FLUTE TALK

[Kentucky shinner]

Help I have information overload. I been reading about the perforated plates and they started out with one eighth inch holes. Then I think the last I read was using two sizes below that. When I download the template its telling me to use one sixteenth inch holes. Maybe I've just got it all twisted around. I've read so many threads that I don't know where to look for the latest evolution of this. Would someone help me out here.

Thanks. Valk

Hey I need to change the template... I am using 3/32 now.. they seem to work the best for me.... sorry about the confusion.. I use the same template but use one size larger bit.. 1/16 will work fine.. but I like the 3/32 better.

[olddog]

You have to remember the first flute was a prototype build, and the information regarding the hole size was taken from a fuel still site with reference to a lot bigger still. also the first plates were made with a pair of tinsnips and a file, so sealing in the column was not too good, all of which resulted in plate weepage making it hard to retain the liquid on the plate. This has now been rectified by useing Scottish Boys method of using a benchpress drill as a vertical lathe to produce a plate with a perfect fit in the column, and coupled with the hole size being reduced to 3/32" the problem is now solved.
IMO perferated plates give an even distribution of bubbles over the whole of the plate, whereas a plate with bubblecaps only give a localized bubbling around the cap. Others may prefer otherwise, but I am sticking to perforated seive plates.


OD

[Prairiepiss]

I am also wondering about thermowels? some of you have said that you have 'blind' temp ports which makes me assume your using a type of thermowell, how accurate is the temp reading in a thermowell/blind port?
IzzyB

I've been thinking about the accuracy of the thermowels too. Do any of you use thermal grease on the end of your temp probes? If the thermowel is sealed from the vapor path it should not be a problem of leaching in to the alcohol. And I would think it would increase the accuracy of the temp readings. Or at least make them register quicker.

[valkyrie99]

Thanks KS and OD that is what I thought but wanted to be sure. I'm going to go with the seive plates and original style dephlagmator. I do have a couple original ideas that probably won't by the time I get to build the thing. I will post when I get enough parts to start.


Thanks. Valk

[Austin Nichols]

I said I would post pics of my "poverty pack design" tonite, however I ran out of mapp gas

I will need to do a 100km round trip tomorrow to get some more, but it will be finished, all the components are built and just needs gluing together.

For my mind this little rig has turned out to be a rip snorta, and hopefully tomorrow arvy it gets a cleaning run.

[olddog]

I said I would post pics of my "poverty pack design" tonite, however I ran out of mapp gas

Have you mounted the sight glasses on your 4"column yet?


OD

[Austin Nichols]

I said I would post pics of my "poverty pack design" tonite, however I ran out of mapp gas

Have you mounted the sight glasses on your 4"column yet?


OD

No not yet, I thought I would've by now but my delfogomatater self destructed when I tried to solder the two 90's onto it, I need to resolder the SS ferule back on now and have to build my confidence back up again..... it's been a very testing build for me, a lot has gone wrong, but I'm not giving up and it will be a great rig when it's done.

[Kentucky shinner]

I think this part of Mile Hi's ad needs editing though. "This tower is a Kentucky Shinner design and is dropped shipped direct from the manufacturer."
Aint exactly true is it, the original Magic Flute is my design.



OD

your right OD.. Mike at Mile Hi put that on there.. Your flute is the original and always will be. I just redisigned the plates and added the shotgun dephlagmator, but you had the original. I would not have even considered doing this if you were in the states. It would be pretty tough to sell many in the states after paying the shipping charges to the states from Australia. By the way this was not my idea.. Mike Warn called me about it.
I was thinking of setting up my own website and selling supplies along with my columns and sent Mike an E mail. He in turn sent me his phone no. and we just hooked up. I have some other column designs I hope to be producing soon.
KS

I did the first shotgun dephlegmator.

I did not know that rc I built my first back in October and did not realize I was stepping on toes. hell I am sure there is someone out there that build one way before that.
I meant no offense I would like to recant.. Rockchucker was the first to build a shotgun dephlegmator..
KS

[condensificator]

...way i see it, is that this is a collective, and we are all building on the same foundation, adding our own elements, toward the same resolution. be proud to have contributed. no need to keep score.

[LWTCS]

be proud to have contributed

Indeed. Shot gun condensers, defagotomaters ( ), perf plates, bubble plates and thumpers too,,,,,,,,,,have been around certainly longer than most of us have been involved with this hobby........cept mehbe Dunderhead

[exon]

PP made a good observation regarding a thermowell.

Plumber's silicone grease would be a good addition to the probe within a well.
A very thin-walled tube with hood would also be beneficial.
exon

I know nothing

[Izzy_Britton]

... I do have a couple original ideas that probably won't by the time I get to build the thing.

Aint that the friggin truth! my build is going slower and slower at every turn. and every time i think i have a new original idea or a way easier to do or improvement, a week later i see someone else has just done it.

