Air cooled electric still

[shadylane]

The last thing I need is another still.
But I'm bored and nobody else has tried an aircooled reflux still yet.
Here's some of the parts that will be used for the project.
I'll need a fan, heating element and a 2 or 3" SS spool.

I haven't decided for sure what type still head to build but it will probably be a LM.
After the LM build, I might tear everything apart and try other options.

There won't be a controller, the 120v heater size will be based on the finned tubes knockdown power.

[bunny]

KIMG0003.JPG

The last thing I need is another still.
But I'm bored and nobody else has tried an aircooled reflux still yet.
Here's some of the parts that will be used for the project.
I'll need a fan, heating element and a 2 or 3" SS spool.

I haven't decided for sure what type still head to build but it will probably be a LM.
After the LM build, I might tear everything apart and try other options.

There won't be a controller, the 120v heater size will be based on the finned tubes knockdown power.

Woah!
Not so fast pardner!
Mine may only have been a 1" rig, but it ran perfectly fine and equal to the water reflux heads I ran it against.
I think the original was on a 1" X 60" column filled with tiny spp.

I had a small fan on the top shelf to blow on the fins.
Here's another pic of 1" LM heads I tried.

And another test on a shorter column:

Sorry about the two pics that were just too tired to stand upright.

Alrighty then, Let's see how a normal sized air cooled rig works.

[shadylane]

Ya beat me to it.
What sized finned tubing was used and how many watts for your heater?

The finned tube I'm using are .820" ID and counting both sides of the 2.1" x 2.1" x 82 # of fins make for 625 squared inches.

[bunny]

Ya beat me to it.
What sized finned tubing was used and how many watts for your heater?

My memory is fairly selective after dark, so I'll try to do the best I can.

8:00AM 7/15---- I found the drones you were asking about at SupplyHouse-
https://www.supplyhouse.com/Slant-Fin-1 ... ak-80-3-ft
They were a lot cheaper when I bought them.

As long as I'm making corrections this morning I'm not sure about the wattage I told you last night.
These numbers came from my controller with unreliable truthfulness. However when I finished my 1" project I was regularly using a 240v 1500w element on 120v. Works out to be about 375w.

This is a "magnum" size that i bought in 3' sections 3/4 copper tube with 3 X 3 fins.
Not sure of the power but probably 250-300w same as the water cooled heads.
I only tried this because I don't have water in the garage for 3 winter months.

This was done in my particularly crazy testing period. I retired the air cool head because a big side effect was freezing cold air blowing around in the garage. I've since moved on to a 45gallon trash can reservoir for winter use.

I also found a closeup pic of the last pic above that shows my Seiko watch crystal sight glass.. I chuckled when I saw it

[shadylane]

Ya beat me to it.
What sized finned tubing was used and how many watts for your heater?

My memory is fairly selective after dark, so I'll try to do the best I can.

This is a "magnum" size that i bought in 3' sections 3/4 copper tube with 3 X 3 fins.
Not sure of the power but probably 250-300w same as the water cooled heads.

Thanks
It looks like your finned tubes are longer and have more area than mine.
The finned part of my tubes is 20" long with eighty two 2.1 x 2.1 fins.

[shadylane]

Guess the first step is to build the boiler.
I figure to weld one of these on for the heater to screw in.
The SS nut is meant for use as a plumbing lock nut.
The nut match's a 1" x 11tpi NPS heater element threads perfectly and has a recess for an O-ring.

.
.
If someone didn't have a welder, there's bulkhead fittings like these that could be used.

[Demy]

I love creative people who build "things" ....

[shadylane]

I love creative people who build "things" ....

I really liked your steam Baine Marie build. That was impressive.

Here's what I got done today.
I'm almost ashamed to show the pics of the weld.

I didn't have any tungsten rods for the tig welder, so I stick welded it using 3/32 MG600 rods.
I'm getting too old and shaky to be stick welding thin sheet metal.
It ain't pretty but it doesn't leak, nor will it corrode.
Next, I have to find my SS brush to clean it up.

