Dragon Convert

Elvis

Evening all,

I recently acquired a couple of Torpedo's from @punkin for my 2' potstill.

Outstanding product.

Thought i might pop into the forum and see what else catches the eye.

Cheers

Elvis

Moonshine

Welcome to our outstanding community, @Elvis, and be prepared, it is highly addictive. Feel yourself right at home here, and have fun! :)

Lloyd

Post pictures of your still @Elvis
And feel free to ask questions, we all like to help when we can.

punkin

Elvis is in the house!

Can't believe i was first to get to say that. :))

Glad to help Elvis. They are a great addition to a potstill, i was using two bubbleballs for a while with natural reflux from a packed copper section and it worked really well. A baby condensor would work even better i reckon.

Have a look round and settle in. There's plenty to learn and hopefully there's some insights you can share with us to make the road easier for all. That's what it's all about.

Well that and the Hokey Pokey. =D>

Elvis

Hey guys,

Thanks for the welcome, thankyou very much.

This is my rig, i'm still learning how to drive it properly. Its packed with copper scrubbers and run off a 2400watt element. I also have a T500 for neutrals that i intend to use until it dies, just so i can feel justified that i got some value out of the $700 tag.

Not sure i can contribute too much knowledge to the forum due to lack of experience. However, if i can, i will.

Punkin, let me know whats needed in order to complete the puzzle, as discussed.

Cheers All

Smaug

That's a good looking rig and really the the corner stone configuration of what the bulk of the community more recently recognizes as a hybrid.

The mantra used to be "the right tool for the right job".

This type of rig has in fact given you the right tool for any job.

EDIT: NEEDS A REFLUX CONDENSER HOWEVER.

punkin

This little fella will keep your plates full and allow you to stack the heads a a little better. It will turn it into a CM still instead of a PM still. Need 1 two inch clamp and 1 gasket, plus short hose set.

http://www.stilldragon.com.au/2-reflux-condensor-baby/

http://www.stilldragon.com.au/quick-connect-cooling-lines-short-pair/

crozdog

hi elvis.

Welcome. lots of options there. - add a reflux condenser & remove the packed section for a 2 plater for flavoured product - Remove the torpedos, packing & reflux condenser & you have an old school pot still / stripper. - add a reflux condenser to the setup in the pic for a hybrid for better neutral. IMHO a couple of runs thru this will give you heaps better product than the t500. It is a bit more work, but you could also save up a couple of strip runs using the pot or 2 plate config & load them into the boiler for a fill plate & packing spirit run for really great neutral.

You have a great platform to add to in future. Enjoy it

Elvis

@punkin said: This little fella will keep your plates full and allow you to stack the heads a a little better. It will turn it into a CM still instead of a PM still. Need 1 two inch clamp and 1 gasket, plus short hose set.

http://www.stilldragon.com.au/2-reflux-condensor-baby/

http://www.stilldragon.com.au/quick-connect-cooling-lines-short-pair/

Cheers Punkin. I will be in touch.

What i can't get my head around is how to run the still with the baby etc.

I can see how the cooling lines are configured.

I just don't understand how you monitor/adjust temperature during the run?

Elvis

Lloyd

I promise you will figure it out on the first run @Elvis unless you are truly and completely daft (as I am) and it takes on the second run.
I doubt it takes more than one run for you to figure it out.

Just kidding, I caught on during the first run, really I did. Really.

FullySilenced

Cooperville had some posted operational videos... running a dash... that may help..

punkin

Crozdog does a pretty good job of explaining it in the Dash Manual mate.

https://www.stilldragon.org/discussion/146/the-stilldragon-operation-manuals

You can either wing it, or use a thermotee to monitor the exit water temp of the reflux condensor or use a fitting with a thermoport to monitor the vapour temperature above the reflux condensor or in your top torpedo.

Elvis

Thanks fellas,

I had a quick look through the op manual. Explains a lot.

I like the idea of a thermotee monitoring the exit water temp as this is similar to the way the T500 runs. I reckon i'd be comfortable with that.

Thanks all for your patience.

Chalmer

@elvis I started with a t500 but went to a potstill then a dash2. If you read the manual it will be very easy to run even without the thermo t. I just regulate the flow out of the parrot by adjusting the water flow thru the deph. If I remember right the t500 temp is around 60°c on the dash 2 I think with the rate I was collecting at the temp was 66.4°c. But the water exit on the 500 is at the bottom of the column where the dash is at the top. A baby deph would be a great addition. I would say that would make your setup 50x better than the t500.

Lloyd

@Elvis I don't get great repeatability because I change my still's configuration so often as I have to test out so many new products.
But if I could offer any advice it would be to take good notes because when you make something that you really, really like you'll want to be able to reproduce it.
That means labeling jugs with some kind of code that leads back to your notes and at a bare minimum the jug should show the date produced, its contents and its %ABV (example, "80%LME, 20% sugar, 20120820, 64%").
After a few days the info gets foggy, a few weeks its lost, a few months it becomes a mystery.
I'm not the best at taking notes that I can find later but I'm really getting good at labeling the jugs.
I figure a fella needs a collection of no less than 6 to 8 ten liter jugs and a $1 pack of peel-and-stick labels if he owns a Dash. Anything less and you don't get to age the product long enough. More is better of course.
Assorted paraphernalia includes a collection of oak dominoes (or the like), packets of every known strain of yeast (though I tend to use only one, EC1118), this link on your computer's desktop and ticked in your SD.org bookmarks, collection jars bought by the case quantities, and a copy of my upcoming book "StillDragon, how a hobby business runs amuck" that, if it ever gets written, should probably be read while plastered if its to make any sense.