Chinese double-wall still, ordering and setup

[Tummydoc]

Cant help with a more robust substitute, but if cheap get two! Downtime sucks.

[Butch27]

Might talk to your local HVAC guy. I don't think that this is an uncommon problem for them. I am certainly no expert on this but I'm thinking the voltage is most important, then temperature and then the microfarads.

[MtRainier]

I did order a new pair of capacitors.

I also ordered the VFD that I posted earlier in the thread to see if I can take a single phase input and run this three phase motor with speed control. The manual is pretty complex but also almost un-understandable in poorly translated Chinese. heh. I'll take a while to get it working, I assume.

[Windy City]

I did order a new pair of capacitors.

I also ordered the VFD that I posted earlier in the thread to see if I can take a single phase input and run this three phase motor with speed control. The manual is pretty complex but also almost un-understandable in poorly translated Chinese. heh. I'll take a while to get it working, I assume.

I use a VFD to run my 3 phase mixer motor off of single phase and can tell you it is super reliable and works like a charm

[MtRainier]

I use a VFD to run my 3 phase mixer motor off of single phase and can tell you it is super reliable and works like a charm

I will pm you for sure once I get it to make sure I'm doing it right.

Is yours the GK3000 by any chance?

[shadylane]

I also ordered the VFD that I posted earlier in the thread

Using caps to start a 3 phase motor works.
But it's a bad option, when trying to run the motor under a load.

I'd have picked a VFD also.
The motor will appreciate it.
You can control the speed.
Also you get to learn about, direction of rotation, soft start and a gazillion more options that you might not need

[LWTCS]

100% shady

[Windy City]

I don't have that VFD. I have a WEG CFW500.
Pretty simple to wire Two in Three out (not including grounds)
Just need to make sure you get the phase correct, Start it up and if phase is not correct switch any two of the three outs.

Hey MtRainier

[MtRainier]

Thanks! I see your U,V,W wires in there.

The VFD manufacturer has this video on the wiring and operation of it:



My motor has a wiring diagram like this:

where the labels are Z2, U2, V2. It also has two capacitors in there, not one. I'm not sure if one is the starting capacitor and one is a cap to kind of convert single phase to three phase or what.

My plan is to get rid of both caps and assume that Z2 = W, U2 = U, and V2 = V and wire it up like they show in the video:

Does that seem reasonable? Is there a way I can verify which wire goes to which winding on the motor without trial and error?

Thanks again.

[MtRainier]

By the way, Google Translate says that the Chinese below the diagram says "Forward Wiring Diagram"

[MtRainier]

I might have to take the housing off this motor to see how the wiring is working. I seem to be missing one wire of the 6 I'd expect for three coils in a three phase motor.

Here's a badly drawn picture of how it's wired:

Can anyone tell me what's going on here and where the other leg of the blue coil might be?

[manu de hanoi]

I saw the Solid State Relay modules from your controller on the chinese market and bought one earlier for testing, they arent fanned and heat a lot, do you have a fan in the control box ? If not I suggest you put one

[MtRainier]

Yes, there's a fan in the box.

So I think the answer to my motor queries is that it's a darn single phase motor, not a three phase as the label asserts.

I measured could resistances. There is a main coil at 10 ohm and an auxiliary coil at 5 ohm. There's a small run capacitor at 16muF and a 100muF starting capacitor in parallel with it that opens via a centrifugal switch once it's spinning.

I'll contact Windy City offline to confirm (cause he knows things) but I think I'm looking at a "capacitor start, capacitor run single phase motor", not a three phase one.

[manu de hanoi]

Might talk to your local HVAC guy. I don't think that this is an uncommon problem for them. I am certainly no expert on this but I'm thinking the voltage is most important, then temperature and then the microfarads.

indeed.
I buy my motor caps (ie oil caps, no polarity) at the Hvac supply store, they are cheap, if you want more robust caps, you can always increase the voltage ratings (but the caps will grow bigger). You might have had just a faulty cap, just replace it and see what you get before over tinkering

Dont change the capacitance, it's supposed to fit the motor specs

[MtRainier]

just replace it and see what you get before over tinkering

I mean, you're right, of course, but where would we all be if we all avoided over tinkering?

