Home Distiller

Well the answer is , yes you can. I gave it a try today and it works well and is a very strong connection. As stated in an earlier post 2% thoriated tungsten works well . I have 2% ceriated at work and it works well. Used DCEN and a 60 degree sharp point on the tip. Had to keep more of the heat on ...

It can definately be done to join copper with stainless. I've used 2% thoriated tungsten with success. My concern is if it is safe in this siutation. I'd think it's if copper and tin then it's probably just as safe as the lead free plumbing solder we all use on copper fittings.

I received my shipment of stainless ferrules and need to connect them with my copper pipe. Been reading tutorials on silver soldering them and sounds like it's kind of a pain in the butt. I've got a tig welder and I've seen people tig braze stainless to copper using silicon bronze filler rods. has a...

jedneck wrote:At the scale of a hobby still I don't think it makes a differance. A 1/2 inch ninty is a lot cheaper than a 1 1/2.

Thanks. Kinda what I figured but wanted to make sure.

I'm putting together a pot still with 1.5" copper riser and a 3/4" liebig. Curious as to whether I should neck down the riser with a 1.5"-0.5" reducer prior to turning 90 degrees or would the still perform better if I used a 1.5" 90 and then necked down to 0.5" on the t...

What if I went single coil with straight down tube but made it 10" long to make up for the lack of inner coil surface area? The length of the finished coil is really irrelevant to its cooling power. The critical factor is surface area, which is a function of the tubing length, regardless of it...

What if I went single coil with straight down tube but made it 10" long to make up for the lack of inner coil surface area?

rad14701 wrote:I wrote a single and double helix Condenser Coil Calculator that should help...

Thanks I'll check it out.

First, I'll be surprised if you can wind it tight enough to get a double coil into a 1 1/2 inch pipe. I'd go with a single coil and return tube up the center. Second, condensers need to be sized to the heat input rather than column size. I'd prolly use about 10 ft for 2kw. More if you have more pow...

I picked up 20' of 1/4" copper tubing and plan to make a double helix coil for my 1.5" bokakob build. Curious as to how much of this it will take to build the coil. I think I read that a coil for a 2 inch bokakob required around 8-10' so I'd suspect mine will be a little less due to the sm...

bearriver wrote:For $17 I think it's a total waste of time to keep looking. Just buy the damned valve and make some hooch! There are other, better ways to save money.

My Bok is gonna be 1.5" since it's what I currently have on hand. You think 1/2" is too large for a 1.5"?

Amazing that the 1/2" is $17 shipped but the cheapest I see a 1/4" is $33 shipped. New valves are at least $65 outside of ebay. Can't believe how expensive these little buggers are. Had anyone tried one of these Chinese valves. http://m.ebay.com/itm/281486774240" onclick="window....

Thanks. Back to the brass valves. These types are very common for use on things like ice makers. Is lead not a concern with water or does it become more of a concern with higher temperature ethanol?

You are going to get differing replies on this one, ultimately, it's up to you. I personally would use it, if there is nothing else available. I'd also up the size to 3/8". Pickling wouldn't hurt, but I've had a nagging suspicion that pickling doesn't do much of anything; more of a "feel ...

I'm looking to source a 1/4" needle valve for a Boka build and was thinking of ordering from Plumbingsupply.com I know stainless is the best but is very hard to find and expensive. Plubbingsupply.com has a couple of different brass valves that will work with one labeled "Lead Free". I...

I cleaned some of the pipe this evening. The exterior paint came off easy as it was that dry lok paint people use on their basement walls. I used a paint scraper and it flaked right off. I rubbed the pipe down with steel wool and shined it right up. I only spent a short time on the inside of the pip...

Sorry T-Pee. Didn't mean to take your thread that far off topic.

Better yes, but there is no need for minute adjustment of the water flow through a VM or LM...in a VM or LM reflux coil you are always condensing 100% of the vapor...never a percentage. In a CM you are sometimes condensing 100% and other times a varying percent, thus the need for finer cooling cont...

Jedneck made a column from old shit pipe. Might ask him how he got it clean. Personally I think its a great score. I would absolutely use it after a manual scrubbing with acid, then detergent, then the standard series of cleaning runs that should be performed on any still. Haha! Just for the sake o...

I have a house that was built in the 40's. All of the supply lines are 1/2" copper and up until recently many of the DWV lines were 1.5" copper. We did some remodeling in my basement and had to change a lot of the DWV lines around so I used 2" PVC instead due to costs. I kept the copp...

What you've drawn isn't terrible and would make ethanol...it is a reasonable column with a few defects. You effectively have drawn a VM column with 1:1 reflux and no control to change it. You can add a valve ($$) to the takeoff port or make the reflux coil longer (it becomes the valve for free) and...

What you've drawn isn't terrible and would make ethanol...it is a reasonable column with a few defects. You effectively have drawn a VM column with 1:1 reflux and no control to change it. You can add a valve ($$) to the takeoff port or make the reflux coil longer (it becomes the valve for free) and...

Thanks. I sat down and sketched out this ghetto style drawing and I'd like your opinions. It's not to scale but I tried to show lengths when possible. I'm thinking of building something in this style but I have some questions and I've labeled them A, and C. First off I envision using 2" copper ...

I'm contemplating a CM reflux setup. What advantage does your "coldfinger" have over a standard coil that's double wrapped? A double wrapped coil similar to what you'd use in a Bok would seem to work even better due to increased surface area. At least that's what I was planning. With a nee...

I've read lots of discussions here concerning CM stills and jacked columns vs through tube designs. It sounds like jacketed column is superior to the through tube but I haven't seen a good description how to build one. Building a through tube seems like it would be easier and I can draw one out on p...

I'm pretty greedy. I want both reflux and pot still. But at the same time I'm pretty frugal. I don't mind investing in a still but if I can get an all purpose in it them all for it. I'm leaning heavily toward a CM still because I feel like it is the reflux still that can do the best job doubling as ...

A modern CM still certainly sounds good and can be run in true pot mode. I am extremely open to it and would like to see some schematics of what you guys generally think would be the best CM still to build. There are some really nice guides out there on building Pot still and Bok's but haven't come ...

http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=49922 This was my first design. Went 40 inches packed and 36" Liebig. RC is corrugated SS line, 60" of 1/2". Made the tail slightly longer, pointed and angled towards the wall opposite the takeoff. All connected with easy flange...

I don't think it ever gets to 1:1. That would be the theoretical lowest ratio and we all know how theory and reality work. I do pull moderate flavor with the coil all the way up. Not as much as if I ran it in pot mode but enough fir my tastes. I also like how the reflux makes cuts easier and more d...

Pull the coil out, cap it, now you got a pot with some packing that wont do much. I understand how the ccvm still can be used as a pot still by removing the upper condensor and capping. condensation would occur in an attached liebig or graham condensor. What I was curious about is operation in refl...