Goofy things I do

Post your builds here.

Moderator: Site Moderator

User avatar
cranky
Master of Distillation
Posts: 6505
Joined: Fri Sep 27, 2013 3:18 pm
Location: Pacific Northwest

Re: Goofy things I do

Post by cranky »

cob wrote: Wed Mar 23, 2022 10:11 pm Ten days of quiet meditation. :lol:
What can I say, I needed to take my mind off of other things and stay away from people so some quiet meditation was in order :crazy:
User avatar
subbrew
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 1275
Joined: Thu Jan 21, 2021 1:40 pm
Location: West of the Mississippi

Re: Goofy things I do

Post by subbrew »

cranky wrote: Thu Mar 24, 2022 11:11 am

Now my only projects are installing a new radiator in my truck and seeing if I can reinforce the door on my mailbox to see if I can make it much more difficult to pry open. Tuesday someone used a pry bar to pry open my mailbox and bent the crap out of it so now I need to see if I can prevent that in the future.
Have to make sure you hook it up after the mailman is home, but if you insulate that box and hook it to 110v it will provide entertainment.
The Baker
Master of Distillation
Posts: 4659
Joined: Sun Aug 27, 2006 4:48 am
Location: Northern Victoria, Australia

Re: Goofy things I do

Post by The Baker »

if you insulate that box and hook it to 110v it will provide entertainment.

An electric fencing unit would be just as much fun...

Geoff
The Baker
cob
Master of Distillation
Posts: 2691
Joined: Sun Jul 26, 2009 4:38 pm
Location: little puffs of dust where my feet used to be

Re: Goofy things I do

Post by cob »

Many years ago I lived in a small trailer on private property and had

trouble with unlawfull entry. Until I wired a model A coil to the skin. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
be water my friend
User avatar
Saltbush Bill
Site Mod
Posts: 9675
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2011 2:13 am
Location: Northern NSW Australia

Re: Goofy things I do

Post by Saltbush Bill »

Those old coils sure do throw a spark and give you a fair shake up if your on the wrong end of one.
Years ago in the north of Australia they were used to make home made cattle prods.
Had to use them sparingly as to much could drop a full grown scrub bull to his knees.
OtisT
Master of Distillation
Posts: 3179
Joined: Sat Oct 24, 2015 11:59 am
Location: Pacific Northwest

Re: Goofy things I do

Post by OtisT »

I remember having a mini coil that would give a gentle shot to folks and I had a lot of fun with it. It came out of what we called a “TV Clicker”. That was a 70s version of a TV remote. Had 4 buttons, and each on took a hard/long push followed by a loud click that generated the charge. Fun with electronics. :-).
Otis’ Pot and Thumper, Dimroth Condenser: Pot-n-Thumper/Dimroth
Learning to Toast: Toasting Wood
Polishing Spirits with Fruitwood: Fruitwood
Badmotivator’s Barrels: Badmo Barrels
User avatar
cranky
Master of Distillation
Posts: 6505
Joined: Fri Sep 27, 2013 3:18 pm
Location: Pacific Northwest

Re: Goofy things I do

Post by cranky »

Mrs Cranky has had a great idea for the mail thieves :D Make the mailbox open at the back to get the mail out then because the box has an outer and inner door put a plate inside behind the inner door, make the back open to get the mail out then rig it so it has an air powered glitter cannon that fires when the inner door is opened, so when they pry it open again they get a face full of glitter and possibly an alarm goes off :mrgreen:
User avatar
Deplorable
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 3984
Joined: Thu Jun 25, 2020 12:10 pm
Location: In the East, (IYKYK)

Re: Goofy things I do

Post by Deplorable »

Booby traps are illegal here😕
But stealing mail is too...
Fear and ridicule are the tactics of weak-minded cowards and tyrants who have no other leadership talent from which to draw in order to persuade.
User avatar
cranky
Master of Distillation
Posts: 6505
Joined: Fri Sep 27, 2013 3:18 pm
Location: Pacific Northwest

Re: Goofy things I do

Post by cranky »

Deplorable wrote: Thu Mar 31, 2022 4:21 pm Booby traps are illegal here😕
But stealing mail is too...
I don't think a glitter bomb would be considered a harmful booby trap :problem:
User avatar
Saltbush Bill
Site Mod
Posts: 9675
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2011 2:13 am
Location: Northern NSW Australia

