The official 5" Flute build...
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- Bootlegger
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The official 5" Flute build...
Alright guys and gals, i thought i would post a build thread of my current build, i am building an 8 plate 5" flute, will also be building an add on gin basket. I have been read just about every post that i could get my hands on about flutes and the different ways people build them and the problems some people encounter with doing things one way or another.
First this all started with a 2" mile high reflux and then built a 3"x48" stainless copy of a milehi but better, now its my turn. First i searched for some 4" copper pipe, if i were to buy it new it would have been bookoo bucks... well i cant have that so i began to search scrap yards etc for 4" pipe, the largest i could find was 3" and that wasnt going to cut it so i began calling around local plumbers and the 3rd shop i called said he would check and call me back, well he called me back and said no i dont have any 4" but i have an 11' piece of 5", i said how much you want for it?? He said give me an offer, well i offered him a bill and he said ok... so i picked it up and the wheels started turning.... I then went back to the scrap yards and bought every piece of pipe i need, 3" for the condensor, 2 1/2" for the sight glasses, 2" for joining the 2" elbows on top of the column, 1 1/4" for my downcomer cups, 1" for my parrot body, 3/4" for my downcomers, 1/2" for the tubes for deflag and product condensor as well as output tube.
So first thing i started building my deflag and product condensor, i decided on 19 tubes that are 1/2"x6" for the deflag, i cut out the disks and then drilled them out on the drill press, cut all of my tubes for the deflag and did a rough assembly
cad drawings of the deflag
rough assembly
and yes i know the inside of the pipes need a good cleaning
cad drawing of product condensor
still need to cut the inner tubes for it
First this all started with a 2" mile high reflux and then built a 3"x48" stainless copy of a milehi but better, now its my turn. First i searched for some 4" copper pipe, if i were to buy it new it would have been bookoo bucks... well i cant have that so i began to search scrap yards etc for 4" pipe, the largest i could find was 3" and that wasnt going to cut it so i began calling around local plumbers and the 3rd shop i called said he would check and call me back, well he called me back and said no i dont have any 4" but i have an 11' piece of 5", i said how much you want for it?? He said give me an offer, well i offered him a bill and he said ok... so i picked it up and the wheels started turning.... I then went back to the scrap yards and bought every piece of pipe i need, 3" for the condensor, 2 1/2" for the sight glasses, 2" for joining the 2" elbows on top of the column, 1 1/4" for my downcomer cups, 1" for my parrot body, 3/4" for my downcomers, 1/2" for the tubes for deflag and product condensor as well as output tube.
So first thing i started building my deflag and product condensor, i decided on 19 tubes that are 1/2"x6" for the deflag, i cut out the disks and then drilled them out on the drill press, cut all of my tubes for the deflag and did a rough assembly
cad drawings of the deflag
rough assembly
and yes i know the inside of the pipes need a good cleaning
cad drawing of product condensor
still need to cut the inner tubes for it
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- Bootlegger
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Re: The official 5" Flute build...
Next i am cutting the plates on a mill, too much time and work to drill 1600 1/16" holes by hand... these plates will be soldered in and not held in with all thread so the reflux doesnt flow down the sides
cad drawing
here is the plate assembly with 3/4" downcomers and 1 1/4" downcomer cups, plates are spaced 5 1/2" apart with j trap under the bottom plate
On the sight glasses i will be using 2.5" pipe and 2 1/2" tri clamp ferrules and will be having my local glass shop make the disks for them, i was going to go 2" but would look somewhat small on the 5"
Well i appreciate taking the time to read my post, if im doing anything wrong let me know. I will be posting updates as they come, have a nice day.
cad drawing
here is the plate assembly with 3/4" downcomers and 1 1/4" downcomer cups, plates are spaced 5 1/2" apart with j trap under the bottom plate
On the sight glasses i will be using 2.5" pipe and 2 1/2" tri clamp ferrules and will be having my local glass shop make the disks for them, i was going to go 2" but would look somewhat small on the 5"
Well i appreciate taking the time to read my post, if im doing anything wrong let me know. I will be posting updates as they come, have a nice day.
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- Bootlegger
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Re: The official 5" Flute build...
I would also like to add that i will me making my own tri clamp fittings out of 6" tri clamp caps and milling a hole the same size as the outside dimension of the 5" pipe. They do sell 5" tri clamp fittings but are about $180 each since its an odd size. I will also be making the 5" to 2" reducer on the top from a copper bowl, they want $170 for the 5-3 reducer online.... im trying to make this as cheap as possible and still look and fuction great
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Re: The official 5" Flute build...
