Windy City reflux rig

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Windy City
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Windy City reflux rig

Post by Windy City »

This is what I built for running low wines to make neutral/gin/flavored spirits.
I pretty much used what I had in stock from other builds I had that were no longer being used.
I packed the column with 15 mm Siporax. This is my hope that it will behave close to SPP because 350.00$ is a lot cheaper than 2000.00$ for 15 mm SPP.
It’s a 26 gal boiler with 11KW completely controllable power, 58” x 4” packed column, (I would have loved more height but this is my ceiling height) option for Carter head before product condenser.
Following are some pics
The liver is evil and must be punished
Cranky"s spoon feeding for new and novice distillers
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 15&t=52975
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Re: Windy City reflux rig

Post by Windy City »

75781DA1-0C6A-4C03-A76B-C662F67A5D8B.jpeg
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The liver is evil and must be punished
Cranky"s spoon feeding for new and novice distillers
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 15&t=52975
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Re: Windy City reflux rig

Post by Windy City »

DC2B5154-4A51-4292-A46E-82E59EF0B918.jpeg
This is the condenser stand
The liver is evil and must be punished
Cranky"s spoon feeding for new and novice distillers
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 15&t=52975
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Re: Windy City reflux rig

Post by Windy City »

Building the condenser base
The liver is evil and must be punished
Cranky"s spoon feeding for new and novice distillers
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 15&t=52975
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Re: Windy City reflux rig

Post by Windy City »

69C7A86B-662E-4DFA-98BF-D9294A4F000C.jpeg
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8EE86A6A-EB20-4586-8875-22F6E04FBE95.jpeg (39.6 KiB) Viewed 3157 times
The liver is evil and must be punished
Cranky"s spoon feeding for new and novice distillers
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 15&t=52975
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Re: Windy City reflux rig

Post by Windy City »

74ABCD38-4518-4F86-93D6-5A841291252B.jpeg
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The liver is evil and must be punished
Cranky"s spoon feeding for new and novice distillers
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 15&t=52975
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Re: Windy City reflux rig

Post by Windy City »

24A0A3E0-3B21-4512-881F-CC9C7877FA30.jpeg
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The liver is evil and must be punished
Cranky"s spoon feeding for new and novice distillers
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 15&t=52975
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Re: Windy City reflux rig

Post by oluf »

Awesome!! Looks great! How would the gin basket loop work? Won't the vapors condense on the way back up to the product condenser and fall back into the basket?
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Re: Windy City reflux rig

Post by Windy City »

A55A603B-01BE-4257-B6C2-3390B408262E.jpeg
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The liver is evil and must be punished
Cranky"s spoon feeding for new and novice distillers
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 15&t=52975
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Re: Windy City reflux rig

Post by Windy City »

1B9BDE54-97B8-4D3E-BBF4-52BB93E66EE6.jpeg
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The liver is evil and must be punished
Cranky"s spoon feeding for new and novice distillers
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 15&t=52975
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Re: Windy City reflux rig

Post by Windy City »

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The liver is evil and must be punished
Cranky"s spoon feeding for new and novice distillers
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 15&t=52975
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Re: Windy City reflux rig

Post by Windy City »

Sorry about the sideways pics guys :oops:

Mod Edit : fixed these for you Windy :thumbup: ... and the next couple .... from here on in , you can work put how to sort it :ewink:
The liver is evil and must be punished
Cranky"s spoon feeding for new and novice distillers
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 15&t=52975
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Re: Windy City reflux rig

Post by Windy City »

F4CB42AE-40C3-4EEA-AE61-7D69DA426B81.jpeg
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The liver is evil and must be punished
Cranky"s spoon feeding for new and novice distillers
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 15&t=52975
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Re: Windy City reflux rig

Post by Windy City »

System has CIP for PC, Carter head in/out & packed column
The liver is evil and must be punished
Cranky"s spoon feeding for new and novice distillers
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 15&t=52975
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Re: Windy City reflux rig

Post by Windy City »

oluf wrote: Fri Nov 06, 2020 11:02 pm Awesome!! Looks great! How would the gin basket loop work? Won't the vapors condense on the way back up to the product condenser and fall back into the basket?
I originally had this on a still that had three side columns.
When starting up the Carter head you have some heat loss and get some condensate,hense the ball valve to drain down the Carter head. I would try and heat up the Carter head on heads.
You can isolate the Carter head two ways 1) turn up your deflag. (Great video from Larry at Stilldragon) 2) spin your three way valves
The second option is very dependent on the operator being very conscious of your operation
The liver is evil and must be punished
Cranky"s spoon feeding for new and novice distillers
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 15&t=52975
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Re: Windy City reflux rig

