Fatman and Little boy (pics)

Don Ventura · Post by **Don Ventura** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 8:52 pm

Finally finished Fat Man - my First Reflux Column! Weeeee
I had a hand me down pot still but its unusable now and I'm in the process of turning a pony keg, named Little boy, into that replacement pot still - A lot like LCHB's new pot still.

Here we go:

Overall hieght of column is 40 inches, with 28 inches of copper mesh packing. I'll probaly try rashig rings next round.

Close up of the reflux head. All the parts are copper excpet for the needle valves and compression fittings. All the pipe fittings are 2" copper and those male and female ferules were not cheap. Connection between the column and the head is also 2 inch instead of the normal 1 inch reducer.

Coil is 1/4 refrig tubing bent around a pipe wraped withtelephone cord to make the diameter of the coil about 1/2 larger. I did that cuz the 7/8 diamter of the pipe just wasnt big enough to make the condenser fit right. This way the coil is a perfect fit inside the 2 inch pipe. Not to close to the walls and not to far away. The condenser coil is 15 inches in overal length. I took a 20 foot lot of tube and cut a bit off to make other stuffs but most of it went into the coil. The longer tube lets me know what one is intake and exit for the cooling water. It connects to a little submersible hobby pump I got off ebay.

Reflux Column. Easily disasembled for cleaning. Copper mesh I bought from homebrew heaven. This section of pipe is 28 inches long with the adapters.

The WINNER! I love this Copper bowl I got off ebay for $15 - says made in Korea but its really not at all low quality. I have bought bowls from England and France and this one is just as nice. The ferrule that is soldered on just goes all the way through and is nice and snug and was a dream to solder. Took me a while to polish the bowl but it was worth it. Its 11 1/2 inches in diameter and covers a good section of the top of the keg.

You can see the inside of the bowl where the adapter comes into the underside and is soldered on. I used a SS 2 1/4inch hose clamp to hold on some of the copper mesh when I want to use Rashig rings or place Gin sachet into the reflux.

Its a Gapping hole but its a great fit. 8 - 5/16th inch bolts secured to the underside with nuts and neoprene grommets. I used Teflon tape on the inside portion of the nuts and then put the gormmets on the outside to maximize the seal potential. Regular 1 1/2 inch fender washers and Wing nuts hold the reflux bowl in place. The gasket is currently RTV Hi Temp sealant.

Close up of the bolts and the grommets. You can see the teflon tape goes all the way through the hole to make a good seal.

$9 burner from ASC. Propane return tanks from home depot. I really need to get a longer pressure hose though.
I was hoping I had the demonic Dog effect to make sure all my runs are blessed with good fortune; since UJ says that demonic dog is essential to makeing good hooch... No demonic dog though... maybe its the gasket?

No pics of Little boy yet - more to come... Still working him out.

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DAMN I NEED MORE TUBING!!!

possum · Post by **possum** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 9:04 pm

I really like the look of your rig Don Ventura. The Copper bowl cap sure is a nice touch. I hope you can find the gasket material that you are looking for. Labradors are always good luck.
Is Little Boy a 7 gallon size ?

Don Ventura · Post by **Don Ventura** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 9:06 pm

Yup... looks almost exactly like LHCBs new rig.

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DAMN MY SON IS 7G SIZE TOO!!!

Bujapat · Post by **Bujapat** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 9:52 pm

Nice work DV... It looks very pretty! Specially the bowl!
As Possum said, take care to find "sure non toxic gaskets"... It would be perfect!
Wish you great success in brewin' and distillin' now!

stoker · Post by **stoker** » Fri Apr 14, 2006 1:12 am

very nice.
that copper bowl would fit perfectly on my boiler, so it would be 100 % copper
1 & 2
is it a single helix coil? looks like mine, but i don't succeed in condensing all the vapor

Uncle Remus · Post by **Uncle Remus** » Fri Apr 14, 2006 6:03 am

Beautiful work Don. I really like your copper bowl. The only thing I would change is the rtv silicone seal. If you cut a ring out of gasket paper it should do the trick. There is no pressure at the bowl keg seal. I use wing nuts and fender washers and only tighten it finger tight and have never had a problem with the seal. Other than that great job!

Don Ventura · Post by **Don Ventura** » Fri Apr 14, 2006 6:39 am

yeah its a single helix. I tired to do a double but after doing some calulations I realized I couldn't get the inner diameter small enough to get two loops to fit into the 2" pipe. I really wanted to try a double helix... maybe ill build a new head/condenser if I can find some 3" pipe.
In my trial and error steps, I must have made 4 coils so far and this one was the only one that was even worth using. Damn copper aint cheap.