Something to remember when building your dephlagmater and product condensers. Don't let the tubes protrude out the top plate. It should be flat if not concaved. So liquid can't pool on top of them. I made my shotgun condenser with concaved top and bottom plates. That way if any liquid is in top it will drain down the middle tube of the shotgun.
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- Bootlegger
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Re: The official 5" Flute build...
I planned on keeping the tubes flush on all plates
Re: The official 5" Flute build...
phwoah,
(sorry useless post to you but I want to follow your build)
(sorry useless post to you but I want to follow your build)
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Only this, and nothing more.'
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Re: The official 5" Flute build...
Lookin' good, Jimmy
You design it, I make it. Copper and Stainless. Down under. PM me.
Re: The official 5" Flute build...
Nice plan JJ, my hats off to you that is going to be one hell of a undertaking, best of build to you keep the pictures rollin on progress!
My popcorn is ready!
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Re: The official 5" Flute build...
Looking good JJ! keep the piccies flowing!
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Re: The official 5" Flute build...
Prairiepiss wrote:Something to remember when building your dephlagmater and product condensers. Don't let the tubes protrude out the top plate. It should be flat if not concaved. So liquid can't pool on top of them. I made my shotgun condenser with concaved top and bottom plates. That way if any liquid is in top it will drain down the middle tube of the shotgun.
my plates are concave as well but not because it was a good idea but because the fit was so tight pushing it down caused a slight bowling effect. my build is still in progress but on hold because im out of town for a month... was wondering how the concave effect worked for you ?
Just-A-Sip
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- Bootlegger
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Re: The official 5" Flute build...
I should have some machine pics and/or videos up tomorrow of making the 8 platea
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Re: The official 5" Flute build...
Has anybody here ever done a detached column for the boiler? I aquired a large copper mixing bowl and is about 20" in diameter and a hair thicker than 14 gauge, it is in very good shape and would look awesome as a boiler top, I could make a large porthole for the front as well. The body of the boiler I would make it out of some stainless sheet and have it rolled and welded into a tube and then weld a cap onto the bottom. With a boiler like this I this k it would be meet to do a detached column off to the side but I'm guessing it will complicate things tremendously. Anybody have experience with a detached column?
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- Bootlegger
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Re: The official 5" Flute build...
i know columns are detatcheable, i mean not having the column directly over the pot like this
If you look how they have this still piped it can be used as a pot still, or go through 1 9 plate column or both 9 plate columns, of course mine would be nowhere near this size lol but running the column off to the side i could pipe it like this to run it as a pot still or through the flute
If you look how they have this still piped it can be used as a pot still, or go through 1 9 plate column or both 9 plate columns, of course mine would be nowhere near this size lol but running the column off to the side i could pipe it like this to run it as a pot still or through the flute
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Re: The official 5" Flute build...
Well i got all of the plates machined today, drilled out all of the holes on a cnc mill, it took 6 drill bits and 6 hours, i did get a video while it was drilling but i had to go to work so my brother finished them up for me and i will pick them up in the morning. I stacked 4 6"x12" plates together and bolted them to a fixture to hold them in the mill, couldnt stack it 8 thick since the drill bit will only go .50" deep
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Re: The official 5" Flute build...
Well all the plates are done
fits in the 5" pipe perfectly with about .005" of clearence
i started the plate tree, the allthread will just be for holding the assembly together for assembly, i will remove the allthread once the plates are soldered in. This is just a trial fitment, i will have to take it back apart to solder the downcomers and downcomer caps and also the bottom j trap
and yes my cat wouldnt move for anything....
fits in the 5" pipe perfectly with about .005" of clearence
i started the plate tree, the allthread will just be for holding the assembly together for assembly, i will remove the allthread once the plates are soldered in. This is just a trial fitment, i will have to take it back apart to solder the downcomers and downcomer caps and also the bottom j trap
and yes my cat wouldnt move for anything....
Re: The official 5" Flute build...
Just curious, how are the interior plate soldered on flutes? Do you get to them through the sight glass hole? Or, are you just soldering the downcomers to hold it together?
