4" VM Build

[Salt Must Flow]

Work will be at a stand still until I pick up a copper elbow for the 3/8" OD tubing at a local plumbing supply shop. Then I can complete the Reflux Condenser.

I have to drop the 4" pipe, 4" ferrules, the Gate Valve body and the two 2" ferrules off to my TIG welder guy. I'll then solder the thermowell to the vapor take-off.

Once the still has been completed I can move on to the packing, the insulation and lastly the cleaning runs.

[Salt Must Flow]

Dropped off the pipe and ferrules off at the TIG welding shop today.

I drilled & threaded the holes for the 3/8" NPT Street Elbows.

Reflux Condenser 01.jpg

Reflux Condenser 02.jpg

Reflux Condenser 03.jpg

Reflux Condenser 04.jpg

After tightening the elbows, I used a grinder to flush the brass to the underside of the end cap. Now I just have to reinstall the copper adapters and solder the Reflux Condenser to the underside of the End Cap.

Reflux Condenser 05.jpg

Vent hole drilled.

Reflux Condenser 06.jpg

[Salt Must Flow]

I decided to bevel the holes on the underside of the End Cap, install the copper adapters and solder them into place. I won't have to worry about these joints ever leaking.

Reflux Condenser 07.jpg

Finally DONE with the Reflux Condenser This was the most stressful part of the entire build. One slip-up and potentially screw it up. The soldering was the easy part. The measurements, keeping things aligned and straight kept me on my toes.

Reflux Condenser 08.jpg

Reflux Condenser 09.jpg

Now just waiting on the TIG welder guy.

[Yummyrum]

Damn , very nice work there SMF .
Really liked seeing the pic of the salt actually starting to ooze out of the coil . Thats something I’ve read here a few times but the first time I’ve seen a pic of it . Thanks .

[Salt Must Flow]

Damn , very nice work there SMF .
Really liked seeing the pic of the salt actually starting to ooze out of the coil . Thats something I’ve read here a few times but the first time I’ve seen a pic of it . Thanks .

Yeah I've never seen it myself either. In the past I occasionally checked on the coil and eventually found that it cleared. I lucked out when I walked outside to check on it this time. I hung around for a bit hoping I could catch a video of the salt clearing, but I didn't care that much.

[Salt Must Flow]

Well I kinda screwed up when I installed the two copper elbows for the water. I threaded the holes so that the elbows can screw in really deep and I ground the protruding brass from under the end cap. This shortened the elbow to the point where I no longer have the clearance to screw in the brass Tee I intended to use as a thermowell. I'll have to figure out a work-around for that, otherwise I'm nearly finished with the overall build.

Reflux Condenser 10.jpg

I could remove the elbow and reinstall another one, but I really don't feel like melting all of these solder joints after I got everything perfectly straight.

[MooseMan]

Ah that's a shame considering the tip top job you did on it, but it's an easy fix for sure and you can still do it neatly.
Couple of immediate options I suppose, you could add another pair of 90s to those, facing up, then add you tees to those, in whatever orientation looks the best?
Or if you don't want to add any more fittings, as you don't have the clearance to spin the tees, you could rotate them in just enough to engage the thread then run solder down the threads?
You could even simply extend the elbow with a short section that allows the tee to pass the outer edge to thread it in.

Either way, fantastic build work, it looks very neat and well thought out.

[Yummyrum]

Thinking same moose . Drill thread out of the brass 90° solder the Tee into the hole .

[Salt Must Flow]

Thinking same moose . Drill thread out of the brass 90° solder the Tee into the hole .

I never even considered that approach. That's a really damn good idea Yummyrum. I was actually pretty much settled on the thought of screwing in a copper adapter, soldering on a copper tee and then soldering the rest to complete a similar thermowell.

Your idea appears to be the most logical and simplistic option. Thanks for that idea.

[Salt Must Flow]

Ah that's a shame considering the tip top job you did on it, but it's an easy fix for sure and you can still do it neatly.
Couple of immediate options I suppose, you could add another pair of 90s to those, facing up, then add you tees to those, in whatever orientation looks the best?
Or if you don't want to add any more fittings, as you don't have the clearance to spin the tees, you could rotate them in just enough to engage the thread then run solder down the threads?
You could even simply extend the elbow with a short section that allows the tee to pass the outer edge to thread it in.

Either way, fantastic build work, it looks very neat and well thought out.

I have considered screwing in extensions. I looked for lower profile tees and even considered grinding down the tee I have so that it can be screwed in. The last thing I want to do is melt any of the solder joints that have been finalized.

Yummy had a great idea that never even entered my mind. I may very well go that route.

[Salt Must Flow]

I had a little bit of time to work on the thermowell for the vapor take-off. I used the Die Grinder to shape the base of the 3/8" half coupling to mate to the 2" ferrule. It just needs soldered to the vapor take-off after drilling a hole.

Thermowell 02.jpg

Thermowell 01.jpg

[Salt Must Flow]

Have you ever watched the progression of a build thread and noticed how everything seems to be going so well and no problems to speak of? Well people don't always like to showcase their mistakes. I made a few.

