Re-using Plates

Vapor, Liquid or Cooling Management. Flutes, plates, etc.

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Opdog
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Re-using Plates

Post by Opdog »

Before I get started with my question, I like to express my gratitude to everyone here that has taken the time to make this place so great. I spend a lot of time online and have yet to find a board that compares with this one. Not just in the deep knowledge base and broad skills that everyone brings to the table, but also in the general positive attitude and willingness to help others figure this stuff out. I don't post much here as most people are much more knowledgeable than I am. I do read the posts here religiously, so please keep them coming.

So briefly - my setup is/was a basic 5 plate flute on a tree w/ the standard shotgun deflag and condenser setup running off of an electric keg. I had to go with 2 elements as my original stilling location was not conducive to a 220v setup. I may change that in the near future. I've been running my grandfather's white dog recipe for a while and so far the results have been pretty good. I don't run as much product as I'd like, mainly due to time constraints from my job and kids.

So here is the issue - I don't like to keep the still up in the garage when I'm not using it for obvious reasons. It is a pain to store because when I built it, I built it in large pieces - the flute body, deflag and U turn are all soldered together. It seemed like a good idea at the time. It was fine in theory as there are very few seals to worry about. But in practice I don't use it enough to justify leaving it setup in the garage permanently. To address this I decided to go modular with sandwiched plates so I can break it down and store it when not in use.

I pulled the deflag off and re-built it with tri-clamp fittings at the top and bottom. The original didn’t have a thermometer port, so I added that too. So far so good.

Because everyone likes pictures:
Image

Image

I haven't soldered the 2" connector in the top yet and still need to clean up the joints where I got a little trigger happy with the solder. BTW - The only time I do any soldering is when I'm working on my still, so it usually takes me a part or two to get back into the swing of it. There is a lot of hand sanding and polishing in my future. . .

I also removed the PC and will rebuild that too. It is a 2" shotgun with 4 half-inch tubes. I was never happy with the end plates. They are sealed and work ok, but is it an ugly mess. I don't see that as a major issue, just kind of a PITA to get right. I’ll be working on that as I have time.

So now to the real problem. The plates are the standard perforated plates with down combers and cups. I pulled them out of the main body of the original still and would like to re-use them. The only problem is that there is a relatively large hole in the middle of each plate where the tree held everything together. This is a test version with an extra plate I made for the original build.

Image

I still have the stainless rod, nuts and washers that I used in the non-modular build. I was thinking about just cutting up small sections of the rod and using it to plug the hole, just like it worked on the tree. That is a not very attractive solution to the problem, but it was the best I could come up with. Anyone have any better ideas? When I have some more cash, I'll fabricate some more plates without cups and a central down comber. Aside from being broke, I'm not particularly excited about fabricating five new plates. Any suggestions are welcome.
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Bushman
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Re: Re-using Plates

Post by Bushman »

My still is not modular so if I am missing something let me know. If the column is modular then it should still be uniform throughout so wouldn't the tree still slip into the column?
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Re: Re-using Plates

Post by Opdog »

I was going for a smaller profile when stored. So the idea was to cut it into 5 sections - one for each plate. I probably have been more clear on that.

That aside, it should still run through the center with or without the sections. I was just trying to think of a way to do it w/o the center support.
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cranky
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Re: Re-using Plates

Post by cranky »

Opdog wrote:
I still have the stainless rod, nuts and washers that I used in the non-modular build. I was thinking about just cutting up small sections of the rod and using it to plug the hole, just like it worked on the tree. That is a not very attractive solution to the problem, but it was the best I could come up with. Anyone have any better ideas? When I have some more cash, I'll fabricate some more plates without cups and a central down comber. Aside from being broke, I'm not particularly excited about fabricating five new plates. Any suggestions are welcome.
I would just solder a small piece of scrap over the center hole.
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rgreen2002
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Re: Re-using Plates

Post by rgreen2002 »

They make nice copper rivets, can you size a few of those to keep that clean copper look....?
Copper rivet
Copper rivet
rivet-2.jpg (11.22 KiB) Viewed 1520 times
Maybe some old pennies... Here are some fun facts from the US MInt (yeah...fun and US mint don't really go together) https://www.usmint.gov/about_the_mint/f ... fun_facts2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow


Also...HOW IS THIS THE FIRST TIME WE ARE SEEING THIS BEAUTY!!?? What you have shown so far look pretty damn nice...would love a look at the rest... I am a copper-porn addict.... it's a problem!
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bitter
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Re: Re-using Plates

Post by bitter »

I'd do what cranky said and solder a piece scape over the hole, or use a stainless bolt and nut to seal it. with solder a piece of scrap you could drill a hole or so in it to...

B
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Re: Re-using Plates

Post by Hound Dog »

bitter wrote:use a stainless bolt and nut to seal it.

B
I'd go with a stainless nut and bolt at each plate and call it good. Who the heck is going to be looking inside your illegal still saying "man that ugly ass bolt is just totally astetically unpleasing. It's so ugly it will make the liquor turn bad!"? If they say that, #1, you shouldn't have been showing them your still, #2, they don't need to be drinking your liquor!
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Opdog
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Re: Re-using Plates

Post by Opdog »

All good points!

I'm going to look into the copper rivets. But in all honesty, I'll probably just tack a small piece of copper in there as I already have that.

Thanks for the ideas!


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skow69
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Re: Re-using Plates

Post by skow69 »

Lol Hound Dog. Your logic is impeccable.
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Re: Re-using Plates

Post by bentstick »

rgreen2002 wrote:They make nice copper rivets, can you size a few of those to keep that clean copper look....?
rivet-2.jpg
Maybe some old pennies... Here are some fun facts from the US MInt (yeah...fun and US mint don't really go together) https://www.usmint.gov/about_the_mint/f ... fun_facts2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow


Also...HOW IS THIS THE FIRST TIME WE ARE SEEING THIS BEAUTY!!?? What you have shown so far look pretty damn nice...would love a look at the rest... I am a copper-porn addict.... it's a problem!

:thumbup: on the rivets and a touch of soft solder TADA filled and sealed
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Re: Re-using Plates

Post by Hound Dog »

skow69 wrote:Lol Hound Dog. Your logic is impeccable.
:D Thanks Skow, I try!
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Re: Re-using Plates

Post by Opdog »

Ok. So it has been a while but I thought that I should give you a quick update. I'm a cheap bastard and just tacked a small piece of copper plate over the center holes. I had some extra plate and couldn't justify the brads when I could do the same thing for free.

The bad news is one of the 1/2 tubes on my dephlag was sticking up a through the cap. I was worried about heads collecting around the base and smearing through the run if I left it that way (some people might say that I have a tendency to overthink things) so I took my grinder to it. As you can probably guess, I cracked the cap and could not get it to re-seal properly. I had to take the whole thing apart and re-build it. I have cut, sanded and drilled new end caps and will finally put the whole thing back together this weekend. I used a higher gauge plate this time.

My question is - has anyone seen a measurable improvement in performance by coping the bottom of the tubes. I have seen a lot of people do this recently, but have not seen any data to support the theory. It feels like it should work better and looks great, but is it worth the time to cut and position the tubes?

FYI - I picked up some brazing circles so once the tubes are fitted and brazed, I should not have to worry about the cracking I had on the first go around.
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