Stainless steel potstillhead

[Danespirit]

It's been a while since i had time to build some equipment, but there were plenty of ideas circeling my head.
Due to a lot of help to other people, i hardly had time for all those ideas i have.
So i decided to be a little selfish and nurse my ego a bit.
My plan was to build a proportional splittinghead (it still is)...
Unfortunatly some material i had seen implemented in my build was used otherwise in the workshop.
So..determent not to leave the workshop empty handed, i improvised a little.
For a potstill i have my tee from my CCVM with a endcap on, only drawback is i have to disassemble it.
Not that it is an issue for me, but anyway i liked to have a head dedicated only for a potstill.
It's nothing special, but i would like to share my build with this forum. I hope it can inspire someone with similar ideas.

Hight: 220mm
Diameter (body) 2", Ø51 mm
Takeoff: 3/4" male threaded pipe on cone
Bottom: 1,5" ferrule
Fillerrod: Thyssen Krupp, Thermanit TG 316L
Gas: Argon

Bottom cone fresh from the lathe.

Bottom cone and body of the head

Assembled with ferrule

Cone for takeoff

Not ready polished yet,but i can look at it

Together with my Liebig. Female/female threaded pipe will join them.

[S-Cackalacky]

Nice piece of work. What's going on with the top (angled cut)?

[Danespirit]

Thanks..
The angled cut was for no particular reason, but to guide the vapor.
It is just blinded with a piece of plate.

[bitter]

That is awesome! I want one!

B

[still_stirrin]

Dude's a "pot head".

Great job Danespirit. Planning for some copper in the ascending vapor path?
ss

[Danespirit]

Dude's a "pot head".

Great job Danespirit. Planning for some copper in the ascending vapor path?
ss

He,he..ahh..not really Still stirrin, i prefer a drink.(or two)

All my equipment is made out of stainless.
To add a little copper i cut a stripe of copperplate, and twisted it..fits perfect in my Liebig.
It has a pleasent sideeffect... the product will have more surface contact, thus aiding the cooling.
When i get the rest of my parts (soon i hope), there will be a giant bubbleplate (Ø 200 mm)on top of my boiler.
I scored 4 of those ugly 70's stovetop plate hides, one of them is a perfect match for my boiler and fits nicely under my dome shaped lid.
The massive copperrod, will be threaded and hold the bubblecaps.

Bubbleplate to go on top of the boiler

Bubbleplate copper.jpg (14.09 KiB) Viewed 5130 times

[Euphoria]

After reading the description above, I'm now a bit confused...From the hundreds of threads I've read through here, I remember having read somewhere that copper was "good on the ascending side, but bad on the descending side." Doesn't putting the copper in the Liebig constitute it being in the "descending" side? I ask because my equipment is all stainless, so I stuff some copper mesh in the lower part of my pot still column to pick up the sulphates. Just a newbie question.

[Danespirit]

Euporia..it doesn't matter on what side the copper is.
It's purpose is to catch sulphates in the product and bind them.
Furthermore..in the Liebig it acts like a chikane that let the product have contact to the colder walls for a longer period of time.
Of course the spiral formed piece of plate in my Liebig is removable for cleaning.

Edit: There was a thread in here not so long ago about this subject, but i don't remember the title of it.

[Euphoria]

Thank you. Sorry if I sound a bit naive, but I probably am. I can see from thermal conductivity charts that copper has a much greater heat transfer rate than stainless, so that makes sense. I was just curious about whether it was safe. Apparently it is.

[Danespirit]

Copper is and was used for distilling equipment for centuries, stainless was first discovered 1821 by Pierre Berthier.
First usable invention, however was by Krupp Stahl AG in 1908. They named it "Nirosta" short for " Nicht rostender Stahl" (No rusting steel)...is the word for word translation.
The steel used in my application is manufactured by Outokumpu, now Thyssen&Krupp.
It's a bit weird alloy higher than 316 stainless, and just wonderfull to TIG weld..
The corrosion resistance is splendid. If i had to make a gun barrel , this material would be my choice.
I am lucky i got my hands on some of this piping for my VM/CCVM and for this potstill, the rest of my equipment is just boring,plain normal stainless 304..
Anyhow...it will last my lifetime ...and more.
Arrgh....can you imagine how hard it is to polish..??

[bitter]

Anyhow...it will last my lifetime ...and more.
Arrgh....can you imagine how hard it is to polish..??

It will definitely last a lifetime!

Polish stainless... I can tell you from personal experience it take a long time and the right products!!!!!!!!! The 3m pads work pretty well with the spray lubercant after it is sanded smooth with a die grinder and sandy disc. I normally used a 80 grit to take the top off the weld and then went to 120, 320 and then off to sanding by hand using 400 wet dry, then 600 , then 800, then 1000, then 2000 and finally the different 3m buffing pads. Hours and hours! Worked for a place than made railings... and customers wanted a mirror finish........... days and days on sanding and buffing arrrrgggggggggghhhh boring job...

