First build

[Truckinbutch]

A buddy of mine , a noted scrounger and hoarder , gets grand ideas and totally lacks mechanical skills . Showed up at my house with half a pickup bed of various metal objects and said , "I need a little help to build a still ."
Which translates into :'I need you to build me a still because I can't even tighten the chain on my chainsaw .' I love him like a short bus ridin brother and I think he may have finally come up with a good idea .
Sorted through the pile with an end result in mind and came up with a surprising inventory of usable parts .
15.5 gal stainless Hoff-Stevens style keg (he got in 1977 for a gas tank on a dune buggy he never built .)
stainless vacuum chamber from a commercial dairy operation . 14"dia x 14"h to domed top .
enough 1/2" copper and fittings for the inner tube of a 36" Leibig condenser
16" chevy wheel rim that the keg wouldn't quite fit in
2"tri clamp /2 stainless ferrules .
Total investment :$0
Did 40 plus hours reading here , and continue to do so . Developed a plan and gave him a material list .
2 stainless flanges 1/8 x 14"id x 17"od to tig to the vac chamber and the keg . $100 laser cut from a shop in Pa
60,000 btu bayou classic burner $ 53 delivered to my house
Enough 2" down to 3/4" copper for stack/lyne arm/condenser jacket

Fitting the tapered keg to the wheel was no problem . 8 vertical cuts with a porta-ban from inner rim to center and a hammer got us a tapered fit with the center removed . I'll fit legs to it after the burner gets here .
When the flanges arrive I'm going to clamp both together and tig one to the vac chamber , line up on top of the keg and tig the second . Then plasma cut the top out of the keg leaving enough lip on keg to catch any flour paste sqeezout .
tig ss 2"ferrule into vac chamber dome and go to copper rest of way to 3/4" over 1/2" x 36" Leibig .
All comments and suggestions are heartily solicited .
Jim

[Stainless dude]

What a deal, sounds like you got it under control. Get to a building so you can get to distilling.

[Truckinbutch]

Flange rings got here yesterday and the burner should get here tomorrow . Now my buddy is second guessing me on the Liebig . 'Why not 1" over 3/4" or 1" over 1/2" , or 1 1/2 " over 3/4" , ect .' ....................... I don't give a fuck !
I put in a lot of hours here (and enjoyed every minute of it for me ) reading and developing a plan to build him the best 15 gal rig I could . I don't like to whip my cats twice .
With the option still open ;as no actual fabrication has started , does anyone here think I should deviate from the plan I set forth in the op ?

[buddha52]

I would go with the 3/4 over 1/2 myself. Here is a pic of my rig with the worm and flake stand. Pain to set up and tear down. I was thinking of a Liebig to make it more compact.

Judging by the heat the worm makes an Liebig of the size you are considering will do just fine

[Truckinbutch]

Thanks for the vote of confidence , Buddha52 . I was involved in the labor and transportation end of distillin for 38 of my 62 years . I got a lot to relearn and ,from reading here , a lot to forget . Sort of like being the offbearer on the sawmill . Ya know how the whole operation functions . If ya knew how to saw ya wouldn't be doing the heavy lifting .

[Truckinbutch]

Still no burner . Build starts from the floor up , so I'm twiddling thumbs until delivery . Got tired of buddie's second guess and agreed to build Liebig 1" over 1/2" . 4 gauge ground wire wrapped on the 1/2 " should impart some turbulence to the water jacket . Added expense doesn't seem to bother him . WTF , I'm just the fabricator , what do I know ..................................

[Truckinbutch]

Still(no pun intended) makin progress . Burner arrived(Bayou Classic) sans screws or spring to fasten air regulator to the burner housing . Their customer service couldn't tell me what size screws to look for so I could get my wife to pick them up on her way home . Trip to lowes for 2 danged screws . (They are metric approx to 1/4 20 sae) . Liebig parts all cut and dry fit . Anneal #4 wire on the burner tomorrow and wrap / solder together .
Ponderin tigin a .125 ring to the bonnet which I mike at .024+/-. Don't know if I got that skill . Silver solder is going to be pretty pricey around a 14" diameter ring . Read a post or two here that you can solder ss to ss with 95/5 with the proper prep and flux .
Any advice ? The bucks can be spent . Just hurts my heart to do so .

