Paddo's 3" Glass Bubbler Build

[Paddosbrew]

Paddos 3” Glasser Build
So after a couple of months of reading all of the great info on this forum, I decided to have a crack at building a glass bubbler. I have never brewed anything so hello ground zero ;-) .
I decided to build it, then post this with the results. So having built it, here’s the running commentary and lots of pics. Hopefully this will help others starting out from scratch with a strong desire to go the bubbler build………….
Apart from some basic pipe to pipe brazing experience back in my fridge repair days 20 years ago, I have no other copper work experience until now.
So, to start I needed some copper pipe and the best cost effective source for this proved to be a local metal recycler. I made 2 visits in total before I got all I needed for the build, including sections for cutting and flattening.
Here are some bits after cutting with the angle grinder and pipe cutter for 1” & smaller pipe…

[Paddosbrew]

Looking at what I now had in pipe and what builds I had read about, I decided to change the original build a little, so from the bottom up, I went:
Boiler - A modified 50 litre keg for the boiler, 4” hole cut & ferrule welded on to cater for 4” site glass & SS Clamp; 32mm hole cut into the lower front for my 3000 Watt Weldless Heater Element; a 1/2" hole cut into the bottom for my 1/2" drain & ball valve.
I got an 1/2" brass elbow and nut and ball valve from Bunnings, element from ebay, sight glass and SS Clamp from 5 Star Distilling. I also got my regulator and wattmeter from ebay and made my own rig, incorporating an electrical cover (junction box) for my element connections.

[Paddosbrew]

From Boiler to Glasser - 2” to bottom perforated plate reducer cup with 2” easy flange.

[Paddosbrew]

Glass Section – 4 x 6mm threaded rod, washers & nuts from Bunnings, 4 x 90mm (Medium) Primus Lantern replacement Glass from BCF, 8 x gaskets from 3mm silicone sheet I got locally through Gumtree and of course my copper bits to make up my perforated plates.

[Paddosbrew]

Modular Glass Section to Modular Packed Section – Top plate to 3” pipe section and easy flange.

[Paddosbrew]

The 3” packed section is 500mm with an easy flange at each end. I got 1/2 kilo copper mesh from 5 Star Distilling and made 5 x 3” rolls (not packed too tight) and used copper wire to tie them together to make one long inserted section of packing.

[Paddosbrew]

Reflux Condensor – 120mm long with 7 x 1/2" tubes (cut to 130mm long – 10mm longer than RC length) soft soldered into end plates (made from flattened tube and drilled out); end plates soldered to 3” Pipe section and 2 x short 1/2" pipe sections soldered into the 3” pipe section at opposite ends and opposite sides for cooling system inlet/outlet (I did the inlet/outlet part first), then;
soft soldered one drilled plate section onto one end of 3” pipe, then;
placed 7 x 1/2" tubes into soldered plate holes and fit other end plate onto the tubes at the other end, then;
soldered end plate onto 3” pipe and then soldered all 1/2" tubes to end plates, then;
cut, grinded & filed excess copper/solder to clean up.

[Paddosbrew]

I ended up deciding to solder the top of the RC to the 3” top bend section to make it one piece and the bottom an easy flange for the modular glass section.

Top Bend – I was able to find 1 x 3” 90 degree bend section but had to make the second bend by cutting the straight section after the bend at 45 degrees, turning the section 180 degrees and then brazing the sections together. I then brazed on the 3” to 2” reducer I made earlier.
I then soft soldered the 3” end onto the RC and had also soldered the easy flange onto the bottom of the RC.

[Paddosbrew]

From this point on, each section that was completed and attached was then leak tested by holding the unit upside down in the vice and pouring water in and any leaks fixed with solder or braze accordingly.

Product Condenser – 2” Pipe x 500mm with 4 x 1/2" tubes (cut to 510mm), 2 end plates made from flattened pipe, 2 x 1/2” x 40mm pipe for inlet/outlet, 2” to 1/4" reducer for outlet pipe and 300mm x 1/4" product outlet pipe. I followed same build sequence as for the RC, then soldered on the reducer to the bottom of the PC and soldered the outlet pipe to the reducer.

[Paddosbrew]

RC to PC Completed

[Paddosbrew]

Parrot – 1” pipe x 150mm, 2” to 1” reducer, 2’ to 1/4" reducer, 1/4” tube and base plate.

[Paddosbrew]

Used 3mm Silicone gaskets for all my easy flange unions and SS Clamps from 5 Star Distilling (had to use 3 x 3mm gaskets for each union to get a good seal)

Glasser Completed

[Paddosbrew]

Cooling System – I wanted to build a recirculating cooling system from the start as I don’t have a water tank or pool or a lot of room in the garage. As you will see from the pics, I have made a 3 stage system with the option to add more cooling if required.

[Paddosbrew]

So there is a submersible pump in the bottom of the 60 Litre bin which pumps water straight to the condensers. The hose configuration for both distribution and return are via t-piece on the still side so that the water goes to the bottom of both condensers with a valve on each input.
The return comes from both tops (outputs) of the condensers into a t-piece to a single return hose. This hose goes to the copper radiator that you can see hanging from the shelf, then to the fridge freezer copper coil and then back to the 60L reservoir bin.
I have used short lengths of automotive heater hose to connect the garden hose to the still to keep the garden hose from overheating and kinking.
This works fine in a Brisbane Winter but when it warms up again I will be placing the copper radiator in a shallow tub of cold water, a wet towel over the radiator and a fan blowing on the towel. This may mean that every 1 hour or so I will need to tip a small bottle of cold water over the towel – we’ll see how we go …….


Tools & Stuff – I used a simple cheap Bernzomatic propane torch, Aquasafe 100 silver solder and Baker’s soldering fluid for steady heat up soft soldering work, a Bernzomatic ts8000 Mapp Pro torch, 2.5% silver plumbers brazing rods and Cigweld GP Silver Brazing Flux for the brazing work.

[Paddosbrew]

I used a Pipe Cutter for 1” or smaller copper pipe, and angle grinder cutting wheels and masking tape (for straight cuts) on bigger pipe.

[Paddosbrew]

A good vice is VERY helpful

[Paddosbrew]

A drill & the right bits……….

[Paddosbrew]

And a range of general workshop tools……………………….
NOW to learn how to drive my new toy most effectively……….. back to the forum for some light reading……… :D

Cheers, Paddo :happy-partydance:

[rumdidlydum]

Great write up :handgestures-thumbupleft:
Well done. Hope that controller lasts mine didn't

[scythe]

Good effort.

I like the use of the bar fridge as a cooler for your water lines
Where did you get the copper cooling "cube" from that looks interesting as well.