1 qt glass thumper ?

[lumberped]

This may be an exercise in futility and redundency , but I have constructed a 1 qt mason jar into a thumper. I have never actually placed it in use , but was thinking about it this season. Since the rig I am running is essentially a hybrid pot/column still it may have merit.

My rig is a 2" x 24" column with packing of mesh and glass media , with a 14 " leibig condenser attached. The length of the column constricts the full potential of the unit , so I am thinking that a thumper installed inline after the condenser may prove useful in some instances.

The thumper consists of a 1 qt mason jar with the inlet and outlet installed thru the jar lid and sealed with a typical Mason tyoe ring.

Please give me your thoughts , and if necessary , I can post more pics of my rig to give a better understanding of how the unit may work.



Thanks in Advance

Lumberped

[Tater]

Some have used those but most figure that using glass in a still isn't smartest thing to do.But it would be placed before condenser.

[BigPa]

Why would you put in AFTER the condenser???????

[Prairiepiss]

A mason jar? If you have done a fair amount of research around here you would know. They are not recommended. Most of the time they are way to small. 1/2 the boiler size is recommend. And they pose a safety risk. Glass when heated becomes more apt to breakage. If a small drop of cold water was to hit it it could shatter. Leaving an alcohol mess all over. Open flames if used could make a nice fire ball.

It's just not a good idea. And that has been said so many times around here.

[lumberped]

Cool guys , this is exactly the type feedback , I was looking for. In response to why after the condenser:

1. The condenser on my rig is soldered in place , and secondly I would not run the cooling unit on the condenser. Otherwise , there would not be sufficient heat to operate the thumper.


2. As far as glass useage , I see the point. However , with a strong amount of proper caution ,this could become a non-issue. Mason jars are heat tempered as I am sure you know , and it would demand a type of insulation be put around it to protect from thermal shock to stop the very condition you are reffering to. I.E. - wrapped with a "header tape" and placed in a strong , non-breakable outer container, further packed with a fiber-glass insulation. This would have a two-fold effect ; one the absorption of any spillage in the event of catastrophic failure, and prevent direct content of distillate with any heat source. Second to provide an enhanced thermal blanket to avoid heat loss durring the "thumping" process , thusly increasing efficiency. Safety point well taken , and thanks for reminding me. I had read about the glass useage, but it was some time ago , and had slipped my old noodle. But again thank you for your concern !

3. As far as volume of the container ; this is something that I had never considered. I suppose it is very possible that the takeoff amount could exceed the capacity of the thumper, rendering it useless. And as I have read it , and with my experience may only be somewhat controllable with temp control under the boiler. Only consideration here , is that I only have a 3 gallon boiler ,that is very seldom filled to more than 75% capacity. Space constraints could become a factor here , as adding a 1 1/2 gallon thumper to my distilling area , may begin to give an amount of clutter that begins to be unsafe. Very good point , and thanks for mentioning , I would have very likely never have thought of this.

Again guys , this may be an effort in futility ,and serve no real purpose, other than folly. It was a project that I began one evening while I was waiting on a run ,and the thumper turned out nicely for a rookie just punching holes in a tin lid. Seems to be like the idea of dropping a V8 into a Volkswagen....it can be done , but why ?

[Prairiepiss]

If that's the reason for placement after the condenser. Then you would need to construct a second condenser to place after the thumper. So you will have added clutter anyway.

If space is a concern. An inline thumper mite fit your bill better. Something like LWTCS has. Something to consider if you really want a thumper.

[lumberped]

Sometimes , more often than not , our wants and needs weigh out differently. This appears to be the case here , so I think this idea will go into the back closet along with the other ones like being married to someone like Laura Croft or owning a gold mine in S. Africa. But it never hurts to give the rediculoous a whirl every now and again. Afterall , some of the worlds greatest inventions have been marvelous mistakes.

Thanks for the feedback anyway guys.

Me thinks I would be better suited by upgrading my overall rig rather than toying with useless fancies on it.

Cant turn a sows ear into a silk purse and all.


