Thumper plumbing, inlet/outlet pipe size

[brewstillski]

A little nervous about posting this for fear of getting flamed for not doing my research; however, in the many potstill/thumper posts I've seen I have not come across a thumper that looks quite like this one. Sorry if I missed it if it's out there, but I have been looking.

Here goes..

Before discovering this group and the vast repository of information here, I purchased a keg thumper setup with the intention of adding it to my keg potstill (with 3/4" over 1/2" liebig) sometime down the line. Well, I'm a few runs in with my potstill and I think I am ready to add the thumper; however, I've noticed that a lot of people use 2", 1", or 3/4" pipes to connect their boilers to the thumper. I was thinking that the easiest way to connect my setup, without modifying anything, is to use 1/2" pipe from my riser (which has 1/2" threaded coupling) over to the thumper, which is 1/2" in/out. Couple questions:

1) Is it a safety issue (i.e., too much pressure buildup in either boiler or thumper keg) to run 1/2" pipe in/out of the thumper?
2) If no to above, will the downside to using 1/2" pipe just be longer heat up times? If so, I might be able to live with that provided it's not too much longer.
3) Open to suggestions from you knowledgeable folks regarding opinions about the "best/optimal/preferred" pipe size to use in this setup.

Note, I realize that thumpers may not be considered necessary to use; however, I am interested in at least trying one for a little while. Photo of thumper setup attached. I DO NOT USE THE GASKET SHOWN IN THE PHOTO. Threw it out; replaced with ptfe gasket.

Thanks.

[jb-texshine]

The limiting factor is the diameter of the condenser. Mine is 3/4" throughout.

[brewstillski]

The limiting factor is the diameter of the condenser. Mine is 3/4" throughout.

Gotcha. Well my condenser is 1/2" reduced from a 2" riser and runs well enough (I have nothing to compare that to, though) when run as a standalone potstill. Safe to assume that the thumper will run similarly once heated?

[jb-texshine]

Take longer to heat and to react to changes in heat input but essentially,yes.

[brewstillski]

Take longer to heat and to react to changes in heat input but essentially,yes.

Thanks, jb. I think I'll go ahead and try to hook it up and see how she runs.

[jb-texshine]

Make sure that the long pipe aint hitting the bottom of your keg or even close enough to clog. May be cut it on a 45°angle

[brewstillski]

Make sure that the long pipe aint hitting the bottom of your keg or even close enough to clog. May be cut it on a 45°angle

Will do. I've seen quite a few folks who drill holes or cut "teeth" into the bottom of the inlet. I'll be sure to something, thsnks.

[Truckinbutch]

I have a 15 boiler/15 thumper . 2" triclamped riser reduced to 1" through a 2x1 reducer to the bottom of the thumper .Vapor rises from the thumper to 1" that reduces to 1/2" at the condenser . On stripping runs I easily run 12 gallon charges in both boiler and thumper .

[brewstillski]

I have a 15 boiler/15 thumper . 2" triclamped riser reduced to 1" through a 2x1 reducer to the bottom of the thumper .Vapor rises from the thumper to 1" that reduces to 1/2" at the condenser . On stripping runs I easily run 12 gallon charges in both boiler and thumper .

Thanks, truck. Seeing some of your posts has me thinking about upgrading my thumper to a 15.5 gallon keg instead of the 7.75 shorty I've got. In time.

[Danespirit]

The 7.75 you've got there , will be fine as a thumper...no need for an upgrade to a full-size keg.

You won't get a pressure build up with that 1/2", but you'll get a lot of vapor speed through it..!
Whatever you do, be aware of the length...you may also want to insulate it, depending on the ambient temperature.
A 1/2" Liebig will do the job, as long as it's got a reasonable length to it.
Please share some pictures, when you start building.....oh btw..you made a wise decision to throw that rubber gasket to hell..!
As PTFE is more rigid as rubber, you may want to fabricate an "everlasting gasket". Make an HD Google search for it, there is a thread in here somewhere.

[brewstillski]

The 7.75 you've got there , will be fine as a thumper...no need for an upgrade to a full-size keg.

You won't get a pressure build up with that 1/2", but you'll get a lot of vapor speed through it..!
Whatever you do, be aware of the length...you may also want to insulate it, depending on the ambient temperature.
A 1/2" Liebig will do the job, as long as it's got a reasonable length to it.
Please share some pictures, when you start building.....oh btw..you made a wise decision to throw that rubber gasket to hell..!
As PTFE is more rigid as rubber, you may want to fabricate an "everlasting gasket". Make an HD Google search for it, there is a thread in here somewhere.

I'll keep an eye on controlling that speed. My current liebig just barely handles running the potstill if I keep it nice and slow. I've added a turbulator (thin copper coil) inside the vapor path but haven't had a chance to test it yet. If that doesn't work, I'll build a new liebig and will be sure to size it appropriately given the fact that I'm using smaller diameter pipe.

Yeah those pfte gaskets are pretty rigid. I'll look into the everlasting gasket as well.

Thanks.

[jb-texshine]

Wrap your ptfe gasket in plumbers tape.

[brewstillski]

Wrap your ptfe gasket in plumbers tape.

I actually did that before my last run and had better results with achieving a proper seal for my riser off the keg boiler. Still hit it with flour past prior to firing up, but I think that was out of habit. I find that plumbers tape for stills is like bbq sauce when eating: I put that shit on everything. Not really, but damn near.

[rad14701]

As stated, 1/2" will work... You can run 1/2" all the way from your boiler to the output without any safety concerns... Vapor speed isn't really an issue as long as your 3/4" over 1/2" liebig is long enough and fed enough coolant to knock down all the vapor produced... The thumper needs to be right-sized for the amount of vapor it is intended to process, regardless of the inlet and outlet sizes...

[brewstillski]

Thank you all for the input. Excited as heck to set it up. I'll post a photo of it when ready.

[brewstillski]

Got off work a little early today so decided to hook up the thumper. My first time soldering, so it ain't pretty but I think it'll do. Learned from info published on this forum, so thanks to you all. Still need to do a cleaning run on the new pieces and thumper. Will update when I finally run. Got 10 gallons of All Bran ready to go.

[jb-texshine]

Thatll do perfectly. Looks great.

[brewstillski]

Got a chance to run the thumper setup three times yesterday: vinegar/water run, sacrificial run, and stripping run. Fun day in the garage for sure. Man that thumper sounds cool when it heats up. Caught me a little off guard the first time.

[W Pappy]

yeah gotta love the sound of a thumper heating up! Try a cleaning run with nothing in the thumper lol that will wake ya up!