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2.5" (formerly known as 3") Bubble Column

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  • @CothermanDistilling hey you're supposed to be on vacation!! :))

  • regarding the rods, if we had a stainless or hard copper tube, with a small, maybe 4mm all-thread in it, it might be lighter weight and sturdier than compared to a solid 8mm all-thread or threaded end rod... people could cut both to get the right length in case the glass was not to spec... maybe the 4mm rod would have to be a decent spec stainless, or even grade 8 regular steel, but I think it would be worth it...

  • edited August 2014

    @vooharmy said: Lloyd - I am following this particular project with great enthusiasm, I think your CD range of stills are absolutely amazing as there is nothing like it! The customer gasket that you are using seems to make the glass very stable, what if instead of the rods you where to use some sort of adjustable SS cables. It would be a fantastic alternative on a still of this size to adjust the plates, they have these types of adjustable cables on IKEA furniture and they can be made rather tight. They have the added side benefit of being minimalistic! Anyway food for thought, keep up the great work! I think when you have this all nutted out I know a few "mammas" I can send your way!

    That is a brilliant idea @vooharmy ! Just not sure it would be stable enough to support the condensor etc.

    @Myles said: CothermanDistilling . Now you have done it!! Mentioned the option of structural stainless steel components with decorative covers. Who is going to be the first to ask for anodized aluminium tubes to cover the stainless rods? :))

    I was to have introduced anodised cover rods for the 4" and 8" Cd's but the logistics of having them done proved too much for a guy from a country town. If anyone knows of a place that sells the tube already anodised as a stock item i'd love to get an email about it.

    So far the threaded rod is really the simplest and cheapest option. It can be cut to size, joined with joining nuts or covered by lengths of polished copper, or as in the case of my own still, stainless tube.

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  • edited August 2014

    @Lloyd said: Since the ends are 2" but the body is 2.5" it seems confusing to call it 2.5" as folks will think the clamps and reducers need to be 2.5". Should we just refer to it as a 2"?
    That also has a hidden danger where some will think the parts will interchange with their 2" Sight Tower, which they won't do.
    It is a custom modified 2.5" sight tower that is designed to attach with 2" clamps. Wow, what a mouthful.

    On another note, I live quite far from a McDonald's but passed by one today after several months and I REALLY NEEDED A BIG MAC FIX. But once inside I saw a cool toy so I had to buy a kid's meal instead :)

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    This one landed in my backyard the other day. I tried to catch it in a AAaaaahhhhGotcha BugCatcher after i shot the pic, but it was too quick for me.

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  • edited August 2014

    Ain't nothing worse than a fake dragon!!!

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  • Spoiler.

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  • When is this going to hit the market here in the States.

  • I'd guess about 2 months to get the parts there.
    We might express a couple there soon.

  • edited August 2014

    I certainly don't need one, but I will certainly be getting one for my pilot batches ;) Hard to imagine a better learner still too, what with full visual feedback...

  • I was able to slip enough stuff to put together 6 Baby Dragons into the sea freight for USA that leaves port in a few days. I'm keeping the original here until the naming winner is decided but one of the 6 going to USA is reserved for @FullySilenced because he deserves one gratis. He not only had the most entries (by far!!) but he has been a die hard SD supporter and its high time we did something to acknowledge it.
    If he puts it on eBay with a $1 minimum bid it could lead to fisticuffs =))

    I'm leaving to visit the US in a few days and hope FS and I can meet up. I've ordered enough parts to be made while I'm gone to produce 50 Baby Dragons, which I think is a good start. I'll work out the pricing when I return to China in about two weeks.
    I know how much each part costs but we haven't had the time to calculate the packaging costs for the glass.

    Cheers and THANK YOU to everyone that contributed to the Baby Dragon's development.

  • Fully gets one? He's been drooling for a month or more now, I think he broke his IC truck just so he could stay home and think up more names. Cheeky bastard ;)

  • @Lloyd I hope you have some heading to Europe ( UAE might be asking a bit too much). It looks like I may need to re-locate which seriously screws up my own construction plans. I may need to put my own copper build on hold and use a CD instead. What are the EU prices on baby and 4" Cd's?

  • @Rockchucker said: Fully gets one? He's been drooling for a month or more now, I think he broke his IC truck just so he could stay home and think up more names. Cheeky bastard ;)

    :)) he did burn a few brain cells in the process. IC truck prolly be down for a while yet! =))

  • IC Truck has an air cooled engine, an OMC kinda like an airplane engine... had a cylinder failure at the cast iron sleeve to cast aluminun head section... its a blind cylinder... overhead valves.. .. Installed a different engine this week.. and just bringing the truck back up to what it was when i made it 12yrs ago for the son... found out by accident last night that it has back up lights.... i found a frame mounted switch and was wondering wtf it was... looked it up on the manual and dang just needs a spring to actuate it...

