Hey everyone from a newbie

[Tsouke]

Hey everyone, been reading this forum and the parent site for a while and super impressed...and enjoying it a ton. Putting together the plans for a smallish apartment still. A friend gave me a corny keg I am going to use as my boiler and am skulking around the metalyards for the column copper. Have a some background in science and have distilled in labs before and made beer for years but never put the two together. Your inspiration is getting me all fired up to do it for my own beverages. Living in western Canada. Thanks to everyone for working together on such a great site.

[LWTCS]

Hi Tsouke,
Welcome to HD

Good luck on your hunt.

[Samohon]

Hi Tsouke, Welcome to HD...

Have a look at the Parent Site... and the New Distillers Reading Lounge.... Time spent there will help you a lot...

Have fun and be safe man...

[Kentucky shinner]

Welcome Tsouke, Your gonna love this place. What kind of column are you thinking of building? when you finish please post some pics we just love looking at everyones children...
Kentucky Shinner

[Tsouke]

Little more on what I am about to start....to give you an idea of what I am doing and in case there is a fundamental flaw with the modifications I am planning. Essentially a bako but with a side mounted column because my apartment can't handle the height of the column mounted right on top of the boiler. Appears lots of the shiny commercial ones are made with this design--any reason a hobby still can't be? 5 gallon cornelius keg boiler heated by an electric hot plate (plastic frame removed and placed in a stand instead for support), 3 inch column 4 feet tall packed with copper packing now but have high hopes of replacing with 4 plates in the near future. Is a condensor for the distillate helpful for this designs or does the dephlegmator on the column suffice--might be overkill? Also, reading lots on copper not reacting so well with the pure distillate so was aiming to get a straight SS tube for that. Too cautious?

Tsouke

[rad14701]

Welcome, Tsouke...

The design you provided won't work properly as depicted because you must have a way for the reflux to return into the boiler... Therefore, the column must be mounted above the boiler... Have you considered modifying the corny keg to be laid on its side...??? That is an idea I have been kicking around myself to get around the height issue...

You can't go wrong with the Bokakob dual slant plate LM reflux column though... You just need to firm up the column to keg issue...

Good luck...

[Tsouke]

Thanks Rad, bit of a forehead smacker on that one....green will wear off me eventually I hope...

Interesting idea turning it on its side. Guess you would have to seal up the end and put an access/opening on the top instead? Would really shorten it you are right.

Keeping it vertical and raising the column to where adding a line with a slight down grade from the bottom of the column into the boiler just above the water line would allow the reflux back into the boiler. Would also add another way for the vapour to get into the column though--or does that not matter and it just gets another pass over the liquid as it goes in that second way? Could even make that the only way in I suppose, get rid of the top option. Would make it a bit taller but still not as much as sticking it right on top so still saving a little room...

[Samohon]

Have you considered modifying the corny keg to be laid on its side...??? That is an idea I have been kicking around myself to get around the height issue...

Good luck...

Great idea Rad, I dont have a corny keg, but I do have a large 50L Stainless Fire Extinguisher...
I keep feigns in it at the moment but I think I can see a new project looming...

Man I love this place.... Thanks Rad....

Edit: Good luck with your build Tsouke, as Rad said. On its side, tower on the top... An easy way to connect to the curved top would be a SS 2L heavy round bowl with a flat bottom. The bowl cut carefully to the radius of the keg with a dremel or similar, could be tig welded at a very small cost. Get the welder to tig a SS sink trap to the top/flat of the bowl and your in business...

Good luck man and keep us posted...

[Tsouke]

Have changed gears a bit on the boiler and the column, and now with a 15 gallon keg rather than the corny. 3inch VM column. Planning to half fill it so only about 7 gallons will be in there at a time (for foaming).

My question is: I don't have a 220 connection or ability to get one. If I use 2 separate 120 1500W electric elements (mounted horizontally down low so they stay submerged) do they need to be plugged into different fuses? Also, can I just leave one running full blast (ie no controller) and unplug one of them when it is up to temperature?

Making whisky so won't be a completely clear wash.

Thanks much for the help.

[rad14701]

Tsouke, yes, if you use two 1500W 120V elements they need to be on separate circuits... Whether or not you can run with one element at full power depends on your rig... If you end up with too much power you'll know it... Most folks running two elements use both for warm-up and then have one on a controller for fine tuning after the wash is up to temperature...

[The Baker]

Tsouke, yes, if you use two 1500W 120V elements they need to be on separate circuits... Whether or not you can run with one element at full power depends on your rig... If you end up with too much power you'll know it... Most folks running two elements use both for warm-up and then have one on a controller for fine tuning after the wash is up to temperature...

Others will be more knowledgable on this but suggest you get advice on the amount of energy needed while running the still (that is, after heat up of the wash) and use that information to calculate the size of one of your elements. I don't know the answer but it could be that 750 W would be okay, maybe 1,000 W, but I am guessing that 1,500 might be too much. Anyway if the element is the right size you won't need a controller.