Steampunk 2

[dogbreath vodka]

I've had a fair bit of time on my hands over the past few weeks.
So in true stiller style.... got into doing some still making/changing.
Spending between 4 to 5 hours most days on getting SP2 how I want it.

Redid all the modules.
The joins on the easy flanges just didn't cut it so filled them with hard solder and shaped them better.
So now the modules line up better and the plates sit nice and tight.

Of course the black disappeared with the heat and acid bath.

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Going back a bit I built a neutraliser for SP1 that didn't make the cut.
Because it had a 4" reducer it wasn't useful for SP2........ So

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The RC was also not up to scratch. That is my next part of this rebuild.

Currently building the body of the RC before adding the tubes.

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The neighbours just love me :twisted:

DBV

[dogbreath vodka]

Thanks BJ
Just ordered and paid for one...... estimated delivery date... 20th........ October. :laughing-rolling: 8-}

Oh well what can you expect for under $4?
How the hell they do that including free postage I'll never know.

DBV

Just remembered
The suction cup was delivered on the 29th of September..... for under $4
Still can't believe it.
Thanks for the heads up Guys.
:handgestures-thumbupleft: :handgestures-thumbupleft:

DBV

[Zak Griffin]

I thought that once you went black, you could never go back?! :teasing-neener:

What's your plan for the RC? dimensions etc...

[dogbreath vodka]

Hey Zak
The RC is 180mm finished height.... started with about 200mm or a bit less before turning the flanges.
Will have 7 x 3/4" or 19mm tubes. Maybe more....

The water lines in and out.... probably put to the back of the still.
Not too sure, but want it clean looking.

Most stills look busy, including this one.
So just want to tidy it up a bit, will see when I get there. :-B

Plus with the Carter Head on the side... the valves and water lines would be in the way.

DBV

[woodduck]

That looks awesome, :handgestures-thumbupleft: very shiny, looks like you've got this polishing thing under control. She looks as straight as a die. This was almost a complete rebuild by the sound of it. Does that count as another build or just rework :teasing-tease: :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling:

Just jokes. Keep up the good work :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Zak Griffin]

7 x 3/4" might be a bit on the low side? I'm going to run 12, maybe 13.

I'll just let you build yours and copy it when you've got a design that works :handgestures-thumbupleft: :teasing-tease:

[dogbreath vodka]

Woody, it feels like a new build .... ..... almost. :D

It's all good fun.

Just learning from my mistakes and hopefully will end up with a pretty decent still.

One other thing I tried and it seemed to work on the original build is the bubble caps aren't attached to the plate.

Here is an early photo before cutting the slots.

bubble caps before.JPG

The two or three times I ran it, it didn't seem to affect it at all.
It's an experiment with deeper baths to see how it would run.
Almost like having a mini thumper in each module.
If it didn't work the removable caps would make it easier to reduce the height of the intake tube.

I wanted minimum return to the boiler.
After all the heat it takes to get it out why would I want it back where it started?

The early run I did with three plates working it still returned high ABV.

Will see when I get it up and running again.
DBV

[dogbreath vodka]

7 x 3/4" might be a bit on the low side? I'm going to run 12, maybe 13.

I'll just let you build yours and copy it when you've got a design that works :handgestures-thumbupleft: :teasing-tease:

I think you're right Zak.

Just looked at the original and it was 7 x 1".
I bought plenty of 3/4" so will use more. :handgestures-thumbupleft:
Thanks for confirming what I was thinking. :handgestures-thumbupleft:
Most likely will have it done this afternoon.

DBV

[Zak Griffin]

Mac showed us one of his old homemade RC's, 17x 3/4" in 6"... There's a pic in Agrajag's thread.

The problem with building 6" gear is that it's not as tried and proven as 4"... We'll get there though!

[CaptainRedBeard]

What do you use to cut the slots in the bubble caps?

I love that you just get bored and strip and rebuild a piece of art :-D

Looks Great! :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[dogbreath vodka]

What do you use to cut the slots in the bubble caps?

I lock a grinder (with a 1mm cutting disc) in a vice, then very carefully cut out the black lines. :D

I love that you just get bored and strip and rebuild a piece of art :-D
Thanks CRB, the strip and rebuild was needed, just wasn't up to standard.
The Carter Head I built was a different deal.... now it's done I have to have a decent still to run it on.

Looks Great! :handgestures-thumbupleft:

If you want a print of the cutting pattern for the bubble caps just PM me and I'll send it via email.

DBV

[MacStill]

I'll say it again even if people dont believe me :teasing-neener:

You're better off running neutral hearts through the carter head as a dedicated pot still, running them off the side of a bubbler is ok but I would only be doing this for rum infusions rather than for gin.

