All Stainless CM Still

Post your builds here.

Moderator: Site Moderator

wnv
Novice
Posts: 25
Joined: Sat Feb 18, 2012 9:22 am

Re: All Stainless CM Still

Post by wnv »

Nice looking still. Have you ran it yet? My only concern is the condenser being all stainless. Stainless has horrible heat transfer, and I found for my still that I needed to use copper for the condenser.

To answer your question about the auto shut off stuff. There's no doubt that any large distillery has atleast some form of automation. My guess is that someone sits in a control room monitoring everything. Even the micro distillers must have some automation built into them. Most of the people on here get all riled about the whole automation thing, but I find it interesting as well from a hobby point of view. There's no way I would go out an buy a 600 dollar controller, but I have built my own using arduino components. Its not exactly automated, I still have to do the cuts and what not, and I still watch it. But it does what you want. I have 2 temp sensors, one at the top of the column, and one in the boiler. I can set it to turn down the heat input to a predetermined value (say 30%) once the still reaches the boiling point. I can also have it shut itself off at a predetermined temp, say 94* C in the boiler. It will also tell you the guestimated alcohol content of the mash based on the boiling temp of the mash. I will be doing a run with it tomorrow and will post some pictures up in the electrical forum.
User avatar
skow69
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 3230
Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2011 3:03 am
Location: Cascadia

Re: All Stainless CM Still

Post by skow69 »

Kraqa wrote:i got the ports in the boiler all tig'd today. pics will follow. the guy who is sharing this build with dropped off some doetch connectors for the control box.

-a 6 pin connector will be for the two boiler thermal probes (liquid temp, steam temp) and a high pressure LED for inside the boiler.
When I first read your thread I thought the LED would be an indicator to warn of a high pressure condition in the boiler. I see that was incorrect. Now I have some questions.

1 What is a "high pressure" LED?

2 How much pressure do you expect to have in the boiler?

3 Why do you want to light the inside of the boiler?
Distilling at 110f and 75 torr.
I'm not an absinthe snob, I'm The Absinthe Nazi. "NO ABSINTHE FOR YOU!"
carbohydratesn
Swill Maker
Posts: 398
Joined: Tue Jan 20, 2015 6:37 am

Re: All Stainless CM Still

Post by carbohydratesn »

skow69 wrote: 1 What is a "high pressure" LED?

2 How much pressure do you expect to have in the boiler?

3 Why do you want to light the inside of the boiler?
I might be able to answer all of those for Kraqa. High pressure was probably a typo, they said high temperature the first time. No pressure should be expected in the boiler.

And to answer the third - have you ever looked inside a keg? :P They're very dark on the inside - a light in the boiler would be great for checking liquid levels, watching for an impending puke with a foamy mash, checking to make sure the keg's clean after rinsing...anything you'd otherwise have to grab a flashlight and awkwardly point it in there to see.
Last edited by carbohydratesn on Fri Mar 13, 2015 12:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
DAD300
Master of Distillation
Posts: 2839
Joined: Wed Mar 02, 2011 11:46 am
Location: Southern U.S.

Re: All Stainless CM Still

Post by DAD300 »

I would be leery of a light (electrical connection or bulb) in the boiler. Let's see fuel, oxygen, ignition source...Now we have two of the three!
CCVM http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... d#p7104768" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
Ethyl Carbamate Docs viewtopic.php?f=6&t=55219&p=7309262&hil ... e#p7309262
DSP-AR-20005
carbohydratesn
Swill Maker
Posts: 398
Joined: Tue Jan 20, 2015 6:37 am

Re: All Stainless CM Still

Post by carbohydratesn »

They're machining and assembling it to be sealed, if I'm not mistaken...as long as the LED is solidly connected - soldered, hopefully - it'll be perfectly safe, and the potting epoxy they're planning on using is just extra icing on the safety cake. A lot of things would have to go wrong in exactly the right ways for that to become a potential ignition source.