Re: Goofy things I do

Post by Saltbush Bill »

Dog shit might make a better bombing projectile than glitter. .............I have no time for thieves and never will have.
User avatar
cranky
Master of Distillation
Posts: 6505
Joined: Fri Sep 27, 2013 3:18 pm
Location: Pacific Northwest

Re: Goofy things I do

Post by cranky »

After much thought I have decided I don't like my new shotgun condenser. I'm unhappy with the amount of solder on it...So, since I have enough materials on hand to make another one I have decided to do just that, only this time I will not be soldering it at all. It will only be welded and if it leaks it will be fixed by welding, rather than soldering.

With that thought I began working on the new one today.

To begin I took the remaining 1.5" pipe I have, cut a piece off of it that was 2.5" long, another that was 1.75" long and made a single cut in each of them. I then cut a third one that was 1.5" which I cut in half, these will be saddles for the inlet and outlet cooling water pipes. Then a forth that was 1/4". The remaining pipe will determine how long the condenser is. I didn't measure but it is pretty long and it's going to be a whole lot of overkill.

I then unrolled 3 pieces of 1/2" tubing a little longer than the 1.5 pipe and straightened them out as best as I could. They aren't perfectly straight but they are straight to look through them and see the wall so I think they will be straight enough.

I then annealed the pieced I had cut off and flattened the 2.5" and 1.75" pieces. I then marked them for holes and cut them into individual pieces. This gave me 5 pieces that the tubing will go through. I then drilled 3 holes in each.

This was all pretty much just like I did on the previous condenser but on one piece the drill bit grabbed and twisted it up.so I don't think I'm going to use that one, which laves me with 4.

I then ground down 3 of them to fit inside the 1.5" pipe. One will be the lower cap, the other two will be the inside spacers which I ground away about half of. The top cap will be welded to the pipe and serve as the clamping flange so it wasn't ground down, that will come after all the welding is done.

Next I annealed one end of the pipe and hammered a flange out of it which will later be welded to the top cap and also serve for clamping.

Since this has all pretty much already been shown I didn't take any pictures of the process, but here is one of all the components showing the point I'm at right now.
S.G CONDENSER 30 APR 22 - C.JPG
I'm not sure how fast this project is going to go, not that I'm in a hurry, but life has been very busy and days I will be able to work on it are pretty limited...and I'm in no hurry, it's not like I need another condenser, I just think it would be cool to have one that is TIG welded rather than soldered :crazy:
User avatar
EricTheRed
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 1108
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2021 10:49 pm
Location: South Africa

Re: Goofy things I do

Post by EricTheRed »

Nice.
That's a long shotty.
How much power will it be able to knock down?
My fekking eyes are bleeding! Installed BS Filters - better! :D
Life has gotten interesting!
User avatar
cranky
Master of Distillation
Posts: 6505
Joined: Fri Sep 27, 2013 3:18 pm
Location: Pacific Northwest

Re: Goofy things I do

Post by cranky »

EricTheRed wrote: Sat Apr 30, 2022 10:28 pm Nice.
That's a long shotty.
How much power will it be able to knock down?
I have no idea :roll: I know some people get into all the calculations and stuff about that but I don't really care to try to figure it out. All I really care is that it knocks down whatever my 5500 W element can throw at it, which I'm sure it will since my 36" liebig does. I think this is a little longer than the liebig and will have 3 tubes so it should be capable of handle a whole lot of power :D
User avatar
EricTheRed
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 1108
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2021 10:49 pm
Location: South Africa

Re: Goofy things I do

Post by EricTheRed »

👍
Nice
My fekking eyes are bleeding! Installed BS Filters - better! :D
Life has gotten interesting!
User avatar
Saltbush Bill
Site Mod
Posts: 9675
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2011 2:13 am
Location: Northern NSW Australia

Re: Goofy things I do

Post by Saltbush Bill »

You use the same calculations that I do when building condencers Cranky :thumbup:
User avatar
cranky
Master of Distillation
Posts: 6505
Joined: Fri Sep 27, 2013 3:18 pm
Location: Pacific Northwest

Re: Goofy things I do

Post by cranky »

I sort of measured it today and it should wind up somewhere around 42", maybe 43" long.
StillerBoy
Master of Distillation
Posts: 3387
Joined: Thu Dec 01, 2016 6:27 pm
Location: Ontario

Re: Goofy things I do

Post by StillerBoy »

Should knock down 5500w at 42"
I've made one a few yrs back at 22" with 3 - 3/8" within a 1" tubes and 5 baffles, and works fine at 3500w..

