I need a nudge in the right direction

[Corn Cracker]

I have a 41 inch piece of 2 inch copper and plenty of ¼ and ⅜ copper tubing, i am planning on retiring my crawfish boiler and getting a 15g keg in the near future and was contemplating what to put on top so, i started reading/ researching, my eyes bled and i now have info overload.

I currently have 2 liebig condensers, 1 is ½ inside¾ and the other is ½ inside 1 inch that i could use but, I was thinking of making a Bokakob and while scouring the threads, i started 2nd guessing, there seems a few options that can be made from my materials.
I'm a plumber so i have the soldering and brazing skills and access to copper fittings.
I just don't have the experience to know that a boka is superior and is all i will need in the future. I'm not sure why some choose to have a 7 foot tall piece of pipe coming off the top of their still and some only a 6 inch piece going to a liebig or shotgun condenser. I get having more room for packing material but how much is too much packing? some I've seen some that need to have a red blinking light on top to detour aircraft.

[Bushman]

What do you mainly want to make? This should be the driving force in what you build.

[Corn Cracker]

Bourbon and all corn.
That being said, a packable column would leave the option for a neutral run if i understood it right.
My goal is a good product, I'm not chasing 90%, just the best spirit i can make and enjoy. Jim beam is dead to me now hello sweet corn

[S-Cackalacky]

That 41" piece of 2" pipe would be just the right length for a reflux column. I would suggest looking at building a CCVM column. With a modular design, it can serve as both a pot still for brown spirits and reflux still for neutral spirits.

Take your time and do some research here on the forums. Then, carefully plot a course you want to take for your build.

Have fun and stay safe.

[Deplorable]

That 41" piece of 2" pipe would be just the right length for a reflux column. I would suggest looking at building a CCVM column. With a modular design, it can serve as both a pot still for brown spirits and reflux still for neutral spirits.

Take your time and do some research here on the forums. Then, carefully plot a course you want to take for your build.

Have fun and stay safe.

+1
You've got a great start on a CCVM modular kit.

[Tummydoc]

Yep, forget the boka. Make two 20 inch spools with triclamp ferrules on the ends from that pipe.. Then you can go pot, ccvm reflux, or use the spools to connect to your eventual 15g thumper!

I had planned on a boka until i saw Dad300's CCVM threads. Happy with what I've got. Save the feints from your whiskey runs and run them for a neutral when youve got enough. I save mine in a spare keg.

[Corn Cracker]

I just don't get the concept yet, i have a bunch of learning to do with all the vm, cm, lm, pc, tc, omg it's too much at this point. Trust me, I've been reading and am starting to read back through it all to start making sense of it. I don't know if was the pics and diagram i saw of the Boka but it made sense ţo me, operation and build. But I'm fine waiting till i get a better understanding of the vm system

[Sporacle]

I struggled a bit to get my head around it at first as well and if its making sense as you read back then that's good, I find when I get confused by a design I draw it and then draw the vapours and the path they follow, then how they react with the reflux condensors and what path that makes them take and eventually where the finished product ends up

[Saltbush Bill]

I just don't get the concept yet, i have a bunch of learning to do with all the vm, cm, lm, pc, tc, omg it's too much at this point. Trust me, I've been reading and am starting to read back through it all to start making sense of it. I

We have all been there once.....the more you read the more it will sink in.
There are plenty of good diagrams around the forum that show how the different still types work.

[NZChris]

Bourbon and all corn.

The fanciest still you actually need for making high quality bourbon and corn is a pot still. Cheap and easy to build and run. Use tri-clamp fittings so that it's easy to add different still heads when you get around to it. Get started fermenting and putting away drinking stock while you investigate other still designs.

[Demy]

I understand how you feel good. Only my advice .. immediately to create something "universal" because over time you would like to do things different from the boubon .. the best advice (economic, easy, working) that I can give is build a CCVM, with A quite high column if packed you will have a reflux column, without packaging (and without reflux) you will have a pot-still. On the forum there are so many buildings and info, it is very easy to build and it is quite modular, you will not regret it for sure.

[Yummyrum]

I have to agree that a CCVM build would be your best option .

You can do it in steps .
First up , you want to make stuff that needs a Pot still .
So , you can make a skeleton CCVM . … unpacked and no reflux condenser ….: just cap the top and its Pot still .

Then…. when you want to make a Nuetral or Vodka , all you have to do is fill the empty column ( fir accuracy , it should be called a Riser when used on a Pot still ) with packing , remove the top cap , and make a slidable condenser .

Ideally , I wish you said you had 60” of 2” , then you could have made a dedicated Pot still and a VM … but then I’m slightly biased .

[kimbodious]

I have no build skills whatsoever. But by collecting a whole heap of bits and pieces I have an adults’ version of a Meccano set that I can clamp together to make either a pot still or a CCVM reflux column still. Both use the same product condenser and a lot of the same components. Check out the pictures on the links of my signature below.

If you are starting out with just the one still, make sure it is a pot still

[Corn Cracker]

Man, i appreciate all the nudges, i can't find an explanation as to:

why the need for the condenser on top of the T?
there's no collection plate under it directing the condensed vapor to the line arm so, it condenses and drops back down to the packed riser while other vapors sneak by and out the side of the Tee.

Why not pack the column and just use a 45 or 90 at the top

I like the idea of sliding the top condenser up and down to control the reflux instead of using a valve.

