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ProCaps vs Mini Bubble Caps for a 200L Boiler and T Section Addition Advice

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  • It's a hemisphere thing. :))

    Nah, i don't have a six inch system operational down here. The 5" has proved much more popular as a stepping stone to the 8".

    StillDragon Australia & New Zealand - Your StillDragon® Distributor for Australia & New Zealand

  • Funny that you mention it, because I am into the fibbionic thing that teaches the principle that whatever I do is right and unquestionable.

    Pay no attention if I ask an occasional question. Doesn't mean I don't know the answer, it just means that I am testing the rest of you.

  • edited July 2015

    @TAD said: clickeral - She ;) not he is happy with the 80% flavour profile as I mentioned above. Very impressive that you can get 30l in 3-4 hours at my current collection rate it would take me 10 hours to collect 30 litres!?

    Sorry to clarify I can run a 30L wash through my boiler in about 3-4hours (if I start with a wash at 10% in the boiler)

    Normally when your percentage drops you run faster so I am confused as to how you are not getting the output :(

  • edited July 2015

    @punkin said: I won't be stocking the 6" into the future (although i can special order it), but i have enough bits here to build one (i have 4 tees only) and would be happy to talk about running it out.

    Hey @punkin really tempted however I don't have the space atm and need to buy a house before I spend any more $$$$

    I will send you an email about the kegs once I speak with the person whose garage I am brewing out of haha

    Unless anyone wants to sell me a cheap house in Melbourne :p

  • @TAD So what brand of Column are you running? Where did it come from and how old is the unit?

    IF it's a StillDragon, and if you have the old style bubble caps? have they been opened up to maximum hole size in the bubble cap and downcomer base? (6 holes opened up to max diameter?) This mod would drastically change your output speed... THERE are some old threads that deal with this...

    this hole size modification effects the vapor flow up column and the speed and amount of material going down the column ... and changes the column output significantly

    FS

  • @Clickeral said: Hey Punkin really tempted however I don't have the space atm and need to buy a house before I spend any more > $$$$

    I will send you an email about the kegs once I speak with the person whose garage I am brewing out of haha

    Sorry mate, someone got in under your neck on both counts. :-\"

    StillDragon Australia & New Zealand - Your StillDragon® Distributor for Australia & New Zealand

  • @punkin said: Sorry mate, someone got in under your neck on both counts. :-\"

    That's cool you snooze you lose :P

    Might have found a semi ok house to look at next weekend, need to talk to the bank some more though sigh

  • edited July 2015

    @punkin that dual downcomer option is quite interesting when you compare it to the 3 ProCap version.

    3x ProCaps total circumference 339 mm
    4x mini caps total circumference 351 mm

    I am not going to calculate the slot areas, but they will be fairly close.

    In effect you have 2 different options a 4" plate that are very similar. Just slightly different cap distributions on the plate. Its just personal choice which you pick and the 2x regular downcomers vs 3x ProCap downcomers, will probably work out close in the liquid handling capability also.

  • I'm not just a pretty footed guy. :D

    StillDragon Australia & New Zealand - Your StillDragon® Distributor for Australia & New Zealand

  • @FullySilenced - I am using a still dash 4" with 4 plates. I purchased the still in July last year but it she has only been in use over the last 3 months. I am using a 200 litre boiler. I have the mini caps which I believe are "old" tech now. Can the mini caps be modified as you mentioned?

  • @Clickeral after getting some advice and doing some more research it appears that my still is not running faster because I am using a 4" on a 200 litre boiler and should in fact be using a 6" and ideally an 8". As a temporary measure I need to make the call to either move my 4 plates to pro caps with will increase my speed, or add two t sections ( with pro plates) ( I wanted to add to sections to give a cleaner taste to some more neutral spirits) and this will be mixed with the existing mini caps. I realise this is a temporary measure and that I will have to do the upgrade to a bigger unit in about 6 months time.

  • @TAD said: FullySilenced - I am using a still dash 4" with 4 plates. I purchased the still in July last year but it she has only been in use over the last 3 months. I am using a 200 litre boiler. I have the mini caps which I believe are "old" tech now. Can the mini caps be modified as you mentioned?

    Yes, the mods are relatively simple.

    If you have a Dremel you can cut and remove the bit of copper on the riser that separates each hole. Leaving the copper in place at each polar end to supply enough structural integrity so that the cap can be installed securely.

    Or you can drill the existing holes to the next larger size.

    I prefer the Dremel method as it does create more open area.

    StillDragon North America - Your StillDragon® Distributor for North America

  • edited July 2015

    Then you can also remove several of the teeth on your downcomer cup in order to insure more liquid can flow unobstructed.

    Hope I said all of that legibly?

    I have some pics of a riser mod that I'll try to dig up for you......they are around here some where........

    StillDragon North America - Your StillDragon® Distributor for North America

  • edited July 2015

    Found it.

    image

    20141217_103824.jpg
    800 x 600 - 41K

    StillDragon North America - Your StillDragon® Distributor for North America

  • Yes the holes can be drilled. If I recall 5.5mm was the max size you could drill. But you could mill two holes to make three slots. The idea is to increase the hole size till the total area equalled the area of the bore of the caps or downcomers ...taking off every other slot tooth on the downcomers caps so not to restrict the flow.

  • That's my best guess for you... early caps had 3mm or 4mm holes ...good luck

    FS

  • @TAD said: Clickeral after getting some advice and doing some more research it appears that my still is not running faster because I am using a 4" on a 200 litre boiler and should in fact be using a 6" and ideally an 8". As a temporary measure I need to make the call to either move my 4 plates to pro caps with will increase my speed, or add two t sections ( with pro plates) ( I wanted to add to sections to give a cleaner taste to some more neutral spirits) and this will be mixed with the existing mini caps. I realise this is a temporary measure and that I will have to do the upgrade to a bigger unit in about 6 months time.

    The size of the boiler shouldn't make a difference to output speed, it should just effect how long you have to run the still for.

    But I'm getting lost so good luck with going forwards :)

  • One other thought. Very early caps some had longer ss screws that possibly restricted flow...check for that as well

    FS

  • One sure sign of a possible early cap is if the retainer or downcomer base is Lead Free Brass instead of copper...

    This thread keeps bugging me and i keep remembering crap from years ago that was early SD development stuff

    A lot of this info was on MD and is no longer available... what a loss of history in this regard...

    happy stilling

    FS

  • @TAD, so tell us if my theory is correct about the holes and caps n downcomers?

  • Visited with TAD today by phone, TAD has the new style slotted bubble cap bases with plenty of area open best i can tell...

    Published rates for a 4" is 4 liters an hour i think...

    If your going to distill and need volumes of distillate ... you may want to look at an upgrade in column size in the future.. 8" maybe along with the additional electric requirements to run the larger column.

    With a larger column, volumes of mash or wash to feed it may be the limiting factor...

    happy stillin,

    FS

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