Stock pot gin still

[MooseMan]

Hi all.

This hobby has really started to get me now!

I've got my modular CCVM setup that I can use to strip, then run neutral on a decent scale. I'm yet to become what would be considered competent at running the still by many people's standards, but with a couple of runs under my belt I'm getting more confidence.

I'm already starting to collect bits and bobs to build a little gin still that I can run in the house on top of the hob, for convenience and to do small batch runs until I find what I like in a gin. I'll be using Odin's as a base, obviously!

So I though I'd do a little build blog.

I've got a pot that takes 9l to the handle rivets, so quite well sized for what I want I think. The biggest diameter copper I have to hand is 35mm so I'm going with that for the riser at least. I got a 35mm end cap today and as soon as I got home from work, cleaned the pot lid and cap then soldered together the way I saw in a build thread here, I really wish I could remember who it was as I'm very thankful to him for sharing the method, it was really, really easy and creates a super solid join.

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I just had time to let it cool enough so I could clean up all the flux spatter and heat discoloration before it got dark.

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Then I punched a few hole spacings, drilled them out and cleaned up the edges.

There's 5x 8mm holes in the cap/lid to let vapour though, I could definitely squeeze a couple more in but it may affect the physical integrity of the join. What are people's thoughts on this, is that enough?

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The 35mm tube is a real nice fit into the cap, so hopefully a few wraps of PTFE tape will give a good seal.

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That's all I've had time to do today, it's been a long day and I need food!
More to follow when I get my elbows and reducers for the next bit, but a question to finish if I may...

What would you guys recommend as an ideal riser height for this sized pot/tube diameter?