Shotgun Question ? ? ?

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NineInchNails

Shotgun Question ? ? ?

Post by NineInchNails »

I'm finalizing a design for a 2" Pot still on a 7.5 gal pony keg that can run two 120V elements or a single 240V element. I'm trying to keep this 'modular' & as versatile as I can. Here's my question ... if I make a 2" approx 24" long shotgun with five 1/2" tubes, it should work fine for my 240V 5500W element, but would it cause any issues when running two 120V elements? I know it would be overkill for 240V, but any reason why one shotgun couldn't work for both?

I already have a 3" pot still as well as a 3" VM still. I'd just like to use this shotgun for the 3" pot still as well as my 2" pot still regardless whether I'm running 120V or 240V. My gut is telling me it would be fine, but would just have to reduce the water flow when running 120V. >corrected<
Last edited by NineInchNails on Sat May 30, 2020 12:15 pm, edited 2 times in total.
zapata
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Re: Shotgun Question ? ? ?

Post by zapata »

The only problem from "too big of a condenser" is that you used more materials than needed to. You could use a 10 foot long condenser with no real detriment.

Just out of curiosity, if you already have a 3" pot still, why build a 2" pot still? Any theoretical difference between a 2" riser and a 3" riser is practically imperceptible. You do mention the relatively small boiler, so I'll throw out there that a 3" riser works just as well on a pony keg as it does on a full keg.
I'd just like to use this shotgun for the 3" pot still as well as my 2" pot still regardless whether I'm running 120V or 240V.
It's not quite clear that you understand, so I'll throw out there that voltage is irrelevant to condensers, they only see the power (watts). You specified power for 240v of 5500 watts, but not for 120v. But this sounds like an American electricity setup, so since you said two 120v elements can I assume they are 1500 - 2000 watts each for a total power of 3,000 to 4,000 watts? If so what you're effectively asking is if a condenser that can handle 5500 watts can still be used when reducing the power by ~ 30%. And the answer is of course. Stripping at 5500 watts and a spirit run at 3-4,000 watts on the exact same setup is probably very common, I know I have done it.
My gut is telling me it would be fine, but would just have to reduce the water flow when running 240V.
Is that a typo? Again voltage is irrelevant, but assuming you would run higher wattage on 240v then you would likely need to INCREASE the water flow, everything else being equal. A moot point since a 24" shotgun shouldn't use much water in any case.
NineInchNails

Re: Shotgun Question ? ? ?

Post by NineInchNails »

Thanks for the reply. Yes that was a typo. I meant to say 120V not 240. I assume that I'd have to reduce the water flow running two 120V elements.

Yes US electricity. I would likely be running two 1,650W 120V foldback elements (one on a controller) or one of my 5,500W 240V elements (with controller).

The main reason I'm putting together a 2" pot head is because the pony keg has a 2" connection, my 3" pot is quite heavy (all SS Tri-Clamp construction), don't feel like reducing 3" down to 2", I'm bored, need a little project and the cost isn't that much. I'm also putting together a 2" Boka so if I'm going to be buying 10' of 2" copper pipe ... might as well put the extra few feet to use. I just think that the copper pot head would be smaller, lighter and more convenient.
Last edited by NineInchNails on Sat May 30, 2020 12:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
seabass
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Re: Shotgun Question ? ? ?

Post by seabass »

Only issue I have with running my shotgun with very little power is using too much water. With a ball valve, I find it difficult to regulate the water with a decent heat gradient. Maybe a needle valve would work better. It's really not much of an issue though.
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Bushman
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Re: Shotgun Question ? ? ?

Post by Bushman »

seabass wrote: Sat May 30, 2020 12:27 pm Only issue I have with running my shotgun with very little power is using too much water. With a ball valve, I find it difficult to regulate the water with a decent heat gradient. Maybe a needle valve would work better. It's really not much of an issue though.
I use a ball valve and it just takes some practice. Very little movement on the valve and wait a few minutes for it to adjust as it is easy to way up or way down.
NineInchNails

Re: Shotgun Question ? ? ?

Post by NineInchNails »

I initially planned on using a needle valve. Haven't settled on what size yet.
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