Easiest way I've found to make a hole in SS.
Ya can't see it from the pics.
But I put wet cardboard inside the boiler to catch the plasma cutters slag.

[Yummyrum]

But I put wet cardboard inside the boiler to catch the plasma cutters slag.

Oh this is going to be great Shady .
Already learned a new trick

[shadylane]

Thanks Yummy

The original lid for the milk can will be used and a 2" tri-clamp bulkhead fitting to connect the column.
From the looks of the lid - boiler connection sealing isn't going to be a problem.
If you give the lid a slap, it takes a rubber mallet to get it back off.
There's a tiny hidden vent hole in the lid that will need plugged.
I'll post pic's when the parts come in and the lid build begins.

[shadylane]

Here's the manifold for connecting the finned tubes to the LM take off.
It's a lot smaller than it looks in the pics.



The concentric LM take off will be like this

[contrahead]

Sorry about the two pics that were just too tired to stand upright.

I was wondering why that happens too. Looks like I found an answer.

Digital cameras and cell phones, don't bother to rotate pictures - because that takes computational power and time. They just store everything in landscape mode; but then store a camera's original orientation (when the picture is taken) within an EXIF tag.

It generally takes software (an image editor) on a computer to rotate an image to it's proper portrait orientation. If the picture is then saved, this adjustment should be preserved.

<Data from your image - P1050171.JPG / before and after rotation with my image editor>

But sometimes tags just get in the way.

“Rotating the image doesn’t exactly help, either. Change it in an old application that doesn’t understand the Orientation tag and the application will move the actual pixels around in the image, giving it a new rotation. It’ll look correct in older applications. Open that image in a new application that obeys the Orientation tag and the application will obey the Orientation tag and flip the already rotated image around, so it’ll look wrong in those new applications”.

“This problem can occur in practically any software, from a program on your PC to a website or a mobile app. Photos may appear correctly on your computer but appear in the wrong rotation when you upload them to a website. Photos may appear correctly on your phone but incorrectly when you transfer them to your PC”.

[shadylane]

If the pic I'm looking at isn't orientated properly.
I turn the laptop to view the pic.

Ordered some more parts for the build.
A 2" x 24" spool, an electric muffin fan, clamps and gaskets.
I don't want to spend too much on the build because I'll be giving the boiler away.
After I'm done playing with it, the aircooled parts will get put back on the shelf for future experiments.

[Demy]

You are much better equipped than me ... for welding I only have propane and inverter welder .... I would like to tig weld ... Lately I tried propane / compressed air but with a propane / oxygen torch but it doesn't work much, even at low pressures it blows the flame away. Propane alone has temperature limits.

[shadylane]

It's not like the old days, now we have access to readymade bulkhead fittings.
Folks can make do, without a welder or oxy-acetylene torch to make a boiler and other parts.
All that's needed is to be able to make a hole and reach inside to tighten the nut.
Having said that, I'll be using the tools at hand to make some of the parts needed for this build.
Such as the one-piece manifold to attach 4 finned tubes to a LM takeoff and 2" tri-clamp fitting.

It's no big thing, all that's needed is imagination, some copper and enough time and money to waste.

[Rumhead]

Wow, I'm going to build one too in the future for times when water isn't a possibility.

Im thinking i might build one or two who would benused as strippers.

Charge and do then let it go as i am in an apartment water is needed else. Also no risk for water problems, ie floor damage.

Riku has one in his books and in sweden it is very usual to go aiir cooled. My current tig is

[shadylane]

Wow, I'm going to build one too in the future for times when water isn't a possibility.

Im thinking i might build one or two who would benused as strippers.

A while back.
I got bored enough to waste some copper and time building an air-cooled product condenser.
Maybe you can find a few ideas to help you.

viewtopic.php?f=87&t=56652

[Setsumi]

I love creative people who build "things" ....

I really liked your steam Baine Marie build. That was impressive.

Here's what I got done today.
I'm almost ashamed to show the pics of the weld.

