sourcing a sight glass and another Q

[WILDBILL2873]

thanks OD. wow how simple, i thought it might have had someting to do with the glass. goog information, never knew brass fittings had lead on them. hope your knee is well.

[Kiwi-lembic]

Outside the square a little
alot of moto x bikes and compressors have sight glasses in there crankcases must be millions of them in wreckers yards ,you just might just find one made of the material you want ,ive seen bronze ones,dunno how tough the glass is ,on a 2 stroke theres a bit of crank pressure goin on ...they might just be toughened ???

[Kiwi-lembic]

Wasnt it the Romans that come up with the first underwater plumbing using Lead to plumb thier water ,,i think in the end thats what made them think there sister ,mother or brothers were o.k to love a way bit more than normal

[olddog]

alot of moto x bikes and compressors have sight glasses in there crankcases

I kooked into all of these type sight glasses before I made my own, most of the crankcase type glasses have plastic lens's and rubber seals. Commercial sight glasses are available with borosilical glass but are very expensive, over $120 each just for the smallest one which is only 1", I wanted something bigger to be able to see into the plates, which is why I decided to make my own.



OD

[Kiwi-lembic]

Yes Olddog ,i did wonder about what they had in them ..some of the compressor ones are bigger ..have you had your Op od

[olddog]

.have you had your Op od

Yep 5 weeks ago, alls good now.


OD

[Kiwi-lembic]

GR8T ..they are very successful now days ..will make life more pleasuere for you

[olddog]

After running my column still with sight glasses, I am finding the cork seals for the glass is breaking down, at a guess I would say it's the wetting and drying causing it to happen. It was musical cork and bloody expensive for a small sheet, but now after using cork, I would not recommend its use for this application. I have managed to locate some Teflon sheet, which I intend to cut the seals out of, I think this will be more durable in the long run.


OD

[kiwistiller]

how much was your PTFE sheet, OD?

[olddog]

Her is the link http://cgi.ebay.com.au/COMMERCIAL-FOOD- ... 335ee868a7" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
I phoned the guy, and its 30cm by 40cm and 2mm thick


OD

[Kiwi-lembic]

kiwi stiller ,In N.Z these guys are great for all sorts of compounds in sheet etc ,they will also machine parts up ,,rota mould and alike ..think you got one up your way
Ludowici is there name

olddog they might even be over your way

http://www.ludoplas.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[Kentucky shinner]

how did you cut the glass?

[olddog]

See page one of this thread. http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 2#p6832842



OD

[bgrizzle]

I tried to cut a sheet of glass that was the bed of a scanner. Scored a line and tried to break it over the edge of a table. Pushed harder and harder...really tough, it flexed a lot, then POW the whole sheet exploded into a million crumbs!

After reading WD's earlier post I now know it was tempered glass

I could have told you that! I know exactly how copying machine glass shatters... When i was in grade school, a buddy dared me copy my ass... So we sneak into the teachers lounge, and i jumped right up, supporting my weight with my arms, and made a copy.

My buddy thought it was funny, so he thought he would give it a try... and boom! That glass was shattered into a million peices. He fell into the copying machine, and had hard time getting out, like if you sat on the toilet when the seat was up... And laughed for a week! We ran like hell, never got caught...

Memories...

[DIYhooch]

Great thread, will be adding these to any new stills I make even if they aren't totally necessary because they look so damn cool, and the idea to use Teflon for the seals is ingenious.

One thing though, regarding de-leading any brass you use in your stills here is a more thorough description of how to do it (as vinegar and hydrogen peroxide come in different strengths, and the time you leave the brass soaking is critical):

De-leading Brass
The surface lead on brass is easily removed by soaking the parts in a solution of vinegar and hydrogen peroxide. You can get these at the grocery store or drug store. You can use white distilled vinegar or cider vinegar; just check the label to be sure it is 5% acid by volume. The hydrogen peroxide should be 3% by volume. To make the solution, mix them at a 2-to-1 volume ratio of vinegar to peroxide. Simply immerse the parts in the solution and watch for the color of the parts to change. The process takes just a couple minutes to clean and brighten the surface. The color of the brass will change to buttery yellow-gold when the lead is removed. The vinegar-peroxide solution should remain clear and colorless. If the solution starts to turn blue or green and/or the brass turns dark, it means that the parts have been soaking too long, the copper is dissolving and subsurface lead is being exposed. Make up a fresh solution and soak the parts again. This treatment only needs to be done once before the first use of the parts.

Thanks again.

[lordyd]

Hi, I picked up a barrel union to play with ( cutting up ) and while putting the nut on with out the tail I think got a winner.Don't think I'll need to do much, cut the small nut back and cut a groove across the thread to drain out.

[myles]

I decided to go down a slightly different route and am using a compression type tank connector.

Basically the same as this one, in 2" size.


Will just file down the beveled edge where the olive would normaly go, to get a flat surface for a washer. Got the sight glass off the shelf from a boilerhouse supplier online.

[Kiwi-lembic]

Nice ..is this the latest type of sight glass fitting the flute builders are using ..cheers

[varocketry]

Thought for Sight Glass fabrication -

Has anyone considered a 2.5 inch Copper Cap (ID 2.13 inches) on a 2 inch copper pipe and 50mm watch glass.

Put a copper wire bead on the inside of the pipe edge, file it flat. Drill out a window in the cap. Use teflon gasket on both sides on the watch glass. It would be a permanent solder mount presumably. Could it work?

Pex Supply 2-1/2" Copper Cap http://www.pexsupply.com/Cello-WP17-40- ... -957000-px

Just my rumination on this topic ...

VARocketry

[varocketry]

Wow. I also found a two inch (2") trap adapter carried at PexSupply.
This was discussed earlier in this thread but only in a smaller size carried by Grainger.

http://www.pexsupply.com/Cello-WDSJ-32- ... -C-x-Compr

This gives a full two inch glass opening possibility.

VARocketry