My Pot Still Design Pics? in need of feed back

Simple pot still distillation and construction with or without a thumper.

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sconly
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My Pot Still Design Pics? in need of feed back

Post by sconly »

theres are my 2 disigns i plan on mounting it on to a keg so any feed back would be good not to shore which one to go with
so any help would be good i know the drawing are ruff what can i say im not a very good drawer
cheers
Trent
Pic 1
Image


Pic 2
Image
50 litre keg pot still
25 litre ultra reflux still
HookLine
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Re: My Pot Still Design Pics

Post by HookLine »

Hi Trent.

Either will work. But...

First, why is the column so high (39"), that tall enough for a decent reflux column, and is just wasted in a pot still. You just need enough height to give the Liebig condenser room.

Which brings up the second point: the angles you have between the Liebig and the column. Having the Liebig point straight down, or mostly down, means you need a taller column than really necessary to give the Liebig room. The Liebig only has to angle down enough to stop the condensate running back into the still, even just 10º below horizontal is plenty. (Though a shallow angle means the Liebig sticks out to the side and will probably need a bit of support. Mine is like that, and I just sit the free end on the back of a chair.)

Another advantage of having the Liebig stick out to the side is that it gets the product take-off point away from the still, which is safer.

Lastly, 24" is a little short for a Liebig condenser. I would go for 30" to give you plenty of capacity. The 3/4" inside 1" is a good combination.
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jdonly1
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Re: My Pot Still Design Pics? in need of feed back

Post by jdonly1 »

Thanks for the input hook,Im looking for ideas to.Hey brutus,looks like I got enough 2 inch copper for the 2 of us,I wonder what the postage would be to Perth :lol:
vajravarahi
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Re: My Pot Still Design Pics? in need of feed back

Post by vajravarahi »

Those Scottish whisky distillers seem to use some tall helmets on their stills.

This web site has lots of pictures of equipment.
http://www.whisky-distilleries.info/Speyside_EN.shtml

Not saying Hook is wrong, just pointing out some info that might be worth considering.
Pikluk
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Re: My Pot Still Design Pics? in need of feed back

Post by Pikluk »

Those Scottish whisky distillers seem to use some tall helmets on their stills.

This web site has lots of pictures of equipment.
http://www.whisky-distilleries.info/Speyside_EN.shtml" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
i didnt do any math on this but it look to me like giving the width of those column they might not be that high.
its a question of perspective.
it look about 3-4 time the width in height.
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BamBam
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Re: My Pot Still Design Pics? in need of feed back

Post by BamBam »

You design looks a lot like my first column. I don't have pics of my first column, but I can describe it.

My first turn on the top is 90* into a "T" connection, The third opening on the "T" is small (1") and I put a thermometer there to check vapor temp. Then I have a 45* bend into a 2"-to-1" reducer and then into the condenser which is way too long (almost a meter) I built this with a partner and he is very safety conscious so the output is actually below the level of the heating flame. I use it on a stove top and it will fill up my little kitchen. I've had to build a wood frame to support this beast.

The product from this column is much better than my second column which is much shorter and reduces down to 1/2" right before the condenser.
Uncle Jesse
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Re: My Pot Still Design Pics? in need of feed back

Post by Uncle Jesse »

Pikluk wrote:
Those Scottish whisky distillers seem to use some tall helmets on their stills.

This web site has lots of pictures of equipment.
http://www.whisky-distilleries.info/Speyside_EN.shtml" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
i didnt do any math on this but it look to me like giving the width of those column they might not be that high.
its a question of perspective.
it look about 3-4 time the width in height.
Their stills vary greatly in size and also in the angle of the lyne arm. some of them angle down quite a bit, some angle up a bit, some are level. If I recall my whiskey history correctly, Irish stills are much larger because the Irish were taxed per still whereas the Scots were taxed per output. So, the Irish built big stills. They are still pot stills without water cooling to create reflux in the column, however.
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evilpsych
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Re: My Pot Still Design Pics? in need of feed back

Post by evilpsych »

I like the looks of the first one. The second one IMHO a nearly vertical liebig for a Pot Still might not work that well. But try it anyway. I designed mine so I can add length if i feel like it, the elbows at the top are threaded onto the vertical column, Most of the time i run with about 10" of column (empty). Why? because if i ran with no column right off the top of my boiler, my liebig output would be practically touching the ground. The 10 inch does give slight reflux, but not what you'd think as there's no thermometer or cooling applied there *yet*. The end of my liebig is threaded to accept a reducer to flexible 3/8's line, with room in the reducer for a little copper mesh to knock down any leftover fumes. The 10 inches also gives me room to fit a collection jug under it on a stripping run, or my parrot on a final run.

I do have an 18" section with a thermometer port i've been experimenting with when trying to get a near-neutral with my setup (give a total column height of nearly 2' in 1" copper, but imho it's more trouble than it's worth. It does work however.
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jdonly1
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Re: My Pot Still Design Pics? in need of feed back

Post by jdonly1 »

Have you made any thing yet Brutus :mrgreen:
sconly
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Re: My Pot Still Design Pics? in need of feed back

Post by sconly »

you know how it is cant rush these things only just got my 4 kegs today have to wait until next pay day to get my copper :P
50 litre keg pot still
25 litre ultra reflux still
jdonly1
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Re: My Pot Still Design Pics? in need of feed back

Post by jdonly1 »

sconly wrote:you know how it is cant rush these things only just got my 4 kegs today have to wait until next pay day to get my copper :P
Sold our bulls so you will have some dollars coming your way soon :mrgreen:
Oaty
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Re: My Pot Still Design Pics? in need of feed back

Post by Oaty »

What was that? Last week I posted a response a reflux answer to a pot still question which naturally made no sense. Here I thought I was in the wrong forum. :shock:
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