Home Distiller

Here's an update on the nudge It still needs to be sanded and polished up. I'm waiting to solder the 2 inch coupling to the lyne arm till i get the keg flange.
I ended up soldering the lyne arm to the riser, it's high temp solder and made a really strong joint. There will be a ½inch union to connect the liebig condenser which will have a 45° after its union half to be able to swing the liebig a little.

Is it me, or is each of those step downs an opportunity for pooling and smearing?

CC, how are you going to cap that top section if you want to run in full pot mode ?

Deplorable wrote: ↑Sat Apr 02, 2022 5:38 pm Is it me, or is each of those step downs an opportunity for pooling and smearing?

Not just you.

There's barely a ridge at each step-down, only an ⅛th of an inch, just the thickness of the pipe and it's angled down pretty steep.

Sporacle wrote: ↑Sat Apr 02, 2022 5:46 pm CC, how are you going to cap that top section if you want to run in full pot mode ?

I was planning on 2 inch cap in place of the coil for pot still mode.

I think i might need to get a 2 inch coupling also to add a few more inches to the top for the rc to be completely in the riser when it's picked up past the lyne arm.

Twisted Brick wrote: ↑Sat Apr 02, 2022 5:54 pm

Deplorable wrote: ↑Sat Apr 02, 2022 5:38 pm Is it me, or is each of those step downs an opportunity for pooling and smearing?

Not just you.

I can add this 2 inch 45 to rectify the concerns of pooling

I wouldn’t get too concerned about pooling and smearing in the lyne arm. I guess there could be a tiny bit of passive reflux but the rest will be hot vapour.

kimbodious wrote: ↑Tue Apr 05, 2022 12:29 am I wouldn’t get too concerned about pooling and smearing in the lyne arm. I guess there could be a tiny bit of passive reflux but the rest will be hot vapour.

Thanks, i was stressin a little trying to figure out what i could replace those fitting reducers with or how to to slice a piece of 2 inch copper and solder the seam to make a smooth transition from 2 inch to ½ inch reducing section.

Personally I would worry about it ,any amount of pooling or the possibility of pooling and smearing is an unnecessary and unacceptable design fault in any still.
Build it right the first time imo.
When I started out in this hobby folk told me that "there are no short cuts", maybe that doesn't apply any longer?

Corn Cracker wrote: ↑Tue Apr 05, 2022 2:52 am

kimbodious wrote: ↑Tue Apr 05, 2022 12:29 am I wouldn’t get too concerned about pooling and smearing in the lyne arm. I guess there could be a tiny bit of passive reflux but the rest will be hot vapour.

Thanks, i was stressin a little trying to figure out what i could replace those fitting reducers with or how to to slice a piece of 2 inch copper and solder the seam to make a smooth transition from 2 inch to ½ inch reducing section.

Take a section of 2" and figure out what size wedge you need to cut out of it to get the one end down to 1/2", then cut out the wedge and use an old metal baseball bat and hammer the 2" pipe into the cut off end of the metal bat to close the edges together. You may have to snug it up by hitting it with a wooden hammer or rubber mallet. Then solder the seam and you should be pretty much good to go.

bcook608 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 06, 2022 1:54 am

Corn Cracker wrote: ↑Tue Apr 05, 2022 2:52 am

kimbodious wrote: ↑Tue Apr 05, 2022 12:29 am I wouldn’t get too concerned about pooling and smearing in the lyne arm. I guess there could be a tiny bit of passive reflux but the rest will be hot vapour.

Thanks, i was stressin a little trying to figure out what i could replace those fitting reducers with or how to to slice a piece of 2 inch copper and solder the seam to make a smooth transition from 2 inch to ½ inch reducing section.

Take a section of 2" and figure out what size wedge you need to cut out of it to get the one end down to 1/2", then cut out the wedge and use an old metal baseball bat and hammer the 2" pipe into the cut off end of the metal bat to close the edges together. You may have to snug it up by hitting it with a wooden hammer or rubber mallet. Then solder the seam and you should be pretty much good to go.

