Help sizing my Liebig

[Dantuss]

Here is a link to the burner I have to use.
http://www.consiglioskitchenware.com/ma ... -with-hose" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
65000 btu LPG burner.
Building a 2" boka CCVM. Column height will be 36" filled with SPP.

I have lenghts of 2" and 1" copper my thoughts were to use what I have and buy the fittings to make a 2" over 1" Liebig condensor could sure use some help with the length that I should go with this.

Or maybe this isnt a great idea at all I see most go with 3/4 over 1/2.

Any help or advice would be appreciated!

[Saltbush Bill]

Building a 2" boka CCVM.

Your question is a bit confusing , a Boka isnt a CCVM..its an LM " Liquid Management Still.
If it is a Boka that you intend building you don't really need a product condenser at all.
Having said that many people do chose to cool the spirit leaving the still.
The amount of product leaving a two inch boka on a reflux run is small so you will only need a tiny condenser.

[Yummyrum]

Yeah bit like Salty , you are a bit ambiguous here . If you are building the CCVM ( and not a Boka which Salty correctly mentioned was a LM still ) then you will need a Product condenser . You could use your 2" over 1" but its not the best use of the material .If I was you I'd look at making a shotgun condenser using the 2" as a shell . Sure you will need to buy a few meters of 1/2" or 3/8" for tubes but thats not very much extra dosh .
You probably only need about a 400mm long shotty whereas if it was a liebig it might need to be closer to 1200-1500mm long if you intend to use it for a stripping pot head variation of a CCVM

[still_stirrin]

Here is a link to the burner I have to use. http://www.consiglioskitchenware.com/ma ... se...65000" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow btu LPG burner.

Big burner...sturdy stand. But 65,000 BTU/hr is a lot of heating power. I hope it has a good regulating valve. 65,000 BTU/hr is more than 19kW...definitely more than you’ll need to heat your boiler. In fact, you may find it difficult to slow it down enough to get consistant results from your still. And looking at the burner, I surmise you’re boiler is a keg so your vapor outlet will be 2”, again more than enough potential heat input.

So, with that knowledge, you’ll need a product condenser capable of managing your heat input. A 2” over 1” Liebig is NOT the most efficient design and will use more water and cost more in materials to build (fittings and all). Since you have 2” pipe already, I strongly recommend a shotgun product condenser. A shotgun with 1/2” OD vapor tubes, 4 or 5 of them inside the 2” shell, will handle the vapor flow potential. Make the jacketed section 24” to 30” long and it will manage your potential heat load.

But be advised, with that much heat your vapor velocity in the riser will be very fast...too fast actually for a 2” riser, even too fast for a 3” riser. Again, for optimum design, you’ll need to reduce the heat input by a factor of 10 to get to the prime operating range of the keg and a 2” riser.

When you build a shotgun, be sure to use efficiency improving techniques, like 3 or 4 baffles inside the water jacket to improve circulation of the coolant. Also, you should look at putting “vanes” inside the vapor tubes to increase the conducting surface area that the vapor will contact. That will increase the heat transfer from the vapor to the coolant. Some builders have flattened a piece of copper tubing and put a twist of it into the vapor tubes...that seems to work effectively.

And a shotgun operates the most effectively when oriented vertically. So, build your riser so you can position the shotgun to where you can still collect the spirit when the product condenser is vertical (as opposed to angling 45* from vertical like you would a Liebig condenser).

Good luck...keep reading...
ss

[Saltbush Bill]

You guys are kidding right ? you want him to go to the trouble of building a shot gun condenser to cope with the out put from a 2 inch reflux still ?
It clearly states that this will be a packed column

Column height will be 36" filled with SPP.

You do know how fast a 2in reflux still of any type puts out product don't you ?
Why not just keep things simple and build a small Liebig condenser.
Dantuss the materials you have at hand are not perfect for a liebig by any means ....but you could buy what you do need to build liebig for very little.

When you build a shotgun, be sure to use efficiency improving techniques, like 3 or 4 baffles inside the water jacket to improve circulation of the coolant. Also, you should look at putting “vanes” inside the vapor tubes to increase the conducting surface area that the vapor will contact.

The man isn't building a nuclear reactor, its a two inch reflux still for gods sake.
Another thing to give some thought to is that , in the case of a boka the product has already been condensed before it leaves the still, it then simply needs to be cooled a little, Is that REALLY a job for a shotgun complete with baffles and other assorted hotrod modifications?

[Yummyrum]

You guys are kidding right ? you want him to go to the trouble of building a shot gun condenser to cope with the out put from a 2 inch reflux still ?
It clearly states that this will be a packed column

Column height will be 36" filled with SPP.

Agreed Salty , if thats all he wants it for .

Unfortunately a lot of guys flippantly refer to any tall packed reflux stills as "Boka's"
He does say its a CCVM wich will require a PC ...again you are correct that there is bugger all coming out of a 2" reflux still to warrant the use of a large shotty .

But.... A lot of guys build a CCVM so they can cap the top and use it as a stripping still ......in which case a shotty or large Liebig is going to be required .

So I think that the OP needs to step in here and explain exactly what type of still he is building and how he intends to use it before we all go jumping to the wrong conclusions

[Dantuss]

Thanks for all the info guys! And sorry for any confusion I may have caused.

SO I am building a CCVM I intend to use it as a pot still and re-flux still. Sorry if I misled indicating it would be a boka.

Still will consist of a 15.5 gal keg with 36" of packed column a 6" vertical site glass above the packed section. A 2"x2"x2" T with a cap so I can run it in pot still mode, or take the cap off and insert a cold finger for reflux mode, off the T I'll have a 2" 90º elbow into a Liebig style condenser.

When I bought the 2" type M copper for the column I had to take a full length 12' of tubing and I already had 12' of 1" type M sitting in my garage this is why I thought a 2" over a 1" would be a good idea just had the materials handy. Thought I'd jump on here and run it past some folks before going to town building this thing, I finally just got all the stuff I need today to start construction.