Easy Davies product condenser

[lampshade]

Here is a design for an easy to build Davies product condenser. A Davies Condenser is similar to the Liebig, with the exception that cooling water flows on both sides of the vapor. As such, it can be made shorter than half the length of a comparable Liebig. I modified the Stone condenser design to use fewer parts and to be narrower, thus making it less expensive than the Stone condenser.

For those who are coil-winding challenged, this might be a viable alternative for the reflux condenser. In that application, to reduce the height, two Davies condensers could be fabricated and connected in parallel using a tee connector.

[Soggy Bottom Boy]

Product pooling at the bottom fitting, lingering fores and heads?

[lampshade]

Product pooling at the bottom fitting, lingering fores and heads?

Yeah, I thought of that, but the dimension of the coupler should keep the amount of pooling very small, especially if the output tube is 3/8". And the falling condensate should quickly flush out any pooling.

[buckwild1]

could fill that area with solder and shape it so it would slope to the output

[lampshade]

could fill that area with solder and shape it so it would slope to the output

I like that idea. If one was really concerned about pooling he could fill the tiny moat in the middle of the fitting with solder. But, to do that, that would be the first step in fabricating the condenser.

Here's another idea: use a washer or wire wrapped around the pipe. With wire wrapped around the pipe, filling the moat with solder would be easier.

[Vantucky Shine]

Orient the condenser such that it drains the moat.

[lampshade]

Orient the condenser such that it drains the moat.

That's another good idea. The Davies product condenser probably should be oriented off of vertically to allow all of the condensate to make contact with the pipe to provide additional cooling as the condensate travels down. Only a little tilt off of vertical is needed to drain the moat.

[googe]

Ive done 2 of these now, one similar to the first diagram and one of my own design. The first one is this one http://www.moderndistiller.com/forum/vi ... cc54cef8d9" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow in the first 2 pics. Works really well, knocks down about 8-9l on a strip and does a beautiful rum, its very stable and regular. Second one is this one http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 16&t=32953, best ive got is 19l/h strip. They do need to be tilted because ofsmearing, soldering up the little well in the bottom would work well but I forgot to do it .

[lampshade]

Ive done 2 of these now, one similar to the first diagram and one of my own design. The first one is this one http://www.moderndistiller.com/forum/vi ... cc54cef8d9" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow in the first 2 pics. Works really well, knocks down about 8-9l on a strip and does a beautiful rum, its very stable and regular. Second one is this one http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 16&t=32953, best ive got is 19l/h strip. They do need to be tilted because ofsmearing, soldering up the little well in the bottom would work well but I forgot to do it .

The pictures for the first are not available; the response says something about not having permission to view.

[lampshade]

Second one is this one http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 16&t=32953.

Googe, in the pictures you provided in the above link, I noticed two concentric pipes with a tube running through the outer pipe and into the inner pipe. How in the world did you do that? I would imagine it takes some ingenuity to solder the tube to the inner pipe while it is inside the outer pipe.

[googe]

Was pretty easy really, just heated out side, and inside through the opening and Fed the solder through the outside and it just slides in through to the inner one.

[lampshade]

Was pretty easy really, just heated out side, and inside through the opening and Fed the solder through the outside and it just slides in through to the inner one.

Thanks gouge. Let me rephrase what you just wrote, just to insure I understand it.

1. Before soldering, insert the tube through the outer pipe and into the inner pipe. (Obviously, the holes must be aligned.)
2. Heat the outer pipe around the tube. Heat will then conduct across the tube and heat the area around the opening of the inner pipe.
3. Apply solder to the tube where it enters the outer tube. The solder will then flow across the tube to the inner pipe and seal the tube to opening of the inner pipe.

[buckwild1]

been thinking on this some. The area I said to solder, it isn't soldered for structural support. If you angled the condenser and just soldered through the opening of the tee it would fill the small cavity and slope the solder. basically making it a 90.

[googe]

Was pretty easy really, just heated out side, and inside through the opening and Fed the solder through the outside and it just slides in through to the inner one.

Thanks gouge. Let me rephrase what you just wrote, just to insure I understand it.

1. Before soldering, insert the tube through the outer pipe and into the inner pipe. (Obviously, the holes must be aligned.)
2. Heat the outer pipe around the tube. Heat will then conduct across the tube and heat the area around the opening of the inner pipe.
3. Apply solder to the tube where it enters the outer tube. The solder will then flow across the tube to the inner pipe and seal the tube to opening of the inner pipe.

Sounds about right mate . Here's some pics of the other one from the first link you couldn't view.

[lampshade]

Thanks Googe. How did your condenser perform relative to a Liebig? How much shorter can it be relative to a Liebig to get comparable performance?

One difference I see between your build and my drawing is that it appears you have the water flowing in the same direction in both the inner cooling pipe and the outer cooling pipe, whereas I have them flowing in different directions. What is your opinion about that? My opinion is that it makes little difference since usually the ingress and egress water temperatures are not that far apart.

[lampshade]

The Davies Condenser is also known, on this site, as a Triple-Wall Condenser.

[HookLine]

The Davies Condenser is also known, on this site, as a Triple-Wall Condenser.

And also a Punkindenser.

http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5697

[lampshade]

The Davies Condenser is also known, on this site, as a Triple-Wall Condenser.

And also a Punkindenser.

http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5697

No, the Easy Davies Condenser is not a Punkindenser. True, they are both triple-wall condensers, but the Easy Davies Condenser is easy to fabricate. The provided Punkindenser thread ends with frustration, as the Punkindenser leaked cooling water. I have basic soldering skills and the Easy Davies Condenser that I fabricated did not leak.

Attached are pictures.

[lampshade]

could fill that area with solder and shape it so it would slope to the output

I forgot to mention in my previous post, when building the Easy Davies Condenser, that I took buckwild1"s advice -- for eliminating any pooling -- and filled the bottom of the product path with solder. It was much easier to do than I expected. Just direct the flame inside and stick the solder into the area.

[googe]

Good job mate, did it work ok?. I find there great, excellent control and they maintain a steady stream yours is very very similar to the first one I built, but it leaked inside and ended up doing the one I showed you earlier.

[lampshade]

Good job mate, did it work ok?. I find there great, excellent control and they maintain a steady stream yours is very very similar to the first one I built, but it leaked inside and ended up doing the one I showed you earlier.

I've only done a water test and no water leaks -- hurray. I had a lot of satisfaction with that outcome, as my previous condensers always leaked when first run.

I'm not finished with my first reflux still. I will do more comprehensive testing of the Easy Davies Condenser when that reflux still is up and running this month.