6 Week Bubbler Challenge

[Brendan]

WOW, who gives a shit how long that took, that is fucking awesome :clap: :clap: :clap:

Haha thanks Sam, that's what I thought too! :-D

Thanks everyone for all the support, it couldn't have happened without the input of everyone on this site. I hope that I am able to give back and help others that undertake similar projects :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[MacStill]

No need to give back B, you've given plenty just by having this topic going (for so long) :-p

Seriously mate, I'm raising my glass to you right now..... :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[googe]

Nice work Brendan, you should be very proud.

[Gas on]

Very nice! sweet bit of kit Brendon :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Bushy]

The Demon. Awesome lookin still there Brendan. I reckon The Demon would keep a Dragonslayer for a pet. "Fetch me a beer Dragonslayer"
You still have to run the bloody thing mate. Startin to think you might not actually drink. Think i'll get a chant goin
"Run The Still"
"Run The Still"
"Run The Still"

[tickle]

Run the still!
Run the still!
Send me booze!
Send me booze!

Sorry, lost my focus...

Send me booze! Send me booze!

I'll drink that demon piss

[Brendan]

Haha thanks for that Bushy

Will hopefully be running it on the weekend when I get some time. Will do a vinegar run, have a 50L TPW cleaning wash ready, and have 40L of All Bran Wheat Flakes low wines to run for vodka. Then I'll have to get onto the all grain whisky :D

[baldoss]

Nice work mate, she's a beauty :clap:

[Yummyrum]

Brendan
That's a very sweet arse piece of gear.. Love it :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Like the matching red eye fill port in the Keg too !

[rb20Siliva69]

That is f'ing sweet... Going to have to take the plunge my self!
Did you have plans you made up to go of for dimension's etc?

Well done mate... Well done!

[Brendan]

That is f'ing sweet... Going to have to take the plunge my self!
Did you have plans you made up to go of for dimension's etc?

Well done mate... Well done!

Thanks mate :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Didn't have plans made up, except for scribbling things out on paper as I went. It was all in my head from various other builds and researching here on the site. I can give you a quick run down though:

- 4" diameter
- Modules 140mm high
- Downcomers at 25mm
- Sight glasses sit only 'just' above that 25mm mark
- Every module is made using easy flanges, including sight glass ports
- RC is 3", 130mm high, with 4x 1" tubes
- PC is 2", 500mm long, with 5x 1/2" tubes
- Parrot is 1" body, and made only just big enough to take the smallest alcometer available (165mm) to 100% ABV on scale
- Plates are perforated plate style, with 1/16" or 1.6mm holes, spaced in a 5mm grid pattern.
- Approx 290 - 310 holes per plate which constitutes 7.6% - 8% wet plate surface area (5-10% is the operating range, with 8% being considered ideal)

There's the plans :D If you don't understand any of that, start reading and you'll be building your own in no time :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Brendan]

For the easy flange sight glasses...

Anyone had the problem where the sight glasses appear leak proof when testing them individually (each module face down, with just the sight glass port filled with water to check for leaks)...but then hook them all together and fill the column with water for a thorough test and water pools in the bottom of the tri-clamps in front of the sightglasses (3 out of 6)...

Or maybe they're fine, and by filling the whole column with water, I'm putting it under more pressure than what they would take under normal operation?? :think:

Edit: I have them each a little bit upright, and it pooled in the same ones...so it's not the pressure, and they leak slightly when upright, but not when face down...great! ~x(

[tickle]

If its constiantly the bottom, I'd'not sweat it; I think your assessment of the pressure is correct. 2.31 feet of column height is equal to 1 psi.

[emptyglass]

I'd imagine that 3 out of 6 glasses are leaking, all be it only slightly.
Try your best to get them sealed, nothing worse than leaks mid run and the glasses leaking usually means a mid run shutdown - never fun.
They might be ok under run conditions, but its your chioce. If 3 are good, why not get the other 3 good as well. You could try swapping the position of the modules to see if its the weight of the water (put leakers at the bottom, then the top?)

[Brendan]

Thanks tickle but I think I've disproved that...it pools in the bottom of SG's 2, 3 &
4...but the bottom one is fine! 8-}

I guess they just aren't sealing, but I thought it strange that they hold water for hours face down...

[Brendan]

Thanks EG :handgestures-thumbupleft:

You wanna know why I don't just get them sealed? Because I've broken about 20+ glasses x $5 = $100+... :shifty:

I fucking hate them :roll:

[googe]

Thanks EG :handgestures-thumbupleft:

You wanna know why I don't just get them sealed? Because I've broken about 20+ glasses x $5 = $100+... :shifty:

I fucking hate them :roll:

:o fucken hell, hope I don't break that many, then again I couldn't afford that many lol. When you had it sitting face down was it resting on the sight glass furelles?. If you were it could have been the weight of the still helping to seal them. Good luck mate.

[emptyglass]

Thanks EG :handgestures-thumbupleft:

You wanna know why I don't just get them sealed? Because I've broken about 20+ glasses x $5 = $100+... :shifty:

I fucking hate them :roll:

I'm stabbin in the dark, but I'm guessing your flanges are not "flat". If you sit a glass on the flange and it "rocks", its not ready to use. A little tapping with a hammer and a flat bit of something underneath should sort them out. Remember, just let the metal know you are the boss.
Don't squeeze the triclamps on bare glass unless the base is flat, even then they might chip, teflon tape is good to help here. wrap the glass in it before fitting the clamp and squeezing it.

[tickle]

I like that "let the metal know you're the boss" when i do that, its a trip to the scrap pile!
You'll get it B; im have posting issues, but i think Harry mentioned aruarium silicone in one post, and Mash Rookie wrapps o rongs in teflon; i believe he uses trap adapters and not clamps though. EG and others work magic with cork. You are too close to the finish line, keep at it.

[Brendan]

Thanks guys...I think EG hit the nail with the rocking issue...

I thought they were flat as road kill...I'd been flattening them against a 3" ferrule...but I have noticed a very very slight rocking in the glass against it... :cry: