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Rn'N... wonderful you have great access to stainless!

I know nothing

More copper components you can get in there, such as your condensor, the better to deal with the sulphur compounds.
I would have made the plates from copper for max interaction.
exon

That's not a Shot Gun!!! That's a damn Vulcan Cannon.

+1 on the plates. But what do I no I'm a noob!!!!! Cant wait to see the finished product thought.

exon wrote:Rn'N... wonderful you have great access to stainless!

I know nothing

More copper components you can get in there, such as your condensor, the better to deal with the sulphur compounds.
I would have made the plates from copper for max interaction.
exon

the plates you see arent the bubble plates (perfirated, or caps) but they are the end caps to the shotgun.
i would use copper for the perforated plates, and for both condensors ( all copper in the vapor path,, not necessarily the "sleeves")
with the downcombers and caps,, you might get away with 1/2 downcombers and 3/4 caps. id do these in copper as well.
im not sure about the sizes of the condensor's maby someone else will chime in.
anything thing that iv said though, is my persional opinion,,, id get as many of these (opinions) as you can and then, make an educated decision.
BTW,,, so far, it looks great!!! what kind/ size boiler are ya usin??
thanks
spooky

Prairiepiss wrote:what kind/ size boiler are ya usin??

originally, i was running a beer keg on top of natural gas. but than for christmas, a buddy dropped this off on my door step ... it holds 60 gallons, and has 4-electric elements (threaded inside). i believe the elements to be 2x1500w and 2x2000w, wired for 220v (wiring needs to be refurbished). it will also sit on top of the gas burner that i have. this is one of the factors that inspired me to go with a 6" flute!!

Man I just love those swing latches on that boiler.
Do you need a seal with those?

There is a groove in the top, with a rubber o-ring (most likely bad news), but am thinking of trying to replace it with an o-ring made from twisted thread tape. If that isn't feasable, i may just resort to shiner's doe, as i can fill and empty without removing the lid. rubber o-rings are a no-no from every thing i have read (even if the wash is 40% or less and it is only in the boiler section) please correct me if i am wrong, as it would be handy to leave it be if possible??

awesome boiler. what was it used for before you got it? you can maybe source a teflon o-ring for it. if it's the type of seal that i think it is (full seated metal to metal with the internal groove for the o-ring) the contact would be very, very minimal and might be able to sneak past the plastic cops anyhow???

good score...jealous.

Hate to get too far off topic,,,,,


I tried a "no seal" lid for my thumper. Ground a bevel on the 3/16 ss plate to conform to the corasponding pot flange. I almost had it too but I cheaped out and only put 4 tabs on the lid to dog down. If i'da put 8 tabs,,,i bet I could did it.
At present it only leaks in one lousy little spot.

Good news is that flour paste works really great and is a snap to mix up.

condensificator wrote:awesome boiler. what was it used for before you got it? you can maybe source a teflon o-ring for it. if it's the type of seal that i think it is (full seated metal to metal with the internal groove for the o-ring) the contact would be very, very minimal and might be able to sneak past the plastic cops anyhow???

good score...jealous.

it was custom built for the same purpose as what i am using it for...although, many moons ago, when it was ordered by the job superviser, the purchace order read "steriliser" lol

Man with that ammo can that Vulcan Canon should really put out!!!

Maybe use a cotton string/rope covered with flour paste to replace the O-Ring????
You also said it will sit on your gas burner. You mite look into protecting the electric parts from the flames and heat that will rise up around the outside of the boiler. They look to be close to the bottom and could cause problems. Maybe a heat shield and run the wires up so they will be out of the path???? Even if you put the wires in a conduit of some sort that mite not protect them. Plus you wouldn't be able to see if they are damaged. Just a thought!!!!

thats friggin cool! im guessing that all the elements are at the bottom of the boiler?????
are you gonna use gas or electric? im not understanding..
thanks
spooky

i'm unsure at this point, as to which way i will run. it all depends on what it takes to drive the beast. i would prefer gas, but don't know if my burner will have the jam required?? most likely though, i will run with both together (at least to bring everthing to a boil). the heating elements are all in the bottom of the boiler (u can see one on the bottom left of the pic)

I'd be real careful running gas and elecrtic at the same time. It would suck if you burned a wire!!!

i have no problem with gas.. it works great for me.. the only downfall (for me) is that i gotta run it outside.. im goin electric so i can run inside and not run the risk o nosy neibors,, or pratroling fuzz. im hoping the electric stacks up to all the hype!!
spooky

Austin Nichols wrote:I'm just wondering what sized pipe everyone is using for their cooling lines? I have a stack of 3/8 and was planning on using that but from what I can see most are using 1/2"

Cheers.

When were talking about coils were talking about soft coiled refrigeration tubing which is measured on the outside. For the supply and return line sizes are we using tubing size or pipe size which is inside measurement.

valkyrie99 wrote:

Austin Nichols wrote:I'm just wondering what sized pipe everyone is using for their cooling lines? I have a stack of 3/8 and was planning on using that but from what I can see most are using 1/2"

Cheers.

When were talking about coils were talking about soft coiled refrigeration tubing which is measured on the outside. For the supply and return line sizes are we using tubing size or pipe size which is inside measurement.

I can buy L, K, and M annealed temper (soft) in the smaller sizes 1" down to 3/8" too. Its not all refrigeration tubing? The stuff I have here is L 1/2 in a coil. Its the same size as the L drawn temper (rigid) pipe I have. Its not actually the inside diameter it is sold in nominal sizes which are 1/8" less than the actual outside diameter. So the inside diameter depends on the wall thickness of the pipe L, K, or M, which are all different. This also holds true for the DWV pipe to.

thanks for all the great safety points on running gas/electic at the same time. without some proper shielding and wiring protection it would be a hazzard. i am unsure as to which way might work the best and will have to try both...maybe try it on gas first (before i re-wire it). this also leads me to another question that i have not noticed anyone mention thus far (unless i have missed it some where )
how much more energy does a multi-plate (4-10 plates) flute take to run in comparason to a 2" bok? ( i am assuming that the flutes reqire more..please correct me if i am wrong).

Prairiepiss wrote:

valkyrie99 wrote:

Austin Nichols wrote:I'm just wondering what sized pipe everyone is using for their cooling lines? I have a stack of 3/8 and was planning on using that but from what I can see most are using 1/2"

Cheers.

When were talking about coils were talking about soft coiled refrigeration tubing which is measured on the outside. For the supply and return line sizes are we using tubing size or pipe size which is inside measurement.

I can buy L, K, and M annealed temper (soft) in the smaller sizes 1" down to 3/8" too. Its not all refrigeration tubing? The stuff I have here is L 1/2 in a coil. Its the same size as the L drawn temper (rigid) pipe I have. Its not actually the inside diameter it is sold in nominal sizes which are 1/8" less than the actual outside diameter. So the inside diameter depends on the wall thickness of the pipe L, K, or M, which are all different. This also holds true for the DWV pipe to.

Thanks that is what I wanted to know. I had some 3/8 rigid which was about the same outside as some 1/2 soft that I had and had me all confused.
Humm... guess I still am.

Thanks so much. Valk

Hello everyone. I have read all the flute threads over the past couple of weeks. I have started one for myself as well as helping two others build theirs. I've been running a packed column design for several years so am not completely without knowledge. I do, however, have a question (well, maybe more than one).Why is the cooling water configured as it is on Olddog's and Kentucky Shiner's flutes. Why doesn't the dephlegmater and condenser each have it's own independant valved cooling water supply. There is probably a good reason that I'm not seeing. Is it water conservation? I have a well that produces water at 70 degrees F. and only have to run a trickle for my column and for a two foot long Liebig that I built.

rise n shine wrote: 2) I plan on going with perforated plates. Would the spacing between the plates have to be greater than 4” due to the larger diameter flute, and if so, suggested spacing?

If you need any perforated plate, you could try getting it from here:

perforated plate

I was going to run mine with 2 independent lines and a common exit controlled by a 3-way ball valve,


all the way to the left =100% reflux
all the way to the right = potstill mode
sitting in the middle, 50% to each condenser


If it didn't work it would be easy enough to re plumb the hardlines.

I'm not running a "flute" as such. mine is more like a single (massive) bubble cap per plate kinda like design.
But I do run independant feeds to each condenser. I like to play and fiddle but soon I need to narrow down my adjustments so that I can more easily replicate an out come.

Don't read to much into choices made early on during the evoluion of this still.
Original choices were largely predicated on basic tools, minimal space, budget constraints,and generally not truely knowing exactly how any given set of given limitations may or may not affect the outcome.

Even the eggheads had to pause while more results became available.

G,day to all

Here is my new water cooled Parrot.
I can use this with my existing column or with the new Flute when built. The output from my existing column is about 30 deg C so I decided to water cool it to hopefully get more accurate % readings.
I built the parrot first so I could practice some soldering before the parts get too big.



Regards

rise n shine wrote: how much more energy does a multi-plate (4-10 plates) flute take to run in comparason to a 2" bok? ( i am assuming that the flutes reqire more..please correct me if i am wrong).

I am very interested in the feedback on this as well

Regards

I can't comment on a Bok, but my 5 plate Flute needs no more heat than a potstill with the same size boiler/charge etc.


OD

My 4 plate takes no more heat than my 2" bok did when I was running it. I use the exact same heat source.

G,day to all

I have fitted my trial "window" to the boiler. It is a 72mm UV filter screw fitted to a modified piece of 3"tube. The filter will need to be sealed with flour paste. I think it's going to be a success. I'll let you know how it goes when I run the column in a week or so.
My hope is it's all good I want to fit these at each plate.

wow thats some reading ..great stuff

Hey Mike,

Did you take stumpy for a run yet?

I'm sure that there are quite a few others that are waiting to hear about how it went

Cheers.