Mars
DSC019761.jpg
" I know quite certainly that I myself have no special talent. Curiosity, Obsession and dogged endurance, combined with self-criticism, have brought me to my knowledge and understanding "

– Albert Einstein
User avatar
cranky
Master of Distillation
Posts: 6505
Joined: Fri Sep 27, 2013 3:18 pm
Location: Pacific Northwest

Re: Goofy things I do

Post by cranky »

Saltbush Bill wrote: Sun May 01, 2022 1:32 pm You use the same calculations that I do when building condencers Cranky :thumbup:
I think we often tend to do things the same way. I see some people get all anal and obsessive about having exactly the perfect amount of this or that but I don't really see the point in over complicating things... :problem: ... OK so before everybody points out my flute made out of beer mugs...or my double dimroth, also made out of beer mugs...or the fact that TIG welding a copper condenser could be considered over complicating things... or probably a lot of other things in this and some other threads thread :think: Maybe I do have a tendency to over complicate things a little bit :roll: but measuring and calculating isn't part of that :crazy:
StillerBoy wrote: Sun May 01, 2022 4:51 pm Should knock down 5500w at 42"
I've made one a few yrs back at 22" with 3 - 3/8" within a 1" tubes and 5 baffles, and works fine at 3500w..

Mars
DSC019761.jpg
Back in 2015 when I started this thread I made a 20" shotgun that is a similar design to this. Three 1/2" O.D tubes (I think that's 7/16" I
D. ) inside a 20" long 1.5" tube. It does a fine job when I run the reflux stuff but don't think it could knock down 5500 W...that isn't to say I couldn't add my short liebig to it, which I can.

Thinking about it... :problem: ... I have a 36" liebig, a short(ish) liebig, that is somewhere around 20", a 20" shotgun, a double dimroth, and the 36" shotgun I made a few weeks ago...Do I really need another condenser?

:think: ...Yes...yes I do :mrgreen:
User avatar
shadylane
Master of Distillation
Posts: 10363
Joined: Sat Oct 27, 2007 11:54 pm
Location: Hiding In the Boiler room of the Insane asylum

Re: Goofy things I do

Post by shadylane »

I've built a 3 barreled shotty also. It's my favorite PC for stripping.
1.5" x 30" jacket and 1/2" ID tubes.
The goofy stuff I've built is mostly plated stills. I seldom even use them now.
DSCF0028 (800x600).jpg
DSCF0028 (800x600).jpg (12.69 KiB) Viewed 955 times

Here's the simplest PC I've built.
Works good knocking down 1,500w
DSCF0066.JPG
User avatar
shadylane
Master of Distillation
Posts: 10363
Joined: Sat Oct 27, 2007 11:54 pm
Location: Hiding In the Boiler room of the Insane asylum

Re: Goofy things I do

Post by shadylane »

Here's one of those wasted time experiments. :lol:
Sieve plates made from SS mesh

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=67374
User avatar
cranky
Master of Distillation
Posts: 6505
Joined: Fri Sep 27, 2013 3:18 pm
Location: Pacific Northwest

Re: Goofy things I do

Post by cranky »

Yesterday I found my bucket of random bits of leftover copper so I took a few pieces and figured I'd make some more baffles our of them.

I'm not really a huge believer in the necessity of baffles, in fact I largely believe it just over complicates the build but this build is already way over complicated so I figured what the hell.