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- Bootlegger
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Re: The official 5" Flute build...
the allthread will hold the spacing and position of the plates, i will slide the whole plate tree into the column and while i do this i will put rings of solder on top of each plate that fit somewhat tight along the outside paremeter of the plates then just heat up the outside of the pipe around each plate, this will be done with soft solder so i dont have to heat up the pipe so much then i will remove the allthread and plug the center holes in the platesBrewVegas wrote:Just curious, how are the interior plate soldered on flutes? Do you get to them through the sight glass hole? Or, are you just soldering the downcomers to hold it together?
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Re: The official 5" Flute build...
i need to find a pipe brush that i can put in a drill and clean the inside of the pipe for soldering the plates, any ideas?
Re: The official 5" Flute build...
You could take a wire wheel like this one:
and attached it to the bottom of your all thread and put that in your drill to reach down there...-
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Re: The official 5" Flute build...
Hey that's a great idea, I have a 4 1/2" stairs less wire brush that has 5/8" threads on it for the arbor of the grinder, I could just use a coupler and a length of 5/8" allthread and use the grinder, thanks for the idea!BrewVegas wrote:You could take a wire wheel like this one:and attached it to the bottom of your all thread and put that in your drill to reach down there...
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Re: The official 5" Flute build...
I was thinking, should I spot the column into a 5 plate and a 3 plate? I want to eventually make rum..... thoughts?
Re: The official 5" Flute build...
Personally, I bookedmarked your thread to keep learning about flutes. I read through the big flute thread, but still have a bunch of questions. I was hoping your's would be a detailed summary build! I have only been distilling for 5 months (all-grain brewing for 6 years). I have a milehigh pot still & column, but have only used the pot still so far with my rum and sweetfeed recipes. I wasn't sure how a flute could pass the flavors thru like a pot still, but it must as everying says these are the cat's pajamas!
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Re: The official 5" Flute build...
Thanks for the comments guys, as far as following my build, I will detail it as much as possible, hopefully I will get my sanitary fittings in so I can machine them for the flute
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Re: The official 5" Flute build...
SEXAAAAY!!!!
My Flute Build - http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 17&t=27709
Re: The official 5" Flute build...
WOW, looks incredible!
Just a question and it may be a stupid one.
You say you have about 0.005 clearance, could you not just solder in supports opposite the downcomers to keep the plates square and then just place the plate tree into the pipe?
If you ever wanted to make changes it would not be a solid unit and the tree easily removed.
edge.
Just a question and it may be a stupid one.
You say you have about 0.005 clearance, could you not just solder in supports opposite the downcomers to keep the plates square and then just place the plate tree into the pipe?
If you ever wanted to make changes it would not be a solid unit and the tree easily removed.
edge.
Re: The official 5" Flute build...
Yes, you could do this IF you solder the downcomer tube to the side of the cup... The center rod concept was originally for simplicity during the proof of concept stage of flute development more than any other reason, in my opinion... It has worked well so it has become the standard method of construction... The rod allows some minor experimentation as well as easing repurposing or making modifications... But there is no reason why you couldn't have a soldered monolithic plate tree without a rod down the center...edge wrote:You say you have about 0.005 clearance, could you not just solder in supports opposite the downcomers to keep the plates square and then just place the plate tree into the pipe?
If you ever wanted to make changes it would not be a solid unit and the tree easily removed.
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Re: The official 5" Flute build...
Smart cat! I want to watch too!
"yeah? yeah? the maple flavored kind?" A dog on you tube.
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Re: The official 5" Flute build...
Yeah she sure is a curious cat, especially when im taking pictures.... she always seems to find her way into them.... I picked up some stainless bits today, 9 2-1/2" tri clamp short ferrules and 9 clamps for the sight glasses and also had them order in 8 6" tri clamp caps that i will be machining into ferrules for the column, now i need cut the tubes for the sight glasses and also stick them on the lathe and enlarge the inside so the ferrule can slide into it, my tube is a type L and has a smaller inside dimension and the heating the tube/freezing the ferrule method will not work, will post up some pictures in a little bit
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Re: The official 5" Flute build...
Yeah, don't solder the plates in. Or at least, don't solder any more than the three you want for rum. You have a pretty good fit in the column at 0.005"jimmyjames1981 wrote:I was thinking, should I spot the column into a 5 plate and a 3 plate? I want to eventually make rum..... thoughts?
And, I also think those nuts are going to be a problem, well at least a pain. You could always leave the rod in there... or solder the plates you want progresivly.
Looking good
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Re: The official 5" Flute build...
I love CNC work, what type of machine did you use for your parts? Since retiring I have to make arrangements to go in and use the machines, and am looking to possibly buy one if I can justify the cost to my wife.