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In this Discussion
- Badger May 2013
- bentstick November 2013
- Cambo November 2013
- captainshooch October 2013
- Chalmer November 2013
- cooperville October 2013
- CothermanDistilling November 2013
- crozdog November 2013
- crystal_skull December 2013
- Fluxed October 2013
- FullySilenced August 2013
- harley May 2013
- jbierling December 2013
- kimbodious October 2016
- Law_Of_Ohms October 2013
- Lloyd December 2013
- MickyMoonshine December 2013
- monty July 2013
- Moonshine November 2013
- Nake May 2013
- NastySpill October 2013
- nvnovrts November 2013
- Philter August 2013
- punkin December 2013
- radiatorboy August 2013
- Smaug October 2013
- StillOnFire August 2013
Comments
Oh joy! The next round of basket prototypes will ship to me today.
They are not made of screen wire but are made like the filter disks - acid etching SS sheet. They should be much stronger and more durable.
Getting very close now, I hope. This is the final piece of the puzzle before the custom boxes are made.
Those look great... is the side lap spot welded? or how is it secured i can see the crossbar looks to be spotwelded as the end tapers a bit... nice what does the bottom look like ?
I'll know more after they arrive but I think they are resistance welded - as you say, spot welded. I don't have a good view of the bottom but it is just like the sides.
Really hoping these baskets are acceptable so this long-drawn-out project finally completes.
They look really nice at this point probably better than is required if that can happen... good job
Resistance welding can be a continuous weld at the lap so that would be better than spot welded
In this view, FullySilenced, it does appear they are spot welded.
It's a certainty that when they arrive I'll fixate on them until something new arrives.
I do believe they will work... its a basket... as long at it contains the herbs and fits into your assembly you should be good to go... the hole pattern is i will throw out a wild guess of what 40% open? Will that be enough?
Very, very nice Lloyd,
Will these be available separately if they can be shipped safely? I'd like to try one out as an intake filter when I rack my UJSM etc.
I'm not up to speed on how acid etching works, but it seems a very precise method. Time to google.....
@FullySilenced, Its 50% open so hopefully the bottom will not act as a bubble plate.
@Philter, yes they will be available separately and a heavy-duty cardboard box will be in the works if I ever get the basket correct.
A 4" filter disk between 2 TC Pipe sections might be easier to clean? But you might be right, with the sides also filtering the process should speed up quite a bit.
The baskets arrived this evening and looking really good so I set up the still to test everything out.
It was not a test to make gin but rather a test of the equipment.
Everything worked just fine and I can now move forward with ordering the production to be made. FINALLY, right?
I tested it with and without a botanical and I'm certain it is worthy of production. Over the next few days we will haggle price and quantity with the different factories involved in this project to get SD customers the best value. I should know in about a week what the price will be for the kit and what will be included.
Remember that the housing is oriented either right hand or left hand and so far I'm leaning on stocking more lefts than rights. (If the product condenser is on the left then it's a left hand gin basket kit, GBK-L).
The full production will take about a month to complete and at least another month to get to your distributor. Touch base with your distributor over the next few weeks to reserve yours if you are interested because a new item is difficult for us to know how many to stock. After 6 months or so of sales history we usually get the idea of how many to keep on hand... usually.
If one were using two 4" bubble T sections as a housing, would this basket fit?
So do you mean your right hand or left hand if you are standing facing the still O Festery One?
StillDragon Australia & New Zealand - Your StillDragon® Distributor for Australia & New Zealand
Sweet, Thanks Lloyd. Looking forward to grabbing one.
No, 2 regular bubble tees are too tall but a regular and a reduced height 4x4x2 tee would work.
A photo taken during the shakedown. The CIP for the product condenser is not quite ready yet so parts were cobbled together until a special 2" 90 is made to clean that up.
I have one on order but it didn't arrive in time.
I ran the setup without the basket and once everything was up to temperature I shut the still down by dialing down the controller power and sending it into full reflux. Then I put the basket in (I figure 15 seconds max to do that) and then turned off the water to the dephlegmator and dialed up the power.
After collecting 2 liters of "gin" I shut everything down. The botanicals were dry to the touch and only 140ml was drained from the housing. Insulating the housing would probably result in less passive reflux that needs to be drained.
so was it actually gin?
Thats fantastic Lloyd. All that work you,ve put in on this you deserve a holiday.
StillDragon Australia & New Zealand - Your StillDragon® Distributor for Australia & New Zealand
I agree Punkin! I'd seriously consider purchasing one.
Also, did you used a left hand column on the right side of your still? I'm just thinking if it were mounted as per your drawing, the hot vapour travelling into the Gin housing would re-evaporate the fluid in the bottom and leave less to be drained? Similar to a thumper. :D
Thats fantastic Lloyd. What botanicals did you use & how does the end product taste?
