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“Copper and Stainless Mini Still Construction”
I’m converting a 4″ carter head/gin basket into a mini still. A 500 watt element fits perfectly into the bottom 2″ port, cap the upper 2″ port, and attach a copper riser, lyne arm, and liebig condenser….I went with 3/4″ for the riser and condenser. The condenser is 12″ in length, but I maybe should have went with about 10″still some finishing to do. The 3/8 npt solder ends don’t fit tight enough to solder for the water ports. I’ll have to get those welded or try to find parts that fit. I’ll build a base for it probably some wood blocks and a way to clamp it down so its stable.Also need a power controller if anyone has an idea.
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13.5g/50L keg modular 3″ pot/VM copper&stainless w/offset gin head26g 4″ stripping still5500watts of fury
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16 Replies
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That looks awesome! You should be able to run that 500w element from a speed controller meant for a router or similar. When you say the fittings don’t fit tight enough to solder, think ones do you mean?Make Booze, not War!
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For power control, there are a lot of cheap dinner knives (edit:”dimmer knobs”) out there that can handle 500-600W, and cost ~$10. Can’t get much simpler than that, and if they work for incandescent bulbs then you know they work on a resistive load. After all, a heating element is just a really shitty light bulb.Learn from the past, live in the present, change the future.
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That looks awesome! You should be able to run that 500w element from a speed controller meant for a router or similar. When you say the fittings don’t fit tight enough to solder, think ones do you mean?I was wondering about those speed/voltage regulators! I bought one for $20, so if it works that is a sweet and easy plug-n-play optionI ordered these 3/8 npt/solder end hoping they would fit into the 3/4 x 1/2 tee for a water port
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13.5g/50L keg modular 3″ pot/VM copper&stainless w/offset gin head26g 4″ stripping still5500watts of fury
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That should work fine, no problem at that low wattage. Do you have any copper or brass tubing that will fit (Maybe with a bit of filing if required) between those two, to make up the difference? You could flare/cope them to fit closer also? Copper will do amazing things when you anneal it.Make Booze, not War!
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My god, what kind of safety gear is required to eat at your table ?________________I drank fifty pounds of feed-store corn’till my clothes were ratty and torn
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electrified dinner knives?? 13.5g/50L keg modular 3″ pot/VM copper&stainless w/offset gin head26g 4″ stripping still5500watts of fury
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I appreciate the ideas! No I don’t have a go-between on hand. and They fit very loose, so I don’t think flaring would work. maybe I can get a coupling from the hardware store. Or I’ll see if one of the local shops can weld it for a bottle of booze.13.5g/50L keg modular 3″ pot/VM copper&stainless w/offset gin head26g 4″ stripping still5500watts of fury
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That looks awesome! You should be able to run that 500w element from a speed controller meant for a router or similar. When you say the fittings don’t fit tight enough to solder, think ones do you mean?I ordered these 3/8 npt/solder end hoping they would fit into the 3/4 x 1/2 tee for a water portYou could use a couple copper flush bushings to reduce those ports. You just need to know what the actual ID and OD needs to be to determine if one will fit. I’ve used them and drilled them out to make them work before. You could file them or Dremel them too if needed. I’ve even threaded them to use male NPT fittings.
You’ll probably want to insulate that riser. 500W is not much power so I assume you’ll get a lot more passive reflux if the isn’t insulated.4″ VM Build
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I put together a small controller for a similar 500w mini still. I use the same controller for a 1200 watt element. The controller was a 4000w box that cost $14. I put that is a small hobby box and cut up a small extension cord for the power lead. Add a few wire nuts and bob’s your uncle. Some more info on that build is in the post linked below. Yes, you could have made that Liebig much shorter with only 500 watts input. Otis’ Mini gin still: viewtopic.php?t=85004Otis’ Pot and Thumper, Dimroth Condenser: Pot-n-Thumper/DimrothLearning to Toast: Toasting WoodPolishing Spirits with Fruitwood: FruitwoodBadmotivator’s Barrels: Badmo Barrels
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Beautiful construction! You can easily find a small power controller, you won’t have big problems with that power.
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This is an example….it’s not finished but just a few connections are enough. There are others already ready.
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My god, what kind of safety gear is required to eat at your table ? Wow, I missed that one! Sorry about that. Dimmer knobs.Learn from the past, live in the present, change the future.
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I use those power controllers for my small gin stills at home. Dial up what worked well previously.I also use 12V temperature controllers to look after the condensate output temperatures from worms and Liebigs as on/off control is good enough for mini stills with appropriately sized condensers. They are great for minimizing water usage when running Off Grid and have to fill the reservoir with a bucket, but I’ve gotten lazy and use them at home as well. Sit back and relax, no fiddling needed.
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You’ll definitely be able to find something that will slip between the two. I recently made a Liebig for someone and didn’t have any fittings to drop from 28mm to 22mm so I cut a straight 22mm coupler in half, rolled the ends of the 28mm over a little to touch the couplers and it soldered up fine.
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Crap photo sorry but it shows the coupler bridging the two pipe diameters.Don’t go getting it done by a tradie, you can easily sort that yourself and you’ll be happier for it.Make Booze, not War!
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Brilliant MooseMan 4″ VM Build
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Wrap some copper around the fitting so it’s a snug connection and solder in place. It’s a water line only low pressure.
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