  • Thank YOU Lloyd and StillDragon! I look forward to getting all the parts and pieces...

    It's exciting! I have about 8000 watts in a keg (with controller) so i should be able to see what it's absolutes will be...

    Again Thank YOU!

    Still Planning on catching up with you in the states...

    Happy Stillin and Safe Travels,

    FS

  • Sweet! @FullySilenced can add that to the upcoming Omegon and have the whole kit and caboodle, and a freaking ice cream truck to boot!. Say, FS, do you use that truck for cooling water reservoir cooling? Bet it would work just right.. :))

  • Well deserved FS, i was barracking behind the scenes for you. You have been a voice of reason against some of the madness across the net, and i for one appreciate you sticking your neck out for what you believe is right and true.

    It was pretty clear you were keen on the baby dragon :))

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  • Congrats Fully,ya hit it hard eh! Now give your brain cells a rest and sell some Ice Cream, :)>-

    It is what you make it!

  • @punkin said
    "You have been a voice of reason against some of the madness across the net, and i for one appreciate you sticking your neck out for what you believe is right and true."

    Could not have said it any better. +1 to you @punkin and @FullySilenced Now hurry up n fix that IC truck!! em kids is counting on ya! :-c

  • Congrats, certainly put the effort in :)

  • Lloyd can you put up a picture of the baby dragon on your pot belly boiler - just to illustrate the scale of it?

    IIRC yours is a 70 litre one, so it might be a bit too big. Is special order of a smaller boiler possible?

  • I'm leaving in a few days to visit the US and after I return I could do that.
    Mine is a 70L and it can be made in any size but the optimum price per liter is at about 380L (100 US gallons). Below that size the price per liter increases because the labor begins to out-weigh the material costs. Above that size and the wall thickness increases and doesn't become optimal again until about 1000L.
    There is a very slight difference between a 120L and a 200L. There is no price difference between a 70L and a 120L.
    The Baby Dragon will probably live perched on top of a stockpot or beer keg. I showed it on a 50L milk can which would make a pretty setup.

  • The squat shaped fusti would be nice. I use a keg but can't help but wonder how a smaller tower like this would look on my 45l copper hot water cylinder as its also that more squat shape. The downside being a manhole cover looks to cost a lot. 6" triclamp is cheaper but not as Cool in the looks department.

  • who cares about cool ... functional is where its at....

    happy stillin

    FS

  • edited August 2014

    Yeah. I may just add a triclamp endcap of some size. Not that its really to much of an issue with a lighter system to remove the entire head. I have never had the benefit of an extra port so don't know what I'm missing. Has anyone tried building a dephleg into one of the sight glasses? A 2" one would look pretty sweet paired with this. as far as looks go depends where you store it and how happy the other half is lol. I plan on having mine on display behind a bar eventually out in the garden. We have a wine cellar shed. I want to put bifold windows in side for bar and have still setup against opposite wall. Its only a small shed but the best place for it so making it look good and tidy for guests matters. I run webstore from home so no garage space. Store takes half the house :p

  • Well then your not just stillin your makin a showplace of a sort... then what it looks like is important .. not just what you can make with it...

    Your in NZ where distillation is legal.. so so do what you think is right for you and yours...

    Make a peep a boo parlor so you can show your equipment off with pride...

    happy stilling

    FS

  • A copper cassette type dephlegmator is do-able. Size it correct and the outer copper cylinder is an active cold surface that you could see through the glass.

  • ding lightbulb... have a copper cassette type dephleg incorporated into and hang down from the reducer that is normally above any dephleg.... it can hang into a stainless section or a sight tower... if using a CD, just add another glass section or two... how much easier could it be on a CD???? how the hell did I not think of this before????? dibs on the first one, @Lloyd , I don't care how many posts FS puts up ;-)

  • now, how to make the cassette a work of art... corrugated copper wrapped into a cylinder? naaa... too plain and hard to make the caps.. A small forest of convoluted tubes with the water flowing inside them? naaa... too hard to make the caps... ooooh..... 4-10 copper perf plates 1-3cm apart that are liquid cooled by a stepped coil brazed to them? that would look cool!

  • U use corrugated. SS gas line. For the coil. Make it a spiral or a pancake one like I showed in photos months ago

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