Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

Nice going mate, that’s a huge hole saw :shock: :handgestures-thumbupleft:
Just remember the next 4” ferrule has a tri clamp on it also, mine were a fraction too close and I had to grind the clamp down to make them fit, turns out it’s a common mistake :laughing-rolling:

Yeah I’ve noticed that now in some builds I have read. That’s why I’m not going any further until my other clamps arrive, just so I can be 100% certain both clamps can go on & off without too much hassle.

Quick question to those of you who have used tri-clamps on the 2” keg flange. Has anyone had issues tightening the triclamp without the triclamp bottoming out on the neck of the keg? I’m thinking I need to use the diegrinder to take a little bit off the bottom lip of the triclamp to allow it to close sufficiently with enough pressure for a water tight seal.

No problems here with the 2" clamps on my keg ferrule. I have a 2" to 4" reducer at the bottom of my column. The 2" end is flared with a ring of flattened 1/4" copper on the inside of the flange (not the normal way of doing a flange). It makes for a quite bulky flange but works nicely when clamping to my keg boiler. Also, I use an epdm seal with both ridges removed. Couldn't be happier with it.

I wonder if different brands of kegs have differences in their ferrules.

Perhaps you could post a picture?!?

What is the other flange? It could just be that it needs more meat. We haven’t had that issue, but I have read threads where home made flanges were a bit thin.

Righto I think I have an answer.

I swapped the 90 bend with the threaded reducer, both 2” ferrule ends, and the threaded reducer fits perfectly with a seal between. So I put the 90 bend back on and still floppy with the triclamp cranked right down. So I tried 2 unmodified seals and yep works, nice & tight.

I then take both fittings and compare the machining, and the 90 bend is .4mm smaller according to the vernier, and the angle of the ferrule on the threaded reducer is slightly steeper as per my extremely calibrated eyes.

As you can see in the photos the inner lip of the triclamp pulls against the inside of neck before the outer lip of the keg ferrule. As you can see, photography may not be quite one of my strengths, but hopefully it can show what I’m on about.

As a fix, I’m going to try a shim on the outside of the 90 bend ferrule to make it a bit thicker. Iv got an olive oil tin that is about 0.3mm.

ThePaterPiper wrote:What is the other flange? It could just be that it needs more meat. We haven’t had that issue, but I have read threads where home made flanges were a bit thin.

Sorry ment ferrule, standard keg one.

Poor mechanics grammar :violence-smack:

I think your over thinking these ferrels too much, mine are made out of bashed together copper pipe, not real accurate, definitely not checked within 0.4mm. The clamps are tapered so they are pretty forgiving. The one that is bottomed out shouldn't once you have a seal in there. If it still does put a thicker or another seal in.

woodduck wrote:I think your over thinking these ferrels too much, mine are made out of bashed together copper pipe, not real accurate, definitely not checked within 0.4mm. The clamps are tapered so they are pretty forgiving. The one that is bottomed out shouldn't once you have a seal in there. If it still does put a thicker or another seal in.

:text-+1:

Ok cool, thanks

Found a great solid metal work bench in gumtree, that so happens comes with a big vice & 200mm bench grinder, $150, barging in my eyes.

So while picking it up this morning we got chatting and turns out the old fella has Lukemia, and with out a suitable bone marrow donor this may be his last Christmas. I asked what blood type he was and it’s O negative one of the rare ones. But jokingly he self diagnosed himself as drinking too much from making his own booze. So the conversation shifted and he invited me to the “other” shed to show me his still.

It’s a stainless column but has a offset condenser. I’m new to the hobby and don’t know all the different designs yet. But the stories start about how he built it, the many still runs where as much spirit is consumed as what is made. Great old fella. Then he taps me on the shoulder and says, she’s needs some love but she’s yours now.

I was blown away. Then he gave me some copper pipe 3” & 2” for the bit of love the old column needs. But it’s a 100l boiler with an element from a hot water system. It did have a power controller but the rats had made sure that was beyond repair. I tried giving him some money, as it’s a very generous gift. But as he said, I can’t sell it in gumtree without getting unwanted attention. He is taking great pride passing on his column to me knowing I may not use it but certainly will respect it.

Can any one let me know what sort of column this is so I can read through some of the builds here to get my head around how this old girl works. Chances are I may never fire it up, but the boiler may have a plan for a big fat pot at some stage in the future. Dunno early days.

She looks like a Nixon Stone or offset head desighn,very similar to a boka,wich is a LM or liquid managed still,thats a ripper score on the boiler,with a few ferrules it will do the job very nicely.cheers hillzabilly ;-)

Awesome score is the boiler copper.

Cancer any cancer really sux. I lost a cousin this year to it. And one of my aunts has advanced bone cancer may be her last christmas also :cry:

Have a snoop at http://moonshine-still.com/still.pdf it gives plans for two stills ,the second valved reflux still design has been used by many myself included.cheers hillzabilly

We are worried about my mum, her doc has told her yesterday she’s severe anemic with the probable causes internal bleeding or leukaemia. My mother in laws partner has also been diagnosed with leukaemia, so thankfully that’s my round of three’s.

She’s a stainless boiler. Single sickle element. No ferrules, yet. The old brain is ticking over at quite a rate of knots. The neck on the boiler, by the eye, looks like 8”. Between the sandwich plates is a rubber seal, so that will be gone. But I’m thinking , and thinking, maybe slice up some 4” I have to make a 3-8” reducer, get a piece of 3” bent then make a 3-2” reducer and use the 2” product condenser I’m making for my 4” bubble plate column. 100l boiler with a big pot. Maybe.

Thanks Hillzabilly and Bluc, it’s going to be nice learning about something different.

Fuck it, finish the bubbler first

I would remove the square flange on top of the boiler,then cap the 8inch section with a disk of stainless and weld a 4inch ferrule on top,then ifn ya make a packed section for the bubbler this could be used for the colomn of a pot still with either a blockhead tee on top or a 4-2inch reducer and elbows to the 2inch PC.cheers hillzabilly ;-)

Ahhh, good idea, just use what I have, no need to make more stuff. Oh it’s so good to be surrounded by wise heads.

Does anyone have any experience putting copper pipe (2”) in an exhaust pipe bender to achieve a nice clean bend without using bends available from hardware stores?

Dont they come with dies for different angles?

I was hoping to bend a wide radius 90 to take the PC away from the column. But if not advisable, I’ll have to use a short straight bit into a store bought 90. Shame.