Double retort Caribbean rum build

[Maxxx]

Hey guys
Looking for information/ opinions
Trying to put together a rum still with the 3 kegs in the picture
Was wondering if it would be better to run 2” to the bottom of each thumper or would it run smother with 1”
Cheers

[The Stig]

Welcome back Max , nice to see you again :romance-kisscheek:
The vapor speed will be higher with 1” but it ultimately depends on the still size , no point going 1” off an 8” still :-B

[bluc]

I am thinking inch with 4" interconnect plumbing
Most do 1/2" inside 3/4 thump spike with 2" plumbing...may be a little slow though. 2" thump pipe is huge i wouldnt consider that until 8" plumbing and big boilers 300l thumpers and a huge amount input power.... Most seem to make a spike with ¹/2" inside 3/4 with dual 50l kegs. With your 120l main boiler I would want 4" plumbing. 1" thump tube should be good and need around of 3600w..(extra for heatup).

Are you doing a low and high wines setup?

Dont forget prv on all 3 boilers not on the plumbing :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Maxxx]

Thanks guys - great to be home in sunny Qld

[Maxxx]

Bluc you mention 4” plumbing - do you mean 4” version of this

Not sure what high wines low wines set up means ?

[RC Al]

Great to see you back!

So thats a tee with a 3/4" spear run in from the top? Nice n simple, I like it.

Run it

I did mine as 1" through 2" the hard "traditional" construction method, with a 4" ferrule to use, I would get the spear away from the exiting vapour, much crud gets baked on there and it is a serious choke point if you're running grains.

What happens at the bottom of the spear is more important, large bubbles dont transfer heat very efficiently, I noticed a big difference with just a tee off the bottom, for a regular keg top a short cone with slots on the bottom of the spear would work well to break the steam up into smaller bubbles.

Mines running on 1 1/2" feed pipe to the 1" with no dramas, in reality 3/4 would be heaps, 1" is insurance vs blockage. After getting the pervrbials trying to steam grain straight into the plater (just steam strip it first was the lesson there), I haven't used it in a while, check out my friend lols.

[bluc]

In case of Caribbean rum. Low wines in one thumper.
High wine's in second thumper. Yes With 100l main boiler i would double the size of the spear.over ones made dor 2"plumbing...

[Maxxx]

Decided to run 2” spear to bottom of first thumper
2” plumbing between thumpers
1” spear to bottom of second thumper
Can anyone see any problem reducing to the 1” spear for second thumper
I was thinking increased vapour speed but assumed this could be balanced by the reduced volume in thumper two?

[iOnaBender]

Hi Maxxx,

Would love some zoomed in, different angled pics of your T and spear reducer setup if possible please

Cheers

[Maxxx]

Heading out to grab a 4>2 reducing tee at lunchtime today.
Will try some set up configurations and grab you some pics this evening

[iOnaBender]

Thanks Maxxx, much appreciated :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[bluc]

Sorry max was not clear with Caribbean rum low wines is the tails cut and high wines is the heads. They put heads in one retort and tails in other. They also use infected dunder and muck to produce lots of esters from the various acids. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Maxxx]

Configuration to date - open to ideas changes better ways to do it, all opinions welcome
All kegs have 4” triclover tops
Decided to use 4 >2 reducer tee on thumper 1 and just change the 4” triclover top cap depending on whether I want to run a 1” or 2” spear to the bottom of the thumper
The reducer tee effectively sets the plumbing all at 2” but any opinions about reducing down to a 1” spear for thumper 2 ?
The 4 >2 reducer and condenser on thumper 2 are off my stripper and just for picture purposes
I was thinking about how to best set up the spear in thumper 2 - current plan is to make my own 4 >2 reducing tee like on the on thumper 1 but put a 90 degree bend on the end of the 2” thumper spear and pass it through the side of the reducer.

[Maxxx]

More pics

[iOnaBender]

Awesome job Maxx, thanks for the pics :handgestures-thumbupleft:

I take it you are a boilermaker by trade? Are you back purging your welds?

Cheers

[Maxxx]

Boilermaker - sadly no , that’s why builds take time, saving the money to pay decent welders.
Purged welds yes always.

[Blinky]

Hi Maxxx

I have been running a double retort for about a year now. For rum there is nothing that comes close if done right. The amount of flavours you can get with the 2 retort’s are really next level.

200l boiler with 2x 50l keg’s plumbed together with 25mm copper pipe works very well. Collecting at around 6 or 7 litres per hour and depending on the retort charge will sit around 76-82%.
Retort only need about 3 litres in each and will finish with about 8-10 in each depending on how long you run into tails.

[RC Al]

Hey Blinky - nice - is that run on wash or atrip in the main boiler?

[iOnaBender]

Nice rig Blinky :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Are you running a prv/vacuum valve at all?

Cheers

[Blinky]

Hey Blinky - nice - is that run on wash or atrip in the main boiler?

Wash at around 7%, feints are recycled into retorts (most of the time)

Nice rig Blinky :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Are you running a prv/vacuum valve at all?

Cheers

No, but I will be eventually installing vacuum valves and ball valves on top of all the vessels.

1 thing to remember is if you don’t have the vac valves you MUST vent the boiler and 1st retort when you shut it down.

Hope this helps