Stainless dephlegmator design

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nzdistiller
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Stainless dephlegmator design

Post by nzdistiller »

Hi guys. I am having a still made and, because I want to use stainless, it is practical to pay for its fabrication (rather than buying a tig and bandsaw etc). I have a friend who can do the CNC machining which will take some cost out but I am still pretty keen to get it right first time, as I don't want to pay for multiple revisions.

My question is: in your experience, would a shotgun RC consisting of 400mm (16") of 3x 5/8" (16mm) OD stainless inside 2" be sufficient to knock down approx 2000w?

My instinct, based on what I've read here (especially re: the still dragon shotguns, esp the 2" Big Baby) is that it should do the job, but I havent been able to find any definitive confirmation of such.

Any feedback be muchly appreciated. For the record, yes I have spent considerable time searching this (and other) forums with the HD google search ;)

I originally would have loved to go for a single 1" pipe inside 2", but I''m just not sure it would have cut the mustard

Ciao!

EDIT: This should be in the condensor section. Sorry :(
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shadylane
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Re: Stainless dephlegmator design

Post by shadylane »

nzdistiller wrote:My question is: in your experience, would a shotgun RC consisting of 400mm (16") of 3x 5/8" (16mm) OD stainless inside 2" be sufficient to knock down approx 2000w?
I think a dephleg that big would be oversized and difficult to accurately control.
A coiled RC might be a better option
nzdistiller
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Re: Stainless dephlegmator design

Post by nzdistiller »

Sorry, I should have clarified - it's an LM, so I'm not controlling it via the RC
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Danespirit
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Re: Stainless dephlegmator design

Post by Danespirit »

You can do with less than half the length for 2 KW.
A 100-150 mm of length is all it takes. So your instinct is spot on.
I'd say go for a 150 mm, that leaves you some play room for throwing in a larger heating element and/or less water circulation.
You can do with two 16 mm pipes inside, which gives you 32 mm for the vapor to pass....without excessive vapor speeds.
As soon as I have time to spend in the workshop, I'll make a similar one (pipes would be smaller, but more of them, though).
A single 1" pipe can do the job too, but the whole thing has to be longer. Googe has made a dephlegmator with a single pipe, but with a larger diameter shell.
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skow69
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Re: Stainless dephlegmator design

Post by skow69 »

There have been several threads lately about using a shotgun style or dephlegmator type cooler for the reflux condenser on LMs and VMs. I don't get it. I can see the advantage of using a dephlag on a CM, and I understand the cool factor (they are sexy), but it seems like a lot of complication for little payoff on a rig where you don't need the vapor to transit through the condenser. Granted, coiling copper tubing can be a PITA, but drilling and soldering a shotgun doesn't look like a walk in the park either. And CSST has cut the fabrication time for a dimroth down to about 10 minutes.

What am I missing? Is it more than just the self satisfaction of building a way-bitchin', if over-educated, heat exchanger? I'm not knocking the idea. I'm just trying to understand the fad.
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Re: Stainless dephlegmator design

Post by HDNB »

i'm with skow.

plus, i use a 21" 4 x 1/2" inside a 2" jacket, made from copper for my PC and it loses ability at 17A, 220VAC (whatever those watts are) and stainless is a way shittier heat transfer medium than copper.

Unless you are feeding it ice cold water, you may not hold 100% reflux. I would assume you would need to on LM too, since it needs to be open to atmosphere
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nzdistiller
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Re: Stainless dephlegmator design

Post by nzdistiller »

Thanks for the feedback. I'm going for this design for fabrication viability reasons.

Appreciate your thoughts Danespirit
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Re: Stainless dephlegmator design

Post by acfixer69 »

skow69 wrote:There have been several threads lately about using a shotgun style or dephlegmator type cooler for the reflux condenser on LMs and VMs. I don't get it. I can see the advantage of using a dephlag on a CM, and I understand the cool factor (they are sexy), but it seems like a lot of complication for little payoff on a rig where you don't need the vapor to transit through the condenser. Granted, coiling copper tubing can be a PITA, but drilling and soldering a shotgun doesn't look like a walk in the park either. And CSST has cut the fabrication time for a dimroth down to about 10 minutes.

What am I missing? Is it more than just the self satisfaction of building a way-bitchin', if over-educated, heat exchanger? I'm not knocking the idea. I'm just trying to understand the fad.
I guess the answer is in your skill level. I can do a shell and tube easier than a wound coil. I kinked up some making the first one. :oops: thought to my self why am i doing this.

AC
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Danespirit
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Re: Stainless dephlegmator design

Post by Danespirit »

Acfixer, you wouldn't be the first one to do that.

Here is how I made my coils: http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 87&t=52290
That was before I had any option for a TIG welder.
If I had back then, I'd make a stainless dephlegmator right away.
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Re: Stainless dephlegmator design

Post by Lyonsie »

Iv not experimented enough yet to give a definitive opinion but i already know a ball valve is usless regarding water flow. At the minute my opinion is ya can have any size dephlag you want. Its usless unless you can tune it and make it work.
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Re: Stainless dephlegmator design

Post by shadylane »

nzdistiller wrote:Hi guys..... would a shotgun RC consisting of 400mm (16") of 3x 5/8" (16mm) OD stainless inside 2" be sufficient to knock down approx 2000w?
I'd say, a 16" shotgun RC that size, on a LM rig, should be in the ball park
And a coiled RC could be made shorter and easier.
Even using SS
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skow69
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Re: Stainless dephlegmator design

Post by skow69 »

Lyonsie wrote:Iv not experimented enough yet to give a definitive opinion but i already know a ball valve is usless regarding water flow. At the minute my opinion is ya can have any size dephlag you want. Its usless unless you can tune it and make it work.
Let's remember that the reflux condenser on a VM or LM doesn't need to be adjustable. Its job is always to knock down all of the vapor all of the time.
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Re: Stainless dephlegmator design

Post by Danespirit »

shadylane wrote:
nzdistiller wrote:Hi guys..... would a shotgun RC consisting of 400mm (16") of 3x 5/8" (16mm) OD stainless inside 2" be sufficient to knock down approx 2000w?
I'd say, a 16" shotgun RC that size, on a LM rig, should be in the ball park
And a coiled RC could be made shorter and easier.
Even using SS

+1 Skow.

Shady, 16" are over 400 mm..!
That is way overkill for a RC, that only has to handle 2000 W.
Don't you mistake it for a PC..?
A PC this length could handle the 2 KW with ease.
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Re: Stainless dephlegmator design

Post by shadylane »

On a LM rig the RC has to be able to knock down 100% of the power with ease.
Too short and vapor gets out. :shock:
Too long will let you conserve water :lol:
A really long RC requires digging a hole for the boiler, and/or chopping a hole in the ceiling
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Danespirit
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Re: Stainless dephlegmator design

Post by Danespirit »

Most certainly, Shady.. :D but the dephlegmator suggested by you, is able to knock down more than 3 times the power he has as a maximum on his heating element.
If I had a 16" piece at hand, I'd use it as a PC for my rig.. (I'm running a 2 KW element in my boiler).
Yesterday, I ran my CCVM with a single coil I've made for a RC...this one: http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 0#p7262900
Not a single puf (pun intended), came out of the top on my rig. :wink:
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Re: Stainless dephlegmator design

Post by shadylane »

The parent site , --condenser size calculator-- calls for 41" of 5/8 copper tubing to knock down 2000w
The OP wants to know if 48" of SS tubing in a shotgun would be sufficient
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