Building a boiler out of a sand filter

Post by **shadylane** » Wed Oct 07, 2015 2:47 pm

I know your right and it will be easy to weld. What chaps my ass, for years I wanted a two piece boiler.
I got one and now I'm going to weld it together

Post by **shadylane** » Wed Oct 07, 2015 3:40 pm

Here's a preview of what it will look like.
I'm almost done with this stage of the build.
It's about time to start on the still head,

Post by **acfixer69** » Wed Oct 07, 2015 4:10 pm

shadylane wrote:I know your right and it will be easy to weld. What chaps my ass, for years I wanted a two piece boiler.
I got one and now I'm going to weld it together

That's funny I always wanted access too, a dome was my dream. I can't remember why anymore hummm.

AC

Post by **still_stirrin** » Wed Oct 07, 2015 7:50 pm

shadylane wrote:Here's a preview of what it will look like...

Dang, Shady. That thing's good looking...buffed up like that...with a painted stand. Gosh, is it for sale?
ss

Post by **Brutal** » Thu Oct 08, 2015 5:44 am

If that rubber seal is round it would be easy to wrap in ptfe tape. If you do that though remember the clamps will have to stand up to side loads from the column that will be attached to it. Water lines, getting bumped, if that makes it move it could compromise the seal.

I think this boiler is looking really great. If I had to make good lookin' stuff I'd be screwed.

Post by **cranky** » Thu Oct 08, 2015 6:12 am

A few months ago Bearriver showed me some PTFE rope he got, maybe off ebay? But it would be the perfect thing to seal that boiler up and keep it 2 pieces.

Post by **shadylane** » Thu Oct 08, 2015 6:36 am

Thanks for the idea cranky, found a "FDA-compliant PTFE compression packing seal" that comes in a 5' length that just might fit the bill.

Post by **yakattack** » Thu Oct 08, 2015 11:13 am

shadylane wrote:Thanks for the idea cranky, found a "FDA-compliant PTFE compression packing seal" that comes in a 5' length that just might fit the bill.

Speaking of bill... How expensive is that?

Yak

Post by **googe** » Thu Oct 08, 2015 12:15 pm

Looks awesome shady!, love the ideas you've put into this, very inventive

. Ptfe tube could work for a seal too, and there's some different shaped seals put there too, that might work http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Vibrator ... 2,201560_1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Post by **shadylane** » Thu Oct 08, 2015 2:14 pm

Gave up on building a drum clamp for it and just welded the dam thing together. Figured it was time to move on to the next part of the project.
I need some 4" copper pipe but don't have any. But I do have some 2-1/2" and 1-1/2"

That'll keep me busy for a day or two.

Post by **shadylane** » Thu Oct 08, 2015 2:17 pm

yakattack wrote:
shadylane wrote:Thanks for the idea cranky, found a "FDA-compliant PTFE compression packing seal" that comes in a 5' length that just might fit the bill.

Speaking of bill... How expensive is that?

Yak

$65 for the 1/2" square

Post by **bearriver** » Fri Oct 09, 2015 6:27 am

Pure compressible Ptfe valve stem packing is nothing short of amazing, but it is also stupid expensive. I can send you a 5' chunk for nothing if you're interested Shady, just send me a pm. I bought a large spool awhile back for a boiler gasket. It is 3/4" round, but I built a jig to cut the gasket into any desired shape or thickness.

I don't think a drum ring can effectivly grab the thin lips on the boiler. You may have to build the lips up thicker on the boiler for it to grab onto, or modify the ring.

When tightening a drum ring, go slowly. Every few turns you need to hit the ring horizontally all the way around the circumference with a rubber mallet. Otherwise it will overtighten some spots compared to others and cause a leak. Then if you continue to overtighten under those circumstances to fix the leak, it will chew up the expensive gasket.

Post by **shadylane** » Fri Oct 09, 2015 9:30 am

bearriver wrote:I don't think a drum ring can effectivly grab the thin lips on the boiler. You may have to build the lips up thicker on the boiler for it to grab onto, or modify the ring.

Figured that out the hard way, that's why I finally just welded the damn thing.

