Ok, so I bought a Vevor.. Now improving it

[Bristolian]

I would consider making that still head in 3 pieces, adding triclamp ferrules between:
1st from still up to the joint between the first two 45s
2nd from there to the reducer fitting before the liebig
3rd from the reducer to the end of the liebig.

This will make it easier to clean and store.

That would be great, but unfortunately for my little 12L pot, that would also start to make it top-heavy - I have RA so I'm a clumsy old git

So, I'm going to make it as a 'push fit' assembly, to keep the weight down.

The copper riser sits snugly in the 1.5" tri-clamp straight, so I'll add two rings of PTFE tape near the top & bottom of it for a really good seal there.

I'm using solder-ring fittings because they have deeper internal pipe recess over normal joints, so I'm going to solder the entire pelican section but leave each end unsoldered.

These ends can be push fitted (again with the help of PTFE) onto the riser and the condenser.

If it turns out they need a little more help, I can cut about 4 notches in each end down to the solder ring point & use victoria clips as extra security.

This means I can break it down into:

Bulkhead/TC adapter & pipe/copper riser/pelican/condenser supports (not shown)/condenser. All but the condenser will fit easily in the pot.



I'm starting work on a 22cm Davies condenser which should fit inside too.

[Bristolian]

99% soldered (one end fitting to do on the pelican)

God, what's in that flux?? Slimy stuff. Think I'll chuck it all in the bath with some degreaser and vinegar

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[Bristolian]

Final fitting received & soldered - all cleaned - hot soapy water, then vinegar & finishing with isopropanol and polished.

Water tested overnight, no leaks and the inner spiral is fine - once M'lady has had her gossip group holiday debriefing session, I can kick off the steam run!

I'll call her Emily

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(she's balanced on an upturned fruit bowl so I could gauge C.o.G.)

[Yummyrum]

Impressive , no lid clamps needed either

[Bristolian]

Impressive , no lid clamps needed either

I only noticed when I picked it up for breakdown again - barely a totter

[Bristolian]

Main support bracket. Banged-flat 22mm junk gas pipe (45° against lid, 90° for pipe clip on condenser)

Once again, I remembered I'd lost my HSS bits.. enough for one day, I think.

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Will buy a proper set tomorrow, then drill bolt holes & round the edges off.

[MooseMan]

Could you not solder the 45 to the lid and cover one of the holes?

[Bristolian]

Could you not solder the 45 to the lid and cover one of the holes?

Working to my 'store everything in the pot' attempt, I'm going to fill one hole by bolting the brace with a 20mm stainless M10 and PTFE/SS washer sandwich.

Just going to blank the other hole with the same.

Depending how solid this brace is, I might solder a 2nd brace on the riser, just below where the pelican fittings start, or possibly the 1st elbow

[MooseMan]

Could you not solder the 45 to the lid and cover one of the holes?

Working to my 'store everything in the pot' attempt, I'm going to fill one hole by bolting the brace with a 20mm stainless M10 and PTFE/SS washer sandwich.

Just going to blank the other hole with the same.

Depending how solid this brace is, I might solder a 2nd brace on the riser, just below where the pelican fittings start, or possibly the 1st elbow

Ah ok, I had a picture in my head where you have a certain amount fixed to the lid and you just remove what you need to, then flip the lid over to store inside the pot.

[Bristolian]

There's that, but the lid wouldn't fit if flipped - the brace would stick out too much

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[Bristolian]

Done

A big thank you to all who offered advice, persuasion and encouragement!

This is the finished lid all bolted & braced, I'll post a final photo when Emily's been spruced up & is hard at work

Apologies for the plastic clip, but I had plenty & it fitted (filed down to ease liebig removal) - I'll keep an eye out for a brass alternative.

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[MooseMan]

Nice job!

The plastic clip is fine IMO, it's nowhere near the product and wont get hot enough that far down the Liebig to get melty.

Time for a steam test!

[Bristolian]

Steam test results!

Oops. Sprung a leak at full 2kW boil.. A job for tomorrow!

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The liebig was running on a quarter-turn of the tap, and even that was higher than it needed - the top was nearly as cold as the bottom, water exiting was below body temp.

It was huffing like mad, so I dialled the flow down to as low as I get, then the top started warming up and the huffing eased off a bit. By that point, I decided to stop and get it repaired.

Edit: just ordered a flowmeter to see what the rate is

[Bristolian]

All fixed

Full steam run while I played with the flow, took about 20 minutes of very gentle tweaking to balance it so just warm to the fingers at the liebig centre, zero huff.

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Once it's cooled off, I'll load some rough tails I've been saving as a sacrificial run @ 30%

[MooseMan]

Don't forget vinegar!

You really do have to do a vinegar run to loosen and drag away all the greasy deposits from soldering.

[MooseMan]

Good result though, if you'd gone shorter on the Liebig you'd have to use high water flow and have much less control, and a really huffy condenser.

For the final touches, see if you can find a couple of quick fit connections for your hoses, plus a small tap/valve that you can put right at the water inlet on the condenser for convenient adjustments.

[Bristolian]

Don't forget vinegar!

You really do have to do a vinegar run to loosen and drag away all the greasy deposits from soldering.

Woooo, yes! Thanks for the timely reminder - a nice lake of oily yuk on the collecting jug from that.

Couple of things on this - can citric acid be used instead? Can vinegar/acid be combined in the sacrificial run?

I should've soaked the lot in isopropanol solution as well. Best degreaser I've ever seen.

[MooseMan]

Just go to any supermarket and buy white spirit vinegar mate, cheap and everywhere.

You'll only need a litre as you don't have an element to worry about.

Let it blow steam for half a minute or as long as you can handle the smell, then condense it for a bit.
And make sure you follow it up immediately with your tails run or another steam run.

[Bristolian]

Tails run going @ 2kW, 5L/hr, no huffing and no vapour

[Bristolian]

For the final touches, see if you can find a couple of quick fit connections for your hoses, plus a small tap/valve that you can put right at the water inlet on the condenser for convenient adjustments.

Flow meter due any minute to check.

I'm using these at the mo:

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[Bristolian]

a small tap/valve that you can put right at the water inlet on the condenser for convenient adjustments.

This is exactly what I need - ol' garden tap isn't up to it.

The flow meter refused to deal with anything below 0.7L/min, so I dragged the outlet hose back out of the pipe I'd put in to take it to the kitchen drain, got a jug out & measured it with a stopwatch:

1L over 4min 25sec = 0.23L/min [~14L/hr] - that's liebig warm to touch in the dead centre, no huffing & no vapour @ 2kW. Condensate was lukewarm.

I was just using water in the boiler, as I was blowing through the manky tails run ready for the molasses washes.

[Bristolian]

Just starting to strip molasses wash - emptying out last night's cold water from the 'cleaning run', found the inside walls of the boiler caked in flux! It had run down from the pelican.

Had to spray it with isopropanol to dissolve it, then a good scrub with detergent.

[MooseMan]

That's a bit worrying, I would do another vinegar run and sac run before you put any product in to strip.

[Bristolian]

The pipework was clear of gunk, but the vinegar/sac didn't dissolve it in the boiler. I'll be soaking in iso after any soldered pipework from now on - I have loads, buy it in 5L containers

[Bristolian]

Just ordered one of these to ensure all internals are scrubbed:

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[Bristolian]

Woah.

Bit of a safety issue here. My folding table flexes under the weight of the still & induction hob. When it's on rolling boil, the flex means the still 'walks' across the smooth induction plate.

Gonna need a bigger table..