B

[Danespirit]

Now...words are cheap, and a build ain't much without the device actually running.
So here is a video of my potstill running.
The shitty No. 03 box, contains my controller (3,8 KW SCR) and will be replaced as soon as i have time in the workshop again.
I have the lid open to let the heat pass out....yes i know...i promise the electrics will look nice and tidey, once i have made a new cabinet for it..
The pump is a cheap one from E-bay (7 W,600 L/hr. liftheight 1.1 M).
It runs very well for my CCVM and the lift height is sufficient. As you see , it provides plenty of flow to my Liebig on my potstillhead too.
Btw...it also primes my "Ethylisator"...(another thread).
Had a little problem with my silicone hose for the Liebig, so please excuse the messy solderingjob on the two brass connectors.
I should have known better, but wanted to jump the fence on the low part....
I had a run with my Ethylisator the day before and thought the dough paste, could stand another run..guess what...it couldn't..therefore the mess of paste around the lid.
Oh...and thinking about the time schedule...i still need to make my boilerinsulation, there will be a thread about that too.
Enjoy the video...
http://1drv.ms/1F4TEAa" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[Danespirit]

+1 on those pads , Bitter...i use similar as the Scotch 3M. They are made out of nylonfibres.

[Deerhunter]

That's awesome! Wish I knew How to weld. That stainless is pretty, and will stay that way.

[Danespirit]

You can see it in action here: http://1drv.ms/1F4TEAa" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
Please excuse the mess with the flourpaste.
I discovered lazyness does not pay off..had to smear it up for leaks..arrgh..

[GSP]

Vid link isn't working. I wanted to see this thing all polished up and dripping!

[still_stirrin]

Vid link isn't working. I wanted to see this thing all polished up and dripping!

It did a year and a half ago, when the thread was active. PM Danespirit and maybe he'll repost it.
ss

[GSP]

Vid link isn't working. I wanted to see this thing all polished up and dripping!

It did a year and a half ago, when the thread was active. PM Danespirit and maybe he'll repost it.
ss

I knew it was old. That whole "unlimited storage and bandwidth" thing of the future isn't exactly the present, right?

[still_stirrin]

I knew it was old. That whole "unlimited storage and bandwidth" thing of the future isn't exactly the present, right?

Exactly the problem with external hosts, they can and often do expire. I suspect that Danespirit just posted the link to his personal site and after a short while removed the video to conserve both storage and bandwidth. But, a PM may get the video for you...

[Danespirit]

Vid link isn't working. I wanted to see this thing all polished up and dripping!

Ahh...sorry. I checked the link and it should work. I really don't understand why it doesn't, as I haven't moved any videos in that particular folder.
However, this one should be working: https://1drv.ms/v/s!AlqprLmL_qq9gQBppMnxjCN2UdMd" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[GSP]

Thanks! Looks like a very "Danish" way to do things. Simple, beautiful, clean, efficient.

[Danespirit]

Thanks for the nice words. It's nothing special, but I guess it will serve me a lifetime.

[Lyonsie]

Very nice ds. I actually was going to buy some 4" tube with a slanted plate like this. I built my still head from an upcycled 4" stainless security bollard like what you would see at the foot of a driveway to stop car theft.
I had a choice of two, one with a flat top and the other one slanted, i bought the one with a flat top so it would accommodate a coil. I may revisit this man after Christmas and see has he still got the slanted one after seeing this.

[Danespirit]

Excellent idea..!
Take them both, you won't regret it.
Depending on how long they are, there are various options...even more now you have 4" tube at hand.
A 4" with integrated bubble plate could be an option..

[Lyonsie]

They are generally 4' long. Building regs here state that at least at least 1/3 of the height that is above the ground must be burried below it. They are fairly heavy duty too (about 4mm thick.) I got mine for 40 euro at a flea market. They are expensive to buy new though.

Lmao plates like this perhaps? I hope he still has it, Id definitely chop the pot head off it now. I bloody knew it when i saw it. Your build confirmed it.

[Danespirit]

You made a very good deal there..
4' should be a tad more than 1200 mm.With a wall thickness of 4 mm, you'll get a nearly indestructible piece of equipment.
I'd say a plated column can be an option for you, provided you have the boiler capacity for it.
Such a column can be done with perforated plate as well as bubble caps.
With bubble caps, you would negate the hole drilling....they also tend to dump liquid when the tails are coming through (lower ABV).
I've just made myself a few perforated plates out of old stove top hides (sound weird, but they work perfectly).
If you want to stay with the stainless, the plates could be made out of 1- 1,5 mm plate.
another option could be a pot still head with integrated plates beneath it....
I run a plate under mine from time to time, it really boosts the ABV of my product.

[Lyonsie]

I like your thinking . My plate material is actually old copper printing plates. I posted a pic of them on dans plated column build thread in the column section. It was nearly a sin to chop them.
Iv got 3 of them. Purchased at the same market for 4 euro.
Lol i hear ya about the drilling iv a 1.5mm hole in my kneecap thats healing still.
The boiler will be fine, again its in the boiler section. Im trying to get it up and running in potstill mode at the minute.
Im only building plates and coils as the stuff came along cheap and its there for future use. If i can still get the other 4" i will definitely build a fully modular plated column. Everytime i visit the market now its like what could i use that for.

[Danespirit]

Ha,ha...oh yes I know that feeling.
Every piece of metal that comes my way, is almost immediately thought of as potential distilling equipment.
Ahh...now I remember your boiler, I had a look at it and remembered the unusual approach with an extended keg
Well, with that capacity, you can run a 4" column for sure.
I hope you are lucky enough to get your hands on that second piece of pipe...I'd love to see it turn into a plated column.
Seems like those copper printing plates will be just perfect in such a column.

[Lyonsie]

Been busy this last while and not been able to do much building. Chuffed that i managed to collect this though. Definitely making a potstill head out of the top 15 inches or so . A 4" ferrule and a 2" one and thats it sorted. Thanks for the inspiration danespirit, I'll stick a pic up when i have it done.