Trying to work out how to build a bubbler...

[Plumby]

Seriously go at leat a keg and r" or there will be regrets

What you smoking man, this sounds like gobbledygook.

[bluc]

Keg and 4" i meant.. and yea the rum works great :teasing-tease: :laughing-rolling:

[woodduck]

Can anyone tell me what the minimum thickness of copper plate is for the bubble plates?

I used 2" pipe flattened out so thats about 1.6mm I think. I will use 2mm on my next one, maybe overkill.

[scottyd72]

Can anyone tell me what the minimum thickness of copper plate is for the bubble plates?

I used 2" pipe flattened out so thats about 1.6mm I think. I will use 2mm on my next one, maybe overkill.

Ah thanks woodduck, I've only got a few small pieces of 0.55mm thick plates and I was thinking that they may be too thin.
I might see if 1.2mm is thick enough... otherwise I ll go to 1.6mm

[woodduck]

1.2 might be ok. I built a glasser so I had to use thicker plates for rigidity the next one I'm gonna build needs thicker plate too. You might find that with a modular copper still 1.2 might be better as you have to sandwich it between the 2 sections with 2 seals. You might have to have a look around at a couple of builds to find that info. I do remember a thread where people were having trouble getting their plates to seal properly because they were too thick to get a clamp on.

[scythe]

I think the main issue is that you cannot use 2 seals when you are using easy flanges.
Where as if you just flare and flatten the pipe then 2 seals are fine.

Or it may have been that they were using 2 silicon seals instead of 2 EPDM seals, silicone seals being thicker.

[scottyd72]

1.2 might be ok. I built a glasser so I had to use thicker plates for rigidity the next one I'm gonna build needs thicker plate too. You might find that with a modular copper still 1.2 might be better as you have to sandwich it between the 2 sections with 2 seals. You might have to have a look around at a couple of builds to find that info. I do remember a thread where people were having trouble getting their plates to seal properly because they were too thick to get a clamp on.

I think the main issue is that you cannot use 2 seals when you are using easy flanges.
Where as if you just flare and flatten the pipe then 2 seals are fine.

Or it may have been that they were using 2 silicon seals instead of 2 EPDM seals, silicone seals being thicker.

Wow, i hadnt thought of sealing them as i had just assumed that i would solder them in place. But, am i going to need to pull them out now and again for cleaning or can they stay in for that.
As for modular, i was planning on making the pipe with the four plates one section with ferrules top and bottom only.

[Zak Griffin]

You'll want to use a plate tree then, that you can slide in and out.

[scythe]

Soldering in you plates can work, on a fully modular build, trying to solder plates into a long bit of pipe will be a pain.
And what if one of your plates does not load properly you have to remove all the ones in front of it to fix it.

You will need to have a seal at each join.

A triclamp will work on about 5-7mm of flange outside wdge.

[Huntsman96]

As someone who is looking into building a bubbler as well if you want a good look at a non-modular or solid-state bubbler check out db's thread on his bubbler build. It's a bubbler with 4 plates soldered to the pipe with no sightglasses. Very interesting read.

[scottyd72]

I might have to make the column a two piece one then with an extra 3" triclamp halfway up.

If i used a plate tree, is it hard to get them to seal?

[Zak Griffin]

Not if you get the plates perfectly round. A couple of laps of thread tape around them won't hurt either.

[db1979]

You'll need to make sure your pipe is perfectly round if you want your plate tree to seal easily everytime. My 4" pipe wasn't so I decided to go solid state. Even though I'd cut my plates out as best I could different parts of the pipe were closer fit than others.

[Zak Griffin]

Yeah that was the issue with Agrajag, which is why I ended up soldering the plates in.

[bluc]

Soldering in you plates can work, on a fully modular build, trying to solder plates into a long bit of pipe will be a pain.
And what if one of your plates does not load properly you have to remove all the ones in front of it to fix it.

You will need to have a seal at each join.

A triclamp will work on about 5-7mm of flange outside wdge.

Curious if its soldered in why would it not load :think:

[scythe]

If you have muffed something else up when you soldered it into the pipe.

[scottyd72]

Update: Decided to make 4 separate SS sections using 3" flanges and SS pipe so that I can slip the copper plates between each flanged section.
Im half way thru making a 2" PC which will be 500mm long using 6 x 3/8" pipes inside it.
Still have to get a small length of 3" copper pipe to make a RC shotty, with 1/2 pipe inside.

[scottyd72]

Here are some pics of my new build.
I don't have all the parts for completing as yet as this is all I have been able to do so far, from gathering stuff locally so far. I will need to buy glass, seals, clamps and a temp gauge setup from Macstill in another month or two (when I can afford it).

I bought a small 180 amp stick and lift TIG welder 2 weeks ago and have been practicing on some mild and stainless steel. I need lots more practice too :laughing-rolling:
But im getting the hang of it...

My first time TIG welding 3" ss pipe to a flange... think I need lots more practice... :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling: :angry-banghead:

IMG_3389.jpg

Actually managed to weld 5 up. Still have to drill out the 2" hole for the window flanges to weld in. I'm going to have 4 plate sections. One of these 3" sections will just be a short riser for the base of the column and for the first bubble plate to sit on.

IMG_3392.jpg

My motivation comes from a few of the bender bubbler builds I've seen on these forums. :text-thankyoublue: to Milky is one that comes to mind :text-thankyoublue:

[scottyd72]

So after all the bubbler threads I could manage to read, I still cant work out the finer details of the RC. So I know to make it 3" (same dia as the bubble plate sections) and I've come to the conclusion to make it 150mm long. Not sure if 4-5 x 1/2" tubes will be enough though...

[Dig Brinker]

As many as you can fit for max efficiency