Post by Windy City »

I have “remove before flight” on anything on all my stills that need immediate attention before I start up
I have built these stills but regardless I demand a code of safety and recommend that to anyone that follows. After all that is what HD is all about
The liver is evil and must be punished
Cranky"s spoon feeding for new and novice distillers
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 15&t=52975
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Re: Windy City reflux rig

Post by oluf »

Windy City wrote: Fri Nov 06, 2020 11:34 pm
oluf wrote: Fri Nov 06, 2020 11:02 pm Awesome!! Looks great! How would the gin basket loop work? Won't the vapors condense on the way back up to the product condenser and fall back into the basket?
I originally had this on a still that had three side columns.
When starting up the Carter head you have some heat loss and get some condensate,hense the ball valve to drain down the Carter head. I would try and heat up the Carter head on heads.
You can isolate the Carter head two ways 1) turn up your deflag. (Great video from Larry at Stilldragon) 2) spin your three way valves
The second option is very dependent on the operator being very conscious of your operation
Ahhh OK.... That makes sense. Thank you so much for responding!
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Re: Windy City reflux rig

Post by Demy »

Wow what an achievement, it looks like a mini distillery. Very good!
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Re: Windy City reflux rig

Post by Setsumi »

very impressive. just fantastic. is the column just packed? or do you have plates as well?
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Re: Windy City reflux rig

Post by Buzz94111 »

Wow! Looks awsome!
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Re: Windy City reflux rig

Post by Windy City »

Setsumi wrote: Sat Nov 07, 2020 3:52 am very impressive. just fantastic. is the column just packed? or do you have plates as well?
No plates on this column.
It is packed with 15 mm Siporax.
Next to this still is my 4-plate (bubble cap) on a Bain Marie
This still is strictly for vodka, gin and neutral
The liver is evil and must be punished
Cranky"s spoon feeding for new and novice distillers
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 15&t=52975
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Re: Windy City reflux rig

Post by hellbilly007 »

That is some seriously gorgeous hardware Windy
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Re: Windy City reflux rig

Post by WithOrWithoutU2 »

That is some serious copper work.
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Re: Windy City reflux rig

Post by Halfbaked »

Very nice Windy
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Re: Windy City reflux rig

Post by SassyFrass »

Beautiful.
Nuff said
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Simple Lil' Pot Still, no temp guage, no carbon, no scrubbers, nuthin' fancy. Sometimes use a thumper, sometimes don't.

Real good info for New Folks:
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Re: Windy City reflux rig

Post by Windy City »

I am running a modified Shady’s sugar shine today.
Really love this rig. Just wish I had built the house with a taller basement ceiling :lol: Running at 35 amps and pulling 1.75 liters in just a hair over 12 minutes
2C66BE38-788C-4D3B-B986-F8B2B881988F.jpeg
CD986B56-00D9-4CD6-8AEA-39AEB5462AAE.jpeg
The liver is evil and must be punished
Cranky"s spoon feeding for new and novice distillers
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 15&t=52975
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Re: Windy City reflux rig

Post by Windy City »

FFF87224-67F2-4E89-901D-B222B94B67DC.jpeg
The liver is evil and must be punished
Cranky"s spoon feeding for new and novice distillers
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 15&t=52975
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Re: Windy City reflux rig

Post by Windy City »

B9A41944-A175-4B49-80FD-548C507C511D.jpeg
Some more pics
This is the controller I built
91B99D1A-D8D3-45BC-91FF-797C44990E18.jpeg
877303AA-2958-444B-87FC-B48C210A42F2.jpeg
The liver is evil and must be punished
Cranky"s spoon feeding for new and novice distillers
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 15&t=52975
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Re: Windy City reflux rig

Post by Windy City »

Let’s not forget one of the most important items for your home distillery

A comfy rocking chair right in front of the still :lol: :lol:
97580582-9581-4DCD-BE2B-D2901C4CFAE8.jpeg
The liver is evil and must be punished
Cranky"s spoon feeding for new and novice distillers
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 15&t=52975
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Re: Windy City reflux rig

Post by Bushman »

First time checking out this thread, impressed Windy nice work!
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