1. I recently pointed out how I sunk my 3/8" brass elbows deeper into the end cap than I should have. I can't screw on the tee that I intend to use as a thermowell. Yummy pointed out a great work-around for that one.

2. When I originally wound both of my reflux coils, I didn't take time to consider than they each NEED to be wound in opposing directions. I just assumed I could flip one around and they would oppose themselves. NOPE Well that was a $20 mistake. I had to buy another 10' of 1/2" OD copper tubing and wind the coil again.

3. Before I could drill the holes in the End Cap, I held a paper disk over top of the reflux condenser to mark the spots where the 'water in' and 'water out' holes should be drilled. After I had my PERFECT stencil for drilling the holes, I used spray adhesive to glue the stencil to the underside of the End Cap. After drilling, threading, grinding and polishing was all done I realized something was very wrong. I neglected to flip the stencil before adhering to the end cap so the holes were transposed backwards ! ! ! Luckily I had another 4" End Cap. I transposed the marks properly and finally got it done right. I'll be able to salvage the 4" end cap because I threaded all 3 holes. I can install some plugs.

MISTAKES.jpg

Just because a build thread 'appears' to look like it went great, don't doubt that there were plenty of challenges and mistakes along the way.

[Yummyrum]

Talking about the mistakes is as helpful as talking about your success’s . I wouldn’t have thought about the oppersite coil direction , but now you mention it , it is glaringly obvious .Thanks

[SW_Shiner]

Mistakes can be great, providing they are learnt from, even better when others can learn too.
Great thread, looking forward to seeing the finished still.

[shadylane]

Have you ever watched the progression of a build thread and noticed how everything seems to be going so well and no problems to speak of? Well people don't always like to showcase their mistakes. I made a few.

1. I recently pointed out how I sunk my 3/8" brass elbows deeper into the end cap than I should have. I can't screw on the tee that I intend to use as a thermowell.

Great build.
I think there's better ways to measure vapor temp than using a thermowell.
The temp probe needs to be thermally isolated from everything but the vapor.

[Salt Must Flow]

Talking about the mistakes is as helpful as talking about your success’s . I wouldn’t have thought about the oppersite coil direction , but now you mention it , it is glaringly obvious .Thanks

Just wanted to say thanks again Yummyrum, your tip was brilliant. Instead of drilling the threads out of the elbow, I ground the threads off of the Tee. I figure that elbow is PERMANENT. I don't ever want to remove it. The thermowell on the other hand ranks lower on the totem pole. I can always run a thread tap to clean out the elbow. I love how it turned out.

Thermowell 03.jpg

Thermowell 04.jpg

Thermowell installed:

Thermowell 05.jpg

Here you can see the thermowell protruding inside the tee:

Thermowell 06.jpg

[Salt Must Flow]

Have you ever watched the progression of a build thread and noticed how everything seems to be going so well and no problems to speak of? Well people don't always like to showcase their mistakes. I made a few.

1. I recently pointed out how I sunk my 3/8" brass elbows deeper into the end cap than I should have. I can't screw on the tee that I intend to use as a thermowell.

Great build.
I think there's better ways to measure vapor temp than using a thermowell.
The temp probe needs to be thermally isolated from everything but the vapor.

Thanks Shady!

I'm sure you're right Shady. Actually I know you're right. I've witnessed the temp difference between the RTD sensor itself in the vapor path vs what the vapor temp reads through a copper thermowell. It's off by a number of 1/10th degrees F. Now if the RTD sensor was thermally insulated AS WELL as actually within the vapor path, I know it would be even more accurate.

What I've always shot for was the simplicity of being able to slide the RTD sensor into a thermowell and being able to pull it out easily without tools, corks, etc... I've used commercial stainless thermowells, but they were way too thick and just seemed like a bad idea. I very quickly began making them out of thin copper tube and they work great. These DIY copper thermowells are sensitive to 1/10th degree fluctuations. When the vapor temp is perfectly stable, the RTD sensor reads perfectly stable too. When the temp creeps right before tails, the RTD sensor responds and it is obvious. While I know these thermowells work fine, I know that the 'actual temp' is a little higher. I only use this temp reading to see when the column is stabilized, if there are any fluctuations throughout the run and to visually confirm that tails has arrived. I don't need true temp accuracy.

[Salt Must Flow]

Hopefully I get to pick up the welded parts tomorrow. I'm getting anxious to get this thing put together and complete the cleaning runs.

Since I had nothing else to do, I started working on a way to make my boiler sit as low to the concrete as possible while still being able to roll it around. I want to reduce the the overall height of the still in any way I can without sacrificing functionality or convenience. My boiler sat on 2x4 frame with 3/4" plywood on top and four 5" swiveling casters. That made the boiler sit approx 10" off of the the concrete floor.

Boiler Before.jpg

The underside of the boiler is recessed 1" so I cut a 3/4" plywood disk, screwed four 2" swiveling casters to it and now the boiler sits 3-1/2" above the concrete floor. That's a 6-1/2" height reduction. Every little bit helps.