I can make the ccvm, no problem,
I'm just that guy that needs to know the why's of the process and design, it helps me understand. I drove my boss crazy asking the why's during my 4 year apprenticeship but, those answers he gave me made me the good plumber i am today.

Thanks, guys! I'm sure y'all are going to create a good distiller like my boss created a good plumber

[Saltbush Bill]

It all falls into place when you do it hands on in my opinion......if your a plumber you can solder.....get building.

[Sporacle]

+1 with SBB, Corn Cracker, my brain is wired like yours. I think, I read and think and read and change then I get confused so I change my mind. I needed to start practically doing stuff and then things made sense. Build the ccvm and start practically doing stuff, whats the worst that can happen

[Yummyrum]

Man, i appreciate all the nudges, i can't find an explanation as to:

why the need for the condenser on top of the T?
All reflux stills need a condenser above the Packing …. In the case of a CCVM , most of it’s above the Tee , … but …. Its how much is critically around the tee that determines the reflux ratio, … IE … how much vapour goes up and is condensed as reflux verses how much goes out the port
there's no collection plate under it directing the condensed vapor to the line arm correct , that would be how a Liquid management (LM) works … of which type a Boka is so, it condenses and drops back down to the packed riser while other vapors sneak by and out the side of the Tee. Yes , thats how Vapour Management ( VM) works …. A CCVM is a variant but closely related

Why not pack the column and just use a 45 or 90 at the topSure , but without a reflux condenser , its just a Pot still … infact, wrap the packed riser in a woollen blanket and it will behave just like a Pot still

I like the idea of sliding the top condenser up and down to control the reflux instead of using a valve.Yes , thats the simplicity ofvthe design

I can make the ccvm, no problem,
I'm just that guy that needs to know the why's of the process and design, it helps me understand. I drove my boss crazy asking the why's during my 4 year apprenticeship but, those answers he gave me made me the good plumber i am today.

Thanks, guys! I'm sure y'all are going to create a good distiller like my boss created a good plumber

[jonnys_spirit]

I started with a pot still. Purchased stainless spool and parts for a ccvm and haven’t had a need to run it yet. Pot still can do a lot and be quite flexible depending on what you put in it and how you run it. I’ll get the ccvm into service just to make the yearly batch of neutral but i’m going to re-purchase parts for all copper.

[Corn Cracker]

Alright guys, y'all really helped. Yummyrum, you broke it for me in a way i understood, SBB, thanks for the kick in the pants, I'm gonna read a lil more before i start it though. I'll post back in a couple of days

[squigglefunk]

+1 on starting with a simple pot still, why make it unnecessarily complicated at first if you want to make whiskey and corn liquor

if you already have the condenser really all you need is to build something like this



boom off and running!

if you want it stronger run it again

[Corn Cracker]

+1 on starting with a simple pot still, why make it unnecessarily complicated at first if you want to make whiskey and corn liquor

if you already have the condenser really all you need is to build something like this



I have a 20g stripper and a 4g polishing pot with heads like that and they work great. I was looking to upgrade a little when i got the keg still built.

[Corn Cracker]

I looked for a 2 inch copper T today, all i could find was a 2x2x1½, that's 1½coming out of the middle of the T. I wasn't sure if it would work so i didn't grab it, I'll get one later. I did get a 45, a coupling and a 10 inch long piece of 2 inch that i figure should be long enough for a cc at the top of the T.

[acfixer69]

1-1/2" will work but 2" will work better. If you still need one I use these guys all the time. I get next day on in stock parts for about five bucks shipping. https://www.supplyhouse.com/Elkhart-32970-2-CxCxC-Tee.

[Corn Cracker]

1-1/2" will work but 2" will work better. If you still need one I use these guys all the time. I get next day on in stock parts for about five bucks shipping. https://www.supplyhouse.com/Elkhart-32970-2-CxCxC-Tee.

That's a lil cheaper than i thought, I'll check prices at my supply house tomorrow. I was just seeing what we had laying around in the shop today.

[Deplorable]

1-1/2" will work but 2" will work better. If you still need one I use these guys all the time. I get next day on in stock parts for about five bucks shipping. https://www.supplyhouse.com/Elkhart-32970-2-CxCxC-Tee.

+1 good experience with them here. That's the only place I could find a 2×1/2 inch reducer for my shotgun end.

[Twisted Brick]

That's the only place I could find a 2×1/2 inch reducer for my shotgun end.

That's where I get mine. 3 days from online order to delivery to my door.

[squigglefunk]

I have a 20g stripper and a 4g polishing pot with heads like that and they work great. I was looking to upgrade a little when i got the keg still built.

ah I gotcha, these really work good for whiskeys and corn liquor.

[Corn Cracker]

After much reading and thinking, i have settled on this,

I figured i could braze my 'lyne arm'(?) Into the riser/column.
I have i coped it to fit but have not cut the hole in the column yet, I'm waiting till i get the copper coil condenser wound and see how long it ends up, somewhere between 6-10 inches so the hole would need to be 8-12 from the top.
I'm planning on cutting the column in half and making some quick flanges to join em back together as needed.
Just posting an update on the nudges

[Saltbush Bill]

Looks to me like product will pool in the area where it leaves the condenser and enters that spout type bit.
That in turn will or can lead to smearing.....or maybe Im just looking at it wrong.

[Corn Cracker]

The angle should be enough to flow past the 2x1½ reducer, the rest will step down in ¼ inch increments down to ½, i can increase the angle some to 45 but, that step down is only 3/16 of an inch

Edit; with the 1½pipe in the reducer it'll be 5/16