Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

Hi all,
I've got access to some copper sheet through my work and I was able to experiment with making a pipe with a flat lock seam:

I haven't hand grooved the seam yet or soldered it but I've punched the seam to stop it slipping out. I was aiming for 50mm diameter but my seam ended up bigger than I intended so it is more like 40mm. Would this be suitable as the beginning of an assembly for the top of a pot still based on a 40l urn with a 2400w element, or is it too narrow? (I know I still need to get the lid to seal and get a voltage controller)
I've got a small flange on one end that I'm hoping I could turn into an easy flange depending on how bulky the finished seam is:

If I put this at the top to join a condenser to, I'm hoping this could become a modular point for a future reflux column. Although, now that I think of it, I don't suppose 40mm would be a common size for tri-clamp flanges?
The total length is 400mm. How much of this straight end would I need to cut into to fold out sections to bolt and solder to the lid?


All advice greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance !
Jono.

Looks good mate :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Well done for getting in and having a go. It'll be fine for a pot. I'm not sure you'd want to use it as the column or still mount for a reflux column unless it's really strong. If your planning a reflux build later on it'd be great as the outer pipe for a shotgun PC.

I don't know if there are 40 mm triclover clamps. Maybe someone else can advise.

But go ahead and use it for a pot still.

As far as how much it needs to be flared for the boiler connection, I reckon 10 mm should do it, even with soft solder a 10 mm join all the way around is really strong. My block head on my bubbler has a 10 mm flare just before the PC. Stronger than it needs to be.

:text-+1: clamps will be the hardest thing to work out especially for the keg mount. since it is 50mnm.. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

You could always solder on a piece of flat copper with the right diameter so it can be clamped with a triclover. It'll need to be the right thickness too.

I may be able to help, have some 40 mm tube to a 77mm(??) flange in copper, will post a pic tonight with measurements, should be able to make that work on a keg, found a few of them at a scrappy a couple of weeks ago, they looked cool so I grabbed them

Its 38.3 on the inside of the flare, 42.3 outside
The flange is 80 @1.6 thick, slightly concave on the bottom
54.6 tall
Have 5 all up, $2ea, I'm in brissy pretty often
Get your post count up and pm me if you're interested

Thanks RC, they look great!
I'll double check my diameter but if they're anywhere near close, they'll be ideal! :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Cheers!
Jono.

Soft solder will fill gaps pretty well. Use gravity to keep the solder where you want it.