Absolute noob making his first.....monstrosity!

[black grouse]

I've no idea whi i did swirly bits btw..... meant to be a straight pipe

[black grouse]

well, got one of them condensers I posted up above being made as we speak..... FOC!!!!!

Damn its hard graft this building a still pmfsl

[bearriver]

Lookin good. Check the liebig calculator on the parent site.

[black grouse]

I'm looking, but I'm drunk tbh......been a long week!
Is what I posted sufficient ?

[black grouse]

I've looked but it seems to be determined by the power source in watts..... and I have no idea what the equivilant power from a gas burner is so recon I will just go for 1.5 meters of condenser.

[black grouse]

Here she goes

[Dan P.]

I've looked but it seems to be determined by the power source in watts..... and I have no idea what the equivilant power from a gas burner is so recon I will just go for 1.5 meters of condenser.

What volume of water you put through it will also be a factor of what a leibig can handle.
Certainly as a rule of thumb you can't have too big a condenser, though you can have too small a one, and for your boiler I think yours might be a bit to small. Test it out condensing water vapour if you want to make sure.

[black grouse]

I pick it up Monday.... It was made by a chemistry tech so hoping it will be OK.... He gave me a dram of his home made stuff lol.
I will measure etc then. Hope its large enough.... Spared to be a 1.5 Meyer condenser so fingers crossed

[black grouse]

Sorry I haven't responded, my youngest threw my macbook pro across the room and I no longer have a laptop!!! AARRGGHHHHHH

Hmmm..... got it home and you might be right.... it does look a little small in width however the volume of water going through it will be as fast as I can make it from a mains supply and its very cold water where I am.
Would the width of the outlet matter other than pressurising the tank whilst heating if it couldn't escape fast enough ?

[ShineRunnah]

Without getting into a lengthy explanation of why, I will give you my thoughts.

I run a boiler of 23 gallons, just a touch smaller than yours. The condenser is a Liebig with 3/4" vapor tube and a water jacket 1.25" x 40" long. Though a 1" dia. water jacket would work fine. This is a very effective size for a boiler of that volume and has proven to work very well with no problems at all over the past few years.

I personally wouldn't bother with a 3/8" liebig on that big a boiler.

if you want more info on why i make this suggestion, I would do further research on condensers and the issues that occur when you need to run excessive cooling water to achieve proper effectiveness.

[black grouse]

Ok.... you guys know more than me tbh when I saw it it looked small.... I will just make a bigger one

[black grouse]

Does anyone know where I would find a 2 1/2" ( where the element was situated ) blank or reducer to allow a thermometer install?

Preferably in the UK

[Dan P.]

Does anyone know where I would find a 2 1/2" ( where the element was situated ) blank or reducer to allow a thermometer install?

Preferably in the UK

BES plumbing supplies are likely to have something.

[Prawnstarr13]

Use an immersion boss and then blank that it's 2.1/4 " I'd try an old school plumbers merchant

[NZChris]

3/8" is just big enough to be a PITA. 1/2", especially ID, is much better.

A coil in the jacket helps too

[black grouse]

I shall get there funds are a little low atm tho shame to waste that condenser - wonder if I could flog it to someone with a smaller setup?

[black grouse]

Well..... ordered a 2 1/4" boss today and a blowtorch ( somehow mine appears to be missing the nozzle! I blame dad ) and a 2 1/4" blank for filling it etc.
I also need to hunt.... I have a machinery thermometer somewhere which I plan to find and braise into the top somewhere as long as the temp gauge is around the right range.
Ordered from a mate 2x 22mm turn valves for the bottom. I did wonder about just using 1 and a blank but as I can get 2 valves free I thought why not.
Also ordered ( don't all shout at me please ) a 15/22mm coupling to give it a trial with the condenser I have before I get the materials to make up a larger condenser.

Still need.... all the larger condenser parts... and a nice big ( 50-100litre ) fermenter but ran out of funds.

[Dan P.]

I don't think you will need to worry about a thermometer. Not many people use them.

[black grouse]

Dont laugh Dan, but I wondered about making another one as well - a sort of prototype.
I considered getting another immersion heater and cutting a hole in the bottom for a 2 1/4 boss and short element hooked upto a thermostat.
Set the stat at the right temp and doing it that way - no more naked flame ? Anyone else tried this or does the element scorch before heating the entire lot up ?

[black grouse]

o O ( or perhaps a fishtank heater as its glass insulated )

[scotty 74]

Lookin good m8