What do you think of my Nixon Stone?

[Shavedwolf]

Be gentle on me, its my first build. Wondering what you think so far, Its not complete yet. Need to solder and drill a hole in my column for my reflux line. It is a 3" column and reflux and outtake are 1/2". The condenser triclamp cap is not sealed, it does have a hole in the top for pressure release, so don't worry. The column has a flange ferrule and a removable cap for cleaning, I also used threaded fittings for my SS needle valve for easy disassemble and cleaning.

IMG_0415 (2).jpg

Closer look at where my reflux line will go in the column, There is also a hole in the cast copper Y(almost looks brass) that you can't see on the left, that will house my thermometer to measure vapor temp.

IMG_0416 (1).jpg

I also have not decided if this is a good design for my outtake line, I have not soldered it yet, but you get the basic idea.

IMG_0417 (1).jpg

End note, I do have an extra 2ft of 3" tubing I can use to extend the column if I want, But currently as of now sitting on the burner its stands 8ft, so not sure if that's needed.

[still_stirrin]

3" column...nice. Nixon-Stone heads (LM) work acceptably. They're a little "older" design, but quite classic too. How much liquid holdup do you have in the head before reflux back to the column? Maybe an ounce or two? Also, N-S drivers typically return the reflux to the center of the column...did you do that?

As for your product takeoff line, I suggest putting a 45* elbow in lieu of the 90*. Also, you may want a little line cooler to cool the liquid down as it flows through the product tube. A Liebig water jacket would work nicely there...it wouldn't take much water flow at all to cool your product down good.

I think your column height is fine for producing neutrals. What are you going to use for packing?

Be safe. Be responsible. And be discrete.
ss

[InglisHill]

That has a vent at the top right? Open to atmosphere?

Looks frikken cool!

[bentstick]

First paragraph states " it does have a hole for pressure release,dont worry" !!!!

[InglisHill]

First paragraph states " it does have a hole for pressure release,dont worry" !!!!

Man, again, I need to shut up...... Thanks

[Shavedwolf]

How much liquid holdup do you have in the head before reflux back to the column? Maybe an ounce or two? Also, N-S drivers typically return the reflux to the center of the column...did you do that?

As for your product takeoff line, I suggest putting a 45* elbow in lieu of the 90*. Also, you may want a little line cooler to cool the liquid down as it flows through the product tube. A Liebig water jacket would work nicely there...it wouldn't take much water flow at all to cool your product down good.

I think your column height is fine for producing neutrals. What are you going to use for packing?

Be safe. Be responsible. And be discrete.
ss

Well I am going to push the reflux line up a little in the collection cup, like a stand pipe, so it does collect and ounce or two before pouring into the reflux line, that may only be a 1/4" stand pipe. I have not drilled the hole yet for the reflux line in my column, but it is long enough and will pour into the center.

I will definitely do the 45* instead, that sounds like a good Idea. I have an unfinished Liebig/parrot, I could maybe incorporate it into the take off somehow. As shown below Liebig/parrot and I have multiple rolls of copper mesh for packing.

IMG_0418.jpg

[DAD300]

No ones going to mention the brass fitting?

Edited....my bad...I wasn't poking him! I meant to poke those that do!

[bentstick]

Ahhhh nope not all look for flaws in gear made made from copper or brass, new stock not much to worry about,shavedwolf has made a bit of gear for himself,and should be proud without all trying to knock him down,assume he did the "READING" and feels comfortable with what he has made!!!!!

[yakattack]

No ones going to mention the brass fitting?

If you are taking the cast y fitting he stated that it is cast copper (pricy around here) but fas as I know (and that ain't much) cast copper doesn't contain lead or any other unacceptable components.

Nice work shavedwolf. It looks good. Get thet work horse finished and cleaned (don't skimp on the hand cleaning. Makes the sac run go smoother) and get some good stuff run.

Have fun. And be safe.

Yak

[still_stirrin]

That 3"x1-1/2" DWV wye is what looks like to me to be "red brass".

Cast fittings are typically cast in brass, either yellow brass or red brass.

Red brass looks more like copper, for obvious reasons, because it has 85% copper and nearly 15% zinc with only trace amounts of tin and lead. Whereas, yellow brass is 60-70% copper with 30-40% zinc with trace amounts of tin and lead. Note that red brass has eliminated the lead from the alloy due to NSF standards.