Can't wait to experiment with one myself.
I'm sure there was some re-evaporation going on but I guess not enough to overcome the passive reflux from the stainless steel housing that was exposed to ambient room temperature. I'd bet that even a little insulation on the housing would dry most or all of that.
Oh no, not by a long shot. The only botanical that I had to play with last night was Gan Cao but it definitely extracted the flavor. Unlike some bots I've experimented with before on previous gin basket prototypes, the Gan Cao slop (or what do we call the liquor in the bottom of the housing?) was clear and clean - not muddy or colored at all - and the flavor was as good as what went through the product condenser.
The gin basket housing that I used was left hand, GBH-L. (Gin Basket Housing Left)
Essence? condensate?
Essence is nice when it comes out clear and clean. The juniper definitely produced slop though. :-? Juice?
Appears we get to invent a new word here to name the stuff that's left in the bottom of a gin basket housing.
Punkin named the Dragon Fire alcoholometers and Law Of Ohms named the Crystal Dragon. Philter named the charcoal filter after himself.
I am NOT going to ask PrariePiss to name the fluid that's left in the housing!
I still don't get it. You have drawn a very simple and easy to understand drawing that says a GB coming out of the right side of the still as i'm looking at it is called a GB-R. Then you told me when you used one it is called a left hand GB-L?
StillDragon Australia & New Zealand - Your StillDragon® Distributor for Australia & New Zealand
Yes. I used a left hand Gin Basket housing, GB-L.
LOO has suggested that I add a 2" ferrule to the housing. That would increase costs slightly but would eliminate the need to stock LH and RH as each housing would be both LH and RH. Great idea!!
and the stock unit would come with a blank cap, seal/gasket/clamp for that ferrule?
as part of the set?
Yes, that would make better sense than confusing Punkin.
The gin basket is in sight now. The parts are slowly flowing in for the first production run of 50 kits. Yesterday we made the trek to the box factory and after much debate the boxes are being made now.
We settled on an arrangement of smaller boxes within each kit box. One large box for the housing with the 4" end caps inverted into the housing and a 4" clamp on each end. That box will be in the center of the kit box to avoid having a one side of the shipment heavier than the other.
The 2 filter baskets each get a box and one is longer than the other to accept the grid stand. A small box to make up the difference between these 2 boxes was also needed. The filter basket boxes are smaller in height than the gin basket housing so 2 more boxes were made to make up that difference. All box material is heavy duty cardboard and the entire arrangement is designed to protect the filter baskets from the heavy housing.
The 2 empty boxes above the filter boxes add extra strength to help insure the survival of the filter. A 2" ferrule is pointed at each gin basket no matter how its packed so if its dropped on its side the ferrule could damage the filter. An empty box is stronger and easier for me to source than custom styrofoam.
All of the sample boxes in the picture below were handmade.
An outer Kit box will contain these 6 boxes and 2 of the boxes will be empty.
Two complete Kit boxes will go into a case box for shipment to SD distributors.
Estimated shipping weight of a complete GB4K (gin basket, 4", kit) is 7Kg.
Kit includes:
1 - Housing (it will now work either RH or LH)
2 - Filter Baskets, etched SS and not the screen wire basket pictured on the right
1 - Grid Stand
1 - 4" end cap with handle
1 - 4" end cap with 3/4" ferrule for drain
2 - 4" clamps and gaskets
1 - 2" clamp and gasket
1 - 3/4" clamp and gasket
1 - 3/4" TC valve
1 - 2" SGK
1 - 2" end cap
2 - choke washers
I expect the first GB4Ks to be finished and ready to ship in about 10 days.
Please note that there are TWO 2" ferrules that have NO clamps or gaskets. This is for the vapor IN and OUT of the housing. Many SD customers already have 2" 90 degree bends but for those that don't you'll need to order those from your distributor. You may also decide to use the new 2" 90 with the 3/4" port for CIP (clean in place) for your condenser.
looks brilliant mate. The only one like it for the hobby market in the world. :O)
StillDragon Australia & New Zealand - Your StillDragon® Distributor for Australia & New Zealand
I'm hoping you'll eventually piece out these kits - especially the choke gaskets & baskets.
We will. The focus is to complete the gin basket assembly now. The little parts will be available.
Extra baskets are on order and will arrive to me soon but the choke washer is a work in progress because we need more experimentation and feedback to know the right size center hole or 'choke' for the correct vapor speed. Smarter minds than mine are needed to perfect the choke washer.
Joy oh joy! The filter baskets have shipped to me today.
The area where they were made has been hard hit with flooding so after 5 days of no postal or express service in the area the factory put them all in a crate and got them onto a train. We could actually be assembling the complete units in only 2 days from now!
We live in exciting times, n'est-ce pas?