StillSmart

I've asked a plumber friend for an old copper boiler, to make a start on building my still, hope it won't be too long..

I was surfing this morning and found this site here now I know the guys name from reading the posts on here and other sites. I also know that a lot of guys have used his designs.

You folks may already know his site, and have seen his drawing, I found them very informative and a great help to me on understanding what happens in "reflux".

I now feel that I can build a still and fully understand what should go on inside when it's working...can't wait.

Ooops...tried that link myself and found that it only goes to front page of the site. That's not what I wanted to show you guys...when you use the link, you have to go to....
Equipment...then..Making a Still...then..Design & plans...then..Bobakob Designs...for the page that got me interested.

For some reason the url doesn't change to the page your on, it stays the same for all the pages within the site.

BJ

There is actually another version of that site. Tryhttp://www.homedistiller.org/equip/photos-alex

Icefever, have you seen YHB's interpretation of an LM ? He came up with a cartridge idea that would reduce the chance of running a good piece of pipe.

Most of the work is done before you cut your expensive pipe. I'm a big fan of the idea. Check it out.

Capt-Cudellez wrote:Icefever, have you seen YHB's interpretation of an LM ? He came up with a cartridge idea that would reduce the chance of running a good piece of pipe.

Most of the work is done before you cut your expensive pipe. I'm a big fan of the idea. Check it out.

I've tried to find it Capt but no luck, YHB has about 40 pages of posts. If YHB or you reads this can you point me to it??

BJ

Capt-Cudellez wrote:I've tried to find it Capt but no luck, YHB has about 40 pages of posts. If YHB or you reads this can you point me to it??

I'm here !!!

Sorry if I am cluttering the place up, even I have difficulty finding some of my posts, so I sometimes just post another one saying the same thing and therefore making the problem worse.

I believe that this is the one Capt'n C was referring to.

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=733&start=15#p6509

I am glad I made it, I learnt a lot about working with copper and soldering as I was doing it. As my still has developed I have used it in three columns, I simply unscrewed the valve and slid the cassette out(with the aid of a large hammer and drift), put a patch on the valve / thermometer holes and my 2" pipe was ready to be used again.

Now that I have my LM/VM/POT head I am convinced that the cassette is in its final resting place. Unless I think of something else of course.

Cheers Brian...

What a fantastic read, love your home crafted connector for the column to the lid. Got me thinking maybe that's what I should do..
I'm also aware of the size and weight of a 3" column on a lid..it will need some support some how.

I made all my bits and pieces when I had lots of time on my hands, no money and nowhere to operate the still if I ever got it finished. So making as much as I could ticked a few of the boxes.

Yes a 3" column filled with SPP and a suitably sized condenser filled with water will be heavy. I stiffened up the lid on my boiler by screwing some timber onto it, it worked for me!

Icefever, sorry if I missed it, but what sort of power is your boiler going to have.

A 3" runs best at 4-5Kw, a 2" is more like 1.5-2Kw. Unless you have enough power to throw at a 3" column, I'd do with something smaller.

My keg boiler has a 3kw element, I run this sub 2Kw when refluxing. I have the copper for a 2.5" column (67mm tube) that will let me run the full 3kw when I get round to finishing the head.

EDIT: I missed your other thread where this is already being discussed.