Forward from welcome center post

[HolyWater]

This a follow up from discussion from my welcome post. This is a craft that I truly love. Here is the picture of my mason jar thumper rig.

https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/ ... 3/1049.jpg

[ShineonCrazyDiamond]

Not going to remove your post, but did move it into what not to use. Glass thumpers are not recommended here. First, they are way too small to be efficient, and of course they can shatter and are a major fire risk. Secondly, the valve are just not needed. All I see are places for Murphy to fuck you up. 1 wrong position and over sight and boom boom town. Now, I admit they may be plumbed in a way with zero chance of complete blockage, but I don't see the boiler side of your rig.

I'm not saying that alot of people don't use mason jars. I'm not saying that it's not cool ( I am just a boy that likes to see the inside of my toys work, too). What I am saying is that here, we do better. We learn risk and reward, and strive for safety above all else. I will add on a caveat to one of your opening post..."As for safety of the mason jars I have never had a problem with cracking or breaking"...yet.

I do wish you well here, and hope my feedback finds you with an open mind. For others that come through looking for inspiration, though... don't do it this way.

[still_stirrin]

… Glass thumpers are not recommended here…
... don't do it this way.

I’ll say it stronger … glass thumpers are STRONGLY DISCOURAGED here.

What you do in your shed is up to your own risk. But don’t bring it here because there will always be many viewers who’ll interpret it as acceptable, and of course, IT’S NOT.
ss

[Saltbush Bill]

I,'ll third that opinon......glass thumpers are complete rubbish........a blingy marketing strategy thought up by someone some years back so that he sold more stills to folk who knew no better.
They have no place on this forum or in distilling.
It also looks to me that with all of those valves that can be shut off the still design is an accident waiting to happen.

[Steve Broady]

I agree. However, you clearly have some decent soldering skills. It wouldn't be hard at all for you to build something that's probably more effective, simpler, and a hell of a lot safer. If you want advice on designs, there are a lot of excellent opinions and ideas to be found in these electronic halls.

[HolyWater]

I am sorry that I have brought a problem to here. With that said the valves you are talking about just close off *** rig and bi-pass it directly to worm. It actually is a safety feature that I built in. I build my own style. As for me being just into bling that is just not the case. I will not post anything more about my set up on here.

I have been just reading posts for quite awhile from this site . I decided to join not knowing I was going to get these responses. Maybe I joined the wrong site . But either way I am not here to get in pissing matches with anyone. I do apologize for my ignorance to the rules on *** rigs. From what I had read on here it was just discouraged not a mortal sin.

Making spirits is a passion!

[Saltbush Bill]

Sorry you feel that way.
The rules of this forum state very clearly
" Safety first and foremost"
That is far from being a safe still....the jars are one problem area.....from were I sit it seems that it would only take one tap/ valve turned the wrong way at the wrong time and you have an instant bomb on your hands.
Pick another valve or two and have them in the wrong positions and you could add exploding shattered glass to the problem areas.

[shadylane]

...I decided to join not knowing I was going to get these responses. Maybe I joined the wrong site .

You joined the right site, that's why your mistakes are being pointed out.
Many folks will say using a mason jar thumper is unsafe. So, I did it with a 212f steam run.
Guess what, if cool water hits the hot jar, it shattered.
Yes, I intentionally caused it by rapidly cooling the mason jar thumper.
But shit happens. It's best to be ready for it.

My opinion based on experience.
A mason jar thumper is unsafe and too small to work.

Ya don't believe me. Take your still out in the pasture, put on a leather jacket, gloves, a full-face helmet and give it a try.

[Steve Broady]

Maybe I joined the wrong site

Just my 2 cents worth..

When you post here, at least two things happen.
1- Your post becomes part of the (more or less) permanent history of the forum. Someone 20 years from now might stumble across your post and think “man, that guy knows his stuff, I think I’ll copy what he did.” Especially if you do good work, and show signs of craftsmanship.
2- As a result of this, whatever you post is subject to scrutiny and criticism not only for your own sake, but for the sake of anyone else in the future.
3- (Optional) You might chose to learn from what people are saying and, if you think it has any merit, gain knowledge and skill, be safer, make a better product, etc. You might also recognize that what you do in your shed is entirely your business, and completely ignore all advice given, and leave that subject out of any future discussion here.

In other words, if you chose to put it here, you chose to open it up for discussion. What you do with that discussion is up to you. There are no rules that govern what happens in your shed, but there are rules and guidelines that govern what happens here, for the benefit of everyone.

Personally, I think that your build shows decent attention to detail, looks well made, and it clearly makes you happy. I commend you for that. I also think that it’s got some aspects that could be used incorrectly and become dangerous, and I would not encourage anyone to duplicate it. While I am no expert, I believe there are better, safer, and more effective ways of achieving the same result. We as a community owe it to the people who come along in the future to point these things out and educate them, and ourselves.

[Steve Broady]

On the subject of those valves, I was wondering if there might be a simpler and safer way to achieve the same result. What would happen if you put a single valve in the bypass line, eliminating the other three? As I understand it, with the valve closed it would force all the vapor through your thumpers, and with the valve open all the vapor would take the path of least resistance via the bypass. That way you get the same function during operation, but there’s no way to completely close the system and create a pressure vessel. True, you couldn’t replace jars mid run, but I’ll go out on a limb and suggest that if you need to do that, it’s a sign of a system failure and needs to be shut down and redesigned anyway.

Speaking of jars, I seem to recall seeing some stainless steel canisters that use the same mason jar thread. Use those, you’ll get the same functionality with none of the risk.

