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Nessie Build - aka Scottish build i.e. tight on the coin!

PostPosted: Sat Jul 01, 2017 7:46 pm
by ThePaterPiper
Hi guys,

My mate and I have finally got enough copper together to build our still. It is going to be 50L keg pot with 19l Corny keg thumper going into a liebig condenser.

As the name suggests, we are making this on a shoestring budget and as such are using the bits and pieces we have had lying around with a few bits and pieces bought. I will warn you now, she isn't going to be pretty, but hopefully, even with our limited skills, she will be effective.

Anyway, work today saw us build the liebig and part of the column from the boiler. As we have very limited materials, the column is 200mm of 2" copper followed by another 250mm of 1" which will turn to a 1/2 " lyne arm across to the thumper. At the bottom of the thumper is a 100mm T section drilled with 1.5mm holes to disperse the vapour bubbles. This is all finally cooled by a 700mm long liebig made of 1" and 1/2" tube.

As I have read many of times, this post is worth nothing without photos, here is what we completed tonight.

2" cap with 1" pipe soldered. First time soldering, so be gentle, please!
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Water inlet or outlet for liebig
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The completed liebig
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The soldered thumper T piece (yet to be drilled.
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We hope to get a bit more work done tomorrow, as well as putting a sacrificial TPW down so we can use her in a couple of weeks.


Please feel free to provide any advise/comments on the build.. it is our first go at this and there is a lot of improvisation. The best bit is with such a simple build, as we find better lengths of 2" we can always re-visit the design :D

Re: Scottish build i.e. tight on the coin!

PostPosted: Sat Jul 01, 2017 9:41 pm
by Doubleuj
Awesome mate :handgestures-thumbupleft: shoestring budget, that's the beauty of a pot still, it is only a cheap simple still that can make good quality spirits for less than $100 :handgestures-thumbupleft: spend more than that and you should get a bubbler.
Are you going to run gas or electric?

Re: Scottish build i.e. tight on the coin!

PostPosted: Sat Jul 01, 2017 10:22 pm
by Dig Brinker
As above, and how are you planning on joining to the keg & the corny??

Re: Scottish build i.e. tight on the coin!

PostPosted: Sun Jul 02, 2017 10:07 am
by ThePaterPiper
Oh yeah forgot to mention that, gas for us, and with the corny, we drilled out the inlet/outlet holes to 13mm but we had the age old problem when it cam to the soldering. Couldn't get it to stick to the stainless. Looks like we might have to shell out for the right flux :angry-banghead:

Re: Scottish build i.e. tight on the coin!

PostPosted: Sat Aug 12, 2017 1:08 pm
by bluc
Do you get it built?

Re: Scottish build i.e. tight on the coin!

PostPosted: Sat Aug 12, 2017 8:27 pm
by ThePaterPiper
Oh hi Bluc,

Thanks for the interest. We haven't yet, between work commitments and trouble with brazing the copper pipe into the corny keg (can't get enough heat into it with the propane torch) we are stuck. Have our stockpile of vinegar, at TPW sac wash ready and a Nutrigrain wash just about done, so it is fair to say we are chafing at the bit!!!

I have tracked down a mate of a mate who said they can do the brazing for me so I see him on Monday. After that, there should be no holding us back. Nutrigrain is on sale this week at coles so I dare say we will buy a few boxes for gens 3 - 5 +

Can't wait!!!

Re: Scottish build i.e. tight on the coin!

PostPosted: Sat Aug 12, 2017 9:07 pm
by bluc
Great to hear its going ahead cheers :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Re: Scottish build i.e. tight on the coin!

PostPosted: Sun Aug 13, 2017 7:32 pm
by ThePaterPiper
Oh yeah! There's no holding us back after tomorrow (hopefully!) :happy-partydance:

Re: Scottish build i.e. tight on the coin!

PostPosted: Wed Aug 16, 2017 7:46 pm
by ThePaterPiper
Finally, some success with the soldering of copper to the corny keg. A mate of a mate had an oxy setup and was good enough to do the job for us.

Here's a pic as proof! lol


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Re: Scottish build i.e. tight on the coin!

PostPosted: Thu Aug 24, 2017 8:09 pm
by bluc
Have you run it yet? :-B

Re: Scottish build i.e. tight on the coin!

