Winding my worm

[00Buck]

Hey yall. Back again with another question. Let me just start off by saying yes I have plenty of distilling experience but this is my first time building a condenser so I wanna make sure I do it right. I also dont have access to a way to circulate water which is why Im going the worm route.

I know the coil needs a slight downward slope. But isnt the nature of the coil already just that? Or do I need to wind it with it angling downward some? My current worm for my 5gal setup is 20ft of 3/8 and it looks level as it sits, as in no visible angle down. Im using a 20gal pot and Ive found a 55gal steel drum Ill be using for the cooling tub so I shouldnt have to worry about replacing water. I have about 30-35 feet if 1" coil tubing I found in my uncles old shop Ill be putting in it

[Reefer1]

Your right 00bill, if your making a dimroth your coil essentially should have a down ward slope otherwise the distilate will sit in the pipe.
And have to be pushed out in spurts not a steady drip drip spurt.
Small bore tube is relatively easy to stretch out, if your 1" is a flat coil your going to have to try and anchor one end and gently pull the other end out to stretch the coil i reckon you want about 1 to 2" between coils. If you can get a hold of 1" brass tank connectors with compression connectors, it's a real easy way to connect through the side of your barrel.
Another thing, you can make set of 3 wooden jigs to hold the coil, take 3 3" x 1" pieces of timber, drill a number of 1" holes at the right spacing for your tubing, saw down the length of the timber cutting through the centre of the holes, then sit them inside and on the outside of the coil and cable tie then back together that will keep you coil in the right spacing and if the timber is long enough it can sit on the bottom of the barrel suporting the whole coil.
If you catch my drift.
Not sure if you may have to replace some of the water in your barrel part through your run, there are other members that may have run a isolated condenser that way that may comment on their experience.
Good luck with the coil dude.

[00Buck]

Your right 00bill, if your making a dimroth your coil essentially should have a down ward slope otherwise the distilate will sit in the pipe.
And have to be pushed out in spurts not a steady drip drip spurt.
Small bore tube is relatively easy to stretch out, if your 1" is a flat coil your going to have to try and anchor one end and gently pull the other end out to stretch the coil i reckon you want about 1 to 2" between coils. If you can get a hold of 1" brass tank connectors with compression connectors, it's a real easy way to connect through the side of your barrel.
Another thing, you can make set of 3 wooden jigs to hold the coil, take 3 3" x 1" pieces of timber, drill a number of 1" holes at the right spacing for your tubing, saw down the length of the timber cutting through the centre of the holes, then sit them inside and on the outside of the coil and cable tie then back together that will keep you coil in the right spacing and if the timber is long enough it can sit on the bottom of the barrel suporting the whole coil.
If you catch my drift.
Not sure if you may have to replace some of the water in your barrel part through your run, there are other members that may have run a isolated condenser that way that may comment on their experience.
Good luck with the coil dude.

I hadnt thought of the wood before. I was just gonna solder copper pipe to the outside on 3 sides to hold it but I may try the wood.

But back to the slope. Were you saying what I was thinking? The coil itself IS the downward slope? Or I just wind it in a way to make sure its angled just a fuzz so be sure its going downhill?

Pardon the ignorance. This is my first time doing this from scratch and I dont wanna mess it up.

[NorthWoodsAb]

Winding your coil will, by nature, produce a natural downward slope. Spacing out each wrap of coil will increase the slopes a bit, but more importantly it will allow more water around each wrap for more efficient cooling.

[SW_Shiner]

As NorthWoodsAb said, just by the fact that a worm connection is at the top of barrel, and outlet is at the bottom. It will naturally from a slope. Providing that none of the turn sag in any way to cause a low and high spot. There are many ways to make sure the coil is shaped correctly. Zip-tying some 1 inch blocks between turns would work as well.

[Reefer1]

I have about 30-35 feet if 1" coil tubing I found in my uncles old shop Ill be putting in it
[/quote]
So 00buck, is this above already coiled, if so you will have cone shaped condenser tube when and if you manage to stretch it out.
Or are you coiling it from a straight tube, a straight tube will by nature when you coil it will create a spiral, as the guys say, i reckon if its straight tube 1" is a son of a bitch to coil without a tube bender.

[00Buck]

I have about 30-35 feet if 1" coil tubing I found in my uncles old shop Ill be putting in it

So 00buck, is this above already coiled, if so you will have cone shaped condenser tube when and if you manage to stretch it out.
Or are you coiling it from a straight tube, a straight tube will by nature when you coil it will create a spiral, as the guys say, i reckon if its straight tube 1" is a son of a bitch to coil without a tube bender.
[/quote]

Its already in a coil

[Reefer1]

So you just gotta try and stretch it out gently.
As i said it will be cone shaped, coils narrower at one end it's not detrimental just give it a inch or two space between coils should be good,
I would just take it gently copper is pretty soft but can kink really easerly,
Good luck mate

[Reefer1]

00buck, just another point i was thinkin of, you may need a small submersible pump to sit in the bottom of the barrel to keep the water moving bottom to top otherwise you will get hot water accumulate near the surface.
Shame you can't get a water supply to it.
Reefer1

[SW_Shiner]

00buck, just another point i was thinkin of, you may need a small submersible pump to sit in the bottom of the barrel to keep the water moving bottom to top otherwise you will get hot water accumulate near the surface.
Shame you can't get a water supply to it.
Reefer1

Dont do that. You want a nice gradient of water through out the barrel. Thats why its said, if possible, feed cold water in the bottom and let the hotter water flow out the top. Hot water on the surface is what you want to happen, gradually getting cooler towards the bottom.

[Reefer1]

Problem is SW, he is not connecting a water source, so i was thinkin that stiring the barrel will give you a even temp throughout the barrel, you can keep an eye on the temperature with a thermometer and he will know when to change out some water if it gets too hot.
I get what your saying though for a water fed condenser thats the rule of thumb.

[SW_Shiner]

I know there will be no connected water source. The problem with mixing it all up, is the whole lot will get hot which can raise the output temp of the distillate, which is not desirable to many. While the heat input will be the same either way, a gradual cooling of the distillate is prefered. With a correctly sized flake stand, its possible the water at the bottom will remain cold throughout the entire run, even with the top layer being too hot to touch.

[Yummyrum]

I agree SW_shiner

The hotter the water at the top , the less chance of shock cooling and huffing .
The cooler the water at the bottom , the cooler the distillate will exit .

As long as the flake stand is 2-3x larger than the boiler charge , it should work just fine .

[Reefer1]

lol

[00Buck]

I agree SW_shiner

The hotter the water at the top , the less chance of shock cooling and huffing .
The cooler the water at the bottom , the cooler the distillate will exit .

As long as the flake stand is 2-3x larger than the boiler charge , it should work just fine .

I was hoping Id be ok. Since I have a 20 gallon pot and Im using a 55 gallon metal drum for this exact purpose. Hopefully it'll work out like it should on paper