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I used 60"of 3/8" corrugated tubing on mine. The yellow paint is no good but the gas line should just have a plastic yellow cover that can be easily peeled off.

Crockodotsky wrote:Assuming I need 1/4" for a 2" column, I can't seem to find the stainless tubing. Further, most of the 3/8 tubeing is yellow. Not sure if that would be appropriate in a alcohol environment.

I did a quick HD google search and easily pulled up this info. Hint, hint

Supposedly, available at HomeDepot or Lowes also.
Dormont and Duda Diesel Solar Supplies sell 304SS CSST in lots of sizes with no rubber or plastic involved. Some of the yellow coated gas line can be stripped of the coating very easily. Just cut it and pull. (I forgot to credit the original poster)

Hound Dog wrote:That coil will knock down a truck! Looks like work as opposed to just winding it up on itself though.

sccv.jpg (11.97 KiB) Viewed 3933 times

I made another one like this but with the winds a little tighter and it can handle around 6.5k watts.

Crockodotsky wrote:Assuming I need 1/4" for a 2" column, I can't seem to find the stainless tubing. Further, most of the 3/8 tubeing is yellow. Not sure if that would be appropriate in a alcohol environment.

If you go the CSST route for your RC (best way in my opinion), get the 3/8" line for a 2" column. Amazon and ebay have the uncoated CSST available for pretty cheap.

I went with 1/2" and couldn't quite wind it tight enough for the coils to slide in and out of the column without a lot of force. I ended up making a twist with some copper scrubbie in the middle. Twist length is 9". It knocks down everything I can throw at it and is a helluva lot easier to build. It also has less resistance than the 1/4" copper coils so your coolant flow will be better.

Finally found and ordered the Pro-Flex tubing from Lowes. They were the only outlet I could find that carried the 3/8" size along with fittings. $54 delivered for 2 male fittings and 25' of hose. Uncovered hose is tough to find in the states, likely due to building code changes.

Also ordered 2' of 2" pipe to lengthen the head to accept the new CCVM. Ordered "M" thickness as that's what I used in my initial construction. What are the thoughts on M vs. L for a reflux column?

Lastly, I see many liebigs coming off the column at an angle. Is there an advantage to that configuration? Since I'm separating the coolant lines that run through my RC, I can change the angle of the PC in the process.

It's fairly well accepted on here that 45 degrees is about right. Less than that (toward horizontal) might create issues with pooling. It's okay to go more vertical, as long as your output is far enough away from your burner. That's the advantage of the angle. Glad you located your tubing.

Grasshopper, just made this CCVM coil with my new tubing. Went a little longer figuring it couldn't hurt. It's 10" of coils and about 12" overall to the end of the bottom loop. Planning to add a new section of 2" pipe giving me 10" to the top of the horizontal opening in my tee. Does that sound about right? If not, this stuff is really easy to work with and actually took a lot longer to cut off the plastic covering as it did to wind the coils. Had to crunch it a bit in a vice to make it concentric as the interference fit is pretty tight.

Looks great Crock, nice build.
That should work. Mine is 8" to the top of the output, but I have copper. Actually, I think the coil you have is more efficient because of the corrugated surface area. That should knock down anything you throw at it. Your good to go as long as you can adjust over the output opening and it slides up and down easy enough. I think I am going to go the way you did as well eventually, simply because I have to have a pretty powerful pump to get enough water through that 1/4" copper.
Yeah, looks really good. Keep us posted as to how well it works when you get running.

I've got a total of 48" of 1/2" CSST for a dephleg/reflux coil, and until the water gets genuinely hot it will knock down a full 5500 watts. That coil looks like at least 100" of tubing, no?

Just bought 2' of 2" pipe so 10" will go on top to accommodate the coil and the other 14" to increase the length of the column. I was thinking about adding a centering ring but can't get clear consensus on their effectiveness. After cutting open a 3" section of 1" pipe and annealing it, I started to form the ring but haven't installed it just yet. If I install it, where would you suggest it go in a 50" column? Also, I figure a triple clamp would be in order somewhere in the column to assist storage and cleaning. Do you have a suggestion on it's placement.

Again, thanks!

Rake, I just measured 200" left on my role so I guess I used 100". WOW, great guess! What do you guys mean when you refer to the coils effectiveness in watts?

Crockodotsky wrote:I was thinking about adding a centering ring but can't get clear consensus on their effectiveness.

If you ask me, it won't do you much good with this type of still. Your reflux will be fairly centered coming off the RC.

If this were a CM type still, then I could see a benefit from the condensed vapor running down the wall of the column.

A centering ring that restricts the dia of the column, will pool and attempt to center liquid descending. But the choke point will speed the ascending vapor and create resistance.

Unless you know you have some specific problem in a lab grade environment, a centering ring becomes a catch 22.

Catch 22 - A requirement that cannot be met until a prerequisite requirement is met, however, the prerequisite cannot be obtained until the original requirement is met.

I want to center the reflux so that it will penetrate deeper into the column packing, however when I restrict the diameter of the column, however, that restrictions speeds the vapor and blows the reflux back up the column.

Also, some glass column videos show that liquid channeling down the outside of a column is drawn to the center at some point.

