Torpedos?

Nardy

What are they? Seems like just a reducer with a ferrule attached. Listed as a cleaning port or general purpose port, but who's rig reduces at the top (apart from mine with a boka head).

And the ones with bubble plates, they go from narrow at the base, out then narrow again. What's the use of doing that?

Anyone got any pics?

grim

Always wondered that myself. I always chalked it up to creative use of fittings to come up with a unique design.

Smaug

Started as a single "micro thumper". Was the next generation that replaced the all copper Bubble Ball.

bayouj

I added a Torpedo to my rig, which was just a plain 2" pot still. By adding the Torpedo with a bubble plate, 12" packed column above it, and a Dephlag, I can obtain a higher abv as well as a cleaner product. Personally I single run my rum and whiskey with the single plate and take off well above barrel strength, but I personally like alot of flavor in my finished product.

punkin

Torpedos are a handy fitting. It allows the use of a port anywhere there is a reducer. In the case of the 4" Dash or Crystal Dragon that means at the top after the reflux condensor and sometimes at the bottom where they attach to an original keg opening.

At the bottom it can allow fitting a couple bends and a valve or cap to facilitate a fill port, a lens to enable a view port to watch for puking.

At the top it can be a nice place to put a valve in an end cap and you have instant Clean In Place to back flush the plates or a thermowell end cap to monitor vapour temp there.. or for that matter use a thermo torpedo and do both.

As Smaug said, they were originally introduced before the 4" tees as a stainless replacement for copper bubbletees. 2" columns were the norm back then and it made sense to go from 2 to 4 and back to two.

Smaug

4 years ago a tee was another animal for a different purpose entirely

Anavrin

The first StillDragon product I ever purchased was a torpedo to add to my 2" packed column, what can I say, I love it :-)

It's has many uses, especially during neutral stripping runs from sugar washes, add it with some reflux during stripping and you can squeeze 100lt of 14% wash into a 19lt Cornie keg.

Also, it seems to make a 2" column far more stable, I've no idea about the science behind it but it seems as if it smoothens out the brunt from the boiler and creates a more stable input to the base of the column.

Smaug

@Anavrin said: Also, it seems to make a 2" column far more stable, I've no idea about the science behind it but it seems as if it smoothens out the brunt from the boiler and creates a more stable input to the base of the column.

I think that's an adequate way to explain one of the benefits. At this point there are several users of this type of apparatus and there is plenty of reliable (though anecdotal) descriptions that mirror your exact explanation.

Nardy

Sounds handy! Cheers.

Kapea

Don't let em fool ya @Nardy. Torpedos are the gateway drug! I started out just buying a torpedo to put under my 2" x 48" vapor management column. It worked like a dream. My runs stabilized, I had a temperature port at the base of my column, and best of all I could see inside. I was hooked!

Next came three more bubble cap plates, a defleg, a product condenser, and quick connect irrigation tubing and fittings. Then came the GB4. Then the 5 procap plates, BIGGER deleg, BIGGER product condenser, and parrot kit...

And to top it off they smother you with all that friendliness and excellent customer service... It's a conspiracy I tell you!

Nardy

Haha, I totally get ya. I'm already thinking perhaps I should have got the procaps?

Sunshine

well, we sell Torpedos more with Pro-caps then with Mini Caps. Customers have made their verdict...

2" x 4" x 2" Torpedo Pro SG @ StillDragon Europe

Kapea

No worries @Nardy. Bubble caps work very well. Procaps do too, just a little bit faster. You've set yourself up with a good system.

Back in the day all we had to play with was an old cat's head (2" copper tubing), and we were very happy to have that!

Smaug

@Kapea said: No worries Nardy. Bubble caps work very well. Procaps do too, just a little bit faster. You've set yourself up with a good system.

Back in the day all we had to play with was an old cat's head (2" copper tubing), and we were very happy to have that!

That's funny you should say that.

I swear that Arctic Shine had me convinced that his rig was put together with turtle shells and animal horns (and the like).

I am so easy to trick!

211

I love my torpedo. I prime it with a bit of wash or whatever and it does its thing bumps the Abv up by 4-6% ish it would probably be more effective if I had a baby condenser above it. Wouldn't be without it.

ElectricEd

I started off with a torpedo on my hybrid BOKA/VM setup. It made the product come out a bit smoother so I was then hooked on bubble plates. I am decided that my 2 inch packed section was developing favoured pathways and was therefore unreliable. I then purchased a 4x3x4 bubble tee. The result was a little better so the bug really bit so got some more. The first picture is of 3 bubble tees between the torpedo. The second is with 8 tees and 9 bubble plates. I now have 11 bubble tees and am aiming for 15 or 16 to produce the smoothest vodka possible. The BOKA/VM head is gone and now it's a bubbler. They take a little bit more to learn how to drive but when you do it's possible to configure it to produce exactly the result you want. I still use the torpedo, but it has 10 bubble tees between it. :)

Kapea

See?
It's the SD gateway drug... :))

@ElectricEd Pretty soon you're going to need a blimp hanger and a ceiling crane... ;)

(I've got 9 plates... so far)

FullySilenced

Damn the torpedos, Full Tee's ahead... :D

ElectricEd

Hi Kapea, you're right on. I'll be putting one of those ventilation turrets (that you see on those American barns) on my shed to take the height of the still. ;) There'll be a beam to hang the U-tube that goes over the top from. It's always made me wonder why the professional distillers go to 16 and 32 plates (Coffey still design) to get a good vodka. Now I know. Every plate makes it better. <:-P

FloridaCracker

@Kapea said: See?
It's the SD gateway drug... :))

ElectricEd Pretty soon you're going to need a blimp hanger and a ceiling crane... ;)

(I've got 9 plates... so far)

Imagine how bad it can be if you are within driving distance of the lair of Smaug. I've done OK with my therapy sessions trying to break the urge but I still need a fix every now and then.

captainshooch

I just fired the therapist and kept calling @Smaug over and kver and over.... :))

punkin

Ed has been a very good customer over the years. I have always done my best to look after him with a phone call if there are any problems. He's also one of the lucky bunch of guys in one of our loose club locations that gets to share his efforts with fellow distillers in a collaboration. We have them going now in Adelaide, Swann Hill, Darwin, Perth etc.
These guys have taken that collaboration to a whole new level though and are constant innovators. B-)