A short pot still

[templeton]

Wound a 1/4 inch condenser just to see if I could.
It was so pretty, I just had to use it.
Was thinking of a BOKA, but put off a bit by the size, and wanted something pretty simple to run.
Was thinking of a pot still and thumper for speed, then saw a nice pic of short pot still head with a double coil in the 'lyne arm' looked nice and neat, and short.
Sorry, can't remember where I saw the pic, might have been here, but can't find it again. If it rings any bells could someone post a link? It was 2 inch pipe about 6 inches high into a right angle joiner, a few inches of 2 inch horizontal, then a 45 joiner to a sloping short arm with a double coil condenser and an end cap with collection spout and inlet and outlet pipes for the condenser.
here's the modified one I made today

[templeton]

putting it together - rubbish soldering!

[Redux]

wow thats short....


i like the double coil idea.. :handgestures-thumbupleft: :handgestures-thumbupleft: :handgestures-thumbupleft: :handgestures-thumbupleft: :handgestures-thumbupleft: :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[benpandaae86]

Put a shoty on the end and the coil up the guts of the main tube and u have a hybrid prob would want it a lil taller though

[templeton]

Put a shoty on the end and the coil up the guts of the main tube and u have a hybrid prob would want it a lil taller though

I just wanted something simple and small that would work under the cook top in the kitchen, rather than taking over the bathroom with worms and coils and boilers. Minimal joins for set up - just need to seal the top of the bowl, and a bit of something around the end of the end cap so it doesn't leak condensate everywhere.
I didn't post a pic of the finished set up...

[Andy]

pretty cool mate!

[Urrazeb]

pretty cool mate!

:text-+1:

You should have made the join with a clamp - then you could carry it around in your pocket :laughing-rolling: 8-}

[Zak Griffin]

I like that! Thinking outside the box...

[templeton]

I like that! Thinking outside the box...

Wish I could take credit
Hillzabilly found the original pic for me.
I was a bit over paying for all the connectors and elbows, so decided to see if I could cut a mitred one, and figured I could do it in one angle instead of two. Typical, picked the hardest possible type of soldering joint for my first attempt - thus the copper wire stitching. But still impressed myself.
T

[templeton]

Just a quick question - should the input water for the condenser go to the inner coil first, or the outer coil?
T

[benpandaae86]

Not sure but maybe the outside because the outside coil has the outfeed liquid runnin past it

Great build mate

[Sam.]

I would be a lot more concerned with the plastic collection vessel and the flour paste seal :wtf:

[templeton]

I would be a lot more concerned with the plastic collection vessel and the flour paste seal :wtf:

Sam,
the plastic collection is only for the vinegar run - graduated cylinder so I could get an idea of throughput - stainless only for proper runs :handgestures-thumbupleft:
T

[Sam.]

I would be a lot more concerned with the plastic collection vessel and the flour paste seal :wtf:

Sam,
the plastic collection is only for the vinegar run - graduated cylinder so I could get an idea of throughput - stainless only for proper runs :handgestures-thumbupleft:
T

Good to hear :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Flour paste should really only be an emergency stop gap, I would seriously consider getting something better.

[templeton]

Flour paste should really only be an emergency stop gap, I would seriously consider getting something better.

It works...
apart from the mess, what's the issue with flour paste? (Is this a newbie dumb question?)
Don't really want to play with plastics, haven't been able to source pure cork this week, and a 'proper' clamp seal is probably out of my league :)
T

[woodduck]

Hi temp,

First of all, great job on the still i really like it, looks cool.

I'm with sam on this one, the flour paste really isn't the best idea. I'm not sure what else is holding the still on there but if it is just paste it's an accident waiting to happen. What if the cat jumped up there or you knocked it off the top? There would be alc vapour everywhere right over a naked flame. Next thing your house burns down with the cat in it, the wife goes nuts and it is spead all over the news that a backyard still has caused it. that reflects badly on all of us.

It's a great hobby but it can be dangerous, no one wants to see you or anyone get hurt. There are plenty of smart blokes on here that will come up with a good idea to help you out just hang about for a bit. After a sleep I'll try nut something out for ya that will be cheap and easy.

Keep it safe :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[templeton]

Thanks for the comments woodduck. Thankfully, no cat at my place (Soapbox - the only good use for a cat is positively determining that a room is actually too small to swing a cat in).
Good safety points. I'm using a number of heavy 'bulldog' paper clips which does make the lid fairly secure, and once the paste cooks a bit its almost impossible to remove - I have to crack it open with a old cooks knife, and even then its not too easy. But point taken.
I don't want to butcher the stock pot - Maybe some wire looped from handle to handle across the top, with a cross-your-heart pattern straddling the column? 3 points would be more secure.
Hmmm, wire loop under lip of stockpot might just work with multiple cross overs, but the rim of the bowl is slightly larger than rim of the pot, so cross over wires might displace it if over tightened.
The first 10 litre all bran mash i ran through it last night produced nicely.
Fore shots aren't knocked down too readily by the short condenser even when I cranked up the cooling water, but once I got into the heads, it worked nicely. Did take a couple of hours to process down to about 15 % abv, when it was time for bed.
ideally, a lip on a bowl with a return that sat inside the lip of the pot would be nice.
will give it more thought.
T

[hillzabilly]

I would make your output tube longer as your product comeing out is way too close to ya gas burner,also sent ya the link for still.cheers hillzabilly

[woodduck]

Hey templeton,

I don't think the clips are as much of a problem (not perfect by any means and if you find a better way i would go with it) aslong as they seal well enough, maybe throw a few more on there and have your fire extinguisher and safty gear close at all times (like we all should anyway) Have you got a seal between the pot and the bowl? If not you should look into one, silicon baking sheet is good if you can get any big enough otherwise natural cork works, i got some from a carpet place.

On to your colomn join. I'm thinking maybe put an easy flange (just the flaring of the pipe not the 6mm ring) on then soft solder the column to the bowl, although i have found soft solder on ss a little tricky at times. My other suggestion if that didn't work would be an easy flange then stainless bolts to hold the column on with a silicon gasket. If the easy flange wasnt wide enough for the bolts you could make up a copper ring to solder to your column then bolt down.

A couple of links that might help, viewtopic.php?f=41&t=76

viewtopic.php?f=41&t=1237
this one has some info on ss to copper soldering and the flux etc to use.

Hope that made sense, if not let me know and I'll do a couple of drawing to help explain if needed.

Good luck :handgestures-thumbupleft: