Flute perforated plates plus section with ceramic packing

[Big Bert]

Hey Cooperjohn, yes a lot of plates are over kill,But the joy of watching 6/8/12/18 plates all work is a rush, I have a a lot of stuff, as far as running with packing I use a 8 " extension below the deflag with copper or rings,this also sits on a 2" extension to have some space between the top plate and the packing,also I leave a2"" space at the top of the 8". Works for me

BB

[emptyglass]

Copperjohn, I think you will find the HB still will work fine for flavoured drinks once you get it running right. Heaps of heat is ok to reduce your boil up time, but you'll want to back it off as your boiler approaches running tempreture.
Your 6 plate may do a good job on neutrals with a packed section above the plates, but 6 plates will tend to strip a lot of flavour. Would be good if you can make one plate removable if you intend to make flavoured products (whiskey, rum, brandy) through it.

[Copperjohn]

You all have given me a lot to think about. One modification I am going to make is to make the plate tree removable so I can reduce the number of plates if I want to. From all your comments it seems that I probably don't need a packing section for my 6 plate and probably not my 4 plate either so I'll save that for a later project.

If I wanted to make a vodka; is six plates enough or is six plates just enough to screw up a whiskey and not enough for a pure neutral / vodka?

[emptyglass]

If I wanted to make a vodka; is six plates enough or is six plates just enough to screw up a whiskey and not enough for a pure neutral / vodka?

Yeah, you about got it.
If you want neutral, you'll need quite a few more plates without packing, if you want whiskey, you don't need as many.
You will screw up your whiskey with six devoted plates.

One disadvantage with removable plates is you cant fix them in place by their removable nature, but you need a good seal between the plates and the column wall, else your still wont perform as good as it could

[Copperjohn]

Empty-----

If I attach my 4 plate to my 6 plate will that be enough to produce a proper neutral? If so, I will permanently affix the plates in my six plate.

[emptyglass]

I cant tell you not to.
I can tell you I have run a 10 plate still, strapped to my shed roof it was that tall, and it didn't do as good as 5 plates and 24" of lava rock.

your more than welcome to walk the same road.

Edit; vodka and flavoured product are 2 different things

[Copperjohn]

Empty---
Rather not walk that road if I don't have to.

Do you think my 6 plate plus 24 inches of lava rock would do the trick then for a quality neutral?

[dan]

CJ-
Just use five plates in your column and leave the sixth sight glass for the reflux from the bottom plate. Then use a 24" section above the plates when you want to produce a neutral product. Just do a simple modification to your plate tree. The project I am getting ready to build will be a total of five 1/8" plates with a removable 24" packed section for lava to make neutral. Five plates allows you to run fast and carry flavor over as long as your downcomers are sized correctly (3/4") and you can create full reflux at full power.

-Dan

[Copperjohn]

Dan,

My down comers are 3/4. I will knock it down to 5 plates. It wont be too much trouble to make the change.

I just got a little hung up on the number of plates. Sort of a more is better kind of thing. I guess not.
Thanks for the input.

[Copperjohn]

The makings of my Deflag.

[Copperjohn]

Fluxed up.

[Copperjohn]

Condenser guts.

[Copperjohn]

Sight glass dry fit.

[Copperjohn]

As you can see I have a couple of stainless steel ferrules waiting to become part of a dephlagemater. I've never done an easy flange and I thought the stainless would be easier. I think I was wrong.

[Copperjohn]

Plate tree on special plate tree hanger that was removed from the house and relocated to the garage by my wife.

[googe]

Nice work mate! . How bigs your deflag?, if there to long they can be a bit of a pain to run, but some do put another line halfway along it to reduce coolent amounts, they said it works good. I like your tree, I think emptyglass does a similar downcomer?. love watching these builds . Good luck.

[Copperjohn]

Googe---
From plate to plate the Deflag is 6 inches. The pipe it's stuffed into is eight. I made it 2 inches larger than the one on my hillbilly flute and i also changed the shotgun design to see if I could make it more efficient.

Clearly I have been running my HF too hot, but I'm going to put this Deflag on my HF and see if it makes a difference.

[acfixer69]

You should try your HB set up as is and try running a bit lower input first. Changing two things at once and you will learn nothing about running your rig. Slow down do one thing at a time you will gain more info in the long run.

AC

[Copperjohn]

AC---

I'm definitely going to do that, but I also want to learn something about the efficiency (if any) of my newly created Deflag and see if makes a difference when I throw my usual amount of heat at it. We'll see.

[Copperjohn]

A bit of progress.

image.jpg (42.91 KiB) Viewed 3590 times

[acfixer69]

The column looks very nice. The plate tree I'm looks to have issues. Let us know how it runs.

AC

edit: Have you run the stock set up as sent to you yet?

[Copperjohn]

Yes..I've run the hillbilly flute more than a few times. As I have mentioned I've only been able to get about 150 to 160 proof out of it probably becuase I've put too much heat to it too fast. I haven't run it since learning that though. I've been too busy building. I'm almost finshed with this build and then I'll be running them both.

[dan]

-CJ
You are doing a great job keep the bar high for the rest of us!! Would those be StillDragon sight glass kits?? I think you are trying to make my work look bad! You are building a piece of art that will last for generations and it will make spirits too!

-Dan

[wv_cooker]

Hey Copperjohn coming right along nicely. Your work is looking great. I am not sure what problems AC is seeing with the plate tree but I know that Emptyglass cuts his downcomers at an angle as you have, however he turns the angle toward the outside or toward the outside wall. Maybe he will chime in and let us know if this is a real issue. I think turned the way you have them might allow reflux to rush out onto the plate and cause it to drain prematurely. Though I am no expert and not for sure of this maybe Empty or one that knows will chime in. Anyway Looks good!

[Copperjohn]

WV----
Well...then i'm quite glad the tree is removeable. Won't be too long and I'll give her a go and report back. Thanks for the complement on the work.

[googe]

Nice job mate!, you'll be very happy with the product it produces .

[emptyglass]

If your plate tree is removable copperjohn, give it a go as is, it may work just fine.
WV is right, I do face my downcomer outlets towards the column wall in an attempt to send the product "around" the plates, and not across them.
There is a thread somewhere here (I can never find it) of a commercial still with experiments on plate dynamics. It shows some dyed fluid running across the plates, and then around the plates. Although its commercial scale, it shows the effects.
Not sure if it matters much in a 4" column.

If your plate tree was to be fixed in place, I'd say turn the downcomers around to be on the safe side, but you might be able to dispel a myth/theory.

BTW, like your plate tree hanger.

[Copperjohn]

Empty

I remember seeing that experiment. I wish I had remebered and considered it when when putting the DC's in. My bet is it won't matter though. I'll let you all know how it works out.

[dan]

CJ-

Can you give us a quick update on your column build?? How does it run or have you tried it yet?

-Dan

[Copperjohn]

I don't have a warm place to ferment. I'd love to give it a run but I've been informed by my boss that I can no longer practice my hobby in my house and my garage has no heat. As soon as the weather breaks a bit I'll get on it and let you all know how it runs.