing it for a copper one is just the same, but it makes the build a 1000 times easier. You want a 6" to 3" frustum joining your lid to your column ( or pot neck ) NO Problem. Copper is a joy to work with.

If you are working with a stainless stock pot I would say extend the height with a copper collar. a simple circular ring a few inches wide riveted into the inside of your pot. Oh it also covers the holes where the rivet handles used to be! 1 seam of copper to stainless. After that it is nice and easy copper all the way.

I am biased - I HATE soldering stainless. I can do it but I dont like it. copper is good but if you want stainless - get someone else to do it for you. Or avoid the issue with the nice keg adaptors like this.

http://www.milehidistilling.com/Stainle ... /16608.htm

So easy and such a simple (but expensive) solution. In my opinion a stainless boiler with a copper lid has NO problems and is a real uast

[thomasedwin]

Very interesting, I didn't think it would be that easy. Thanks for the tip. I'd imagine that it would be slightly more difficult with a smaller diameter but it should still work with 1.5" pipe, right?

I'm trying to do the exact same thing, I have a 15 gallon stock pot and I want to cut a 3 & 1/2" hole in the lid center for a inverted kitchen sink drain and the slip fitting is 1 & 1/2", the perfect thing would be a stainless fitting 1 & 1/2" NPT female on one side and a 2" or 3" tri-clamp ferule on the other end. You would think one of these suppliers would have that exact thing but the closest I can find is 2" NPT x 2" tri-clamp ferule or bigger. I've been trying to find a stainless or solid copper 1 & 1/2" flange to attach it to the sink drain but all I can find is chrome/copper plated brass or plastic, I will not use brass because brass is made from combination of copper, zink and LEAD and LEAD a bid No, No, in any amount, for my set up it's got to be stainless or pure copper no exceptions. Maybe like the one guy said, take a piece of 1 & 1/2" copper tube and try my hand at copper smithing, that's how they did it 100 years ago. If you find something let me know and i'll do the same.

[thomasedwin]

You can make your own flange on the end of a piece of 2"tubing, I make them all the time to fit the tri-clamp fitting on a keg, just rest the tubing over the back of your bench vise and start to gradually beat a flange with the ball side of a ball pein hammer working round a bit at a time. When you have the copper flared out a bit you can then use the flat side of the hammer to beat it into a nice flat flange. Once you get practise at making these, you can make one in less than 10 minutes.


OD

that's a good idea but 2" tubing is too large a diameter, 2" is larger than the 1 &1/2" NPT threads on the sink drain, maybe go 1 & 1/2" tube and hammer it out.

[thomasedwin]

You can make your own flange on the end of a piece of 2"tubing, I make them all the time to fit the tri-clamp fitting on a keg, just rest the tubing over the back of your bench vise and start to gradually beat a flange with the ball side of a ball pein hammer working round a bit at a time. When you have the copper flared out a bit you can then use the flat side of the hammer to beat it into a nice flat flange. Once you get practise at making these, you can make one in less than 10 minutes.


OD

that's a good idea but 2" tubing is too large a diameter, 2" is larger than the 1 &1/2" NPT threads on the sink drain, maybe go 1 & 1/2" tube and hammer it out.
The 2" tri-clamp fittings that go on a beer keg are real close to 2.00 inches. The slip flange for a 1.50 inch kitchen sink drain is closer to 1.75 inch but the actual tube diameter is 1.50 and the flange that the slip nut catches is about 1/8 or 3/16 bigger than the tube itself. Look at the 1 & 1/2" PVC flange tail pipe that goes on a kitchen sink drain. Duplicate one in solid copper or 304 stainless and I will buy one right now and I'm sure some other people want one or 2.