I now have 6 baffles ready to go.
S.G. 06 MAY 22 #1 - C.JPG
I also drilled and expanded the holes for the saddle pieces.
S.G. 06 MAY 22 #4 - C.JPG
S.G. 06 MAY 22 #3 - C.JPG
S.G. 06 MAY 22 #2 - C.JPG
That piece of copper pipe is old and badly corroded. When I took a close look in preparation to clean then enough to TIG weld them I realized the wall thickness is greatly reduced and far thinner than I feel comfortable with but that is all I have. :problem: ...So...on my way home from work I stopped at Lowe's, unsupervised :shh: and spent $25 on a stick of 1/2" L copper pipe. I hated doing it because I didn't want to put any money into this but I don't want a pipe failing or to have to resort to soldering. Of course Lowe's didn't have any short pieces, only full sticks but that's ok, the leftovers will just get added to the pile of pipes I already have and $25 for a 40" shotgun condenser is probably a bargain in most peoples eyes.

I'm hoping to actually begin welding some parts together tomorrow but the TIG welder is almost out of gas so I don't know how much I will be able to get done but again, I'm in no hurry.
User avatar
cranky
Master of Distillation
Posts: 6505
Joined: Fri Sep 27, 2013 3:18 pm
Location: Pacific Northwest

Re: Goofy things I do

Post by cranky »

Although I didn't have much time today I still managed to make a little bit of progress.

Since the shielding gas is almost empty I am trying to plan everything so I use as little as I absolutely have to. My goal was basically just to get the pipes welded into the saddles and the saddles shaped, so that is what I started on. Since I bought a new stick of pipe yesterday I cut a couple of pieces off of it which are considerably thicker and much cleaner than the pipe I had. I then flared them slightly so they fit snugly into the tapered part of the saddles. Then I cleaned everything real good and began welding. It actually went quite well until I broke the cardinal rule of not trying to push it. I knew I should have stopped but there was just a tiny bit to go and I decided it would be ok to finish it up in one go.

I was wrong :( Just as I reached the end I had a really bad blowout.
S.G. 07 MAY 22 #9 - C.jpg
Which ruined the part. So I had to cut another 2 inches off the end of the 1.5" pipe and make a new saddle. So the overall length is going to be a couple inches shorter but the new saddle welded up real nicely :D
S.G. 07 MAY 22 #6 - C.jpg
S.G. 07 MAY 22 #8 - C.jpg
I then made another mistake because I wanted to take pictured of the finished welds and sandblasted the parts before shaping them and fitting them to the 1.5" jacket. Sandblasting hardens the copper making forming much harder. But I got the forming done and trimmed them up, although I think I'm going to be trimming some more because leaving the saddles big only serves to waste shielding gas that I can't spare.
S.G. 07 MAY 22 #4 - C.jpg
S.G. 07 MAY 22 #5 - C.jpg
Then I decided it might be a good idea to go ahead and weld the 3 tubes to the top plate.

That went extremely well
S.G. 07 MAY 22 #3 - C.jpg
Then I decided I could fit the baffles and see what I thought. This might make inserting the tubes into the 1.5 difficult but I think this thing might just work out :D

That's when I ran out of time and I doubt I will get much more done before next Saturday but we'll see.
User avatar
shadylane
Master of Distillation
Posts: 10363
Joined: Sat Oct 27, 2007 11:54 pm
Location: Hiding In the Boiler room of the Insane asylum

Re: Goofy things I do

Post by shadylane »

Just a thought Cranky.
A while back I made shotgun Dephleg and tig welded the tubes to the end plates.
The copper tubes cracked about a 1/4" from the welds. :oops:
User avatar
cranky
Master of Distillation
Posts: 6505
Joined: Fri Sep 27, 2013 3:18 pm
Location: Pacific Northwest

Re: Goofy things I do

Post by cranky »

shadylane wrote: Sat May 07, 2022 5:38 pm Just a thought Cranky.
A while back I made shotgun Dephleg and tig welded the tubes to the end plates.
The copper tubes cracked about a 1/4" from the welds. :oops:
I wonder why?

How soon after welding did they crack? Was it during use or before?

Were the tubes annealed?