PostPosted: Fri Aug 25, 2017 7:44 pm
by ThePaterPiper
Nah mate! it is driving me bonkers too! :angry-banghead: :angry-banghead: :angry-banghead:

we have all the bits, have just got to get together to put it together.. Run the vinegar, sac run and then... finally we can run our well and truly fermented first gen nutrigrain wash. It is seriously so close. I can taste it. ~x( ~x( ~x(

Thanks for the interest Bluc.

Re: Scottish build i.e. tight on the coin!

PostPosted: Fri Aug 25, 2017 11:59 pm
by Lowie
All in good time fella - remember, haste makes waste!
I'm (we are) keen to see piccies of your finished product, particularly your corney thumper!
Cheers

Re: Scottish build i.e. tight on the coin!

PostPosted: Sun Aug 27, 2017 4:48 pm
by ThePaterPiper
Hi guys,

Here are some pictures of the corny, well, at least from the outside. Not much to see on the inside, just a T with lots of little holes :handgestures-thumbupleft:

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Haven't cleaned it up since the friend of a friend was good enough to braze the pipes in place for us.

So we put it all together last night, and when we connected it the solder joining the 1" to the 2" cap broke. :angry-banghead: :angry-banghead: :angry-banghead:
It was probably a bit adventurous going that way and not using a reducer, so maybe shell out a few wee pennies for the right bit eh?

Anyway, I forgot to take more pictures, so I will next time I go round to the distillery... um I mean my mates place! :))

Re: Scottish build i.e. tight on the coin!

PostPosted: Sun Sep 03, 2017 9:49 pm
by ThePaterPiper
Exciting news!!! well, for my mate and I anyway.

We have our bonnie lass completed and have done the vinegar run tonight! :happy-partydance:

One leak where the ferrule meets the 2" pipe, so a little more soldering to do, but everything else tight as a drum.

Here are some more pics, not that it is very interesting compared to the gear many of you guys are operating.

This is inside the corny, just a T with about 80 1.5mm holes drilled in it to give us lots of gas surface area.
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Our wee girls pipe work. Not pretty, but she should do the job
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A longer regulator hose is in order, and some insulation for the keg. We were thinking about making a brick surround.
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Ahh, the excitement of seeing steam come from the condensor! It's the little things that make me the happiest. Now that didn't sound right at all, did it??? :))
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Anyway, I guess it's like your first car. It could be the biggest bucket of shit, but it's your bucket of shit and you will never forget it! :dance:

Re: Scottish build i.e. tight on the coin!

PostPosted: Sun Sep 03, 2017 9:56 pm
by woodduck
Looks good :handgestures-thumbupleft: nothing wrong with it if you ask me. She'll pump out the good stuff for ya.

Well done guys

Re: Scottish build i.e. tight on the coin!

PostPosted: Sun Sep 03, 2017 9:57 pm
by ThePaterPiper
Thanks Woodduck, We are pretty chuffed!

Re: Scottish build i.e. tight on the coin!

PostPosted: Sun Sep 03, 2017 10:43 pm
by Nino
woodduck wrote:Looks good :handgestures-thumbupleft: nothing wrong with it if you ask me. She'll pump out the good stuff for ya.

Well done guys


:text-+1:

Re: Scottish build i.e. tight on the coin!

PostPosted: Mon Sep 04, 2017 8:54 am
by bluc
Looks good i look forward to hearing how it runs :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Re: Scottish build i.e. tight on the coin!

PostPosted: Mon Sep 04, 2017 9:00 am
by Sam.
Definitely seen uglier stills than that mate ;-)

If it works and it's safe then it all good :happy-partydance:

Re: Scottish build i.e. tight on the coin!

PostPosted: Mon Sep 04, 2017 11:06 am
by ThePaterPiper
Thanks for the kind words guys.

First real wash will be the NGW that is waiting patiently. So, with having the thumper, do we just mix the selected cuts from each generation together over time, or is there still the need to do strips and a final spirit run? At first, and the reason we went down the thumper track it was our understanding that the thumper was like a second distillation, but then I read on the CFW thread that there were no shortcuts to stripping several generations and running them together to get the good flavours through.

I know they are different washes, but i assume the same would be true for the NGW.

Thanks again