New here and looking for thoughts on my designs. It started life as a CM that I was modeling after the mile-hi stills. I since found HD and have learned a few things. So I rearranged things and added things. Some from comments and suggestions I found in posts on this forum. This is just a rough drawing for now I'm working on better ones. It basically breaks down (all 2" or 3" Tri clamps) so I can swap this with that and put this on here and I have a whole new rig. I plan on doing a lot of experimenting and I didn't want to be tied to one rig. Before you say that CM isn't a good idea and a waist of my time. That's the one thing I have already started building. I putt a lot of time in it already so I am going to finish it and run and play around with it. Just so I know whats going on with it. Its all learning and that's what I plan to do. Learn!
Boilers will be two 1/2 Kegs. One propane fired and one Electric fired. Again So I can play and learn with both.
Building: I have many resources for the building. I have access to just about every tool I will ever need for this project so that's not much of a problem. I also have many suppliers of materials that If they can't give it to me its deeply discounted. Started out with 4 ft of 2" and 2 ft of 3"copper out of a scrap bin.
My goals: I want to make many different kinds and flavors of alcohol. I like Bourbon, Schnapps, Rum, and Good ol Corn Whiskey my Wife likes Spiced Rum, and Vodka for the most part. But I would like to try more than just these few. One of the reasons I went with this Modular design. So I could set up the still to the product I want.
Ok Let me have It. What do you think???????
rought draft.jpg
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Prairiepiss wrote:Before you say that CM isn't a good idea and a waist of my time. That's the one thing I have already started building. I putt a lot of time in it already so I am going to finish it and run and play around with it. Just so I know whats going on with it. Its all learning and that's what I plan to do. Learn!
Don't you worry Piss (no offence), lots of fellers been running CM varients round here lately.
Keep your cooling at the top of your head and you'll get good results.
Lots of bad opinions got formed while some other CM designs were out there a while ago.
Couple fellers (past and present) thinks CM makes a perty good rum.
Is that a valve on your CM set up? If so,take off would be too slow for my liking I'm thinking. I'd rather my rig would piss like a potstill. But I been running a dephleg-o-mah-dater.
Cute little pencil drawing there, PP...
Kinda fun drawing stuff...
Obvious to see I'm a newbie, and I know nothing, even less before I came here.
Unless you are exercising your drawing skills and hope to practice fancy fabrication and soldering, I don't see any better option than a Bokabob slant plate reflux as modified by Rad in his apartment mini. It's a fine project, with both reflux and potstill capabilities that keeps the parts count low.
I would scale up to 1 1/2 or 2 inches, as he described he used 1 1/4 principally because it was available.
Want more work, a bigger parts count,and a bit better unit? Add the VM hybrid to the Bokabob.
It's all been discussed here, in great detail.
...but if copper porn is your pleasure... well, it's easier to work with than silversmithing !
rad14701 wrote:If this will be your first build, don't over-complicate things... Stick with a proven design... There will be another build just over the horizon...
I guess I'm not seeing it as over-complicating things. I like building things and its just copper pipe. And so far the easiest mediums I have worked with. I tend to be a perfectionist when it comes to building my creations. I want them to be utilized the best way they can be and look even better. And yes RC copper porn is nice and I will try to provide you with some nice pics to drool over.
I started researching stills 2 months ago. At first I was going to build a plain old pot still then a CM then a LM and now pondering VM. It all depends on where you do your research on whats the best "Proven Design". So in my mind I am starting fresh with an unbiased view about whats the best "Proven Design". I want to try them all. They all have good points and bad points. So why not make a rig that can easily be changed from one to the other with out having to build a hole new rig? With my plans I have working in my head I will be able to run one charge one way and with a little clean out and the change of a few clamps run another charge of the same thing with a different still in just a few minutes. This in MHO will make for some good research. If I do good documentation on what I find it might just be usefull to some one on here other than me. And coming from someone with an unbiased view its a lot different than from someone who clearly is biased on whats the best. Do you not agree?
By the way I have decided to go with a slant plate design for the bok attachment. I'm working it out in my head now. It seams to be an easyer less costly design compared to the reducer design I started with.
Plus if I have working knowledge of all of them I will be able to comment something other then. I don't about that type of still but this is how mine works. To posts asking for help about a specific type of still.
Knowledge is power. I can and have sit here and read all the information I want to. But that doesn't make me an expert that knows it all. The internet is a wealth of information but it is a wealth of disinformation too. I prefer working knowledge over book knowledge. And there is only one way to get working knowledge and that's to do it.
Do as you wish, but I'll re-iterate that if this will be your first still build you are better off not over-complicating things... And also remember that the more complex you make your still, the harder it may be for you to receive support here in these forums... I give you credit for the thought you have put into your drawings... No one is shooting down your design, just putting your enthusiasm in check... Remember, you are not the first novice to want to do it all right from the start...
I appreciate your concern Rad and I agree with you. But I still don't see my build as over-complicated or complex. And I don't want to do it all right from the start. I will start with one learn how to drive it and move on to the next one. Its not going to be all in the same weekend. I don't have enough room for that much wash. It is more than most builds right off the bat I know. But I'm not rushing into it. For me that's a big change. I'm taking my time. I don't need it done tomorrow. And safety is on the priority list. I still haven't found me a boiler or fermenters yet. I know where I mite be able to get some for free and I'm working that angle for now.
By the way I acquired a 20ft stick of 2in copper pipe today! FREE Bad thing is it looks like a Mac truck ran over it. But I can salvage about 6ft as good pipe a couple 1ft sections that I need anyway a 2ft and a 3ft that I will sit aside for a latter build? Who knows what? The rest I can split then flatten it and use it as flat stock. I need some of that to.
And I don't want to do it all right from the start. I will start with one learn how to drive it and move on to the next one. Its not going to be all in the same weekend. I don't have enough room for that much wash. 
It is more than most builds right off the bat I know. But I'm not rushing into it. For me that's a big change. I'm taking my time. I don't need it done tomorrow. And safety is on the priority list. I still haven't found me a boiler or fermenters yet. I know where I mite be able to get some for free and I'm working that angle for now. 
But I can salvage about 6ft as good pipe a couple 1ft sections that I need anyway a 2ft and a 3ft that I will sit aside for a latter build? Who knows what? 
The rest I can split then flatten it and use it as flat stock. I need some of that to. 