I didn't have any tungsten rods for the tig welder, so I stick welded it using 3/32 MG600 rods.
I'm getting too old and shaky to be stick welding thin sheet metal.
It ain't pretty but it doesn't leak, nor will it corrode.
Next, I have to find my SS brush to clean it up.

KIMG0005.JPG



KIMG0004.JPG

Easiest way I've found to make a hole in SS.
Ya can't see it from the pics.
But I put wet cardboard inside the boiler to catch the plasma cutters slag.

Do'nt know why I missed this... well done on doing stick weld... yeah there are better options but I can show some ss arc welding that hold up very well.

But then, this is about air cooling. Please continue.

[shadylane]

I'm almost done with the lid.
All that's left to do is weld the vent hole shut and wrap the O-ring with ptfe tape.
I'll do the welding when FedEx delivers consumables for the Tig welder.

[shadylane]

My wife tells me I fell from heaven covered in white. Why did they let me fall?

That was your parachute,
Don't tell too many people about it.
The FBI is still looking for D.B. Cooper.

[shadylane]

It's time to buy a heater for the milk can still.
Power wise, 1650w should be a close to what a 2" packed column needs.
It will only load a 120v - 20amp circuit to 70% of its capacity, so it will be safe to run for hours at a time.

Another option for folks that don't have a welder would be to use a heater that only needs two small holes drilled in the boiler. Something like this but with straight elements.
If someone finds exactly what's needed, please post a link.

21GCKJOEw1L.jpg (5.27 KiB) Viewed 2104 times

[Setsumi]

My wife tells me I fell from heaven covered in white. Why did they let me fall?

That was your parachute,

I never thought it thatway.... now I need to go and look for the money...

[shadylane]

My wife tells me I fell from heaven covered in white. Why did they let me fall?

That was your parachute,

I never thought it thatway.... now I need to go and look for the money...

That would be a waste of time.
If your wife is like mine. She already found and had fun spending it on the youngins.

[Setsumi]

My wife tells me I fell from heaven covered in white. Why did they let me fall?

That was your parachute,

I never thought it thatway.... now I need to go and look for the money...

That would be a waste of time.
If your wife is like mine. She already found and had fun spending it on the youngins.

Now thats the truth.

[shadylane]

+1
The truth to a happy marriage.
Is to make a hobby out of helping your spouse accomplish what she wants.
But don't let her figure that out, or she will take advantage of it.

[shadylane]

No pics yet of what I got done last night.
It was too hot to weld during the day, so I waited till night time.
I forgot how many mosquitoes are attracted to the light of a welder.
Also forgot that a tee shirt isn't much protection from Tig welder burns.

Long story short, my fat belly is bright red and the rest of me has skitter bites.

[Chauncey]

Yea since it's God awful hot here I'm dealing w them constantly when I wear my short pants. jeans are hard to suffer. I hit the DEET alot.

[shadylane]

It didn't take long for the shop to fill up with skitters with a giant arc light and doors wide open.
To make matters even worst, a light rain had fallen just at sunset.
Not one of those cooling rains, it was one of those 100% hot humid ones.
The skitters weren't messing around, they wanted blood.
Makes it awful damned hard and possibly dangerous to run a Tig bead with two hands and try to slap skitters at the same time.

I needed a 2" ferrule and didn't have any 2" tubing, so used a piece of 1-1/2" tubing to make it.
First, I cut off a 6.25" long piece of 1.5" tubing and split it length wise.
After annealing and flattening, I had a 6.25" x 4.75" x 0.060 thick rectangular piece of copper.
It was rolled into a 2" diameter x 4.75" long cylinder and the seam butt welded using copper wire for filler.

Now that I have a DIY piece of 2" tubing, I'll be making a ferrule on one end of it.

[HDNB]

I forgot how many mosquitoes are attracted to the light of a welder.
Also forgot that a tee shirt isn't much protection from Tig welder burns.

Long story short, my fat belly is bright red and the rest of me has skitter bites.

making some big sacrifices to advance the hobby!

[shadylane]

making some big sacrifices to advance the hobby!

That seems to be one of my bad habits.
Not to brag, but if I advise someone not to try something.
My opinion is likely based on personal failure.