Blonde Stripper

[blond.chap]

Ok, now that the bubbler is virtually complete, I'm thinking about the next build. I'd like to make a 4" stripper, thinking about the swan neck design that seems to be so successful, few questions for anyone kindly enough to help:

- Will my 2" shotgun with 4* 1/2" inner tubes be sufficient to knock down 4.8kW?
- What should I expect to pay for 90deg and 45deg 4" curves (thinking the shorter curves)?
- Is there a way to expand 4" (avoiding the need for coupler's) without an expensive expander?
- Am I mad for thinking about trying EG's cool taper thing with 4" (between the 90deg curve and the condenser)?

[crow]

I think you simply won't use the stripper with that still you made. if ya really want to make another large diameter still why not build a 4 or 6" reflux still :handgestures-thumbupleft: .ppl generally shy away from them because ss and spp wont hold up in large diameters but we and many others have shown that there are solid strata packing materials that work every bit as good and likely better. the next great strata being tested ATM is perlite (looks promising)

[Jonno]

Ive got 4.8kw to use aswel. My 2inch handled it ok. I just gotta get the bastard to stop puking. The only other drama was the spirit was coming out hot! I dont think a bigger diameter will help that. Just need to get my shotgun going! 

[crow]

A bigger diameter should help with the puking issue but of cause is you increase the volume of vapour you are going to need a condenser to match just like any still :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[blond.chap]

You may be right about that, I guess I was thinking I could load the bubbler up with 40L of 40% and do good long runs. But a stripper might not be much more time efficient than just running the bubbler on a bigger boiler.

I'd think about an LM or VM, but with the scoria section I have on the current one I can already make a nice neutral at a reasonable rate.

So the question is, what's next?

[blond.chap]

Ive got 4.8kw to use aswel. My 2inch handled it ok. I just gotta get the bastard to stop puking. The only other drama was the spirit was coming out hot! I dont think a bigger diameter will help that. Just need to get my shotgun going! 

I've had heaps of trouble with puking in the past (mainly because I'm impatient so keep running cloudy wash), so I've started doing the following:
- Decent splash of vegetable oil (I was using butter, but some flavour seems to carry over)
- Copper off-cuts in the boiler
- Try really hard to hold off running the wash until about a week after the bubbles have stopped in the fermenter
- Keep at least 1/6th of the boiler capacity as head space

[crow]

lucky you i have a 2" ultra pure reflux still . It produces very pure ethanol but at a painful rate. hmm sounds like igger boiler build time, :twisted: maybe copper :happy-partydance:

[blond.chap]

That might be the go, I'd like to be able to make enough so I only need a run every few months to keep my stocks up. You make a copper boiler by just hitting copper plate over and over with a hammer right?

Kidding aside, that would be an awesome project, I'll have to keep an eye open for anything that looks boiler shaped.

[Linno]

You may be right about that, I guess I was thinking I could load the bubbler up with 40L of 40% and do good long runs. But a stripper might not be much more time efficient than just running the bubbler on a bigger boiler.

I'd think about an LM or VM, but with the scoria section I have on the current one I can already make a nice neutral at a reasonable rate.

So the question is, what's next?

hey B.C

you are welcome to try but i have done low wines run thru a bubbler after stripping and i wont be doing it again any time soon... i dont think that the flavours carried as well as a normal wash and it litterally took all fn day. we started in the morning and it was dusk before I just cracked it and just turned of the still.

for neutrals I am going to be adding a 500mm x 4" copper scrubber packed section to my FSD bubbler above the last T. its not much of a build project for you but..

[MacStill]

Hey BC you already have a 4" stripper/pot still, just take the plates out of your bubbler & hey presto :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[crow]

serious question : Would just not running the RC (as in have it empty) do a similar job?

[MacStill]

serious question : Would just not running the RC (as in have it empty) do a similar job?

Sure will, just that the vapour path will be some what restricted by the plates.

[MacStill]

You may be right about that, I guess I was thinking I could load the bubbler up with 40L of 40% and do good long runs. But a stripper might not be much more time efficient than just running the bubbler on a bigger boiler.

I'd think about an LM or VM, but with the scoria section I have on the current one I can already make a nice neutral at a reasonable rate.

So the question is, what's next?

hey B.C

you are welcome to try but i have done low wines run thru a bubbler after stripping and i wont be doing it again any time soon... i dont think that the flavours carried as well as a normal wash and it litterally took all fn day. we started in the morning and it was dusk before I just cracked it and just turned of the still.

for neutrals I am going to be adding a 500mm x 4" copper scrubber packed section to my FSD bubbler above the last T. its not much of a build project for you but..

There were a few factors that limited our output rates that day Linno, such as power input for an 80ish litre charge of 40%.... the day would have been a lot quicker if we could've thrown a lot more heat at the boiler :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[blond.chap]

Thanks for the feedback guys, I might give running the bubbler without plates or reflux a go sometime, though from what Linno mentioned it may not be as good as a single plated run.

I'm just itching to make something else, but I'm too bloody happy with Paris. Maybe a bigger packed section is the go to get me up to 95.63%, though a nice big copper boiler would be fun.

[blond.chap]

There were a few factors that limited our output rates that day Linno, such as power input for an 80ish litre charge of 40%.... the day would have been a lot quicker if we could've thrown a lot more heat at the boiler :handgestures-thumbupleft:

What sort of heat would you have liked?

[MacStill]

We only had 3600w to play with, so nearly 2 hours to heat up.

With low wines in the boiler and 4800w I reckon we could take at least 4 to 5 L/PH without sacrificing ABV or too much flavour, perhaps even quicker.

But with 3600w & 80 litre charge of wash I have a very relaxing 6 hours, single run & full flavour.... stripping runs really are a thing of the past for me ;-)

[blond.chap]

We only had 3600w to play with, so nearly 2 hours to heat up.

With low wines in the boiler and 4800w I reckon we could take at least 4 to 5 L/PH without sacrificing ABV or too much flavour, perhaps even quicker.

But with 3600w & 80 litre charge of wash I have a very relaxing 6 hours, single run & full flavour.... stripping runs really are a thing of the past for me ;-)

Cheers Mac, might need to be a new boiler for me then.

If I can buddy up to a good tig welder, how does welding 2 kegs together go (one on top of the other)? I feel like someone has done this here, just can't find it.

[MacStill]

too tall and narrow, much better off with a short squat boiler IMHO :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Kimbo]

single run & full flavour.... stripping runs really are a thing of the past for me ;-)

Me too, this was the whole reason I built a bubbler- i hated the stripping runs and spirit runs.
At the end of a run, I (as most people) turn of the Dephlegmator, crank the heat up and let the tails piss out.