Vm reflux

[MacStill]

Dreading turning this into another controller nightmare thread but curious where you got the "load designation" for terminal 1 from ?

Please PM me

If you see a problem with it yummy please speak up, I dont care how much work it takes me and the mods to keep people safe ;-)

Cheers.

[Distillnation]

Feel free to remove the picture from my post MacStill. I can continue this discussion through PM to avoid other people misreading this information.

[MacStill]

Feel free to remove the picture from my post MacStill. I can continue this discussion through PM to avoid other people misreading this information.

No worries & thank you :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Distillnation]

Thanks :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Okay. So finally a bit of progress!

I got a coupling of sorts from someone I know and just did a bit of a mockup to see what it would look like. I say "coupling of sorts" because it's not really a coupling. It's a piece that has been flared out to fit 2" pipe :)) It also has a piece of pipe sticking out the side.

I may have a proper 2" coupling and end cap on the way, but I'm not sure if the guy has sent it or not, so I'm not sure if I should wait a bit longer and see. Either way, I have this in case the other one falls through.

Here is what it looks like: *Note* It (hopefully) won't look wonky when I do it properly :D

setup.jpg

I was thinking that if I use this piece, I might be able to cut the pipe off the side, close to the end, and then use the cutoff piece to create a blank end and solder it on. Or would it just be easier to get an end cap?

Cheers,
Distillnation

[Distillnation]

A little update for today.

I managed to get myself another one of those 2 inch "couplings" but this one has the "T" pipe flattened and welded shut, so that will be good if I can't get myself a proper 2" coupler.

I also went out and got myself some wire for the controller. 8 meters to be exact. The wires are brown, blue and yellow with a green stripe. Rated for 15amps.
I only took a small section of each one for now, about a meter of each. So that leaves ~7m of each color for something else. I'll probably find something to do with it.

Got in contact with a family friend (plumber) and he confirmed that I wouldn't find any 1/2" to 3/8" reducers here, so he is going to call someone and hopefully get a hold of some for me. All I really need is one for the connection between the dam and the needle valve, I can always use 1/2" for the output of the needle valve. (Or can I?)

Now the hard part. Waiting. With any luck, the next 5 days will go quick and I can get back to receiving goodies in the mail :-D

In other unrelated news, we signed the contract for the house today, so with any luck, this time next month I will be able to post from my own house :happy-partydance: :dance: (As long as everything goes smoothly and I don't jinx the evaluation, etc haha)

[Distillnation]

Things are finally moving again :D (Damn public holidays stopping the mail)

I got a nice surprise in the mailbox when I got home from work :happy-partydance:

I just want to thank the posty for getting these out to me. I really appreciate that he took the time to do that. Now, with any luck, I won't ruin them while trying to attach them :))

IMG_20130402_141247.jpg

I should be getting a hold of the 1/2 > 3/8 reducers on Thursday, and then it's just a matter of waiting to get an element and the controller parts. Who knows. I might just give it a gas run to get it cleaned!

Fun fun fun :D

[Distillnation]

Now it feels like I'm getting close :D

Took a while, but I finally got it all together!

I started with the cap/thermometer port first, since that was the easiest job. Drill a hole. Put in a piece of 3/8 pipe. Solder. Done. Pretty happy with how this one turned out.

thermo_port.jpg

thermo_port_under.jpg

Getting the ferrule to fit inside the coupler was...frustrating to say the least :angry-banghead: But after a lot of filing and sanding, I managed to get that sucker to fit.

The soldering on that part doesn't look the best, but it is damn strong. I know this because I managed to get the other side of the coupling stuck on the bottom of my column and it took a lot of wiggling and twisting and bumping to get it back off, and the ferrule didn't even budge from the coupling.

Here is what it looks like now!

ferrule.jpg

still.jpg

I haven't soldered the cap on yet, the top is a bit bent out of shape, need to get that right and file/sand things back. I'm not sure if I want to solder it down yet, more so in terms of managing the packing in the still. But I suppose I could always get it out from the bottom of the column... Ah well, that's an easy job. Can always do that when I get the rest of the parts.

Glad to be able to do some real work on it again!

[Yummyrum]

Looking good .