The heating elements most of us use in kegs are more of an ignition hazard.
User avatar
T-Pee
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 4355
Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2013 9:20 pm
Location: The wilds of rural California

Re: All Stainless CM Still

Post by T-Pee »

carbohydratesn wrote: The heating elements most of us use in kegs are more of an ignition hazard.
Got a point there.

tp
Kraqa
Novice
Posts: 40
Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2014 5:53 pm

Re: All Stainless CM Still

Post by Kraqa »

high pressure wasn't really a typo. for the still there will be no pressure. but i plan on using these LED's for our tanks at work. they run around 30PSI. this LED is designed to operate well above 30 PSI. but in the still application it will only see temperature.

i have abandoned the automation. i'm 100% certain it can be done and for not much money. but in reality. i would never leave a still running un attended so there is no need to put the effort towards that.

about the stainless steel. there are several companies out there who make all stainless stills and condensers and they seam to work fine. i am not recirculating my water so i dont have to worry about maximum heat transfer.

i hope to wire up the control panel this week and do a test run. i have about 10 projects on the go. including running a business. so my time is spread kind of thin.
User avatar
Danespirit
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 2647
Joined: Tue Dec 25, 2012 8:09 am
Location: Denmark

Re: All Stainless CM Still

Post by Danespirit »

A good decision to drop the automation, Kraqa..
Of course stainless will work..mine is all SS (except the refluxcondenser).
Never had any problems with it. I should say my column is insulated, so will my boiler be as soon as i have the time for that.
Many professional distillers use stainless, as it is easy to clean and copper rises to hourendous prices these days.. :wtf:
Anyway you should have some copper in the vapourpath, it helps binding the sulfides.
I am anxious to see your LED idea beeing mounted in the boiler..
Norbrewer
Novice
Posts: 12
Joined: Sun Feb 08, 2015 10:28 pm

Re: All Stainless CM Still

Post by Norbrewer »

Please chime in when you have run this beauty !! :clap:
sltm1
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 1059
Joined: Wed Aug 14, 2013 10:12 am

Re: All Stainless CM Still

Post by sltm1 »

EXCELLECT FABRICATION WORK !!!!!!!!!!!!
A Paraphrase of a Joe Walsh Album Title, "The Drinkier I get, The Smokier I Play!!"
Every new member should read this before doing anything else:
Kraqa
Novice
Posts: 40
Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2014 5:53 pm

Re: All Stainless CM Still

Post by Kraqa »

i waterjet the control panel last night. still waiting on parts to wire the panel with.

fancy switches and panduit.
User avatar
skow69
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 3230
Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2011 3:03 am
Location: Cascadia

Re: All Stainless CM Still

Post by skow69 »

carbohydratesn wrote:
skow69 wrote: 1 What is a "high pressure" LED?

2 How much pressure do you expect to have in the boiler?

3 Why do you want to light the inside of the boiler?
I might be able to answer all of those for Kraqa. High pressure was probably a typo, they said high temperature the first time. No pressure should be expected in the boiler.
Can you say rhetorical?
carbohydratesn wrote:The heating elements most of us use in kegs are more of an ignition hazard.
Heating elements are submerged.
Distilling at 110f and 75 torr.
I'm not an absinthe snob, I'm The Absinthe Nazi. "NO ABSINTHE FOR YOU!"
carbohydratesn
Swill Maker
Posts: 398
Joined: Tue Jan 20, 2015 6:37 am

Re: All Stainless CM Still

Post by carbohydratesn »

Those don't seem like rhetorical questions to me - they're practical questions that have real, simple answers. And heating elements are mostly submerged - the fire hazard is on the outside.

Can't wait to see the panel, if it's anything like the still it will be a thing of beauty!
Kraqa
Novice
Posts: 40
Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2014 5:53 pm

Re: All Stainless CM Still

Post by Kraqa »

i'm still missing the pot to control the SSR for the heater.

this is just a dry fit. the box is getting sandblasted and then powdercoated a candy green with silver flake.

