Plated Potstill

[violentblue]

as some of you may know I've been designing still parts for Artisan Copper Works.
I have a bunch of parts on the way to build a new potstill head with a single bubblecap plate.

a quick AutoCAD sketch of the "bubbleball" layout, another ball half will go on top and I'll wrap some 1/4" tube around the 2" pipe above that to force a little reflux and fill the plate.

here's some of the parts, the 4" flanges are fresh off the CNC mill.
they're pretty heavy I'm told.

[Prairiepiss]

Neat idea. I like the little ball thingy. Wish I had one. Just wondering is it really a pot still if you force reflux?

[violentblue]

a single plate will act more like a thumper than a column.
the reflux will only be turned on till the plate is full.

[Prairiepiss]

Next question. Will it hold fluid in the tray after the reflux coil is turned off? I'm just wondering with that small amount in the tray would it not eventualy boil it all away? Without something replacing it ie reflux coil. A thumper is generally (rule of thumb) a third the size of the boiler. How far above the boiler will it be? And how far above the plate will the takeoff be? What size boiler?

I'm not picking your design apart. I'm just trying to wrap my head around your theory.

[violentblue]

thats a good point, and one I've pondered myself. the math says it should stay full, but real world might say differently.
but a simple valve on the reflux should allow me to throttle it up or down if it needs more or less.

[LWTCS]

a simple valve on the reflux should allow me to throttle it up or down if it needs more or less.

Tuneable Thumper

[Prairiepiss]

I still like the idea of triclamp stacking ball/bubblers. I really like the idea. Very flexible.

Now that would be a cool still. Like a string of pearls.

[Barney Fife]

Yessir, a tunable thumper! Much like mine is right now, though I can vary to volume within the thumper, not that it's shown to do much.... A single cold finger in the center of the column/bowl above the plate would also serve to fill it and keep it filled and control reflux almost instantly, where the wrap around the column will be slower to respond.

Question: you say it's a "single bubble cap plate pot still", but I see multiple bubblers on the plate. I think you mean it's a "single plate, multiple bubble cap pot still"? At any rate, you can simplify, and reduce the costs, of this device by just using one larger bubbler. LW, OD and I(and others, likely) have shown that these work well and are easy to make.

[violentblue]

Question: you say it's a "single bubble cap plate pot still", but I see multiple bubblers on the plate. I think you mean it's a "single plate, multiple bubble cap pot still"? At any rate, you can simplify, and reduce the costs, of this device by just using one larger bubbler. LW, OD and I(and others, likely) have shown that these work well and are easy to make.

you are correct single plate potstill with multiple caps. 5 caps on the plate and one cap inverted as a drain, just a trick of the language. in reality its a singe "bubble plate"
the caps and risers are my design, CNC milled and can be used solder free on stainless plates. in this application the plate will be copper though.
being able to physically lock the risers and caps in place before soldering, makes it much easier to soft solder everything together, instead of the need to hard solder some things and soft solder others.

[violentblue]

.... A single cold finger in the center of the column/bowl above the plate would also serve to fill it and keep it filled and control reflux almost instantly, where the wrap around the column will be slower to respond.

thats a good point. I'd been thinking about cold fingers for another design but had't thought about applying it for this. got the ideas in my head churning now.

[LWTCS]

My tuneable thumper configureation

[violentblue]

is that a jacketed reflux condenser or another "onion"?

I always liked your inline thumper Larry, I'd originally thought of using a section of 4" between the ball halfs to create a chamber to do so.
I might still do that later. but I want to give the plate a run first.

[LWTCS]

If you are refering to the bit closest to the 90 degree turn,,yes that is my ,,,,,,,,deeflag-oh-my-god-o-tahmater (might need KS or kenyfused to translate).

The expanded 4" section on the cap of the thumper is a bit of volume to allow for a bit of vapor accumulation.