A fun LM design or am I an idiot?

[Tropic]

I’m looking at my first build in the next few months and am thinking along the lines of a liquid management still. I want to achieve azeotrope at a sensible rate but I want to do something a bit fun. Would this work?

From what I can tell, the job of the column head of a liquid management still is to condense the gas into a liquid. Some of this liquid gets tapped off but it is the head’s job to reflux the rest back down the middle of the column into the packing.

Other than that, it seems to be all about looking cool. And in my view, the best looking ones are the glass ones where you can see it work.
I'm thinking of building a 140cm x 7.5cm column with a head that is a 18cm x 18cm glass cylinder vase inverted over an inverted condensing coil sitting on a stainless steel bowl with a hole cut in the middle to go around the top of the column. Since liquid is only formed on the condenser, it will all get collected in the bowl around the column. The product is collected from the bowl via a valved pipe and the rest of the liquid falls down to the middle via tabs around the rim of the top of the column. The vase will be held down via straps going over the top to the edge of the bowl. I’ll need to vent it somewhere – maybe by a little bend in the bowl under the jar.

It should be fairly simple to build, even simpler than a boka. Cut and bend the tabs on the top of the column. Cut a hole out of the centre of the bowl for the column. Cut two holes for the condenser and one for the product pipe. Wrap the condenser (big diameter so should be easy). Braze in the condenser and product pipes to the bowl. Braze the bowl onto the column. Sit the jar on the bowl and strap it down. Make some alcamahol.

[Yummyrum]

I like it ..... you must have been looking at too many of Swedish prides bloody staino bowl builds

Things to be cautious of are the seal between the glass and the bowl . A teflon tape wrapped cardboard gasket would be a good choice .

Not so sure about using a normal drinking glass . If you could find a pyrex one that would be a safer choice or even a section of borosilicate ( which is pyrex ) tubing . This is available from science supply companys and would fix the vent issue

If you do go with a glass type container you would have to vent from the top and down and up ... but you probably guessed that .
We generally cringe a bit when someone comes on with an "out there idea" ....but so long as it ticks all the safety boxes and is done well then go for it .

[Yummyrum]

A further thought .
Just looking again , you seem to have a small squat condenser coil .Either you may need to make it a double or triple helix to fill the space or ar minimum stuff the guts of it with staino scrubbers .

In a normal say 2" column the coil would be around 7-10 " long .... partly that is to deal with the high vapour speed in such a narrow pipe .
You look like you are going from a small pipe to a larger diameter which will slow vapour speed but I am concerned that it will still go predominantly up the guts where the coil isn't . Just something to muse over
And iffn you are going to use coils in the middle then maybe a hat over the up comer pipe to divert the condenced reflux to the edge of the collection bowl might be an idea so it doesn't run down the middle

[Tropic]

Thanks Yummyrum,
I've looked up borosilicate and the best I've found are 2 and 3 litre beakers. It's a shame they're all marked with etched gradations but I suppose I can just face that away from my viewing. The beaker is better clarity and should be significantly lighter too so I reckon I'll go with it.
I wasn't planning on using a gasket, just sitting it on the plate. The liquid would form a seal of sorts but could also provide some venting if I put a small kink in the bowl under the jar. The bottom of the jar is above the fluid level and in the coolest and lowest pressure part of the rig.
The condenser would be 15cm high and 15cm diameter. This is the equivalent of a 75cm (30 inch) column coil (at 3cm diameter). I'm hoping that is overkill. And since it is all over the reservoir then it won't need a hat over the column.
I can imagine the eye rolling at a newbie's ideas. I'm prepared to make a few mistakes in my build but it is good to get the experience of those who have been there and done that. So, thanks for your advice and of anyone else who wants to chime in. If you think this is safe and will work I'll go with it. I like to be a bit different. Just look at my avatar - that's my chinese crested dog.

[zapata]

The general idea does not seem unworkable. The lack of the gasket between glass and bowl does not seem safe to me. Likewise it seems a terrible place to vent. I also agree you will need to at least pack that coil, and if you do you will let at least some condensate fall back down the middle and miss the liquid trap.

Basically, I think you've got some work to do fine tuning it.

May I offer up a few humble opinions? Take 'em for what you're paying for them, I'm not trying to be mean. Sight glasses on bubble cap and perf plates are cool to look at and useful to the process. Sight glasses on a reflux coil are boring and offer almost no useful function. At that, with this thing strapped down somehow, and made out of a bowl and a beaker, I think it's gonna look janky, not cool. Sorry

If you really want a visible coil, why not put it in a commercial sight glass? You could clamp it onto some sort of modular LM trap and it would be both safe, and look like it was supposed to be there. You can get 3" triclamp sight glass on ebay for about $50.