Don't worry about soldering the top cap on if you don't want too.

Couple of wraps of Teflon tape around the 2" then push/twist Cap will hold it on fine .It only has to seal ,there is no strength requirement. By all means solder it later on when your happy with it all.

Also Teflon wrapped around the thermo shaft will help it seal into the copper tube too :handgestures-thumbupleft:

I've still got my sight glasses in my VM still only held in with Teflon and the cap that hold my RC is also :violence-smack:

[Distillnation]

:D If only I had more stuff I could do to it. It's so addictive once you start. Plus the fact that the modifications have been done by myself gives it that bit more satisfaction.

I'll have to grab some Teflon tape next time I'm out, maybe tomorrow morning before I head to work. Do a bit of a mock up and see how it fits. I definitely like that idea as a temporary fix.

Haha, well if it works with sight glasses, I'm not going to be worried about the end cap. I'd love to get a sight glass on the dam side but I think that can wait. Might be too big of a job for me to try right now.

[Distillnation]

Just left the plumbing supplies shop. Got a few pieces for someone else while there. The main reason I wanted to go was for the 1/2 to 3/8 reducers.

They didn't have any :cry: :angry-banghead:

I got a price on some 4" while I was there (damn you guys and your good looking bubblers). Got quoted $901.16 for 6m, $238.50 1m...clearly the whole length is the better deal at roughly $150/m but it's a big price to pay for just myself. Reckon I'll look around a bit more ha ha.

At this point if I don't find the reducers I need by the time the element and controller are set up, I'll just solder straight from the 3/8 to the 1/2 pipe.

[SBB]

You should be able to get a meter cut for less than that if you hunt around hard enough.

[Distillnation]

Yeah, I'd definitely shop around before choosing. That's a lot of money to drop on something without first getting prices.

[Distillnation]

Did a bit of soldering today. This time it was making a parrot for someone. It turned out pretty good in my opinion. The soldering on a few places could have been better, but this was the first time I tried soldering pipe to sheet (flattened pipe). It was a bit difficult, but I managed to get it to hold. Definitely need more practice.

So far it looks like there are no leaks and it works how it should, so hopefully it will be okay. If not, there's another 3/4 of a meter of 1" pipe left and a 1" coupler or two here so his brother can always fix the bottom up with the oxy.

Took a while longer than I thought, but it got hard to work after I managed to file off a couple layers of skin from my thumb :))

Here is what it looks like :)

parrot.jpg

[googe]

Good stuff mate, looks good :handgestures-thumbupleft: . Not long now :-D

[Distillnation]

Thanks googe! :-D

I'm so close to getting the actual still done, it's not funny. One stupid little reducer is ruining it all for me :))

I saw some parts like this at the caravan/camping place today, but the only one I could find wasn't big enough to fit a 1/2" female thread. I'm guessing that may be due to the different type (SAE?).

Might have to go back and see if they have any larger. I didn't like the fact that they are brass though.

[Yummyrum]

Nice Parrot.

Re: the reducer.
Do you have an Aircon shop new you ? They use a lot of that smaller size copper . Also Gas specialist shop

Definitely try to avoid the brass if possable but I have used them by tinning the inside with solder .

[Distillnation]

Cheers!

My neighbour actually runs a business for airconditioning/heating. I might give that a shot. I've emailed a few places but none have gotten back to me yet.

I don't like the idea of brass either but it seems like something I may be able to get a hold of, just in case.

[Yummyrum]

That neighbor just might turn out to be your best mate :laughing-rolling:

[Distillnation]

Haha, with any luck I won't have to deal with the pesky hardware shops any more :laughing-rolling:

[Distillnation]

Been throwing some packing ideas around, and decided to try something.

I have about +6m of the 15amp extension cord left, and thought I would put it to use.

Here is what I came up with. (From a section of cord about 35cm)

copper_ball.jpg

Not sure if there is a better method for getting it into shape, but that is something I can always play around with.

I also so this at the shop the other day when I was out of town. $14.95, holds 4.5L. Thought it might look nice as a centre piece, filled with a UJSM, Rum or BKO sitting on some oak.

soaking_jar.jpg

Might have to check locally and see what we have here.