Back at it!

[MidniteOne51]

Well guys, after a few years sitting idle, I've finally hauled the old girl out of the basement and gave her the attention she needed.

Added insulation, built it in to the work station, got a new sump pump for the cooling rig, sealed up the leaks, rebuilt the takeoff tube, replaced the valve, and built a parrot.

Got a nice easy batch of Gerber percolating in the basement right now, and I'm looking forward to getting back in to the swing of things. Ive been trolling in the shadows far too long.. if it werent still as cold as the arctic in the garage, id be rolling a boil right now!

Im glad to see that the regulars on the forum that helped me with my build a few years back are still active today!

Cheers!

MidniteOne51

[BlackStrap]

Looks good MidniteOne51,

A built in model... Looks clean and well put together.
Is it difficult to take down and clean when necessary?

I like it

[Still Life]

Impressive. Neat. Makes my still area look like a tornado zone.
Welcome back into the fold.

[Mikey-moo]

Welcome back! I like the swirly parrot extension

[T-Pee]

Welcome back! I like the swirly parrot extension

I was thinking the same thing. Totally easy to adjust for height.

tp

[MidniteOne51]

Thanks for the feedback! While i was planning my assmebly in to the work bench, i kept a few things in mind.. 2 of which you guys have mentioned. Adjustable height for the takeoff, for if i choose to use the parrot or not, and for disassembly/cleaning and/or just getting it out of the way. I have a garden hose about 3 feet away from the still, so fresh rinse water is readily available. My column is assembled with 2" npt threaded couplings. All ive gotta to to tear down is unscrew my cooling hoses, pull out the condenser coil, unscrew cooling head and unscrew the column from the keg and im good to go. The only pain in the @$$ is when the threads dont come apart willingly due to the thermal expansion of the copper pipes.. a few taps of a hammer takes care of that though. Its a problem that was noted in my original build plan. If i were to do it again in the future i would use the tri clamps and sankey ferrules to assemble and dissassemble.. but hindsight is 20/20. I havent had any problems with my setup thus far!

Cheers,

MidniteOne51

[MrBee]

I really like the under the bench build. When I get my new set-up done I think I'll do something like that. I need a simple way to put things outa sight from the grandkids and others and that would be just the ticket. With a hinged top I could pull the tri clovers off and put all that stuff in a drawer beside the pots then close and lock the door.

Thanks for the post, ya gave me a good idea. I was thinking of building in a closet so I could just shut the doors but like this idea better I think.

MrBee

[The Baker]

You need a ladder to reach that ladder....
Geoff

[MidniteOne51]

Mr. Bee - glad i could inspire! Ive been thinking of finishing off the front of the workbench and put some doors on it for a cleaner look to my work area. For the section in front of the keg, it would be a faux door that looks like the rest, but it would be hinged in a different location, wide enough to pull the boiler out. We'll see what i come up with once better weather arrives. At the moment i dont have to hide it from prying eyes since the garage is cold AF and the door is always closed.

You need a ladder to reach that ladder....
Geoff

Lol, I'm 6' 4".. reaching things hasn't been a problem yet!

[Oldvine Zin]

That looks cold out the window

OVZ

[The Baker]

That's tall.

Had an apprentice at the bakery was 6' 5", it was real handy to have him reach the high stuff.

One day he hit his head on a door lintel and ended up flat on his back on the floor. My wife said, "how did you do that?"....

He said, " I must have done a little skip as I went through the doorway". Best apprentice I ever had.

Geoff