Another Glasser Build

[hayden89]

Gday guys,
I have decided to build a glasser as natural progression from the 2" column i currently have. I probably jumped in too fast and fermented too much NGW wash which saw me spend countless hours doing strip and spirit runs. However all the work was well worth it and i just love the product. My idea now is to run smaller washes and try out different recipes and head towards AG.

I plan to build a 5 plate, primus glass bubbler.
- 5/ 1" x 30mm bubble caps per plate
- 3/4" x 25mm risers
- 3/4" x 70mm downcomber with a bath depth of 20mm
- PC is 2" x 500mm with 5 x 1/2" internals
- RC is 4" x 150mm with 5 x 3/4" internals

I have now collected most of the copper i will need and also have the glass. I bought the plates and round 30mm blanks from A&E, lantern glass from BCF and got the copper pipe, reducers, bends and 15% silver solder for a couple cartons. I also have some threaded rod and nuts that i got from work but its just zinc so will eventually get stainless.

So far i have cut all the risers and downcombers, have the PC about 90% complete and made the 1/4" rings for the easy flanges.

Between work, house renos and the missus doesnt leave much time for stills so dont hold your breath on this build.

Enjoy :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Shiftynev]

Hayden,
Nice work on the shotgun. Won't be long before you're enjoying the fruits of your hard work. Keep up with the pics of the build.

Cheers

[Meatheadinc]

Nice work :handgestures-thumbupleft:
Very interesting/different reducer.
Keep the pics coming :text-coolphotos:

[hayden89]

Nice work :handgestures-thumbupleft:
Very interesting/different reducer.
Keep the pics coming :text-coolphotos:

Yea the bloke who i did the deal with offered to weld it onto the 4" for me as the reducer didnt have a flared section.
It is offset to one side, so different to others out there but should look sweet once polished up.

[rumdidlydum]

Good luck with build mate.
Looks good so far :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[bluc]

Good luck with build mate.
Looks good so far :handgestures-thumbupleft:

:text-+1: keep the pics coming :D

[hayden89]

A little progress today, wasted a shit load of time trying to braze copper to brass :angry-banghead: I could braze it easy enough but was struggling to get it to seal. I finally got it so the joint only just weeps at fairly high pressure so should be ok. If it becomes a problem I'll just get some compression fittings. Got the easy flange on the PC and cut the bubble caps.

[brewman]

Looks good!

Any reason to not just soft solder the brass fittings onto the copper?

[hayden89]

Cheers,

I found the soft solder would just bead off the brass.

For the record, both the copper and the brass was clean and fluxed.

[brewman]

Fair enough, I didn't have any problem with them but I did use the MAPP torch for the brass to copper soft solder joints. I'm an impatient bastard.

[scythe]

Probably too hot.
If its too hot then the solder will just run.

I found these as one of the easier joins.
Used bakers flux, warmed the copper more than the brass as the brass seemed to hold onto the heat where as the copper transmits it away rather quickly.
But yeah gentle heating with a propane torch did it for me.

[hayden89]

Yep probably too hot by the sounds of it. I was using MAPP too and probably got a bit carried away.

I should really redo the joints and probably will, but im an impatient bastard too so ill see how i go.

[hayden89]

No real progress to report, too busy doing renos :angry-banghead: however i have managed to do a bit of prep. Ive made a cad template for the plates and another the RC ends. I have also setup and mounted the grinder ready to slot the bubble caps which i thought might be of interest.

I have a couple of questions which have been on my mind.
Firstly what length slots does everyone cut in their bubble caps? Im thinking 5mm should work obviously has to be below bath level.
Secondly what size tube should i have after the 2" PC? Should I reduce it to 1" into the parrot?

Template to fit the 150mm square A&E plates

Grinder Setup

[WTDist]

a lot of members use 5mm slots, thats what i did too.
Im no expert so dont take my word as fact/true but im pretty sure ive read in the past that the more slots you have, and the skinnier they are the better it is for achieving higher ABV. What I read said basically the more small bubbles you have from the slots the more ABV you can get but i cant verify this as i cant remember where i read it. Maybe home distiller or a google search but i dont know now.

as for the grinder setup, that looks neat. Im just wondering how does the grinder stay there and not move? does the bolt take the weight or is it screwed into the grinder and bolted on to the metal at the bottom making it fairly stable??

Good job :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[hayden89]

I couldn't remember where I read that regarding the bubbles.

As for the grinder, that piece of threaded rod is screwed into the threaded hole where the handle normally goes, and then has a nut that locks it into place. Easy does it with the slots and should be all good.

[woodduck]

Nice work so far mate but i have to say I don't like the look of that grinder setup. To me it looks like if something got caught in that blade it would be pulled under the grinder and jam which would make a mess. All cutting should be done so if something catches it is thown away from you or the grinder. Maybe I'm just being a pussy but take it from me grinders bite and exploding blades aren't much fun either.

Good luck with the build and stay safe :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[hayden89]

Cheers Woodduck, thanks for the concern. I'm no stranger to the grinder and how they can really ruin your day.
I managed to slot a few caps this arvo and the rig worked well. Lots of respect and careful moves and no worries.

[woodduck]

No worries, just thought it was best to mention it just incase.

We don't want memberless members 8-} :laughing-rolling:

[1 2many]

No worries, just thought it was best to mention it just incase.

We don't want memberless members 8-} :laughing-rolling:

:text-+1: Always good to hear safety tips, stay safe :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[hayden89]

Thanks guys its great to hear genuine concern and the more safety tips the better :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Made a bit more progress today,i hard soldered all the tops onto the caps and also cleaned a few up. Im pretty happy how they turned out.