Image

i've got way too many projects on the go. lol
Kraqa
Novice
Posts: 40
Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2014 5:53 pm

Re: All Stainless CM Still

Post by Kraqa »

each PID is a temp read out for a thermal probe somewhere in the still
-boiler bottom
-boiler head (bottom of the column)
-pre shotgun condensor
-post shotgun (before the leibig)

the black buttons are on/off with ilumonated LED rings for each PID

the screen is a digital amp meter for the heater element. the hole below it is for the POT to regulate the current to the element.

the black button next to the main power is for the in boiler LED.
User avatar
skow69
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 3230
Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2011 3:03 am
Location: Cascadia

Re: All Stainless CM Still

Post by skow69 »

Dude, if that was any sexier I'd have wood.
Kraqa wrote: the box is getting sandblasted and then powdercoated a candy green with silver flake.
I had a RoadRunner once that was candy-apple green metal flake with flames.

Ooo! Ooo! Ooo! Can we paint flames on the box? Huh? Can we? Oh please! I love flames. Let's paint flames on the box. OK?
Distilling at 110f and 75 torr.
I'm not an absinthe snob, I'm The Absinthe Nazi. "NO ABSINTHE FOR YOU!"
User avatar
skow69
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 3230
Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2011 3:03 am
Location: Cascadia

Re: All Stainless CM Still

Post by skow69 »

Can't wait to see it lit up.
Distilling at 110f and 75 torr.
I'm not an absinthe snob, I'm The Absinthe Nazi. "NO ABSINTHE FOR YOU!"
Kraqa
Novice
Posts: 40
Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2014 5:53 pm

Re: All Stainless CM Still

Post by Kraqa »

still waiting on my buddy to wire up the panel.

i really want to get this thing up and running.
Kraqa
Novice
Posts: 40
Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2014 5:53 pm

Re: All Stainless CM Still

Post by Kraqa »

I got it up and running. I packed the column with too much copper. I ran it as a regular pot still with no shotgun and it was huffing out the Leibig badly. I have a hard time believing that my condenser was not able to handle the output. i wasn't pushing alot of heat.

will too much in copper mesh in the column cause this?
Monkeyman88
Rumrunner
Posts: 739
Joined: Sun Sep 06, 2015 5:49 am

Re: All Stainless CM Still

Post by Monkeyman88 »

No it won't. Huffing is either caused by too much power input, or the cooling water being too cold.
User avatar
skow69
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 3230
Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2011 3:03 am
Location: Cascadia

Re: All Stainless CM Still

Post by skow69 »

Packing can't do it. Why do you think you had too much packing?

Were you getting liquid product also or just the huffing?

What did your ammeter show?

How long is your liebig?

How much cooling water flow?

Temperature of the cooling water? In and out.

You should've painted flames on the box.
Distilling at 110f and 75 torr.
I'm not an absinthe snob, I'm The Absinthe Nazi. "NO ABSINTHE FOR YOU!"
hoochlover
Swill Maker
Posts: 216
Joined: Tue Oct 13, 2015 6:27 am
Location: Australia

Re: All Stainless CM Still

Post by hoochlover »

Very nice looking rig. Maybe you flooded your column. If you check some videos out with SPP you can see that the top of the column can splutter quite a lot, 8 inches at least. So leaving a gap or having some kind of liquid restricter helps in those situations, but it probably doesn't apply here since you're using mesh and not much power. I guess if you remove packing and still have the problem you would know its something to do with your liebig.
Kraqa
Novice
Posts: 40
Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2014 5:53 pm

Re: All Stainless CM Still

Post by Kraqa »

Back from the dead. Moved into my new place and going to get this thing sorted.

I also bought some Pyrex glass tubing to build a glass column with plates. Cause I need another project.
User avatar
T-Pee
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 4355
Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2013 9:20 pm
Location: The wilds of rural California

Re: All Stainless CM Still

Post by T-Pee »

Kraqa wrote:I also bought some Pyrex glass tubing to build a glass column with plates. Cause I need another project.
Discussion of a glass column won't go over well here as glass is not considered a safe material to work with.

tp
sltm1
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 1059
Joined: Wed Aug 14, 2013 10:12 am

Re: All Stainless CM Still

Post by sltm1 »

Now that is some excellent work sir!! It crosses the line between art and function, congratulations on a primo build.
A Paraphrase of a Joe Walsh Album Title, "The Drinkier I get, The Smokier I Play!!"
Every new member should read this before doing anything else:
Post Reply