Centered or channeling down the column wall...who cares as long as it goes down and is vaporized?

Some columns take the reflux from the top of the column to the bottom or center, in a tube on the outside of the column.

Just some theories...

Gents, thanks for the input. I'll omit the ring for the foreseeable future as I simply don't have enough experience to know if I have a problem at this point. Just trying to be proactive while I have the still apart, making the necessary mods.

While I understand how this design works, why do some refer to its effectiveness in terms of watts?

Crockodotsky wrote:While I understand how this design works, why do some refer to its effectiveness in terms of watts?

Are you talking about the power input to the still itself? There's a lot of folks running electric elements in their stills so wattage is an easy measurement of power input for us. For example, I can hold the reflux dancing in my sight glass between 2000 and 2500 watts. That's the sweet spot for me and I know that I can dial my power into that range every time so my runs stay very consistent.

Edit: After re-reading this, looks like you might be asking about the efficiency of the RC. When we say it'll knock down X amount of watts, that's how much heat you can throw at it before the cooling can't keep up with vapor production, and you get vapor getting past the RC. I hope one of these answers your question.

Bayou, I'm running a gas burner so it's the latter answer I was referring to. Thanks for the explanation. Without a set voltage or amperage, I didn't see why watts was used to measure heat energy up in the still head. In fact, how does one know how many watts their coil will knock down without knowing the other parameters?

What would your thoughts be on using PTFE tubing? PTFE must have some thermal conductivity to be used on pots and pans right?

http://www.mcmaster.com/#corrugated-tubing/=10v4abu" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Crockodotsky wrote:In fact, how does one know how many watts their coil will knock down without knowing the other parameters?

You can convert the BTUs from your burner to watts.

1W=3.4121BTU/hr

ydoih8u wrote:What would your thoughts be on using PTFE tubing? PTFE must have some thermal conductivity to be used on pots and pans right?

http://www.mcmaster.com/#corrugated-tubing/=10v4abu" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

In my opinion, PTFE won't cut it. It's not rigid enough to keep coiled and would be so much less efficient than copper or CSST that your coil would have to be unrealistically long to do the same thing as a 9" metal coil would do.

Just not the right tool for the job.

thatguy1313 wrote:Of course, not all of the vapor will decide to go out the takeoff. Some does still continue up towards the rc and is condenser and sent back down the column.

That's right...and for this very reason the dimension of the takeoff is essential.
If it's too small one will get a lot of reflux, but a dissapointing takeoffrate.
Most are building with equal dimensions,which gives a refluxrate of 1:1.

Edit: oh...i almost forgot..nice still Bayou

Finally got my build complete and ran my first batch last weekend. Was able to hit my ABV goal of 180 but only for a short while. What confounded me was the inability of the CCVM coil to restrict flow into the PC. The coil knocked down all the vapor trying to escape out of the top but I wanted more reflux. I built off of the diagram from this link...

http://homedistiller.org/forum/download ... &mode=view

...and when in the fully lowered position, the bottom of the coil is about an inch or two below the bottom of the take off elbow. So in order to lower it any more, I would need to build a longer coil or simply cut a few inches off the top of the still. Does that sound like the right move?

Another thing I noticed that didn't happen before the mods is that from time to time the product would gush out of the PC. Cooling flow was on and the outside of the condenser was cold. It wasn't a big problem, I just didn't want to waste even a drop!

Let's start with what is the packing in your column? What size column? How tall to the take off? How many inches above the top of the take off to the very top of the column? Size of opening on the output at the T? Or a pix would be good too.
Start there and let's see if we can pin it down.
Grasshopper

Crockodotsky wrote: Another thing I noticed that didn't happen before the mods is that from time to time the product would gush out of the PC. Cooling flow was on and the outside of the condenser was cold. It wasn't a big problem, I just didn't want to waste even a drop!

You're running the still a bit too hard. You flooded the column. It could also be why your RC is having trouble closing the takeoff. Back off on the power some and you should be fine.

Stonecutter wrote: ↑Tue Jan 10, 2023 3:05 pm I just twisted up my first legit coil. Uncoil your copper line. Tape a funnel to one end and cap the other with tape. A rubber funnel that fits snug over the OD of the line is perfect. Fill with table salt shaking and tapping the line to ensure you’ve got it all in there. I used a piece of gas pipe and the side of a cardboard six pack for my gap.Worked great. However, I think that the most time consuming thing blasting that damn cardboard out of there. Danespirit has a good idea using something slick if that works. Not the prettiest but it’ll get the job done.

Sporacle wrote: ↑Tue Jan 10, 2023 3:07 pm Good job Stoney, what's it going in?

Thanks Sporacle. It’ll go into my 2” almost all copper rig viewtopic.php?t=87219

You'll love it, mine runs really well for both reflux and as a pot

I’m hoping so Sporacle.
Looking forward to finally throwing down on a neutral. I’ve got my wash stripped out and honestly this coil still needs the salt and the rest of the little bits of cardboard blown out. The brass fittings for my water supply should be here tomorrow. Until then I’m hoping the salt doesn’t wreak too much havoc on the inside of this coil. C’est la vie she’ll get a proper cleaning inside and out before being put into use.