I guess we will see how mine goes but the tubes are all soft copper, not hardened so hopefully that won't be an issue. If it is it's a learning experience and I'm only out $25 plus I could always shorten it a little and solder it all in place so no biggie.
User avatar
shadylane
Master of Distillation
Posts: 10363
Joined: Sat Oct 27, 2007 11:54 pm
Location: Hiding In the Boiler room of the Insane asylum

Re: Goofy things I do

Post by shadylane »

I think the cracking was from thermal stress.
It was on this build, the problem started on page 1 scroll halfway down.



viewtopic.php?f=50&t=57949
User avatar
cranky
Master of Distillation
Posts: 6505
Joined: Fri Sep 27, 2013 3:18 pm
Location: Pacific Northwest

Re: Goofy things I do

Post by cranky »

shadylane wrote: Sun May 08, 2022 11:58 am I think the cracking was from thermal stress.
It was on this build, the problem started on page 1 scroll halfway down.



viewtopic.php?f=50&t=57949
I like those kinds of builds :D and who knows, maybe I'll have the same kinds of problems but like I said, I can always shorten it a little and solder it.
User avatar
cranky
Master of Distillation
Posts: 6505
Joined: Fri Sep 27, 2013 3:18 pm
Location: Pacific Northwest

Re: Goofy things I do

Post by cranky »

Today I got a lot more done than I expected... In fact it is largely all done.

I began the day by soldering the baffles on.
S.G. 07 MAY 22 #1 - Copy.JPG
Then a quick fit check and it was fine so I drilled the holes in the 1.5" pipe and proceeded to weld the saddles on.

That also went well and I still had some free time and about 300 psi of shielding gas left so I decided to go ahead and weld the top plate on. This also went well
S.G. 07 MAY 22 #6 - C.JPG
and I still had some time and a little bit of gas so I decided to go ahead and do the bottom plate.

This didn't go as well as everything else and is a bit ugly but it's complete
S.G. 07 MAY 22 #5 - C.JPG
Then amazingly enough I still had some free time so I had one more thing I wanted to accomplish.

For some time now I've been thinking about making something to connect my condensers to a water hose rather than just using a hose clamp on a stub. It's never been super high on my priority list but the other day while I was at Lowe's I looked around for something that would let me connect the male end of the hose to the stub. I didn't find anything, so I resorted to something I almost never do... I asked for help :oops: The guy working the plumbing department was zero help so I gave up. Then I got home and in my garage happened to notice this
S.G. 07 MAY 22 #2 - C.JPG
So I took that, gave it a little flare so it fit snugly inside a piece of 1/2" pipe and soldered them together.
S.G. 07 MAY 22 #3 - C.JPG
It's not pretty but I now have a way to connect a garden hose to the condenser.

Hopefully next weekend I will be able to get the new shotgun leak checked and start chasing leaks. Or just scrap the whole thing and go back to my liebig that has served me so well for so long now.
User avatar
cranky
Master of Distillation
Posts: 6505
Joined: Fri Sep 27, 2013 3:18 pm
Location: Pacific Northwest

Re: Goofy things I do

Post by cranky »

Today was a somewhat productive day :D

Yesterday I changed the bottle of shielding gas on the TIG so it was all ready to go. Then bright and early I dragged everything out, set it up and proceeded to leak check my new condenser...and as expected it leaked.

So I proceeded to play chase the leak. The top part was actually pretty good but the bottom had so many issues I wound up taking it to the belt sander, sanding everything down smooth and just rewelding everything regardless of if it was leaking. This worked pretty well and shortly I had the bottom leak free :D

The top was another story, it actually appeared to be leak free until I left it under pressure for 5 minutes, then a tiny little bead smaller than a BB formed. I should have just stopped and fixed it with a dab of solder but I made the mistake of trying to fix it by welding and caused another leak and wound up chasing leaks for the next 2 hrs. I was about to give up, cut the end off and solder a new top piece on when I checked it one last time before putting it away and it seems to be leak free under pressure. It ain't pretty but that doesn't really matter, at least not at this time.

I still need to do some grinding and cleaning but I'm happy where I am with it today :D
CoogeeBoy
Rumrunner
Posts: 573
Joined: Fri Mar 20, 2020 6:56 pm

Re: Goofy things I do

Post by CoogeeBoy »

Lifted 35l of water awkwardly, stuffed up my back.......
Taking a break while I get a new still completed....
User avatar
Saltbush Bill
Site Mod
Posts: 9675
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2011 2:13 am
Location: Northern NSW Australia

Re: Goofy things I do

Post by Saltbush Bill »

Drink plenty of Gin Coog ....it will relax the back muscles and aid healing.
Post Reply