I think with so many different people from so many different life styles and different professions all contributing here, it is very difficult to come up with an original idea. some improvements that make things easier is about all that we can try to do on our new build.

I will just be glad if i ever get mine built. at the rate i am going it will be a year or two. seems every time i go to buy a new part its many hundreds of dollars than i expected and that is not something i can afford every single time.

Its gonna be a fun build once i get all the major expensive components rounded up.

IzzyB

[Kentucky shinner]

...way i see it, is that this is a collective, and we are all building on the same foundation, adding our own elements, toward the same resolution. be proud to have contributed. no need to keep score.

I agree 100% everything I have done on the flute. I have taken ideas from here and there and I like to think came up with my own version of it.. Its kinda like making a meat loaf.. Hell this sounds good, oh ya I like this too, put it all together and you have your very own recipe...but it is more than likely prett darn close to someone elses..

the greatest thing about the HD forum is we pretty much throw our ideas out here then discuss them and decide what we think will work... It beats the hell out of doing it by yourself.. I owe many folks on this forum a hell of alot for what I have learned here.
Thanks everyone for you contributions.. It just dont get no better in my opinion.
KS

[condensificator]

Here is a link to my newest build in action.. the 2" sight glasses rock....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8u2WEdux0Q8" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

KS..did you use the watch glasses on those? what size? what did you use for seals/gaskets? did you lap them?
cool.

[Prairiepiss]

PP made a good observation regarding a thermowell.

Plumber's silicone grease would be a good addition to the probe within a well.
A very thin-walled tube with hood would also be beneficial.
exon

I know nothing

I was thinking more on the lines of heatsink compound or grease. The stuff is designed to aid in the transfer of heat from one surface to another. I carry a calkgun size tube of it in my service van. I deal with some really big heatsinks. its available all over. the computer guys use some real nice hiperformance stuff when building over clocked machines.

By the way they aren't listing to our conversation.

[condensificator]

seems like it would be really messy. would there be enough of a difference/benefit to even mess with it?

[Kentucky shinner]

Here is a link to my newest build in action.. the 2" sight glasses rock....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8u2WEdux0Q8" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

KS..did you use the watch glasses on those? what size? what did you use for seals/gaskets? did you lap them?
cool.

hey man Ya i used the watch glass you turned me on to.. I made the gaskets out of 1/8" musical cork... Pricey... and made a teflon washer to go one the outside of the glass. I did not lap it. It seated very well . I used the 60mm for the 2" union.
Thanks man I just ordered more... I just found out my next build now wants the "Big Eyes"

[Prairiepiss]

seems like it would be really messy. would there be enough of a difference/benefit to even mess with it?

Something that small wouldn't be to messy if you didn't over do it. Plus you would have a bunch of good cleaner after you run it. And the difference benefit was one of the original questions. " how accurate the temp probes are in a thermowel. In my thinkin there is an air space between the probe and wall of the thermowel. Air would act like a insulated buffer. If you take up the air space with a thermal grease it should be more accurate with a quicker response. In theory? I did read on a industrial thermometer website they had a note about using something.

[condensificator]

hey man Ya i used the watch glass you turned me on to.. I made the gaskets out of 1/8" musical cork... Pricey... and made a teflon washer to go one the outside of the glass. I did not lap it. It seated very well . I used the 60mm for the 2" union.
Thanks man I just ordered more... I just found out my next build now wants the "Big Eyes"

nice. i'd love to see some pics of the components unassembled. the watch glasses that i got were very uneven, and wouldn't have worked with the way that i am doing it...mine sit directly on the metal seat, and the seal is on the outside of the glass. where did you get yers? i just picked some up off of ebay.

[Kentucky shinner]

hey man Ya i used the watch glass you turned me on to.. I made the gaskets out of 1/8" musical cork... Pricey... and made a teflon washer to go one the outside of the glass. I did not lap it. It seated very well . I used the 60mm for the 2" union.
Thanks man I just ordered more... I just found out my next build now wants the "Big Eyes"

nice. i'd love to see some pics of the components unassembled. the watch glasses that i got were very uneven, and wouldn't have worked with the way that i am doing it...mine sit directly on the metal seat, and the seal is on the outside of the glass. where did you get yers? i just picked some up off of ebay.

e bay is where i got them from.. The same link you sent me. when I make the next ones I will take some pics of them while I am making them so you can see the components.

[olddog]

I did the first shotgun dephlegmator.

Have a look at the first post in this thread.



OD

[olddog]

Fair call.


OD

[prdbrissy]

G,day to all

I am ready to make a start on my Flute build. Because of the beauty of these things I have decided to call mine "FLUTE ART". They arn,t just a piece engineering they are a shiny metal sculpture. And I am sure it will have a personality of it's own.
It,s design is going to be a meld of all I have read here. I thank you all for the knowledge and providing the inspiration for me to have a go. I have some construction ideas of my own that I want to incorporate into "MY FLUTE", ("FLUTE ART") but the end result I hope will be a testiment to those of you that have already travelled this path.



