elevation question on a pot still

[thump keg]

Please bare with me I mite ask a question that you experts think is common knowledge. I'm in the process of building a small pot still about 2.5 to 3 gal wash. Ive looked thru the site and I found a set up I like that uses a thumper I believe the guys name was "Rudenoise" that had the picture in the thumper section. my question is does the elevation of the thumper matter? I notice that he had his elevated above the pot. Now next question sealing material I know the" p" word is off limits how about gor-tex and viton are they ok to use. also the size of the thumper how do i determine what size I need?

[LWTCS]

Thumper elevations shouldn't be an issue as such.

However,,I am told by some of the other elder, broken down, bad knees, bad back, get dizzy when I stand up too fast,,,,,,,,stillers that collecting on the floor sucks.

This does not apply to ME as I am quite virile AND collect at bench top height.

Plan your build accordingly. Consider the space with which you have to work with.

You'll find that round here flour paste (water and flour) is the prefered material for seals. Safe and works every single time.

The other materials are fabulous if you intend on installing a fuel pump or the like

Thumpers are typically sized to ensure that flooding does not occur. recon 1/2 to 1/3 the size of the boiler. But if your thumper is elevated you can also plumb a return line back to your primary and use a smaller thumper (or not).

Lately, with a more traditional thumper set up I am leaning toward thinking a larger thumper may pull a proofier abv...I could be wrong......I usually am.

[thump keg]

Thanks for the info I didn't know if the gasket material would be harmful or give off some foul taste. And I didn't know if elevation matter about distillation process. I'll keep the paste in mind I keep forgetting I'm not dealing with pressure.

[LWTCS]

The other cool thing bout flour paste is that if you do miss or spring a leak,,,you can often times patch on the fly.......so always make a bit extra and have it ready through out your run.

[Samohon]

+1 LWTCS. My pot and reflux still are leakproof, but I always have the flour at the ready, albeit dry.
If, in the future it does spring a leak, I can continue the run with the help of flour paste and repair later...

Seems to be part of the safe stillin kit....

[LWTCS]

Yes, the heat radiating off of the tubing sorta cooks the paste on the spot.

Works like a charm.

[myles]

I know its not 'neccesary' but I am including a thumper on the new pot still. Mounted on a work top above the boiler. Smaller than standard, 20 litres stock pot on a 100 litre keg, but I am including an overflow line back to the boiler. Just in case.

I like the convenience of collecting at work top height so my condenser will be higher than my thumper, and sit on a stand on the worktop. High enough so that I can collect right into gallon demijons when into hearts.

[olddog]

I have seen that thumper return before

OD

[LWTCS]

Wasn't in your minds eye was it?

[myles]

I have seen that thumper return before

OD

Not suprised as you and LWTCS were the inspiration for it. I don't mind borowing damn good ideas when I see them You beat me to it

[LWTCS]

BTW Myles,

I sure do like that design. And I hope you post your build picks and evaluation.

And Kiwi prolly cringes every time I say it,,,,but I am really curious to ask your opinion bout the forthcoming dephlag atop that thumper

[olddog]

I don't mind borowing damn good ideas when I see them

Thats Cool Myles we don't mind sharing ideas, actually that return acts like a downcomer and allows the liquid (water) that needs a higher temperature to evaporate to return to the boiler. which is how LWTCS gets such a high ABV from his runs.


OD

[myles]

BTW Myles,

I sure do like that design. And I hope you post your build picks and evaluation.

And Kiwi prolly cringes every time I say it,,,,but I am really curious to ask your opinion bout the forthcoming dephlag atop that thumper

The more I think about it the better it sounds. Dephlag after the boiler with a bit of packing to behave like a couple of inline thumpers (but without the physical bulk of them) with another dephlag over the thumper for fine control

May need to either increase my external coils above the boiler, or possibly add in a scrubber in the coil area, to enable me to get 100% reflux at the start. It doesn't show on the diagram, but my dephlag is on a 45 deg angle to try and increase cooling potential, as I only have a few inches of cold 2" tube to knock down the vapour.

A scrubber in that area to act like a plate heat exchanger could be very handy.

[LWTCS]

that return acts like a downcomer and allows the liquid (water) that needs a higher temperature to evaporate to return to the boiler. which is how LWTCS gets such a high ABV from his runs.

Indeed.
A large percentage of the water gets displaced by the alcohol which drives up the abv more than a typical thumper set up would tolerate before flooding.

Its a precursor to more simplified refluxing. But it makes a flugging bloody good rum (had to raise up me eye patch to say that)

[LWTCS]

BTW Myles,

I sure do like that design. And I hope you post your build picks and evaluation.

And Kiwi prolly cringes every time I say it,,,,but I am really curious to ask your opinion bout the forthcoming dephlag atop that thumper

The more I think about it the better it sounds. Dephlag after the boiler with a bit of packing to behave like a couple of inline thumpers (but without the physical bulk of them) with another dephlag over the thumper for fine control

May need to either increase my external coils above the boiler, or possibly add in a scrubber in the coil area, to enable me to get 100% reflux at the start. It doesn't show on the diagram, but my dephlag is on a 45 deg angle to try and increase cooling potential, as I only have a few inches of cold 2" tube to knock down the vapour.

A scrubber in that area to act like a plate heat exchanger could be very handy.

Your likker may be a bit too clean/pure with 2 dephlags running. May be doing the same thing a simple Bok can do.

The good news is you can kill cooling flow and let your vapor carry a little dirt if you so choose

Thats why I charge all the thumpers with dunder. Try to get a lil dirt to carry over too.