[HolyWater]

I am so surprised that you all are hung up on the valves. It is 4 yes 4 valves if you can't pay attention to what position 4 valves are in. Then you surely are not able to pay attention to the rest of the process. As for *** RIG I agree to a point the you have to again pay more attention. I have never had one break other than the I dropped taking it to the sink to wash it.

[Steve Broady]

I am so surprised that you all are hung up on the valves.

One of the basic principles of safe design is that you never create the potential for user error to make a dangerous situation, if that can be prevented. There are certain things that are unavoidable, obviously, but you never build in a hazard if you don’t have to. In this case, the system you’ve built relies on the user to turn the right combination of valves in the right order, and if you get it wrong it could be anything from slightly inconvenient to fatal. I don’t know enough about your rig to assess the risk completely, obviously.

We all accept a great many risks in our lives, and each of us has to decide what our limits are. However, as a community, we have an obligation to each other to ensure that we are as safe as we can practically be if we want to have any hope of being accepted and recognized as legitimate hobbyists, rather than dangerous yahoos making hooch that will make you blind and burning their houses down doing it.

So absolutely, you do you, but it should come as no surprise that the community here is going to jump on anything they deem to be dangerous or a poor example for others to follow in the future. I for one and glad that they do, because I need all the help I can get. I don’t know about you, but I know I can screw up anything on the right day.

[LWTCS]

@HolyWater,
Did you mention weather or not you have a PRV on your primary kettle? Do you also have a vaccum break?

Shady (a very trustworthy member of this community) has given you a first hand example of what happens when a situation where rapid cooling can create a catastrophic failure.

I personally experienced a cooling hose failure that sprayed cooling water over my entire work space.

The mason jar thumper outfit increase the likelihood of bad things happening. Full stop.

Perhaps is just best to talk about fermentation, cuts, drinking (or the like) if you don't want your glass thumper outfit critiqued.

There are other ways to execute this configuration with the ability to minimize the likelihood of a bad accident happening.

[HolyWater]

Okay you all seem to have all sorts of issues with this. Here I will fix your hard heads. ADMIN PLEASE REMOVE ME FROM THIS WEBSITE! GOOD LUCK TO ALL YOUR STORE BOUGHT SETUPS. I am sorry I thought this was a different type of forum. I have looked for a place on here to delete myself.

[Stonecutter]

viewtopic.php?t=3757

[Dougmatt]

One of the wonderful things about this site is its ability to hold the mirror up to you so you can get great feedback and identify where problems might exist…. The mirror has been held up, you now get to decide if / how you react.

I will agree the some folks sounds more like the queens evil mirror, but that doesn’t make them wrong….

A further note on the valves, people are focused on this because that’s how explosions, damage and injury can occur. Larry asked a good question about pressure relief which would be a cheap possible way to help mitigate, though they are also known to fail. The full system should always run at atmospheric pressure otherwise you are signing up for risk and an accidentally closed valve to many (me included) represents an unacceptable risk.

I know you think “come on it’s only 4 valves” but it only takes forgetting about checking them one time to be a problem…. I can tell you a few “never thought I would forget that” stories. Do you have any?

Ultimately your call, the mirror has been held up, the danger pointed out, what you do is up to you. My hope is that you value this feedback, take it as constructive regardless of how it was said, and adjust your risk profile.

My motto exploring the passions and adventure of life is —— don’t get dead!

All the best!

D

[LWTCS]

Delete you? Why? Now you're giving orders and tossing out personal insults.
Just don't come back if you can't deal with the critique. Everyone responding has been polite and complimentary with respect to your build skills.

Go hang out reddit then.

On the otherhand, this community is the largest resource anywhere. You're only short changing yourself with your sunk cost approach to your build.

Your problem is you dont think "it can happen to you". And you weren't actually interested in an evaluation. You are just looking to be validated.
Stay or go.

[Saltbush Bill]

. I can tell you a few “never thought I would forget that” stories. Do you have any?

That is exactly the point.......you might get it right a thousand times.....and then one day not......if we are honest we have all done it.

GOOD LUCK TO ALL YOUR STORE BOUGHT SETUPS.

The funny part of that is, that the people giving you this advice mostly don't run or own " store bought"
Having said that if I didn't build my own and did have to buy, I would prefer to do that than to run a pile of unsafe garbage like yours.
What do you people running multiple glass thumpers really think you are achieving.....I've seen them with 20 and more so called thumpers.........it's all about " the look" isn't it..........not about making great booze or safety.

[shadylane]

GOOD LUCK TO ALL YOUR STORE BOUGHT SETUPS.

Here Ya go.
There's some good ideas here at "Just Post a Pick of your Rig"

viewtopic.php?t=66917

[juana_b]

Everyone here can see you have some of the skills and ingenuity already to make this hobby a success HolyWater.
No one has commented for their own benefit, but for the benefit of you and all who come after you.
You found this site and registered because of your love for this.
This is the right place if you're open to learning.

This is the equivalent of Ken Block, Richard Petty, Nico Rosberg, and Evil Knievel telling you that you're driving is dangerous.
Are you going to listen to these legends and change your driving style, or say "screw you guys, I'm going home"?
Would you join a dojo and quit after the first time you were put on the floor?
Answer these questions to yourself and decide how deep your love for this craft is.

[Yummyrum]

If you want to bypass the thumpers , all you need is one valve that connects across them direct to worm .
Vapour will take easiest path .

It’s also a fail safe method .
You might know how to operate this still and be aware of the valve positions to run it , but say it ends up in the hands of someone else that doesn’t know .