I can get a short piece of 2 inch dwv copper pipe, it's pretty thin and flexible, thanks for the suggestion

Corn Cracker wrote: ↑Wed Apr 06, 2022 2:56 am

bcook608 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 06, 2022 1:54 am

Corn Cracker wrote: ↑Tue Apr 05, 2022 2:52 am

kimbodious wrote: ↑Tue Apr 05, 2022 12:29 am I wouldn’t get too concerned about pooling and smearing in the lyne arm. I guess there could be a tiny bit of passive reflux but the rest will be hot vapour.

Thanks, i was stressin a little trying to figure out what i could replace those fitting reducers with or how to to slice a piece of 2 inch copper and solder the seam to make a smooth transition from 2 inch to ½ inch reducing section.

Take a section of 2" and figure out what size wedge you need to cut out of it to get the one end down to 1/2", then cut out the wedge and use an old metal baseball bat and hammer the 2" pipe into the cut off end of the metal bat to close the edges together. You may have to snug it up by hitting it with a wooden hammer or rubber mallet. Then solder the seam and you should be pretty much good to go.

I can get a short piece of 2 inch dwv copper pipe, it's pretty thin and flexible, thanks for the suggestion

Also make sure to cut some tabs at the small end so you have something to solder your T/C fitting to. Otherwise you'll end up with a large lip on the inside and have the same potential issue with pooling and smearing that you had with your current step down configuration.

Good luck and I look forward to seeing what you come up with!

It's done, not pretty but, perfectly functional with no pooling concerns, i couldn't get a long enough piece of 2 inch dwv copper so i had to use type L that i was able to get a 21 inch piece of. It wasn't easy but i got it

The small end slides easily into a ½inch union with full make up and the big end fits perfectly into a 2 inch fitting with full make up. It's got some dings because i had to smack it pretty hard in a few spots to get it to conform.

Take a piece of 1/2 steel rod and thread it through each end and roll it around in a smooth surface like a rolling pin for a while, should help round and smooth it out a bit

bcook608 wrote: ↑Mon Apr 11, 2022 12:42 pm Take a piece of 1/2 steel rod and thread it through each end and roll it around in a smooth surface like a rolling pin for a while, should help round and smooth it out a bit

The length of the 2 inch end and where the taper starts won't allow for this. The little dings are all on the top and upper sides, the bottom and lower part of the sides are all smooth. Looking inside it, i see no places for pooling so this is gonna have to do. I need to start making flanges so i can make all this modular and I'll finish this build off with another first, a shotgun condenser that i am interested in making, my liebig is 40 inches, long and will be cumbersom.
Thanks for helping B cook

well, I'm back, I had to pause everything but I now have my keg, I ordered the quick flange, some gaskets and tri-clamp today, I should have gotten a couple of more of each though. I've got to get the spear out of the keg while I wait on the parts.

Glad to hear your back in the game.
Don't do what I did the first time I tried removing a keg spear.

Hardest part is getting the spring clip out

Tummydoc wrote: ↑Mon Feb 17, 2025 6:15 pm Hardest part is getting the spring clip out

After wiping the stale beer off my face.
Now I lay a supposedly empty keg on it's side before pushing the ball to relieve any pressure.

Push the ball down through a spread-out towel.

got the pressure safely released today.

Corn Cracker wrote: ↑Mon Feb 17, 2025 6:39 pm got the pressure safely released today.

What, no drama, no good stories to tell.

shadylane wrote: ↑Mon Feb 17, 2025 6:23 pm Now I lay a supposedly empty keg on it's side before pushing the ball to relieve any pressure.

that's the way to do it.

Corn Cracker wrote: ↑Mon Feb 17, 2025 4:22 pm well, I'm back, I had to pause everything but I now have my keg, I ordered the quick flange, some gaskets and tri-clamp today, I should have gotten a couple of more of each though.

Gathering extra parts and pieces is always good.
Because homedistilling is an on going deeper rabbit hole with different directions to dig.
You never know what, or how many tools are going to be needed.

It would seem to me this would be a quicker easier fix. If you are worried about a ml hanging out in there you could insert a circular piece of solder first,then slide your pipe in, solder, then file the inside smooth.