This is my existing setup. A modified 50lt SS wine barrel with 2400W of power. The column will produce about 9lt of 96% from 50lts of sugar wash.

The first thing I have to do is cut the column about 50mm up from the lid of the keg and rejoin it with a Tri-clover clamp.
This will allow me to swap column,s.

I will keep you guy,s posted as I progress.

Regard

[exon]

seems like it would be really messy. would there be enough of a difference/benefit to even mess with it?

Bye golly you are correct ! and a torch is VERY hot !

The plumber's silicone grease is REALLY nasty stuff.

But IMO it will do the trick, and is commonly available.

(I don't like it because it repels paint. It's a good product for sealing. Certainly don't want it in your product. Yuk!)
exon

[milehidistilling]

It has been changed to

Look no further!!! The Hillbilly Flute is hand made by Kentucky Shiner using the highest quality copper components on the market. This design, has been around for many years on the commercial level, but was scaled down to a hobby sized still . After many years of research and development, Kentucky Shinner is now making these stills for Milehi!

Just like the commercial perforated plate distillation columns, the 4” Hillbilly Flute has an astounding take off rate while producing a high alcohol content full flavored distillate. Peering through the site glasses, you can see the reflux in action! Like most large commercial stills, the Hillbilly Flute is a very easy still to run and maintain. It features a 4” copper column with 4 perforated plates, 12 tube shotgun dephlagmator “The Rain maker”, full irrigation plumbing to the dephlagmator and condensate condenser, 18” Graham condenser, and a built in parrot's beak!


The Hillbilly Flute is made from only the best high grade copper available and LEAD FREE Silver Solder. Included with this still is a dvd to teach you how to play the Hillbilly Flute! THIS STILL WILL PRODUCE A HIGH CLASS OUTPUT, EVERYTIME.

This tower is built by Kentucky Shiner and is dropped shipped direct from the manufacturer. Please allow 35 days for delivery

http://www.milehidistilling.com/Product ... Code=16158" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[olddog]

I am flattered, but it's not necessary for my name to be there.

I have edited it accordingly.


OD

[blanikdog]

No OD, it is necessary for your name to be there. You did it first. You deserve the credit. Before that it was simple plagarism, something that is abhorrent to me.

I personally am becoming pissed off with the bitchiness, egomania and greed of a few folk in this hobby distilling game. Fester is another example, Come here, gets a start then with his sad. sad story then put's shit on everyone here and arranges for another to place his fucking advertisements in here. Makes me wonder about his wife who, strangely is no more. I doubt she ever was? And as for Kiwi, words fail me.

Most of them come here to HD, grab what they can and then fuck off and pile shit on those who helped in the beginning to make them feel superior. What a bunch of egomaniacs. The probably cheated at school as well. There has to be a word for this type of people, but it fails me right now.

I'm glad that I can't understand their type, else I'd be like them. And to think that people died in wars fighting for them for them.

My last post on scum.

[olddog]

OK here is the latest offering to the Flute family. I made Stumpy out of leftovers from other jobs, it's now complete except for lens's for the sight glasses, I accidentally picked up fittings larger than normal to make the sight glasses (bummer) so I have ordered new diamond glass hole cutter for the new size, which will be here in a few days.

I have two plates soldered into the column with single 2" bubble caps, with weir downcomers soldered to the wall of the column. There is a drop in shotgun dephlegmater with directional fins in the area above the dephlagmeter, I think they are called a laminair, which is supposed to change the vapor from a turbulent flow to a laminar flow which is supposed to improve takeoff. The product condenser is also a shotgun with 4 1/2" tubes inside the 2" casing. The whole cooling system is now controled with a single lever on a 3 way valve which will control the cooling to both the dephlegmater and product condenser.
This is a prototype build incorporating a few new ideas. As soon I get the lenses cut for the sight glasses I will do a cleaning run and then a test with a wash, then I will give a full report of the results.



OD

[moonshiner dave]

Looks good OD. I've read this thread a couple of times and I don't remember seeing the answer to this question although I may have missed it. Does any one else's flute go to a drip between the heads and hearts phase like it does at the beginning of the tails? When I ran mine this weekend and was in the heads phase it just slowed to a drip, so I tasted it and sure enough it was sweet. So I changed jars and adjusted the water flow down and it started running again. Once it got to the end of the hearts it slowed back to a drip and I turned the water off to the delphag, switched jars and ran it down to 25%. I think all I need is a trained monkey to adjust that valve and all I'll have to do is make the mash and set it up.

By the way, I have found a source for glass lenses if anyone is interested. I ordered some last night from them. The site is http://www.dealextreme.com/products.dx/ ... ass%20lens

[LWTCS]

Yes yes Dave.

Rember that coolant adjustment setting and practice replicating that still behavior.

Practice with the same recipe to approximate the same amount of heads with each batch