2” Sieve Plate Build
Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2025 1:20 pm
Next up on my agenda was a couple sieve plates. I calculated that 18 1/8” holes in a 2” (47.5 mm i.d.) column would give me 5% open area. From reading here, it seems like that’s a good number, so I went with that.
I started by marking out a 38mm circle, then laying out the 18 holes. I drilled those and a center hole for two plates, then cut them out with shears. The two plates are identical other than the outer diameter. The larger one is held at the bottom of a sight glass, the smaller one fits inside it.
I also cut weirs out of some 1” caps. They were cut 12mm tall, and have a center hole drilled as well. I made the center hole in the cap 1/4”, to fit tightly over a 1/4” SS threaded rod. The corresponding holes in the plates were made one step larger to make alignment less critical.
I soldered the plates and caps together, using small pieces of solder laid around the joint so that they’d melt and flow in when everything was hot. When I can’t physically secure a joint before soldering, I try to make sure that I won’t have to touch it while it’s hot, even to add solder.
For the downcomers, I cut 1” long pieces of 1/4” tubing, leaving one end pinched down by the cutter. I then drilled through the weirs and plates and pressed the pinched ends of the tubing into the holes. They fit tightly enough to be secure, and after soldering I used a pinch to open the pinched end of the tubing and further clamp the joint.
I filed the end of the downcomers so the ends wouldn’t be blocked when I added the traps.
I normally don’t like soldering loose joints that have to be propped up, but in this case these were the last joints to be made and I felt that everything else would stay secure. Also, I directed all the heat at the 1/2” caps to help reduce the chance of reflowing the earlier solder joints, and left everything set up until it had cooled down. As before, if you look closely you can see the pieces of solder in place ready for heat.
I started by marking out a 38mm circle, then laying out the 18 holes. I drilled those and a center hole for two plates, then cut them out with shears. The two plates are identical other than the outer diameter. The larger one is held at the bottom of a sight glass, the smaller one fits inside it.
I also cut weirs out of some 1” caps. They were cut 12mm tall, and have a center hole drilled as well. I made the center hole in the cap 1/4”, to fit tightly over a 1/4” SS threaded rod. The corresponding holes in the plates were made one step larger to make alignment less critical.
I soldered the plates and caps together, using small pieces of solder laid around the joint so that they’d melt and flow in when everything was hot. When I can’t physically secure a joint before soldering, I try to make sure that I won’t have to touch it while it’s hot, even to add solder.
For the downcomers, I cut 1” long pieces of 1/4” tubing, leaving one end pinched down by the cutter. I then drilled through the weirs and plates and pressed the pinched ends of the tubing into the holes. They fit tightly enough to be secure, and after soldering I used a pinch to open the pinched end of the tubing and further clamp the joint.
I filed the end of the downcomers so the ends wouldn’t be blocked when I added the traps.
I normally don’t like soldering loose joints that have to be propped up, but in this case these were the last joints to be made and I felt that everything else would stay secure. Also, I directed all the heat at the 1/2” caps to help reduce the chance of reflowing the earlier solder joints, and left everything set up until it had cooled down. As before, if you look closely you can see the pieces of solder in place ready for heat.