What if you couldn’t see your bubble plates?

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

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Gonzo_distills
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What if you couldn’t see your bubble plates?

Post by Gonzo_distills »

Long story short here is flatened 2” pipe run through the mill and lathe. The rest are self explanatory bits. The assembly is bound by 1/4” tubing and the whole thing slides down into a 36” column with stops 6” above the connection to the pot. Stripping runs are done without it slid in and spirit runs with. Helps to put a half handful of beads in each level as it goes in. Consistently runs very high proof.
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Yummyrum
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Re: What if you couldn’t see your bubble plates?

Post by Yummyrum »

Can you call it a bubble plate if you can’t see the perforated plates bubbling :ewink:

Guessing its a 2” column .
Do you run a deflagmator or some other reflux still head above it ?

How does it taste ? There have been mixed reports from people with 2” plated stills . The majority have reported the spirit was horrible , only a few reconded it was OK .

I think your plate spacing looks good for a 2”
Is it an illusion though, because the top one looks closer.
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Re: What if you couldn’t see your bubble plates?

Post by Saltbush Bill »

Gonzo_distills wrote: Sat Jan 22, 2022 6:42 pm . Consistently runs very high proof.
What are you calling high proof?
Do the plates seal tight in the column, "minimal gaps" in the photo some look a wee bit wonky like they may not.
At what point does a perf plate become just a platform to hold up the beads.....if it's got beads stacked on top?
What are these beads you use?
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Re: What if you couldn’t see your bubble plates?

Post by Gonzo_distills »

Yes it s a 2”.

I use this one just for neutral spirits now and I don’t notice any off putting flavors. When I built it 6 or so years ago I ran several 50/50 corn/barley batches and it always had consistently good flavor and alcohol output. I have a very odd and have been told “that won’t work” deflagmation that works by wrapping the top of the column and solidly soldering on several feet of 1/4 “ copper line…

:clap: This is why I am here! :clap: I was considering getting a couple copper ferrules and remake the column with ferrules on both ends so that I could put a stainless tee and 6” spool on top to use my 25’ reflux coil from one of my other columns.

They aren’t quite perfectly spaced. Bit of fiddling to get they whole thing assembled.
Yummyrum wrote: Sat Jan 22, 2022 9:40 pm Can you call it a bubble plate if you can’t see the perforated plates bubbling :ewink:

Guessing its a 2” column .
Do you run a deflagmator or some other reflux still head above it ?

How does it taste ? There have been mixed reports from people with 2” plated stills . The majority have reported the spirit was horrible , only a few reconded it was OK .

I think your plate spacing looks good for a 2”
Is it an illusion though, because the top one looks closer.
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Re: What if you couldn’t see your bubble plates?

Post by Gonzo_distills »

I have run hearts at a steady 95% abv.

It is mill tolerance tight and actually requires a couple 1/4 rotations left and right to get it in.

I think that is a very good question about just being perforated plates that hold *ceramic* beads. I don’t know enough about the effects chemically to answer that question honestly.
Saltbush Bill wrote: Sat Jan 22, 2022 10:08 pm
Gonzo_distills wrote: Sat Jan 22, 2022 6:42 pm . Consistently runs very high proof.
What are you calling high proof?
Do the plates seal tight in the column, "minimal gaps" in the photo some look a wee bit wonky like they may not.
At what point does a perf plate become just a platform to hold up the beads.....if it's got beads stacked on top?
What are these beads you use?
Last edited by Gonzo_distills on Sun Jan 23, 2022 5:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: What if you couldn’t see your bubble plates?

Post by Gonzo_distills »

I have 20 or so feet of 2” copper and I really like my clever “bubble plate” I built several years ago. I am just deciding if it is worth making it a new column to rest in that has a “proper” reflux and not the rudimentary, all be it effective, setup I currently have for these plates.
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Re: What if you couldn’t see your bubble plates?

Post by Setsumi »

My first flute only had a sight glass on the top plate but i could see after the run the boil line on the other plates on the column wall. And the abv told the plates worked. Judging the energy input correct was a bit more tough but i did get it dailed in.

If you can pull 95% at a decent rate you do not need anything else. I sure can not do that on my 4" 5 perf or caps...
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Re: What if you couldn’t see your bubble plates?

Post by Gonzo_distills »

I may post a picture of the column… I don’t care for shitty judgmental comments I get on it. So many guys throw there hands up and say “That won’t work!” or “You can’t call that!” The truth of the matter is it was an experiment done while mucking about with a friend in his machine shop. It worked great for a year and then after a letter from “the man” it got wrapped up in poly plastic and buried behind the shed. I recently recovered it and it has the most beautiful patina on the exterior that I dare not clean. I have done two citric acid solution soaks and it is pristine inside. I pitched some of the Devil’s turbo junk for a sacrificial run so I can use her again. The patina is so nice I just want to display her when friends come over to hang while it’s running.

I can also accept that it may need to be dedicated to stripping runs and just enjoy its form over function.
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Re: What if you couldn’t see your bubble plates?

Post by Oatmeal »

Patina over shiny all day!
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Re: What if you couldn’t see your bubble plates?

Post by greggn »

Gonzo_distills wrote: Sun Jan 23, 2022 6:11 am It worked great for a year and then after a letter from “the man” it got wrapped up in poly plastic and buried behind the shed.

Hey, that sounds like a good story wanting to be told !
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Re: What if you couldn’t see your bubble plates?

Post by Gonzo_distills »

Not much of a story. Basically the letter stated that it It had come to their attention that I may have been involved in… Here is the law that says that activity in unlawful. This is your warning we would prefer to not hear your name again.
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Re: What if you couldn’t see your bubble plates?

Post by Chauncey »

Just skimmed this cuz I'm at work but if you're adding ceramic beads or whatever the plates are probably useless you could pack the whole thing
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Re: What if you couldn’t see your bubble plates?

Post by Gonzo_distills »

Chauncey wrote: Sun Jan 23, 2022 7:05 am Just skimmed this cuz I'm at work but if you're adding ceramic beads or whatever the plates are probably useless you could pack the whole thing
I would love to try this but I don’t want to buy that many beads!
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Re: What if you couldn’t see your bubble plates?

Post by Gonzo_distills »

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Oatmeal wrote: Sun Jan 23, 2022 6:28 am Patina over shiny all day!
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