[Richard7]

Both of these post have some info you may find useful http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... =2&t=37043 http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... =2&t=36347

[Truckinbutch]

Richard7 ,
Thank you for the help . I think you helped me solve the problem . I'm off to the shop now to do great things .

[Truckinbutch]

The day went well . Got the burner operational and used it to anneal the #4 solid copper . Amazing how friendly that stiff old wire gets when you light a fire under it's ass and then give it a drink of cold water . Vapor tube is now wrapped and ready for the water jacket .
*Note to self : Nitrile gloves do a fine job of keeping body oils off of clean copper . They possess no insulating qualities if you forget and touch hot copper .
HD has had a definite bad influence on me . I'm getting so wrapped in this project that I may be unable to give up my 'firstborn' when it is done . Scored 2 more kegs day before yesterday so I can build my buddy another if I can't give this one up .

[Truckinbutch]

SS soft soldered to SS didn't go so well yesterday . Wrong flux . Went to local plumbing supply I've done business with for 40+ years today . Been there several times since I started this project for various pieces parts . Got a couple bottles of Harris Stay Clean flux and several copper fittings .
Clerk asked me how I was paying .'Cash'. He smiled and hand wrote a receipt .
I looked at it when he slid it across the counter . There was a 10% discount on the total that I questioned .
"We give all builders that we know a discount and accept samples ." he said with another smile .
We had never discussed what I have been buying materials for and still haven't .
Just found a new best friend and supplier for all my plumbing needs .

[Richard7]

SS soft soldered to SS didn't go so well yesterday .
Just found a new best friend and supplier for all my plumbing needs .

Sorry to hear about the bad flux...Good to hear about your plumbing needs!

[Truckinbutch]

SS soft soldered to SS didn't go so well yesterday .
Just found a new best friend and supplier for all my plumbing needs .

Sorry to hear about the bad flux...Good to hear about your plumbing needs!

Such unsolisited support reminds me of my grandfather in Carroll county ,VA . He had a general store that no one of his political party ever bought Mason jars and sugar from ....... He signed it all out to members of the opposing party .

[Truckinbutch]

Today was semi-successful . Got a good solder joint for 30" around a 44"circle . Remaining 14" ; not so much . I'll address that tomorrow .At this point I am probably spending a dollar to save a dime but ; it ought to work a n I am 'By God!'gonna make it work .

[jbird1992]

Keep at it I know how you feel. Had my boiler all soldered up and dropped it right on the seam ended up cutting off the bottom and redoing it (after I tried to fix it). Guess it comes with the territory

[Richard7]

reminds me of my grandfather in Carroll county ,VA . He had a general store that no one of his political party ever bought Mason jars and sugar from ....... He signed it all out to members of the opposing party .

Sound like your grandfather was a wise man. We are not supposed to be political here so let me leave it at that. I can't stand to see an able bodied man with his hand out!

[Truckinbutch]

reminds me of my grandfather in Carroll county ,VA . He had a general store that no one of his political party ever bought Mason jars and sugar from ....... He signed it all out to members of the opposing party .

Sound like your grandfather was a wise man. We are not supposed to be political here so let me leave it at that. I can't stand to see an able bodied man with his hand out!

I tried to step as lightly as possible around the issue of politics . It was necessary to the post to explain Grandaddy's logic in falsifying records . He was a crusty old blister with a very narrow view of life to the general public that traded with him . To family he was a generous , loving man .
He would get out of bed in the middle of the night to gas up Curtis Turner's car if he needed it

[Truckinbutch]

I'll call today a success . Got the rest of the flange soldered to the cap . Drain , fill pipe , and mating flange are on tomorrow's work list . Slow progress , I know . I play 'Daddy Daycare' for 5 grandchildren who have MARRIED , PROFESSIONAL WORKING PARENTS . Least I can do is get those kids on and off school busses and see that homework is done by the time mom's and dad's come to claim them . Shop work has to work around that .

[Truckinbutch]

WHOO HOO Only had to put 1 kid on a bus this morning . Had the rest of the day to play in my shop . Got the boiler flange tiged in place , 3/4" half coupler tiged in the bottom for a drain and brazed 2" 90 to the bung opening for a fill pipe . Tiged tri-clamp flange to the cap . Tweaked everything in place on the burner . Now just a matter of soldering fittings and building lynne arm/condenser to fit . Ought to be able to light a fire and start cleaning by Tuesday . Buddy has been off on some other tangent for a few days . If he doesn't show up over the weekend to help he may not get this one . I'm gettin mighty attached to it and this hobby .