[MtRainier]

It works with the new capacitor, but now that I'm sold on the idea of a VFD (and now that I have one incoming), I want the speed control.

This motor is a single-phase induction motor despite what the label says. It's a "Capacitor Start Capacitor Run Induction Motor" as shown on this page:

https://circuitglobe.com/capacitor-star ... motor.html

I'll use this motor to run my malt mill (with a 10:1 pulley setup so I don't run it at 1800RPM), and I've ordered a new motor.

For future reference, if anyone wants to replace the motor on one of these, the 30:1 gearbox has a metric standard mating face with the motor. It needs a 1/2 HP motor, 1800RPM, 3-phase 240V, with a D71 frame and B14 face.

This one should fit it perfectly: https://www.baldor.com/catalog/MVM3461C

[Windy City]

Happy to hear you found the new motor. You are going to love that VFD for your application.

[MtRainier]

Thanks. I'm looking forward to running it like you described.

[MtRainier]

New motor and VFD working great!

Now the agitator will run from 0 to 60 RPM. (1800RPM motor with 30:1 gearbox).

The old motor works fine too now, but runs at a constant 1800 RPM.

[STILL WORKIN]

wow. I spent 4 grand and I'm really glad I don"t have any buttons, just copper? 25gals and they all work great.
The true beauty of our craft.

[NormandieStill]

Awww. The magic smoke got out. As long as you're meeting / exceeding the voltage rating you should be ok. If the temperature is an issue you might need to consider cooling the box.

[MtRainier]

These responses brought back all of these memories of getting this thing dumped on the driveway. It's still working well, but honestly makes more product than I can deal with. I sure do like the double-wall nature of it, though. Been talking to a local guy here lately who is thinking of getting one.

One of these days maybe I'll get a fun onion-head to clamp onto it for the next whiskey run. I have a beautiful bag of corn from https://www.dancingstarfarmseed.com/ that I need to turn into whiskey.

[The Booze Pipe]

What did you end up doing for gaskets? Did you order a flat sheet? I need some flat ptfe gaskets to replace the silicone in my sight glasses

[MtRainier]

What did you end up doing for gaskets? Did you order a flat sheet? I need some flat ptfe gaskets to replace the silicone in my sight glasses

I got those teflon ones mentioned up-thread that have flexible viton cores or something. I never did order flat sheet and cut them out. It does work, but also requires a bit of help tightening the tri-clamp fittings. Leaks a few drops over the course of a run, but that's fine with me and maybe not as much of a risk as exposing the silicone gaskets to product.

I also took the advice of wrapping the silicone with teflon tape to try that, which worked great until I took it all apart to put it all away. If I was leaving it together after getting it set up this is the route I'd take for sure, but I tend to keep the column disassembled and packed in a brute trash can with all of the packing material when not in use. The teflon tape wraps worked awesome for the sight glass gaskets, though. Those never get taken apart.

[The Booze Pipe]

What did you end up doing for gaskets? Did you order a flat sheet? I need some flat ptfe gaskets to replace the silicone in my sight glasses

I got those teflon ones mentioned up-thread that have flexible viton cores or something. I never did order flat sheet and cut them out. It does work, but also requires a bit of help tightening the tri-clamp fittings. Leaks a few drops over the course of a run, but that's fine with me and maybe not as much of a risk as exposing the silicone gaskets to product.

I also took the advice of wrapping the silicone with teflon tape to try that, which worked great until I took it all apart to put it all away. If I was leaving it together after getting it set up this is the route I'd take for sure, but I tend to keep the column disassembled and packed in a brute trash can with all of the packing material when not in use. The teflon tape wraps worked awesome for the sight glass gaskets, though. Those never get taken apart.

I really like those EPDM triclamp gaskets enveloped in ptfe. But ya I was wondering if anyone had found something similar that’s flat to seal the glass between the stainless

[SaltyStaves]

I really like those EPDM triclamp gaskets enveloped in ptfe. But ya I was wondering if anyone had found something similar that’s flat to seal the glass between the stainless

ePTFE is good if you don't need to reassemble it.

[The Booze Pipe]

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/22557998 ... pt=glo2usa

Saltystaves, I had no idea this stuff existed. But this looks like a perfect solution to replace the silicone in the flange style sight towers.