Post by **shadylane** » Sun Oct 18, 2015 4:38 pm

I'm making a very simple pot-still head to connect the boiler to a condenser.
When I say simple, I mean simple. The condenser is 1" so the riser will be 1"
That means something will be needed to connect the 4" ferrel on the boiler to the 1" riser.

Post by **pfshine** » Sun Oct 18, 2015 4:55 pm

Can't wait to see it. I made one 4" ×3/4" by making a plate with pipe doubled it up to be thick and stout. Then flared out a 3/4" coupling (its a little bigger). I drilled a 7/8" hole through both plates. Then soldered the plates together and the coupling on top with a length of pipe out of it. Works a dream.

Monkeyman88 · Post by **Monkeyman88** » Sun Oct 18, 2015 10:38 pm

What about doing what pfshine did. But instead of soldering the coupling to the top of the plate. Sandwich the flare between the two plates. Then solder it all together. Would that work? Might make a stronger joint?

Post by **shadylane** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 4:13 pm

Didn't have enough 1 inch tubing in the scrap pile, so I had to use 1-1/2" for the riser.
I cut a copper disk out of some .065copper for the ferrel connection and welded it to the 1-1/2 tube.
I then drilled a 1-1/4 hole from the bottom and welded it again.
The copper is now real soft since it was annealed by the heat, so I'll hammer on it to make it hard again.
The top part was easy, I drilled a 1" hole for the union and brazed a piece of scrap on the end, then trimmed off the excess.
I also added a piece of tubing on the end, for the pot-still thermometer.
Haven't cleaned it up yet, but I'll get to that tomorrow.

Post by **pfshine** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 4:31 pm

Man you banged this thing out fast. And looks good to boot. It should treat ya good.

Post by **shadylane** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 5:12 pm

Appreciate the compliment. Saying it's ugly and very effective would have been more accurate.

The copper disk that mates with the ferrel is still slightly over sized. I'm not going to trim it until the very last, I'll let the clamp decide.
I'll clamp the disk between a pair of ferrels while I'm work hardening the copper. In other words clamp it and then beat on it.
After the copper is work hardened, unclamp it from the ferrel, add the gasket, clamp it up and figure out how much you need to trim off the copper disk. If you f#$k up and make it a little too small in diam. Within limits you can add solder or bronze to make it up in thickness.
If you really made the disk too small, make another the right size and solder it to the one you have. now you have double thickness.

hoochlover · Post by **hoochlover** » Wed Oct 21, 2015 8:05 pm

Looks really good shadylane. You inspire me to invest in welding equipment!

It's amazing what you can do with the right tools and a bit of ingenuity.

Post by **raketemensch** » Mon Dec 14, 2015 8:00 pm

How's it working out, shady?

Post by **shadylane** » Tue Dec 15, 2015 1:40 pm

It's working just fine. I modified the legs and downsized to a 1" drain.
Here's the boiler set up with a 4" CM column.

Post by **raketemensch** » Wed Dec 16, 2015 11:20 am

Looking good. Those condensers look like they must knock down a helluva lot of watts.

Post by **Copper Thumper** » Wed Dec 16, 2015 11:40 am

VERY cool!

Post by **shadylane** » Wed Dec 16, 2015 3:15 pm

Here's the dephlegamator build. The product condenser is 1" inside 1-1/2"
One of these days, I'll get around to re-plumbing the cooling water valves and put flow gages on it.
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 50&t=57949

toast860 · Post by **toast860** » Wed Dec 16, 2015 5:48 pm

I have the same one. Ive been thinking on how to pull it off for years. Now i know where to start.

Post by **shadylane** » Tue Nov 29, 2016 1:26 pm

I took the adjustable feet off the legs and put on some caster wheels

Post by **shadylane** » Fri Jul 05, 2024 8:39 pm

The cast on my wrist brings back memories.
Nothing to do with making the boiler, it was from falling off the shed while building it.

Post by **Yummyrum** » Fri Jul 05, 2024 9:41 pm

shadylane wrote: ↑Fri Jul 05, 2024 8:39 pm The cast on my wrist brings back memories.
Nothing to do with making the boiler, it was from falling off the shed while building it.

Why were you building a boiler on the Shed roof Shady

Post by **shadylane** » Fri Jul 05, 2024 10:14 pm

Damned if I remember, most likely it had something to do with moonshine.

Home Distiller

Building a boiler out of a sand filter

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