3" Crystal Dragon

Diesellover

Does StillDragon have gaskets and plates to make a 3" Crystal Dragon with ProCap36? My current still is all 3" so it would cost a lot switching over to a new size.

punkin

No we have not developed 3" plates or gaskets at this stage. There is another member here who is fabricating the same thing in 3".

waxernz

My build might take a while as I have son due to be born in 3 weeks. Currently have 50L keg potstill with 2200w element. Might add a second element later. Im going for 3-4 plates done using the copper plate that extend out to the rods with gaskets either side. I will buy one full sight glass for the end plates and get longer threaded rod. I just got given a 15" length of 3" Copper so I will use a small length of that for dephleg most likely.

As in picture (not scale) I dont like square plates most diy glass builds seem to use and will try to keep as close to the glass as possible around most the edge. It occurred to me even if you put nuts either side of plate and didnt use thick copper it shouldnt matter/ Most force to worry about would be horizontal and keeping the tower straight. So I have a copper water heater I hope to cut up and use.

Red is gasket/glass and black a method of making sure glass cant move. I have seen screws used but I want it to look good and havnt decided what I will do yet. Maybe solder on some small copper L brackets with a bit of silicon baking mat so copper isnt pressed against glass.

Just so it looks good I will probably cover the threaded rod with lengths of pipe. Due to keeping cost as low as possible I might cheap out and just paint something cheap and light as its on the outside of still anyway. I run a craft store so have cool metallic paints I could use and clear coat for durability.

Stainless 2" u bend on top to shotgun then parrot. Ill look at packed section later but my main goal is whiskeys, apple brandy(normally make cider each season with apple press) and feijoa. a trailer load of windfall apples 400kg is about $60. We got around 180L of juice off it. It tasted good as cider so same will hopefully be true for the brandy.

Diesellover

That was one of my ideas or use a thicker plate of copper and machine grooves for O-rings. I just need to know how thick of a plate the new ProCaps can go through and still function.

FullySilenced

Make the copper thick as whats available then you can face/turn/mill it thinner on the bottom side to fit the caps :D .. BTW: it dosen't have to be copper it can be ss , lead free brass or several of the exotic metals if you have em...

waxernz

I was just going copper as that is what I have on hand assuming the hotwater heater is thick enough to do the job and they are cheaper than scrap weight price to buy if you look around. I have a 25L that would have been awesome to get a couple of for about a 12" tower(I have never actually measured mine). 3 or 4 of those welded together at $30 a pop and could build a pretty hefty rig. But the power requirements boiler size etc would be to much for a hobby guy like me. Still a fun thought.

Diesellover

I have copper here at the shop and its easy to work with what I have available. I was trying figure out the specs on the 3" glass towers. I'm hoping somebody can help me with that.

waxernz

Which specs? Im no expert but from what I have read so far I dont think you need to worry to much. Just buy a sight glass with the ferrule ends and some extra glass(stilldragon sell both) The replacement glass will dictate the height between plates. Buy threaded rods and start assembling. If you look at some of the builds on various sites the get pretty basic and still work well. Its a rather forgiving design.

Or did you mean diameter etc so you can start machining plates. Id just get the glass first and not risk it.

I think its a fine line between balancing cost and quality for me. Much the same as the mama 2.5" thread. On one hand you want it to run as good as possible but if your choosing 3" over 4" then its probably to save money. Got to be careful not to blow almost a 4" worth of cash overbuilding your 3"

I assume the fit will be to tight for 2 normal caps and one pro. I had been wondering lately but wasn't sure what diameter the normal caps are.

Diesellover

Yes the diameter is what I was looking for. I have a tendency to over build everything I do, but that's what is so fun for me. Doing things like this is more of a hobby for me, a way to keep my mind from going nuts!!! I think I'm just going to order a sight glass and a few extra lens to play with and make something work. I have a bunch of 5" copper discs 1/2" thick. I was going to machine the middle down to 0.050-0.060 for the ProCap, cut an o ring groove on both side, drill the bolt pattern of the end pieces so it all bolts together. That way each lens is mounted in the tower and have no issues with assembly.

Just like the picture you posted but they will be round.

waxernz

Cool cant wait to see the final result. Should look amazing. Although if you have the tools already and price isnt an object, you could just machine the ends as well and add ferrules. For an all copper sight tower. I do like the mix of stainless and copper myself.

Diesellover

Larry is shipping my parts, will be getting them middle of next week. Hope to start machining my plates by the weekend!!!!!!!! Now I have a few different designs in my head, 2 regular caps and 1 ProCap is what I think is going in the plate as of today. Hope to get some pictures up here soon.