Copper Coils

phaeton · Post by **phaeton** » Wed Mar 30, 2005 4:07 pm

Hi everyone, long time reader of how to make the still I want, and now I'm making the valved offset head still, I've got the still itself made other than the fking copper coil that goes into the 3" tube up top. I haven't welded the 3" to the 3->2" coupler because I want to make the coil first.

I just went through 20 feet of 1/4" soft copper trying to make a coil, and I got one done but I have no idea how to terminate it and I ended up kinking it.

I've tried to even wrap the coil around itself so I can run the bottom line back up the inside of the coil... no dice.

I'm literally at my wits end here, I've spent 3 hours trying to get this damn thing to spin, I bought a spring bender although thats not helping much, I have no clue what to do. I need this done within the next 2 days so ordering one off the net is not acceptable...

Can anyone help?

outlawokie · Post by **outlawokie** » Wed Mar 30, 2005 6:31 pm

Try filling the copper line with sand and shaping your coil it will keep it from kinking

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Mar 30, 2005 7:00 pm

I rolled mine around an Argon cylinder but it was 3/4" and in a larger coil form before hand.

A helpful hint for once your through with the coil=cut some slats about 3/4" thick by 1 1/2" wide. Cut slots in the slats equal distances apart; one for each coil. About three of these slats will hold your coil at perfect pitch so there are no low or high spots to impeed the flow of spirits.

michaelb · Post by **michaelb** » Wed Mar 30, 2005 8:14 pm

I used a 20" length of 3/4" copper tubing. I first i ran the 1/4" thru the center with about 6" sticking out the end and then gently made a U turn back. (Before starting the coil make sure that it will fit inside of the 2") I then start my coils and transition to about 3" to avoid kinks. With your frustration you must have learned where and when the tubing will kink. I sure did. The still head that I use is
moonshinestill.com/page16.htm
and I have modified to actually go down into the 2" and is about 20" tall.
Hope this helps

The Chemist · Post by **The Chemist** » Wed Mar 30, 2005 11:12 pm

Now that you're where're you're at, don't worry so much about it. The condensing vapor doesn't! Gp ahead and run it, and make it prettier next time, if you want. I think it was Uncle Jesse that said [don't worry about doing it right, just do it].

MyDBear · Post by **MyDBear** » Thu Mar 31, 2005 4:18 pm

phaeton gohere and you will see how I did It ,It might give you some ideas.
If you fill the copper tubbing full of sand use VERY dry sand and even this is a booger ta get out but it can be done cuz I did it, or use salt this can be taken out under water preasure. Ya have ta do a little math ta figure out the length of tubbing that ya will need and crimp one end fill it full then crimp the other end and wind it around what ever ya have then comes the hard part,getting out the sand or salt but take yer time It can be done

KatoFong · Post by **KatoFong** » Thu Mar 31, 2005 4:46 pm

I just finished making a coil from 15 feet of 3/4" copper tubing and was having a bitch of a time working with my coiling tool. After a while I just said screw it, stopped using the coiling tool, and wrapped the coil around a wine bottle.

I found that if I went slowly and carefully and pushed down on the tube right where it had just angled off of the bottle, I could actually get a smoother coil with less flattening than with the coiling tool.

That said, the first time I made a coil, I didn't work quite as skillfully and there was some flattening in the condensor, but it didn't really matter in the long run.

phaeton · Post by **phaeton** » Fri Apr 01, 2005 8:52 am

Thanks for the pointers guys, I finally managed something, it's made with 1/4" copper, got about 13 loops but I kept breaking the endings, so I ended up using a couple of 90 compression fittings, and I run my input line up through the center of the coil, so that both my connectors grasp over the top of the lip of the 3" copper, that way it sits nice and even inside and is spaced the same way each time.

I have a question for you Michael, you said your offset head is 20" in length??? Is this just to make 100% sure all your alcohol vapours are being condensed?

Also... is there a thing such as having the coils _too cold_? I was thinking of running some R 240 or such refrigerant through them to really cool em evenly the entire time, I have some phase change cooling parts left over from my computer project, I could get the coils down cold... but what is too cold?

Or would you just suggest running it through with ice water?

Post by **Grayson_Stewart** » Fri Apr 01, 2005 9:10 am

You only have 13 loops in your condensor, made from a 1/4" diameter tubing, and its in a 3" diameter shell? I think you will need a few more coils than that. Your gonna have to give the vapor something to bump into in order for it to lose it's latent heat.

I know this isn't a test you want to conduct in your kitchen, but you will burn yourself alot worse with steam than sticking your hand into the liquid in the boiling pot. Thats because water requires a WHOLE lot more energy to change to the vaopr phase and the same holds for alcohol vapor. You need to give this vapor a place to come in contact with something and allow it to dump its energy.

Your on your own running a refridgerant through your condensor. Doesn't sound like a good idea to me. First, you could possibly have a leak in the condensor one day. Secondly, it sounds like a waste of energy because tap water works very efficiently. All you need is a body that can absorb that amount of energy which made your vapor a vapor in the first place.

Water does this great because it takes alot more energy for water to change phases than alcohol. Therefore alcohol readily dumps its energy into the water cooled condensor.

phaeton · Post by **phaeton** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 5:19 pm

Well I ran it and I checked, with using very cold water it worked fine, I had no steam escaping and I was getting good results. I'm not going to go to the lengths to use refrigerant anymore hehe, not after I see how little it needs to cool it down