Recently, manufacturers have been extruding DWV fittings in pure copper just like the water supply fittings. But since the price of copper what it is, those fittings are markedly more expensive than cast brass.

You've no doubt seen the lead-free union fittings in the big box stores...those use extruded copper with a cast red brass nut. I use them in product lines without worry.

Frodo can probably chime in here too, since he too is a working (distilling?) plumber. It has been a few years since I plumbed houses..back in the day before PEX. Remember those days?
ss

[DAD300]

I remember waste pipes seal with lead. Sometimes you had to cast the lead around iron pipes. I remember melting and casting lead around iron pipes in small bathrooms...or at least I think I did...

[still_stirrin]

I remember waste pipes seal with lead. Sometimes you had to cast the lead around iron pipes. I remember melting and casting lead around iron pipes in small bathrooms...or at least I think I did...

OK...I did leaded hub fittings when I first started. But they were already being replaced with cast iron no-hub with those hex drive band clamps.

Am I dating myself now?
ss

[Shavedwolf]

That 3"x1-1/2" DWV wye is what looks like to me to be "red brass"

A friend of mine actually gave me most the materials to make this, I was told its was cast copper. If it is red brass as you say, I cant imagine there being a lot of lead in it, even if its trace amounts. I know brass is a questionable material in still construction, its a minimal surface for the vapor to have contact with it. If its really a big deal, ill make and solder a copper insert sleeve onto the surface. Or I can waste a roll of solder covering every inch of the surface lol

[Yummyrum]

Shavedwolf
I like your take on the NS still
Traditional design with the offset pipe horizontal meant that the Re-flux return usually entered the column quite away down wasting valuable space /height .

Your slope up design means that the re-flux enters the column at almost the same height as the vapor exits maximizing column packing space..nice work...and definitely add that Product condenser to cool the collected product .

Regarding cast copper , I'm not comfortable about it . I don't know where I read it but I got the feeling there was something added , Cadmium , Antimony or some other metal that was bad .... As I said can't remember but it put me off it . I love the Idea you have though . I think I would make that slope section out of copper pipe either soldered or brazed

[still_stirrin]

Hey guys, before freaking out about cast brass, remember that almost all kitchen sink faucets are cast in brass. You drink water out of them? Sure, they may be chromed on the outside to make them look shiny, but they're brass on the inside. And those are cast in yellow brass too, with higher zinc percentages.

If you're worried, just "pickle" the brass. It'll form an inert layer in the substrate that will render any of the alloy metals inactive.

You can google "pickling brass" and see how to do it.
ss

[Brutal]

I think this still is awesome! I am personally not worried about brass as long as its relatively new. I worry more about the mass of it acting like a heat sink at that point in the column, but I'm sure the OP will insulate it anyway. I like this still and have been considering a variant of it for a while.

[still_stirrin]

Hey Shavedwolf,

I did a little digging on that wye fitting. It looks like a Nibco cast bronze fitting, which most of the DWV fittings used in the USA are. From their website, they cast in bronze per specification ASTM B584 Alloy C84400 (see attached spec sheet).
http://www.nibco.com/Fittings/Metal-Fit ... -x-C-Cast/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

This bronze is indeed a red brass, as I'd suspected. If you open the spec sheet, you'll see the metallurgy in it and there is NO lead, which has the periodic designation, Pb. None in the alloy. It has a lot of other trace element materials, but they're OK.

So, you are OK as built. Don't lose any more sleep over the snazzy still head you've acquired/built.

And for other readers here...this is a lesson for us all. Red brass is OK in potable services.
ss

[Danespirit]

Even though the design is not the best, you got yourself a beauty there..
+1 on that Liebig , as suggested...it will surely be a improvement to your fine still.

[Shavedwolf]

Hey Shavedwolf,

I did a little digging on that wye fitting. It looks like a Nibco cast bronze fitting, which most of the DWV fittings used in the USA are. From their website, they cast in bronze per specification ASTM B584 Alloy C84400 (see attached spec sheet).
http://www.nibco.com/Fittings/Metal-Fit ... -x-C-Cast/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

This bronze is indeed a red brass, as I'd suspected. If you open the spec sheet, you'll see the metallurgy in it and there is NO lead, which has the periodic designation, Pb. None in the alloy. It has a lot of other trace element materials, but they're OK.