Thanks again


Lumberped

[rad14701]

Glad to hear that you've listened to reason and seen the light, lumberped... Not really sure how you thought condensed liquid spirits would heat back up and redistill as vapor in a thumper anyway... You'll have to wait for physics to catch up with your way of thinking on that one...

You're on the right track with considering an upgrade, but make sure you do ample research, including thumper theory, before proceeding... You never know,there may be a thumper somewhere in your future after all...

[lumberped]

LOL Rad ! I seem to have omitted the logic behind my heat theory on the glass thumper. I haven't gotten THAT rediculous yet , but give me time. The heat was going to be generated by not using the cooling water on the leibig , and just allowing it to function as a lynn arm ( spelling may be incorrect) or spout into the thumper , and allowing the hot vapor to reheat the distillate. So there was some thought to heating....just not good thought !

See my rig is basically a hybridized pot/reflux still, if you havent seen her picture from last year. If I pull the packing from the column , and do not hook up the cold water to the condenser , I have a straight laced pot still. Her column is too short to be a very efficient reflux design , but the packing media does allow an ample amount of reflux to produce very clean spirits. I have been able to pull off 90% abv on several occasions from her. This is all dependent on the quality of material put in of course ; but she does perform the duties required of her very well.

But as in all cases , if you've never used a highly efficient tool , then you think that the one you have is the best you can get. That is until your buddy happens to drop by one day with his wonder tool, and totally screw up your vantage point on life !

Its a broad learning curve that this hobby requires , and I am obviously only beginning on the uphill side of that curve.... But hey ! Im much deeper into the curve than when I first drew my idea on paper and found this sight!

Thanks again for all of the good steering !


Lumberped

[Dnderhead]

""Open flames if used could make a nice fire ball. ""
I keep seeing this .it does not take a open flame to ignite alcohol .spilling on anything hot like the still can be enough for spontaneous combustion. the flash point of alcohol is 55f/11c ,the spontaneous ignition is 750f but here is the kicker.
it drops to 93c /200 f if it is vaporized. so that means if you spill alcohol on the hot boiler it will vaporize and can combust spontaneously.
this was used as a test for proof ,just throw a shot on the hot still if it flaird up you knew it was hi proof.
this is not recommended to do this in a building.

[Fourway]

Cant turn a sows ear into a silk purse and all.

^^^^^^^
This


...And you can't drive a nail with a sponge, no matter how hard you soak it.

[Prairiepiss]

""Open flames if used could make a nice fire ball. ""
I keep seeing this .it does not take a open flame to ignite alcohol .spilling on anything hot like the still can be enough for spontaneous combustion. the flash point of alcohol is 55f/11c ,the spontaneous ignition is 750f but here is the kicker.
it drops to 93c /200 f if it is vaporized. so that means if you spill alcohol on the hot boiler it will vaporize and can combust spontaneously.
this was used as a test for proof ,just throw a shot on the hot still if it flaird up you knew it was hi proof.
this is not recommended to do this in a building.

I did not know this. And haven't seen it mentioned before. Thanks for the info.

[lumberped]

""Open flames if used could make a nice fire ball. ""
I keep seeing this .it does not take a open flame to ignite alcohol .spilling on anything hot like the still can be enough for spontaneous combustion. the flash point of alcohol is 55f/11c ,the spontaneous ignition is 750f but here is the kicker.
it drops to 93c /200 f if it is vaporized. so that means if you spill alcohol on the hot boiler it will vaporize and can combust spontaneously.
this was used as a test for proof ,just throw a shot on the hot still if it flaird up you knew it was hi proof.
this is not recommended to do this in a building.]

This is very true , another consideration for some of our fellow distillers in the less humid regions of the world.....as the relative humidity drops the danger of a flash increases almost exponentially.

So this is something to be very aware of as we all proceed. Nothing to be afraid of , but definitely something to be abundantly aware of. Safety first, second , third and last ! No amount of enjoyment or pure spirit is worth risking your family or health for!