Condenser sizing for uncirculated flake stand.

[Amdre1]

Hi guys. What OD and length would you recommend for my worm condenser which will sit in uncirculated water.
Im building a 50L keg pot still with 2inch coulomb and 22mm Lyn arm.
Heat source will be Lpg gas high pressure.
It must be able to handle stripping runs and high flake stand water temperatures towards the end of the run?
I also would like to know what size flake stand i will need.
Will 210L be enough to do one run?
Im guessing that 15m of 15mm soft draw coper tubing should do it.

[still_stirrin]

Yes, 15 meters of 15mm soft copper should be fine for your worm.

And if you put that into a 210 liter flake stand, it should be enough to work through your 30 liter wash strip. But, I would recommend developing some method to “turn over” the water in the run if you need to. The water in the flake will warm up and that will decrease the knockdown power as you approach the tails when the vapor temperature rises as well.

Good luck. Be safe, responsible, and discrete.
ss

[stillanoob]

I have a 45l pot still. I have about 7 meters of 1.3cm I.D. copper tubing for a worm. My flake stand is about 56l. I can do a run with a 37l charge without changing water. However, a master distiller I know places a lot of importance on distillate output temperature and so I do use some cooling water.

[Chauncey]

As still stirrin said, a method to turn over. Even if its a stock pot to bail water out with while a hose refills it or while you have buckets cool water on standby to refill after bailing a bit out. And theres always the method of using ice but its costly, not super effective, and really screws up the cooling gradient.

[Amdre1]

Thank you all for your input. I am probably going to get my tubing tomorrow from Metraclark. It cost about R1000.00

[stillanoob]

I don't think you need all of that tubing. My 7-8 meters or so does just fine, even when I crank up the still. I have run as hard as 6l an hour no problem.

[Amdre1]

I got my roll of copper tube, R1100.00zar 15m x 5/8".
Should I make an evenly spaced worm to fit the 210L drum from top to bottom with the tubing as close to the wall as possible?
Im thinking of putting the majority of the coils towards the bottom of the drum where the cooll water will be laying.
What will be the most practical way to put it all together. Once i have the right spacing I'll solder them all together with 3 straight tubes.

[still_stirrin]

Uniform spacing of the coils will promote a constant gradient for condensation. Make sure you don’t have coil dips which would make liquid pools in the worm. Soldered to struts will help hold the shape inside the flake. Also. you don’t need to stay close to the walls of the flake, as you want water around the worm completely.
ss

[stillanoob]

As a rule of thumb you should have at least one tubing diameter in between coils for water flow. It is always tempting to have as many turns as possible but the more turns the harder it is to keep a constant downward spiral. As I said, I have about 7 meters or so of tubing and it can knock down the vapor even when I run the still way harder than I ever would for a real run.

I used a piece of regular copper pipe and a 90 degree elbow at the top and bottom, where the vapor enters and exits the flake stand. This makes it much more self supporting and prevents having to make the 90 degree turn with the tubing. I can get you a picture later if you like.

[Amdre1]

Thanks guys. Will be getting my drum tomorrow and still have to find a paint tin or something to use as a mandrill to form my coils.
Can i just wrap the soft draw tube 5/8" round a large paint tin without a spring bender?

[shadylane]

Thanks guys. Will be getting my drum tomorrow and still have to find a paint tin or something to use as a mandrill to form my coils.
Can i just wrap the soft draw tube 5/8" round a large paint tin without a spring bender?

Was the tubing already coiled up ?
Are you lucky enough, that it's already the right size
I'd recommend not trying to bend the tubing yet
Look at it and think about it another day or so.
I'll guarantee you will do a better job

Here's a cute little coil maker I found on the internet