Home Distiller

Hey all, I love cms and want to try make it easier for new members or ones not very confident in building to be able to access a great still design. I'll add more as I go. Hope it helps someone, and feel free to add designs that you have that are simple to build!. First design is a coldfinger type. Cold finger is caped each end, coolant lines are soldered onto it and the entire coldfinger is slid in the column, then push the coolant lines througn the pre drilled holes in the column and solder up.Excuse the high class diagrams!.

Looks good. Haha. I plan on building a CM, when funds permit of course. Lol. Just not sure whether to do a packed column CM or a flute first. Haha

Googe I love this idea. I am a big CM fan because what they do, they can do VERY well.
Not for everyone, but they do have a role.

I have a modified pot still, in essence a jacketed CM with a small condenser and short packed section. When I get back home in a few days I will post it.

3 inch jacket over a 2 inch column. Nice easy build. For a true CM I might include some internal cold walls inside the 2 inch tube.

There is huge overlooked potential in the combined jacket and cold finger designs, that not many folks look at these days.

CM has some limitations but it also has some huge benefits. Thanks for starting this.

I've become a fan of coldfingers since they're so simple yet very effective. I'm not sure how you'd get the lines soldered with the coldfinger already inside the column and you can't slide the coldfinger into the column with the lines already soldered. Catch-22.

*edit* Oops. I see how you'd do it. Might have trouble sealing the lines to the column without the heat unsoldering the lines at the coldfinger. Wet rag, maybe.

tp

Below is how I did my dephlagmater, the first drawing was my original plans as you will see I altered the amount of holes. My water lines came through the top and I milled each of the parts for the tubes for the vapor path and the tubes for the water lines. Waterlines are 1/2" and the vapor tubes are 3/4" with a larger exit hole at the top. PS: the top larger ring fits the same as a ferrule, note that I added a grove for the gasket. Last image below show's how it slides into the column.

Sorry if it doesn't look simple enough, I like my waterlines coming through the top but it does limit some flexibility with making it modular.

I would make the reflux coil section modular so the section can be easily removed to replace packing, etc.
My removable coldfinger that's mounted in the top cap of the column works very well in this manner.
tp

T-Pee wrote:I would make the reflux coil section modular so the section can be easily removed to replace packing, etc.
My removable coldfinger that's mounted in the top cap of the column works very well in this manner.

Coldfinger.jpg

tp

TP how does that work as a CM? PS, mine is modular in that way I was thinking in terms of a gin basket.

Tp just guessing, but are you mounting that cold finger through a T?

Do you have a vapour outlet in the column between the cap and the cold finger?

Myles he has a pic under the topic "where to put a sight glass on a cm" i can't link it im on my not so smart phone.

Bushman wrote:TP how does that work as a CM? PS, mine is modular in that way I was thinking in terms of a gin basket.

myles wrote:Tp just guessing, but are you mounting that cold finger through a T?
Do you have a vapour outlet in the column between the cap and the cold finger?

firewater69 wrote:Myles he has a pic under the topic "where to put a sight glass on a cm" i can't link it im on my not so smart phone.

The coldfinger is a part of the top cap and resides just below the takeoff point of the PC.
The top pic shows the unmodded top cap.

tp

Just had an epiphany looking at TP's coldfinger. I run a CCVM but if I made a coldfinger like TP's it would be very easy to convert it to a CM. I'm also planning a bubble bowl to go under the packed section. Looking forward to some dark whiskey and rum in the near future!

Flute tokaroa! Lol. Thanks for the replies, good start . Totally agree about the jacket with the finger Myles, my old stripper was like that and was the most efficient I've used!. I'm glad you posted, id imagine you'd have a thousand ideas lol. Is that modified pot the one you posted on another forum?, remember a short one and was awesome!. Thanks bushman, all ideas are great for people to decide what's best!. Good diagram, wish I could draw like that lol. Thanks tpee, yours is very simple and most people could do that very easy!. I'll post one very similar later.

This is another I've done, very easy and pretty cheap, works well. The column top has two notches cut into the join where the 90 degree bend slides into. The 90 degree bend has the same notches cut into the join. Make two coils, one for the reflux condenser and one for the product condenser. The coil is slid into the top of the column and the two bit of pipe from the coil slide into the notches. Then the 90 degree bend is placed onto the top of the column with the notches lining up so the coil pipes are sandwiched in the join. Then solder the pipes and join in one hit, very easy. You have to make the notches a nice snug fit. Hope the diagram and pic helps.

