I have about 7 feet of 3 inch copper pipe and about 6 ft. of 2.5 inch and 6 ft. of 2 inch . I want to make a plated still. I am going to plug it into my 30 amp dryer outlet. How many plates could I make it ? Could my plug handle a 5500 watt element in my 15.5 gallon keg. I would like to make it with 5 plates with 3 - 2 1/2 inch sight glasses to start with to keep the price down. I would do them top, middle and bottom. Does anybody have any plans/drawings with some templates that they would share. Is there an ideal spacing between the plates or height of the column? I was thinking about putting a packed section on top of the shotgun for Vodka. How long would I need to make the shotgun with 7 1/2 inch pipe?
I have been running a 5 Gallon pot still on the stovetop with a worm condenser until my wife got a ceramic stove top. I was just going to put an element in it till I started looking in some forums. Any suggestions about design and dimensions to help me map this puppy out would be very appreciated .
I have read through many flute build threads, most of them are 4" copper, I have 3", I don't want to waste my time or more importantly the copper to build something that will not perform as intended. There are not that many out of 3", does that mean I should try and find some 4" pipe? I have seen a lot of shotguns that look to be about 8 " long and others that are 20". What is the proper length? I am pretty sure 20" would work, but why waste the copper if 8" works. Some people say to put the biggest element you can run off your power source in your boiler, I have seen lots of posts saying 2400 watts is the perfect size. I am looking for advice from someone who has built a flute with 3" with proven results.
The sight glass tube look to be about 1.5" long, does the length matter? I think the plate tree is the most critical part of the still ( I may be wrong ) Is there a required distance between plates? is that distance the same for 3" an 4" ( my brain says NO ) Maybe I am overthinking these things
You are entirely overthinking these things. i think 3" will work but I can't tell you for sure. I would use that 3" for your condenser and start scouring the scrap yards for a piece of 4" about 4 feet long. You won't be disappointed especially if you upgrade to a larger pot or larger heating element
Loook for nchootch's build. He built a three inch plated column.
welcome aboard some of us are ornery old coots but if you do a lot of
reading and don't ask stupid questions you'll be alright most are
big help
Dunder
Read the flute talk thread. The parent site has a bunch of calcs for everything you need. I personally like 4" for plate spacing. As for the condensors do some math figure out how you want it to be set up or look with function.
Life is a journey you take alone. Make sure you do what you what makes you happy
I was hoping it would be good, do I need ferrules or can I just do the easy flange? Would it be best to flare out a lip for extra strength ? Can I used the thin wall copper for my plates or should I use the 2.5 inch M copper for them? I have read that I need 4-6 inches between the plates, what is the difference? How do I "do the math" for the shotgun and PC ? I have seen site glasses from trap adaptors or pipe with copper "washers" and tri-clamps. Would I use gaskets or O-rings between the glass and the copper? Looking to go the cheapest way ( I have lots of time ). Thanks for all the answers and suggestions
jedneck wrote:Loook for nchootch's build. He built a three inch plated column.
A big for this Jed, toolman you will not go wrong with this,and as far getting or only want advice from someone that has built a 3", you will be missing out on a heap of advice from those of us that have built 4" plate columns and have been running them for yrs,the only difference is scale
They are pretty close to the same with same % of hole for plate area,downcomers can be scaled back,size of condensers scaled back. Just some FYI
I didn't mean to exclude the people with ton's of knowledge more than I have, I welcome all comments !! I just didn't want to build something that wouldn't produce as well as your 4 inch ( just slower) I didn't want to assume all I needed to do was scale mine 25% smaller and expect it to work
The "math" is you want a PC and RC that can handle the heat you put to it. Say you want a 2" shotgun the size of and number of tubes will determine the length you need then add to that the length you want it. The calcs are on the parent site. The rest of the questions you have can be answered on the flute talk thread if you read it. As for making the plates use 1" its cheaper with a whole lot less waste.
Life is a journey you take alone. Make sure you do what you what makes you happy
Here a couple pic from the side, I never found any measurements of the tubes for the site glasses. I used 2.5 inch copper and cut it to 1.25 inch in length, they will be about 1 inch, once they are fitted to the column. I am still debating whether to cut some washers or use stainless ferrules for them. Any thoughts on these or any other methods ( less dollars and more work preferred )
How are you building your sight glasses? You will need a way to retain the glass. How about circlips. You would need to cut a groove for the circlip to fit in to but that should be achievable with a dremel or similar.
I just finished my plated column and built most of everything myself. I discovered that when you make your sight glass housing make sure you put a little relief in it at the edge of the glass. If your clamping system puts pressure on the edge of the glass it will be more susceptible to cracking. I did buy the glass pre made. $4.00 each was a deal in my book.
I would use the 1.5 inch slip joint adaptors if I could find then in Canada for a reasonable price. $16 each on amazon.com but they don't ship them to Canada. They are $46 each from amazon.ca plus shipping.
How do I make the plates from 1 inch copper? I can cut it with a saws all length wise, but how do you straighten it out? Does it get soft enough by annealing it?
I use a grinder with a cutoff wheel to cut it lengthwise. I then aneal it pry it open and pound it flat with a rubber mallet. I then use an adjustable hole cutter to make the plate the perfect fit.
Life is a journey you take alone. Make sure you do what you what makes you happy
Toolman wrote:I would use the 1.5 inch slip joint adaptors if I could find then in Canada for a reasonable price. $16 each on amazon.com but they don't ship them to Canada. They are $46 each from amazon.ca plus shipping.
How do I make the plates from 1 inch copper? I can cut it with a saws all length wise, but how do you straighten it out? Does it get soft enough by annealing it?
Check the master plumber stuff at Home Depot, home hardware, Canadian tire, Rona. Your looking for an 1 1/2" tailpiece nut.
Thanks Drunk-n-Smurf for the Tip where to find the copper slip adaptors, be a lot less work to use them for site glasses but I think I would like a bigger site glass. Now at least I have a choice. I picked up my reducers and here is a dry fit. Next is to make the plates. I think I will try and make the 2.5 in pipe I have already cut into site glasses while I wait till Wolseley gets them in stock. corene1 has inspired me to try and make instead of buying
The pipe I am trying to cut and anneal is refrigeration copper, It still seems pretty hard after trying to anneal it, I don't think I can cut it with snips. Do I dunk it or try to cool it slowly? I have been told to do it both ways?????
I am going to plug it into my 30 amp dryer outlet. How many plates could I make it ? Could my plug handle a 5500 watt element in my 15.5 gallon keg. I would like to make it with 5 plates with 3 - 2 1/2 inch sight glasses to start with to keep the price down. I would do them top, middle and bottom. Does anybody have any plans/drawings with some templates that they would share. Is there an ideal spacing between the plates or height of the column? I was thinking about putting a packed section on top of the shotgun for Vodka. How long would I need to make the shotgun with 7 1/2 inch pipe?
