This is my completed still. I have not run anything through it yet
The boiler cylinder is 14.5 x 22 inches and holds about 15.7 gal. The thump keg is 10 x 18 inches and holds about 6 gal. The condenser can be attached to the boiler only or to the thump. I had 20 oz copper from a previous project to make the thumper, frustum, and pans. I bought a 24 x 36 inch sheet for the still boiler $125 shipped. The stainless fittings were about $150. The copper pipe (mostly offcuts) was free from my plumber neighbor but I purchased most of the fittings, about $80, I think. Soldering supplies were about $50 and I probably have $150 into the heating and controller.
This was my first metal working project and there is little continuity in the construction method. I made the thumper first using a lock seam and solder. With the quadrupled thickness and small diameter I had trouble forming a nice round. It was shaped like a cam (slight lobe) and was difficult to solder in the bottom pan. The top used a 4" pipe to hold the fill port ferrule and 2" couplings flanged to accomodate the pipes. It was hard to solder the the 4" pipe to copper sheet so I used a copper wire to provide a little more 'meat'.
The ferrule wouldn't fit in the 4" pipe so I split it and soldered in some wire
I flanged the couplings by heating them and forming over a lip. It took about 6 or 7 heatings to complete. Then I riveted and soldered them to the top
For the boiler I used a riveted lap seam. It resulted in a cylinder much easier to work with. I used online calculators get a frustum template; one for dimension of the solid, one for a projection to a flat surface. The differences are small but mine worked out real nice. I made a little jig to hold it circular and flat while it got riveted and soldered. This time I soldered the fill port ferrule to the frustum sheet with a copper wire interface. Much easier.
The jig can hold the boiler and frustum in a nice circle. Inverting the whole assembly allowed for a plumb level and tight fit. The holes in the jig are space to tack 4 points. Then I slid the jig off the bottom, laid a long piece of solder around the perimeter and just heated the copper until the solder flowed. It was my best and easiest joint.
The boiler cap is is a 4" pipe (true size) capped with copper plate made from a split and flattened pipe scrap. The ferrule didn't fit the 2" pipe either but a muffler pipe expander fixed it nicely. I put a connection there so one could swap out the lyne arm for a reflux column
I guess I am only allowed 6 attachments so no more pics. The rest of the plumbing is 1.5" pipe. Both vessels have drains. The heating element is 5500W. For water flow I put a 25 psi pressure regulator on the input side and a valve on the output. Somehow I misplaced a fill port cap and had to order another. That is all that is keeping me from its inaugural vinegar run.
I got a lot of good ideas from here and I wish I could give credit where due but my records aren't that detailed. Thank you for looking at my build and I wish I could show more pictures
Cheers