Yea I was leaning towards a flute. lol. I better start saving. Xmas just sucked all my savings.

tp wrote:The coldfinger is a part of the top cap and resides just below the takeoff point of the PC.

Huh! So the difference between a CM and VM turns out to be the location of the reflux condenser, right? Below the takeoff arm it's a CM, above it's a VM. Never thought of it like that before.

skow69 wrote:

tp wrote:The coldfinger is a part of the top cap and resides just below the takeoff point of the PC.

Huh! So the difference between a CM and VM turns out to be the location of the reflux condenser, right? Below the takeoff arm it's a CM, above it's a VM. Never thought of it like that before.

Pretty much how I understand it. The main difference besides the location of the condenser in relation to the takeoff is that the CCVM slides in n out of the column and the CM condenser is controlled by coolant flow.

thatguy1313 wrote:Just had an epiphany looking at TP's coldfinger.

Congratulations. You just made the Notable and Quotable thread.

tp

So, let's see if this pot stiller understands this. If I built a boka without the plates and moved the takeoff up to where it will be slightly above the bottom end of the RC coil, it would be a CM. I would run it with lots of cooling water going to the RC until the column reached equilibrium and then back off on the cooling water flow until the fractions begin making their way to the takeoff and the PC. I assume I would also need to control the boiler heat in conjunction with the cooling water flow. Is this basically the idea?

Also, from what I read in this thread and others, the RC doesn't need to be as robust as an RC used in some other type of reflux still. Is this correct?

You've pretty much got it except that the takeoff is somewhere above the RC. Check out mine in my signature.

As far as heat management goes, you can set the heat at the beginning of the takeoff period and leave it. When the ABV drops into tails the takeoff will noticeably decrease to where it's a bare drip. At that point I simply turn off the RC and collect tails in pot still mode. I also notice that when you begin collecting tails you need to check the coolant temperature in the PC. The temperature gradient will change a bit once the RC is turned off.

tp

OK, I got it now. I'll do a more thorough read of your link. I also went back and looked at Googe's drawing at the top of the thread and that makes the position of the take off pretty obvious - duh. Thanks for responding to my questions.

skow69 wrote:

tp wrote:The coldfinger is a part of the top cap and resides just below the takeoff point of the PC.

Huh! So the difference between a CM and VM turns out to be the location of the reflux condenser, right? Below the takeoff arm it's a CM, above it's a VM. Never thought of it like that before.

It's still a cm no.matter where the condenser sits. Cm is controlled by the coolant (coolant management), you would need a valve for it to be vm, (vapor management). Above the takeoff point on a cm will not be as efficient though, you will have some potstill vapors passing through, id imagine!.

Correct. A ccvm just replaces the physical valve with the sliding condenser. My plan was to remove the sliding condenser and install a cap and coldfinger condenser like tp's to convert it to a cm. So moving the condenser and removing the "valve", as it were.

I'm with you. I had just never thought of putting a CM condenser above the takeoff.

googe wrote: Above the takeoff point on a cm will not be as efficient though, you will have some potstill vapors passing through, id imagine!.

Now this could start a great debate here, I know you use a single valve to control coolant to both RC & PC. I use 2 valves that separate the coolant to both. I get 100% reflux and can reach asetrop depending on how I run the still. It takes probably a little more practice learning the still as using coolant rather than a valve to control it can be a bit trickier but I love my flexibility.

Bushman, love the handle for the coolant!

Great thread everyone!

Bushman wrote: Now this could start a great debate here, I know you use a single valve to control coolant to both RC & PC. I use 2 valves that separate the coolant to both. I get 100% reflux and can reach asetrop depending on how I run the still. It takes probably a little more practice learning the still as using coolant rather than a valve to control it can be a bit trickier but I love my flexibility.

After a couple of mods, here's how my PC/RC system looks. Essentially what Bushman is talking about...controlling either condenser independently.
It's getting more "steam punk" every time I work on it.
tp

I use separate lines now bushman, but don't find much difference in one line to two. If I had a small coolant tank I probably would.