Time To “Just Do It”!

[MacStill]

And this is why my bank balance hates you!
;-)

Must.have.new.kit.all.the.time!

Look into my eyes >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

:laughing-rolling:

[dogbreath vodka]

If Bunnings sales assistants are too thin on the ground.... there's always Masters. :D

DBV

[Petulance]

Well, I'm getting there.

This is a mockup of the tower (minus the reflux condenser, U bend and product condenser). Doesn't leave much, does it.

Tower.jpg

Tower - 2.jpg

I know the soldering sucks. Leave me alone, I am but a babe in the woods in this field. I wish we could use glue. I'm better with that.

This is one of the plate heads. Again suckish soldering, and some green corrosion creeping in (I'm assured by others that this will self rectify once I get rolling)

Plate.jpg

The centre tube holds 3 blind plates. I might make another one of those soon. First I need to get more ferrules and clamps (my maths deserted me ... forgot that I need 3 of each for each plate T)

The copper work is a bit rough, as I spent 10 hours filing excess solder from them. Each head seems significantly lighter after that.

It'll be a couple of weeks before I'm ready to run. Just can't wait.

[Petulance]

An afterthought ...

I believed that soldering was my worst skill.

It appears that photography is looming as a real contender...

[Linny]

I wouldnt worry about soldering ,,, if its sealed and holds then it works :handgestures-thumbupleft: can always dremel/file the sh#tty looking solder anyways :handgestures-thumbupleft: as for the green stuff and left over flux etc ... before you do a cleaning run i recommend a soak... i got a 20L bucket filled it with water and added about a table spoon citric acid , a used scouring pad cleans it right up... i would leave mine in over night ,,, though i didnt have SS ferrules so i dont know how you will go with that one.

So is that 7 plates so far ?

[Petulance]

yep, thus far it's a 7 plater. I'm wondering about another 3 plate section for neutral production, but can't get my head around whether or not there are any benefits to extending the column.

Don't you just love this hobby... so many things to think about... so little money...

[punchy21]

Nice job so far mate :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Linny]

Thats great and all but 10 clams says you wont make neutral ,,, be too busy making good rum, scotches and bourbons :laughing-rolling:

[Petulance]

Damn right Linny, but there are folks in my circle of friends (actually, more like a square of friends, perhaps a triangle of friends, or a straight line of friends, or ... ahh ... well ... really I'm just a single point, I guess) who like vodka. No idea why, cause it doesn't taste like anything, in fact it does taste like nothing ... just the burn. Anyway, they've got orders in and I can't think of anyone else who'd let me experiment on them with cuts. Oh, I won't tell them that bit.

[Linny]

I gotta get around to making more neutral... have to make more kahlua and butterscotch ... i ran out before , got a batch down ,,, now i have no more neutral

[Dominator]

Any updates mate? After reading the creative journal on the build, I cant wait to hear your account of the first run and the product that comes out.

[Petulance]

Currently "enjoying" a hiatus ... waiting for more bits to turn up. I've decided to cut down my reflux condenser (19 tubes x 100 mm to 19 tubes by 50 mm). I've also been cleaning up my work. Bugger, I've wasted some solder. Me and the bastard file are best mates now. Hopefully, my keg might turn up soon. I've been wondering, though, if I wouldn;t be better off getting a boiler made. Max keg size is 80 litres, a 500mm x 500mm x 500mm SS cube would give me 125 litres, plus flat sides. Dunno ... still thinking about that.

Updates as soon as something happens...

[Yummyrum]

Me and the bastard file are best mates now.

That's no way to talk about your best mate :laughing-rolling:

Jesus Petulance,after hearing about the self abuse incurred while still building ,I hate to hear how you "popped your guts" :))

[Petulance]

I'm also making my insulation wraps ... 4 layers of blanket for each module.

If I thought I was crappiest as a driller, beater and solderer of copper, I was sadly mistaken.

My skills as a seamstress are woeful ... can't cut in a straight line, can't measure for trying, think I've caught tetanus from the sewing machine needle and may need a blood transfusion before long. And that's from just one module. This still will be the death of me. If not, then the product is bound to be.

[Petulance]

hiatus = pause/wait

An hiatus hernia will come later ... when I try to lift my frigging still column onto the boiler ... or pick it up when the whole shebang topples over ... what did I ever do with my time before stillin' came along?

[Yummyrum]

Wheres that son 'n law when you need him.

Re: the sewing. ....Mate....Can 100% relate .... I have the worst case of Fabric Phobia ...when yummymummy want to be a total bitch and have a laugh ,she makes me do things like hang a fitted sheet on the clothes line or worse ...change a dona . :angry-banghead:
You are a brave lad . :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Petulance]

Well, I'm almost done. Ran my vinegar wash and sacrificial alcohol wash through. Only a couple of minor leaks which I've mostly fixed.

Sight glasses leak a little, so I'm going to cut some cork gasket for them later.

Just ran my first TPW through the still. With very savage cuts, I managed to get 2 litres of 87% neutral from a 40 litre wash which, I suspect, hadn't completely finished fermenting. Patience is not my virtue.

Controlling two 10 amp 2400 watt elements without a controller is not easy. I did try to build my own two controllers. They both went "pop" when I turned them on. This is why I'm not an electrician.

If anyone knows where I can source just one 10 amp controller I would be eternally grateful.

Anyway, here are a few shots of my rig.

IMG_8190.JPG

IMG_8191.JPG

IMG_8192.JPG

I KNOW ... that it seems to lean a bit. That's not, unfortunately, an optical illusion. I might fix it up some time.
I KNOW ... that it needs a good polish up. I might fix that done before I get the insulation on it.
I KNOW ... it's been a long time coming. It sucks that life gets in the way of a good distillation.

[Bushy]

Hey Petulance, None of that stuff matters mate. Cos you've GOT A BUBBLER :dance:
Well bloody done :clap:

[Dominator]

Awesome to see you go it done mate. Now you need to build yourself a parrot to help you run it.


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[dogbreath vodka]

Looking good mate. :handgestures-thumbupleft: :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Just about to do a vinegar run today

DBV