[Truckinbutch]

Reality check in the sober light of morning .SLOW and SAFE . So today was spent on positive ventilation system to evacuate co from a propane burner and redding up the shop to establish safe walking paths and staging areas for actual operation . I know me well enough to know that if I don't force myself a bit I am prone to cut corners for 'just this one time'. Blueprint for disaster in this hobby . I'll finish the safety features tomorrow and then start plumbing it up .

[Truckinbutch]

Ventilation in place , shop cleared , hearth bricked up to keep rig at a comfortable height . Ready to finish plumbing .
Buddy showed up this evening expecting to carry off a sample from 'our still' . Took him down to the shop and over several beers explained just what was involved and how labor intensive this hobby is . Upshot was that I bought him out because he doesn't want to work that hard .
You people are leading me into evil ways and I'm looking forward to it .
I guess , for a hobby for a retired old fart , it beats trippin little kids and old blue haired women at the mall .................................................

[Richard7]

I guess , for a hobby for a retired old fart , it beats trippin little kids and old blue haired women at the mall .................................................

Yea that don't even get you a shot. Well maybe a mug shot!

[Truckinbutch]

Doin my own involves a lot more time than doin a build and doin a rough set up in the shop for a test drive . My fireup day got pushed back significicantly when it became a semi-permanent operation in my shop . Several days away from lighting a fire now .
Be awright , slow and safe wins the race .

[Richard7]

Slow and safe wins the race. You are so right. Ain't no fun if your in a big rush anyway.

[wv_hillbilly]

Souning good truckin, slow and safe is always a good route. I thought I would be doing my cleaning runs this week, but when my tri clamp came, they sent the wrong size So hopefully the correct size comes early next week. Guess it wasn't meant to happen this week.

[Truckinbutch]

Clearing enough room in my shop for a build was a squeeze , but doable . Finding this child permanent accommodations is another matter . My shop is so crowded to begin with that you can't cuss a cat without gettin a mouth full of fur . Lotta playin pilot : pick this up from here and pilot it over there . Everything in it is a 'might need it '. First thing I throw away will be the next thing I need .

[jbird1992]

Clearing enough room in my shop for a build was a squeeze , but doable . Finding this child permanent accommodations is another matter . My shop is so crowded to begin with that you can't cuss a cat without gettin a mouth full of fur . Lotta playin pilot : pick this up from here and pilot it over there . Everything in it is a 'might need it '. First thing I throw away will be the next thing I need .

Yep

[wv_hillbilly]

Clearing enough room in my shop for a build was a squeeze , but doable . Finding this child permanent accommodations is another matter . My shop is so crowded to begin with that you can't cuss a cat without gettin a mouth full of fur . Lotta playin pilot : pick this up from here and pilot it over there . Everything in it is a 'might need it '. First thing I throw away will be the next thing I need .

Why don't wives understand this?

[Truckinbutch]

Clearing enough room in my shop for a build was a squeeze , but doable . Finding this child permanent accommodations is another matter . My shop is so crowded to begin with that you can't cuss a cat without gettin a mouth full of fur . Lotta playin pilot : pick this up from here and pilot it over there . Everything in it is a 'might need it '. First thing I throw away will be the next thing I need .

Why don't wives understand this?

Damn if I know . I'm on the second wife and still don't have her housebroke after nearly 20 years ........ Mebbie a gender thang ?.......... I don't wanna start no fights over such a small issue .

[Truckinbutch]

Buddah52 and wv-hillbilly , I tried sending both of you PMs . Don't know if they went through or not .
Continuing to remodel shop for semipermanent installation :
Positive/passive ventilation via 6" duct feeding into 8x16 lined chimney that is not being utilized for heating . Insulated fermenting room under a stair well that gets vented to the chimney to keep fermenting odors out of the house . Wheeled carts for fermenting vessels and carboys for low wines . Don't lift anything you can put on wheels .
Mating thick stainless fittings to thin stainless vessels I prefer to TIG and then use a hole saw through the fitting , used as a colett,'to finish the hole . All copper behaves better when you need to use it for other than it's normal application if you anneal it first and continue to do so while working it . Soft soldering stainless/stainless or copper/stainless works well if procedures posted on this site are followed .