Boiler 03.jpg

Boiler 06.jpg

Boiler 08.jpg

I have up to 4 more swiveling casters I could add if necessary, but I won't know until the boiler is full and I get a chance to roll it around a bit.

[shadylane]

Your build is Ingenuity in action.

[Salt Must Flow]

I just fixed that end cap that I screwed up. I installed two brass flush plugs and a 3/8" thermowell. I'll be using this end cap when operating in Pot Still configuration or whenever I need to remove the reflux condenser and cap it.

End Cap Fix 01.jpg

End Cap Fix 02.jpg

Pot Still Configuration.png

The insulation and Velcro strap arrived.

Insulation 01.jpg

Insulation 02.jpg

[Salt Must Flow]

The insulation was easy enough to split lengthwise. I laid the insulation flat on my counter top. I rested a marker on top of an object and slid the object across the counter along the edge of the insulation. Lastly I cut the insulation with scissors along the line.

Insulation 03.jpg

[Salt Must Flow]

Picked up the welded parts today! $120 for the TIG welding. The price was higher than I thought it would be, but the price of virtually everything has doubled over the last 5 years. So far I don't see any indication of heat warping. I've been grinding the interior to smooth out any irregularities and to taper the difference in wall thickness between the pipe and the ferrules. I want it smooth so that rolls of copper mesh can slide through without snagging.

Welded 01.jpg

Welded 02.jpg

Welded 03.jpg

[Salt Must Flow]

Here's the VM head all assembled.

FINAL VM Head 01.jpg

FINAL VM Head 02.jpg

Here's the assembled column attached to the boiler. I couldn't get a decent pic indoors because it's quite tall.

FINAL VM Head 03.jpg

The insulation will take me some time to finalize. I thought it would fit perfectly, but it fits more loose than I prefer. I'm going to have to trim some more before I can get it to fit like a glove.

I'm blasting steam through the still just for fun. I'll be doing the 1:1 vinegar/water cleaning run tomorrow and the sacrificial alcohol run in a week. Shortly following, I should be doing my first stripping & spirit run.

[Salt Must Flow]

While blasting steam through the still, I discovered one tiny pinhole leak dripping water. There's a small line I made with a marker to mark the spot.

Welded 04.jpg

I thoroughly abraded the area, de-greased and soldered it. Lastly I ground away the excess solder and polished it up a little bit. I blasted some more steam and it's sealed up now

Welded 05.jpg

[MooseMan]

Nice clean welds on those spools!
Really shaping up now eh? I bet you are chomping at the bit to get a run going on this beast.
Are you going to passivate any of the welded areas?

[Salt Must Flow]

Nice clean welds on those spools!
Really shaping up now eh? I bet you are chomping at the bit to get a run going on this beast.
Are you going to passivate any of the welded areas?

Yes, looking forward to doing a real run. I guess I'm kind of slacking because I should have started some sugar washes so they would be ready to strip, but I didn't.

I didn't intend to passivate the welds. I've never passivated the welds in the past and they held up just fine.

[Salt Must Flow]

I thought it was funny when comparing my 3" VM head to the 4" VM head. They're both nearly identical in size, but every part of the 4" is TWICE the volume. Heavier too.

Welded 06.jpg

[Salt Must Flow]

So far this build is $397.40 for all parts including welding.

I've been giving the packing some thought. I already have just over 2 gallons of Lava Rock that I've been using with my 3" VM and I think it would be interesting to see if its too small to work with the new 4" VM. The average size is 0.27", some smaller and some larger. From what I've read, the proper size for 4" is 5/16" (0.3125") - 3/8" (0.375"). My rock is undersized, sized for a 3" column, but it will be interesting to see if it floods or not.

I also have 1-2/3 gallons of 1/2" Ceramic Rings.

Ceramic vs Lava Rock.jpg

I am going to use 3-4 rolls of Copper Mesh at the base of the column, Ceramic Rings and then the Lava Rock on top. I'll probably use some sI'm just hoping to get bye for a while and stop spending money One day soon I'll buy more Lava Rock to replace the Ceramic Rings.

[Salt Must Flow]

Yesterday I did a 1:1 vinegar/water cleaning run. I drained the boiler then blasted it out with steam again. I broke it down and rinsed everything thoroughly. Today I started a 15 gal sugar wash so it will be about a week before I can do the sacrificial alcohol run.

While I'm waiting for the wash to ferment, I've been modifying a 15.5 gal keg for holding Low Wines. In a day or so I will show a simple and inexpensive way to add swiveling casters as well as a bottom drain to a keg with no welding (soldering only). The idea is to do stripping runs, collect the Low Wines into elevated kegs then use the bottom drains of the kegs to drain the Low Wines back into the boiler to do a spirit run. Pics to come.

I'll be starting two 45-50 gal sugar washes probably this weekend so by the following week I should be doing some stripping runs and one big spirit run. I really look forward to reporting the new still's performance with the packing I currently have.

[Yummyrum]

I’m excited for you SMF
I went to set up my 4” VM today and I couldn’t fit it inside my new shed LOL . You’ve inspired me to rebuild my dodgy head into a more dedicated design like yours .Thanks for the build topic . Love it .