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DAMN GONNA NEED MORE TUBING!!!

hillbilly_john · Post by **hillbilly_john** » Fri Apr 14, 2006 7:48 am

Really nice looking setup. I'm working on mine this weekend and it'll end up lookin' a lot like yours. .... hopefully that is<G>

How did you get out the bottom of the condensor column? Did you just solder 1/4 pipe to the 2" cap fitting? Or did you use a fitting of some sort?

expiring minds want to know
jb

Swag · Post by **Swag** » Fri Apr 14, 2006 10:29 am

Beautiful still Don. Very nice work all the way around.
I have one of those 7.5 gal pony kegs that I was using for a boiler before I got the 10 gallon unit. I insulated the outside with fiberglass and covered it with sheet metal.
I think your condenser is plenty big enough. Not that it's a bad thing, but most rigs here are overcondensed IMHO. A double helix would be very cool but a tad overkill unless you had a 4" column and a large boiler.

Fri Apr 14, 2006 2:39 pm

Hey Don,
That looks awesome! Nice work! I have a reflux still in the works also. It's a different design but I hope it looks as good as yours when Im done. I'll be useing the same boiler, bowl, and flange as my pot still, though. It looks like it will be awhile before it's ready. Spring snuck up on me and my work load has doubled. Between work and family, I haven't had much time for finishing it.
I wanted to mention that I wound 1/4" OD tube around a length of 1/2" ID copper and made a double helex that fits in a 2" shell. I wrapped it really tight and then wrapped it tight back around the first coil. It gave me some gnarly blisters. Then I loosened the outside coil a little by hand to make a gap between the two. I haven't used it yet, but I did pump water through it and it worked perfectly.

Don Ventura · Post by **Don Ventura** » Fri Apr 14, 2006 11:30 pm

LHCB - how much tube did you use to start, and how long is your finished dbl helix? I'm still kinda itchin to make one just for good measure. You can never beat overkill!

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DAMN BETTER SAFE THEN SORRY!!!

stoker · Post by **stoker** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 1:04 am

Swag wrote: I think your condenser is plenty big enough. Not that it's a bad thing, but most rigs here are overcondensed IMHO. A double helix would be very cool but a tad overkill unless you had a 4" column and a large boiler.

I have problems with condensing. my condenser is as big as the one of don ventura. I'll use some scubbers too. and if I still don't succeed, then maybe and externel coil, solderend on the outside of the condenser.
what's the best temperature of condensed spirit? (how cold should it be?)

Swag · Post by **Swag** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 8:50 am

stoker wrote:
Swag wrote: I think your condenser is plenty big enough. Not that it's a bad thing, but most rigs here are overcondensed IMHO. A double helix would be very cool but a tad overkill unless you had a 4" column and a large boiler.
I have problems with condensing. my condenser is as big as the one of don ventura. I'll use some scubbers too. and if I still don't succeed, then maybe and externel coil, solderend on the outside of the condenser.
what's the best temperature of condensed spirit? (how cold should it be?)

How fast do you run your still? Do you run it at full power?
I usually have trouble getting the flow of water slow enough.

stoker · Post by **stoker** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 10:30 am

yes, a gas element at full power. but then I want to be able to condense it also.
what about the T?

I've filled the remaining space with scubbers, I'll try it some day

Sat Apr 15, 2006 11:42 am

The coil is 10 inches long. It took 20 ft of tube. You could make a longer one. Maybe use 30 ft. of tube for a 15 inch coil. I followed the instructions on an old post. I think Grayson was the author of the post. Run a search by author. It was posted a few years ago I think.

Don Ventura · Post by **Don Ventura** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 11:29 pm

Damn that looks good LHCB. Hopefully Ill be able to put this Rum wash to good use on my day off and we will see if this coil I have now was worth all the time I put into it. If not Ill be running to Home depot later that day...

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DAMN WHEN DO I GET PAID AGAIN!!!

grunther777 · Post by **grunther777** » Sun Apr 30, 2006 8:48 am

I have to say Don that is a very impressive rig, I shot my load the first couple of times i looked at it. (oops there it goes again

) Just had to tell you what a sexy system you have set up there.

Don Ventura · Post by **Don Ventura** » Sun Apr 30, 2006 11:00 pm

Thank you very much man. That means a lot cuz there are a lot of man hours that went into it. I gotta say that I am trying to keep up with the jone's on this one though. After seeing a bunch of great stills on this site I knew I couldn't come with anything low end. People here take this very seriously and that is what makes us ALL better hobbiests.

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DAMN WHEN IS THAT WASH GOING TO BE DONE!!!

possum · Post by **possum** » Mon May 01, 2006 8:13 am

Everybody's still is shinier than mine, don't have solder drips, and not covered in paste.

However, mine is pretty safe(all good materials, Cu)
makes good hootch ( with my help)
Don't laugh, but its paid for.

I hope that the whole community continues to encourage the "make it as good and safe as you can" atitude.