5 inch copper tube

Vapor, Liquid or Cooling Management. Flutes, plates, etc.

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CoogeeBoy
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5 inch copper tube

Post by CoogeeBoy »

Anyone built with 5" copper pipe before?
I am wondering where I might get parts like reducer and ferrules.
Been offered a great piece of copper tubing about 1m long and 5" across.
Any thoughts
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RC Al
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Re: 5 inch copper tube

Post by RC Al »

Your aussie right?
Here, 5 is more than do-able but you will have a very limited range of easy add ons and ferrule/clamps available, I would use copper expanders or reducers to get to either 4" and/or 6" size at either end.
1m is enough for a bubbler, but not for a 5" reflux, An old dog style one piece would get it done on the cheap if your handy with the tools, you could cap the top and use a 2" side exit to keep it simple n cheap.

Shop around, but i find it hard to beat these guys, make your local supplier match em
https://plumbingsales.com.au/copper-tub ... tings.html
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Saltbush Bill
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Re: 5 inch copper tube

Post by Saltbush Bill »

If its cheap grab it and worry about the details later. You will find a use for it......If you cant I'll think one up for you.
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shadylane
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Re: 5 inch copper tube

Post by shadylane »

Saltbush Bill wrote: Sun Jul 25, 2021 11:21 pm If its cheap grab it and worry about the details later. You will find a use for it......If you cant I'll think one up for you.
+1 :lol:
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NZChris
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Re: 5 inch copper tube

Post by NZChris »

A fair amount of my distilling equipment is built from opportunistic finds .... buy now, think later. My steel rack has a good assortment of useful copper to choose from when I get the itch, or if a newbie needs a bit.
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Re: 5 inch copper tube

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NZChris wrote: Sun Jul 25, 2021 11:45 pm A fair amount of my distilling equipment is built from opportunistic finds .... buy now, think later. My steel rack has a good assortment of useful copper to choose from when I get the itch, or if a newbie needs a bit.
All good advice and yes, from the Lockdown state in Australia here.

I have been thinking it is too big and I will have to upsize my boiler (looking at that anyway) but I think I will take it, got a lot more copper there too so am thinking I will make a shotgun condenser while I am at it.

Was thinking about slicing it and making it into a 3" (it will be a challenge but I think I am up for it).
I really want a reflux and was hoping a simple 1m might do it. Started looking for all the ferrules and T-Clamps, 5" is a difficult one to source.

Thank you for all your input and advice.
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Bushman
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Re: 5 inch copper tube

Post by Bushman »

Agree with the above comments and will give you an example. I have a 50” stainless steel column that has a 4” diameter. I wanted a shotgun dephlagmater to fit inside the column. I bought a 4” copper pipe and cut off 6” for the length of the condenser. To get a 4” to fit inside another 4 inch I cut it down the length of the condenser, brought it together and soldered. This made it just small enough to slide inside the column. My thoughts are you can reverse the process and make something a slight bit larger and fabricate something to fit. Good luck!
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Yummyrum
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Re: 5 inch copper tube

Post by Yummyrum »

I believe Bourbon junkie on CCSC did a 5” plater .Will see if I can dig up a pic or link .
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Re: 5 inch copper tube

Post by tiramisu »

I wouldn't buy 5" new 4 or 6 are much easier to adapt but... as said above if cheap or free jump on it and make it work.
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Yummyrum
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Re: 5 inch copper tube

Post by Yummyrum »

:thumbup: Here uou Coogee . Thouht this may be of relevance to uou as its using Aussie size copper .
Some of the best Copper porn in this build topic .

http://www.coppercustomstillcomponents. ... rbonjunkie

A couple of teasers .
31393B5F-F86E-42D3-9DBE-0DAE6F2092BB.png
8FD077D7-0CB6-448C-9261-D3AE33BEEBBA.jpeg
11827780-A212-48E1-B638-5FB1941458F5.jpeg
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NZChris
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Re: 5 inch copper tube

Post by NZChris »

If you're capable of cutting it down to 3", you should be capable of using a cone template to build reducers to take it to 2" or 3", or what have you. I've found 3" in scrap yards. Give them a call and see what they've got. The 5" topped off with some 3" would be better than 3" all the way.
CoogeeBoy
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Re: 5 inch copper tube

Post by CoogeeBoy »

Yummyrum wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 1:24 pm :thumbup: Here uou Coogee . Thouht this may be of relevance to uou as its using Aussie size copper .
Some of the best Copper porn in this build topic .

http://www.coppercustomstillcomponents. ... rbonjunkie

A couple of teasers .
31393B5F-F86E-42D3-9DBE-0DAE6F2092BB.png
8FD077D7-0CB6-448C-9261-D3AE33BEEBBA.jpeg11827780-A212-48E1-B638-5FB1941458F5.jpeg
That's cruel, you're setting the bar too high there! :D
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CoogeeBoy
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Re: 5 inch copper tube

Post by CoogeeBoy »

NZChris wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 1:56 pm If you're capable of cutting it down to 3", you should be capable of using a cone template to build reducers to take it to 2" or 3", or what have you. I've found 3" in scrap yards. Give them a call and see what they've got. The 5" topped off with some 3" would be better than 3" all the way.
Great. Yes I have had a bit of metalwork experience but typically silver sheet with my jewellery hobby, made ice buckets for wedding presents and that sort of thing so I might be able to get away with it.