A 6" plated bubbler (neutralizer) will do gins sure, but I still thinK the carter head is best used as a dedicated infusion pot still.

Run your neutral collecting hearts until you have enough hearts for a 40% ABV boiler charge, clip the carter head on and infuse those hearts.... you can then run the oil resevior (passive reflux) back to the boiler for redistilling.

A neat trick to bump the ABV of this type of run is to insert a couple of plates between the botanical basket to redistill the falling oils & passive reflux :handgestures-thumbupleft: With 3 plates inserted here & a 40% boiler hearts charge I've pulled really strong flavours at near on 95% that can be blended back with neutral to get the desired taste.

They're a versatile infusion machine & there's still a lot of exploring to do with what can be done, one example can be seen in the following link.

viewtopic.php?f=56&t=6614

pic



This rig pulled 94% full flavoured gin from a 40% ABV hearts charge, IT could've been run slower & pulled 95% quite easily..... 4 plated gin still :handgestures-thumbupleft:

PLS NOTE: I removed the RC from below the botanical basket & placed it directly on the boiler, this way the boiler can be left running for basket removal,change overs.

Hope that makes sense & gets some ideas flowing..... the carter head is no 1 trick pony that's for sure :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[dogbreath vodka]

Thanks Mac
It makes perfect sense.....

To save having to make 3 Four inch modules.
Would it be just as good to run a 40% hearts charge through the six inch with only 3 plates?
IE have the vapour up to a higher ABV before the botanicals?

Would the gin lose the delicate flavours like rose petal, due to being full strength?

Or am I now commited to making some more plates and modules? :D :D

This is all new territory for me and that's one of the reasons for doing it... learning more about distilling. :handgestures-thumbupleft: :handgestures-thumbupleft: :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Hmmm I think I may have answered my own question relating to the need to make another 4 inch on a keg boiler.....
How much Gin would I be making if I used the 80 litre boiler? :scared-eek: :scared-eek: :scared-eek:
No room for experimenting. :angry-banghead: :angry-banghead:

Thanks again Mac :handgestures-thumbupleft: :handgestures-thumbupleft:

So my next, next project is already sorted. :laughing-rolling:

DBV

[dogbreath vodka]

OK so here's today's progress.

Started on the body of the RC, finished the easy flanges.
Cut up some 3/4" tubes and did a bit of soldering. :D

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How did I come to the number of tubes.
Well it was reeeeal scientifical like...
Put a heap of tubes in the body of the RC and when they reached about half... that was it.
18 tubes.
Started laying that out on the piece of plate..... ended up with one extra.
So 19 tubes it is. 8-} 8-}
The idea behind that is the tubes take up about half the surface area and the vapour will not speed up through the RC tooooo much.... or at least that's the theory. :roll: :roll:

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The biggest time consumer was working out how to hide the intake and waste water tubes.
Came up with this eventually.

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You're looking at the back of the RC and it's upside down.
So when fitted the pipework will be out of sight.

Didn't have to do it this way... just thought it might look less cluttered from the front when finished.
:handgestures-thumbupleft: :handgestures-thumbupleft:

DBV

[Zak Griffin]

Well FSD 6" RC's are 9x 1" inners, so 19x 3/4" should be a somewhere near similar area, with more thermal transfer area, yeah?

I'm gunna have to see if I can sneak a few more inners into mine. Might run a ring of 1/2" inners in between the two rings of 3/4"s..

[dogbreath vodka]

So I made a bit of progress over the long weekend.
Here's a few photos to prove it. :D

Being a 6" RC I didn't realise just how long it would take to get it all together.

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Drilled out the holes and then took to it with a cutting disc on the 4" grinder.

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Bit rough but it cleaned up OK

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A few more bits to clean off, Tested it .... and ...... no leaks. :handgestures-thumbupleft: :handgestures-thumbupleft:

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Starting to get excited again about this build. :D :D

DBV

[Sam.]

Looking good as always :clap:

[woodduck]

Man that thing is huge :scared-eek: love it.

I like what you've done with the water feeds, something different and it will fit into your theme well :handgestures-thumbupleft:

cant wait to see the finished product.

[MacStill]

Just keep in mind the more tubes you use the more bypass you may end up with, but a good fix there is a little scrubber or copper mesh shoved down each tube :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[dogbreath vodka]

With all the stuffing about recently, I'm almost there.

Just got a 3" copper cap to make.

SP2 almost there (Copy).JPG

Getting ready for a vinegar run this weekend.
Yes the parrot is in orbit at the moment. That will be fixed in time. :roll:

DBV