First go at building pot still

Pot still design and discussion

First go at building pot still

Postby doogie » Thu Sep 03, 2020 4:46 pm

OK, going to bite the bullet and attempt to make my own pot still to go on my T500 boiler. Here's my plan;

Still plan.PNG

The purpose for the join in the column is so I can pack it with botanicals for gin which is what I'll be mainly distilling.

Comments feedback appreciated.
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Re: First go at building pot still

Postby doogie » Thu Sep 03, 2020 6:06 pm

Well first hurdle, apparently 50mm copper pipe doesn't fit inside a 50mm to 20mm reducer 8-}
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Re: First go at building pot still

Postby bluc » Thu Sep 03, 2020 7:01 pm

Or a 50mm ferrule. You need a straight coupler to joing to anything :angry-banghead:

There are codes on fittings some same size some expsnded. Unfortunately i am to cut to remember 8-}
Last edited by bluc on Thu Sep 03, 2020 7:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: First go at building pot still

Postby doogie » Thu Sep 03, 2020 7:22 pm

Thanks bluc, I should have known not to assume :o
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Re: First go at building pot still

Postby RC Al » Thu Sep 03, 2020 8:15 pm

Ok so ifn you dont have access to an expander, as bluc said, they make these wonderful things called couplers/sockets
These are even local to you
https://plumbingsales.com.au/copper-tub ... ckets.html

with the 15mm on your plan do you mean dn15 15.88mm or 1/2" 12.7mm ?
Either way the 25mm jacket is a bit big, also get the liebig connectors as close to the ends of the jackets as possible
Last edited by RC Al on Thu Sep 03, 2020 8:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: First go at building pot still

Postby doogie » Thu Sep 03, 2020 9:01 pm

Thanks Al, I’ll go down to a 20mm jacket then. As for the 50mm yes I know about couplers, as I said wrongly assumed a 50mm to 20mm reducer would connect a 50mm pipe to a 20mm pipe. It’s a bit hard in Melbourne at moment not being able to physically visit the stores.
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Re: First go at building pot still

Postby dans.brew » Thu Sep 03, 2020 9:30 pm

Looks good doogie. A simple pot opens up your options with what you can make. :handgestures-thumbupleft:
Is your 15mm to 20mm reducer going to be soldered or a union fitting? A union will allow you to move the condenser angle rather than it being fixed and also remove it for cleaning.
Just a thought... id imagine you'd have to be very careful putting botanicals in a 50mm column.. wouldn't want to cause a blockage. I'm not saying dont do it but just be careful not to jam too much in it. :handgestures-thumbupleft:
Last edited by dans.brew on Thu Sep 03, 2020 9:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: First go at building pot still

Postby doogie » Fri Sep 04, 2020 4:42 pm

dans.brew wrote:Looks good doogie. A simple pot opens up your options with what you can make. :handgestures-thumbupleft:
Is your 15mm to 20mm reducer going to be soldered or a union fitting? A union will allow you to move the condenser angle rather than it being fixed and also remove it for cleaning.
Just a thought... id imagine you'd have to be very careful putting botanicals in a 50mm column.. wouldn't want to cause a blockage. I'm not saying dont do it but just be careful not to jam too much in it. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Hi Dan
The 20mm - 15mm is going to be a push on connection so I can easily remove. On further reflection will probably put the botanicals in the boiler and put bits of orange or grapefruit in the column.

doogie
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Re: First go at building pot still

Postby Lesgold » Fri Sep 04, 2020 9:04 pm

Hi dogie,

That design should work but I’d be looking at a longer condenser to keep your spirit cooler. On a slow gin run it would do the job but would not handle a stripping run without a lot of cool water being thrown at it. Good luck with the build.

Cheers

Les
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Re: First go at building pot still

Postby doogie » Sat Sep 05, 2020 12:56 am

Lesgold wrote:Hi dogie,

That design should work but I’d be looking at a longer condenser to keep your spirit cooler. On a slow gin run it would do the job but would not handle a stripping run without a lot of cool water being thrown at it. Good luck with the build.

Cheers

Les

Thanks Les, what length would you recommend? I do have a T500 condenser that I’m using to make neutral at the moment.
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Re: First go at building pot still

Postby Lesgold » Sat Sep 05, 2020 6:35 pm

I’ve recently completed two builds and put shotgun condensers on both of them. Your boiler element would be around 2000w so it won’t need too much to keep product cool. I would still build a 2” shotty to enable you to run it flat out on stripping runs. The disadvantage is that it does take a little more time to make than a Liebig.
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Re: First go at building pot still

Postby doogie » Fri Feb 26, 2021 8:34 pm

OK, big break during Covid lockdown and some renovations but here it is...
IMG_6418.JPG

IMG_6419.JPG

IMG_6420.JPG

IMG_6421.JPG

IMG_6422.JPG


Thoughts anyone?

Thanks to @bluc and @Dude for helping out with a final soldering problem.

Doogie
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Re: First go at building pot still

Postby scythe » Sun Feb 28, 2021 7:53 am

I would get rid of the push fit union at the top there.
Either get a stainless one or make it into a triclamp union.

I would also make the pipe that goes from the top union to the PC into straight pipes with an elbow, but I can understand why you just bent it.
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Re: First go at building pot still

Postby WhiskeySour » Tue Mar 02, 2021 7:59 am

Nice work doogie

I also built a liebig for my first pot, they are very easy to build and it will work fine while you to learn to run your new pot. Once you have a few runs under your belt and some ageing stock built you can take the time to build a shotgun if you feel the need to upgrade, as I did
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