Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

Copper tends to work harden,and may need to be annealed after some work to avoid cracks and spliting,but it looks like ya have it by the short and curley's.cheers hillzabilly :handgestures-thumbupleft:

ok, so this is definitely helping me already! Did you aim for 6mm from the end of the pipe to flare out? They looks really, really good!

Reading through build threads chrus86 I have learnt so much. In Mac’s guide thread to making easy flanges he uses 5mm from the edge of the pipe. I marked that by measuring 5mm on a woodworking scribe and scratched a line all the way round to give me a clean line to work to. Then started hitting it with a hammer, resetting back to the line after each blow. After a while you will notice the lip forming and you don’t need the line any more, at this point you can start really hitting it hard now. Once the lip is formed, you will find it’s going to be a bit rough, don’t stress, run a file over it, rub it on the concrete floor or use some wet & dry to smooth off the rough edges. This is as far as I have got so far, I need to solder my rings together before I can flatten them to the lip, so hopefully soon.

Oh chrus86, bashing out a lip isn’t entirely needed as there are plenty of people who have soldered their 1/4” rings directly to the pipe after flattening the ring. I’m doing it for the learning experience as working with copper is entirely new. I know there are strength benefits to working a lip on the pipe, but this isn’t why I’m taking the time to do mine like this. I will be doing some joins without bending a lip first to see how that goes as well.

Just don't forget to put your rings on before you start flaring the 2nd end.
I've seen it done a few times.

Having the lip is of structural benefit but really not required.
IIRC Mac swung a keg around with only a 2" easy-easy flange (non flanged).

However having the extra thickness does help with sealing as it gives the tri-clover clamp more material to fill out profile of the clamp which will give you more gap between the ends of the clamp, and this allows you to put more pressure on your seals.

But as long as you don't smack your flanges out 1mm thick it should work, 2.8mm is ideal 2mm still works tho.

Totally your call tho.

:text-+1:

scythe wrote:Having the lip is of structural benefit but really not required.
IIRC Mac swung a keg around with only a 2" easy-easy flange (non flanged).
.

I tested that theory the other week.

https://youtu.be/pP-xFCTz8e8

I did that video about 6 times and it never broke until I put my foot on the keg and tore it off. The only reason I did the flare in my how to video was for the people that would like to do it. Most of my 4" bubbler is without the flares. I am doing the flare on my 6" though for saftey sake as it's alot heavier.

Great vid Woodduck

Thank you guys! I have a little bit of extra pipe so I might try both ways for my education, same as A&0. I plan on starting in 2 weeks (BBQ Championships next weekend!) I will post photos of how I am going. I think i am equally as excited to build as I am to start learning distilling !

chrus86 wrote:Thank you guys! I have a little bit of extra pipe so I might try both ways for my education, same as A&0. I plan on starting in 2 weeks (BBQ Championships next weekend!) I will post photos of how I am going. I think i am equally as excited to build as I am to start learning distilling !

Sounds like you should do a separate post on the BBQ Championship!!! Sounds like fun...

Second that

Today had been a bit of a busy day now I have received some goodies in the mail.



So I’ve cut the keg up a bit. I’m going to run the keg upside down. Plan is it to retain the existing fill point and use it as my drain. I have a 2” 90* bend with a 1 1/4” threaded adapter which with a reducing nipple have a 1” drain valve.



I have cut the first of the wheels and fit in place. I needed to notch the rim to allow the wheel bracket to fit properly.





I think I may run into a problem with the 4” ferrule placement. I think they may be too close together to get the triclamps on/off. I figure the column won’t come off all that much and I’m only going to have a cap on the other for filling. I’m seriously considering changing it to a 3” to make sure everything fits with a little wriggle room.

Tomorrow I should have the other wheels cut and in place then I need to decide how to weld or solder together.

Great idea running the keg upside down. I am very keen to watch your progression over the next couple of weeks! I have 2x 4' Ferrules on their way to me also so very interested to see what you do there.

Chris.

Be mindful that your keg may not accommodate 2 x 4” ferrules! Ours didn’t (Lion Nathanael) because it is a taller & narrower than the other type ... we had to change to a 4” & a 2” because there wasn’t enough room...

You don’t just have to be able to place the ferrules on the keg, but also be able to open/close & remove the tri-clamps!

That’s what I’m afraid of. I’ll mount the column ferrule and play with the mounting position with some tri clamps but I really think I’m going to have to use a smaller ferrule. My keg is a CUB, haven’t measured it yet. I didn’t realise manufacturers made different sizes, I thought they were all a standard size.

You don't need much room to get the clamps on mate...

If you do end up getting a different ferrule, I suggest a 3" SSG.

So kiddo’s in school, lawns mowed and housework done, found me an hour up my sleeve. I finished cutting the other set of wheels from the donor cart. Finished notching the rim of the keg and ground the legs for the wheels to get them kinda square. I have left one par odd lengths so I have some wiggle room to allow a bit of movement when we welder up.

May help to attach the photo.

Once I add the insulation & outer cladding, the wheels should line up nicely.

good stuff!

Nicely done, should work a treat :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Today we cut a 4” hole in the top of the keg & mocked up placement of the column mounting ferrule.



Got my 5 yo son to help Daddy. He loved it. Since all the oils & lubes were lost in the shed fire earlier in the year, went looking for something to keep the hole saw lubricated. The Minister of Domestic Affairs has just cleaned out all the cupboards of anything that is manufactured with chemicals as she is ridding the house of chemicals and we only use essential oils and natural products for cleaning, cooking, health care & personal care. So from the rubbish bag I was hoping to find the vasso, but alas that’s already gone (apparent carsonegon) sorry shit spelling. But I did find the PawPaw ointment which is just flavoured vasso, so that’ll do. Grabbed a little paint brush and the apprentice kept painting on the ointment as I’m drilling. He loved it, wearing ear muffs & safety glasses. Cleaned the hole up with a file & washed out the keg of any swarth.



It looks like I’m going to have enough room to have 2x 4” ferrules, but I’m not going to cut another 4” hole till I get my other tri-clamps to be 100% sure there’s enough room. Looks like it but want to make sure.