So, you are OK as built. Don't lose any more sleep over the snazzy still head you've acquired/built.

And for other readers here...this is a lesson for us all. Red brass is OK in potable services.
ss

Thanks for the info, and thanks everyone for the suggestions.

[frodo]

that looks like a bronze fitting to me.

you can tell the difference between brass and bronze by the color and brass is slightly magnetic

hold a powerfull magnetic next to it.

bronze and copper are not magnetic

just my opinion



bronze fiting

[Danespirit]

Frodo...where did you stumble over "magnetic brass"..??
Brass, nomatter what alloy ain't magnetic.
It's a alloy of copper and zinc, two nonmagnetic materials....
Bronze is a alloy with copper and tin, both nonmagnetic too.. Typical a 9 to 1 mixture.
A piece of brass moved in a magnetic field, will slow down due to the Lenz law...so will a magnet dumped through a brass or copperpipe.
This is caused by electromagnetic induction and does still not make brass/ any brass alloy magnetic.
http://video.mit.edu/watch/physics-demo ... ipe-10268/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
Edit: The danish physicist H.C. Ørsted, discovered electromagnetism and it's force around 1820, 14 years before Lenz made his dissertation.

[frodo]

http://terpconnect.umd.edu/~wbreslyn/ma ... netic.html


Is Brass Magnetic?

Brass is a mixture of zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu). Both of these elements are not magnetic. When we mix zinc and copper to form the alloy brass, we also end up with a non-magnetic compound. So, brass is not magnetic.

Like aluminum, copper, and zinc, brass does interact with moving magnets. In the video below a brass plate on a pendulum will move rapidly in the absence of a magnet. But as is passes by magnets it is slowed down considerably. You can see a wooden plate isn’t affected by the magnetic field.


So while brass isn’t magnetic, it can interact with magnetic fields. This happens because the movement of a magnet (or the brass could be moving instead) sets up an electrical current in the brass. This current has its own magnetic field which interacts with the magnet. The effect is best felt with strong neodymium magnets.

At home you can feel the interaction by moving a strong magnet over a piece of brass. If you don’t have brass aluminum foil behaves in a similar manner. Perhaps most impressive is dropping a magnet down a brass, copper or aluminum tube. The video below shows a magnet being dropped down a thick aluminum pipe.


The effect is called the Lenz Effect. The moving magnet causes small magnetic fields, called eddy currents, to form in the metal (brass, aluminum foil/tube ...). These eddy currents have their own magnetic field (all electrical currents do). This is what is interacting with the moving magnet.

What about magnets in outer space?

https://youtu.be/38XPT9sWIso

https://youtu.be/O9DaKP2PhL4
All rights reserved. © 2013 Wayne Breslyn

[Danespirit]

Yes, that's excatctly the Lenz law..
And also why brass, copper and aluminium (it can be described as semimagnetic,though), ain't magnetic..!

The effect is called the Lenz Effect. The moving magnet causes small magnetic fields, called eddy currents, to form in the metal (brass, aluminum foil/tube ...). These eddy currents have their own magnetic field (all electrical currents do). This is what is interacting with the moving magnet.

As H.C Ørsted stated.. " if a conductive material is moved in a magnetic field, a current will develop in this material.."
It's simply the way a generator works, or one of those old dynamos on a bicycle.
For those who are at younger age...yes we once had those damned things to produce electricity for our lamps on the bicycle.
Was a PITA in the wintermonths with snow

[frodo]

my wording was not correct, i said slightly magnetic when i should have said semimagnetic

[zed255]

Based on the description and wye component shown several posts from the OP, it would seem to be a similar idea to one I'm dry fitting. Unfortunately the pics in the first post don't show. Any chance the linking to the pics could be fixed or reposted?

[still_stirrin]

Based on the description and wye component shown several posts from the OP, it would seem to be a similar idea to one I'm dry fitting. Unfortunately the pics in the first post don't show. Any chance the linking to the pics could be fixed or reposted?

Ha! Keep dreaming...

This is what happens when members post on externally hosted sites. When those sites are updated, often the pictures unlink and disappear. This is one of the main reasons to resize photos and post on the HD server...they'll sustain through history that way.
ss

[zed255]

Figured as much, but just had to ask.