Thank you for your advice. Back to the scrap yard today looking for more copper lengths!
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Saltbush Bill
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Re: 5 inch copper tube

Post by Saltbush Bill »

If you can build silver jewelry and ice buckets you can build a still..even one like yummy posted..most builders here started with zero skills.
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Re: 5 inch copper tube

Post by CoogeeBoy »

Saltbush Bill wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 4:00 pm If you can build silver jewelry and ice buckets you can build a still..even one like yummy posted..most builders here started with zero skills.
Here's hoping!

And here are the parts I got today, 5", 2", 1/2 inch and something smaller that I am planning on using for my offtake spout.

Going to build a 30cm shotgun condenser and parrot first, then think of how I am going to use the 5".

I was wondering if I could knock up a small improvised copperhead or even thought about a 5" gin basket on top of a 3" column build.

Just throwing ideas around.

Hope you are all safe and well.
Copper piping.jpg
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still_stirrin
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Re: 5 inch copper tube

Post by still_stirrin »

CoogeeBoy wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 6:49 pm Going to build a 30cm shotgun condenser and parrot first…
Are you planning to use a 30cm long shotgun to knockdown the throughput from a 5” plated column? I think it will be easily over-powered. A 30cm shotgun would be adequate for a 25-35mm column powered by 1.5-2.0kW heat input.

For a large diameter column, the vapor throughput will be high (a lot of input power too) and you’ll need a longer vapor path to adequately condense to vapor. In other words, a large column will require a lot of vapor to efficiently produce reflux and the resultant product at the product condenser will also be greater.

I think more details about the shotgun (potential) design are needed to better understand your intended usage of the materials you’ve acquired.
ss

p.s. - Parrots are overrated. Good for soldering skills, but not needed to make spirits. Some here use them for stripping runs, but many don’t. Personally, I have never built or needed a parrot for my distillery.
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The Baker
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Re: 5 inch copper tube

Post by The Baker »

Nice find with the five inch tube.

I had a local man supply two-to-four inch reducers.
I expected him to order in ready-made units.
But he ordered the cones, and welded the two and four inch fittings on the ends;
apparently quite simple and normal for a tradesman.

Dunno if you can get five inch fittings but I suppose you can;
then you could get four to six inch cones or even two to six inch cones, whatever, and cut the cones off at five inches.

Or you MIGHT be able to get five inch cones (to whatever you want).
Anyway to one who is not a metalworker it all seems possible.

Geoff
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CoogeeBoy
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Re: 5 inch copper tube

Post by CoogeeBoy »

still_stirrin wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 7:33 pm
p.s. - Parrots are overrated. Good for soldering skills, but not needed to make spirits. Some here use them for stripping runs, but many don’t. Personally, I have never built or needed a parrot for my distillery.
Buggar, there goes the parrot idea then, and happily, it looked like quite a bit of fiddly work!
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CoogeeBoy
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Re: 5 inch copper tube

Post by CoogeeBoy »

Saltbush Bill wrote: Sun Jul 25, 2021 11:21 pm If its cheap grab it and worry about the details later. You will find a use for it......If you cant I'll think one up for you.
SBB
From what I can see you use a plated column but your plates are fixed in place permanently.
I have been thinking about building a modular plated column, more or less like a bubble plate column but with simple sieve style plates instead.

Might be a little more complicated, maybe too much work.

The reason behind my thoughts are pretty much the idea of simplifying the cleaning, I was wondering how you would clean yours other than a vinegar run and then steam clean.

Would you mind sharing your thoughts?
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Saltbush Bill
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Re: 5 inch copper tube

Post by Saltbush Bill »

i rarely clean or need to clean the modular sections or plates. The plates are soldered in....one section with one plate...2 sections with 2 plates.
Cleaning when need be is quick and easy..
..half hour soak in hot dunder or backset, then a quick rinse under the garden hose......nothing more required.
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Saltbush Bill
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Re: 5 inch copper tube

Post by Saltbush Bill »

Coogee if your looking for copper fittings try this Mob, A few builders I know swear by them for price and reliability. They have a good selection of stuff.
https://plumbingsales.com.au/copper-tub ... tings.html
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Ben
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Re: 5 inch copper tube

Post by Ben »

I don't know if Australia is the same as the US in this respect but 5" is real common semi truck exhaust size stuff. You can source 304ss reducers that way and either braze or silver solder them to the copper.
:)
CoogeeBoy
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Re: 5 inch copper tube

Post by CoogeeBoy »

Ben wrote: Mon Oct 04, 2021 6:36 am I don't know if Australia is the same as the US in this respect but 5" is real common semi truck exhaust size stuff. You can source 304ss reducers that way and either braze or silver solder them to the copper.
Saltbush Bill wrote: Mon Oct 04, 2021 2:54 am

Great and thank you both for your advice.

As you can gather, I'm "still" in the concept phase. (I love being a Dad)
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Yummyrum
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Re: 5 inch copper tube

Post by Yummyrum »

Saltbush Bill wrote: Mon Oct 04, 2021 2:54 am Coogee if your looking for copper fittings try this Mob, A few builders I know swear by them for price and reliability. They have a good selection of stuff.
https://plumbingsales.com.au/copper-tub ... tings.html
Whoo , didn’t know about that one Salty , :thumbup: I’ve just got to get into the modern world of online shopping and no more embarressing … and expensive … trips to Reeces or Tradelink
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Saltbush Bill
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Re: 5 inch copper tube

Post by Saltbush Bill »

Yup lots and lots cheaper Yummy. I'd rather put a Taipan in my pocket than deal with Reece.
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Re: 5 inch copper tube

Post by Sporacle »

I don't know how you could afford to buy stuff from Reece and the trade price is still crook, SE cnr Samios are pretty good if you need to grab something quick, otherwise Plumbingsales as Salty said, cheap and reliable
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