Home Distiller

Some of you might have already seen some pics of this around here and elsewhere .

With the common 2" keg thumper connection the feed from the Boiler comes in the top and the take off is out the side . This common arrangement is easy to make but it limits the Thumper as to what it can connect to ...usually just a Product condenser .

By contrast this variation will allow any still head to be connected as the output is out the top .I'm sure I saw it some where else
Here's whats inside it .
It was a bitch to make.
I had to chop up a few fittings so that they would fit concentrically...no biggy but had to be done .
I Brazed the 2"-1" reducer to the 1" 90 bend so at least that wouldn't fall apart when I soft soldered the rest
Cleaned it all up ready to soft solder the copper bits .
Soldered on the Staino Tri-clamp ferrules and the thump pipe

Already for a test

Fire it up and ...bugger ,,,a bloody leak
One of the advantages of testing at night is you can see the steam ...especially in winter
Anyway , I pin point the bastard.
Reflowed the solder and that fixed that .

Then discover another leak on one of the ferrule joints

Pull off the ferrule and discover my soldering was not as good as I hoped it would be . You can see the track where the solder did not take to the ferrule .
or the copper

So now its as solid as .

Here's soldering the ferrule and 90 deg onto the connecting pipe .
I realized that my initial design was ideal in theory but in reality no two kegs will stand up perfectly vertical and the addition of my homemade couplings would throw that further out .....so I added another tri-clamp in the feed pipe to aid alignment .So now it doesn't matter how wonky my kegs sit , I can still join them together with no stress on the joints
Here was my vinegar run Here I was using it as a steam stripper . That's an 80 liter keg under the blanket
With a Shotty.....Vinegar into the bucket

looks good yummy

Good, looks yummy.

LOL Swedish , showing off now der wo .....and being a wanker

Can use the short coupling as a thumper fill port
Can hold thumper in Full reflux
Can stick a flute on it too .
Change the angle of the dangle if I want .

And does this make my booze the best in town ?..........not really ....but I have fun

Prime example of the "power of modular". Great job Yummy. What is your favorite configuration for each spirit?
ss

Great job .

Medium rare design, but well done!

Kareltje wrote:Medium rare design, but well done!

Are you missing a spiral riser?

Looks nice.
A sight glass on the thumper would be useful.

Very nice Rummy

der wo wrote:

Kareltje wrote:Medium rare design, but well done!

Are you missing a spiral riser?

Funny: I was reading this thread again and started thinking of connecting my riser to my thumperhead.
After reading your post I tried: it can be done.
The versatility of this construction tickles me. So much possibilities, so little time/ferment.

Awesome as always yummy, always look forward to your threads, you do exceptional work. Very neat

LWTCS wrote:Looks nice.
A sight glass on the thumper would be useful.

So true LWTCS . And as I discover twice while doing a steam trip that a sight glass on the steam boiler would be handy too ....note to self , don't skimp on the water .

still_stirrin wrote: What is your favorite configuration for each spirit?
ss

I'll be honest and say I don't really know .
I only have 2400 Watts of electric available and I do most of my distilling over a gas flame but it freaks me out . My main motivation for building this was so I could run my Stills but be a safe distance from the flames .

As you can see its very versatile but with that comes multiple combinations and I really haven't had the time to play with it all and find out whats best for what .

I have anecdotally found that steam stripping my rum wash was better than direct heat stripping but I need to try it more .
I did find that the thumper under the Flute was excellent at saving a low ABV wash .

I concur with Kareltje.......

Kareltje wrote: So much possibilities, so little time/ferment.

I'm on my way, thanks to your design Yummy!!

Thats cool beerswimmer . Be good to see pics of it when yo finish it .

By the way I hope you don’t mind , I copied your pics of the host you were using and stuck them directly here for future prosperity as images tend to get lost over time .

Thanks Yummy, I couldn't do it myself! Here's some more pics of it soldered(poorly) and test fit together: I still need to do a leak check and find all the leaks. You were right, it was a royal PITA to put together!!!

And I'm one triclamp short of being complete

I still need to clean it up after I fix the leaks, and drill holes in the bottom of the spear. I also have another copper 90 degree I can fit to get more copper in the system. The modularity of your design is so amazing! Since the vapors go up and not out the side I can put run it as a pot, or put a flute or packed column over the thumper and not really change much. While I'm waiting to get my triclamp in the mail I can start a cheap sugarhead for the sac run and get a real all grain recipe put together!

Looks great beerswimmer
Should work a treat

Leak check was so good I'm going to let it run as a cleaning run. Only 2 minor pinholes on connections, but none at the critical thumper connection!! It took about an hour and a half for anything to come out of the non-cooled condensor, but it's with only water. There was a tinny drumming as the thumper started to work and it came up to temp. One running it was silent. I drilled 12 holes in the bottom of the spear before starting.

After this I'll give it a soapy wash, a quick dip in citric, and then some cheap UJSSM for a sac run. Now I need to get some barrels

Doing my first non-cleaning/sac run! A cheap and easy UJSSM strip Truckinbutch style, 12.5 gallons in each boiler. It took 35mins to hear the thumper and another 45 to get a solid stream out of the pipe. Not bad

It's not sideways when you click on it.

Cool setup for sure., I might have to build one like it. Until then, I just need some copper jars for my silly double

Howdy! I am building my own version of Yummy's Thumper build. The modular design is really inspiring.

There is one part that is stumping me, the 'T' where the vapor path goes into the thumper. I know there will be some cutting and some brazing involved. It looks to my eye that you are using a different kind of copper fittings than what is available to me in the US?

I'm wondering if anyone has built this using US copper type M, how they did it? Cheers!

3 x 2 x 2 tees are common. At least they used to be prior to plastic becoming so prolific.

Find a legit supply house. Wall thickness is a non issue.

Just gotta cut the stop out of the top side 2" part of the tee is all.

I used Australian copper fittings

Caliche wrote: ↑Mon Jul 05, 2021 6:44 pm I'm wondering if anyone has built this using US copper type M, how they did it? Cheers!

I think beerswimmer used US fittings in his version .

Caliche wrote:Howdy! I am building my own version of Yummy's Thumper build. The modular design is really inspiring.

There is one part that is stumping me, the 'T' where the vapor path goes into the thumper. I know there will be some cutting and some brazing involved. It looks to my eye that you are using a different kind of copper fittings than what is available to me in the US?

I'm wondering if anyone has built this using US copper type M, how they did it? Cheers!

I used a 2 inch copper sanitary tee from a scrap yard, a 2" to 3/4 inch reducer and a 3/4 inch elbow, all soldered inside the Tee.

Tummydoc- that is beautiful work. How in the heck did you solder it all? Was there brazing involved?