STILL BUILD... WHICH TYPE

[Kenster]

hello o learned bretheren..

i am jack of playing with my T500 needle valve as it is dong my head right in.. and maybe i deserve it cos i have a 500.
i have searched and searched, this and many other avenues, and am quite seriously confused.
i am convinced i have the skills to 'do a build'...no elaborate bubblers with sight glass gizmoes, just something humble, yet effective.
as has been said many times before and i do acknowledge it, that the end product from a T500 is quite ok, BUT i think the next step is awaiting.
Please dont refer me to yet another post as i am sure it will lead to my quitting the booze completely (well probably not quite, but almost..HA HA)

After all that... VM or LM...
i really dont want to sacrifice quality but i cant see the point of sitting around for days by choosing a slow dripper.
I plan to use a 2" copper column as a base and whatever else is needed and wish to retain the T500 boiler.
I am concerned about the total height, relative to the power it supplies and am kind of leaning toward the '2 cup' (or similar design) by bokakob mainly because i really cant find a build that i can understand in terms of its clear schematic presentation...plus i am too stingy to buy plans which i may not go with.
Plus, if the exercise does not give me significant change , then i might just suck it up and stay where i am...
thanks for putting up with my despair...
Ken

[Doubleuj]

Don't panic Ken, what sort of drink are you looking for? This will help with advice on still choice

[WalterWhite]

Don't panic Ken, what sort of drink are you looking for? This will help with advice on still choice

:text-+1: i think the most important question you need to answer.

If you are looking to make neutral drinks and flavour them then you have some choices to make regarding reflux stills ...

If you like drinking whisky and rum (like me) then build a simple pot ... Save your feints from your flavoured runs and every now and then run them through your 500 for some nice neutral

[Andy]

if you are deciding between LM and VM im guessing you are looking at neural spirits.

VM are more set and forget as it has a constat reflux ration. you don't need to adjust anything during the run, unlike the LM.
VM generally give a more hearts and heads and tails compress.
LM are better at flavour washes than the VM giving ability to make a variety of spirits
LM is easier to build
speed is basically the same

[WTDist]

i really dont want to sacrifice quality but i cant see the point of sitting around for days by choosing a slow dripper.
I plan to use a 2" copper column as a base and whatever else is needed and wish to retain the T500 boiler.

May i suggest going to 3" with a 3" to 2" reducer. You will be able to go much faster, or same speed with better quality. 3" is noticeably bigger and will sit on the T500 boiler. 1m of 4", now thats too big :))

[Kenster]

Thanks guys..this is why this site is excellent... no BS... just good old, genuine advice.
Andy, you have nailed my concerns pretty well straight up...
i am happy to perfect a good neutral as i am not so much into whisky etc. although i have some faux whisky (neutral in an oak barrel) and it is OK...
WT... not sure if i can be bothered with the big kahuna build by going up to 3 inch...i may well regret it later... but thats just me...not a great decision maker.
So for now i will concentrate on a VM build .
I would love to keep you all up to date with pics etc... but i just dont have these skills.

once again... thanks heaps for all input.
Ken
PS. was kind of wanting to retain the t500 column, stripping the guts out and increasing height via condenser(in copper) and adding appropriate bits that are needed for a VM.. is that a sound concept? or am i going about it the wrong way, in terms of column height etc..The reasoning is that all the boiler lid fittings are already there with no need to re jig stuff.
Got me thinkin about going to 3" now... christ... tooo much to learn

[WTDist]

Take it from me, look at my signature, T500 mod. Soldering ss to copper is hard, better to make a new column all together, and cheaper if you get it from a metal scrap yard. No mater what you build as long as you make an easy flange you can use one of FSD's T500 adapters which i now use.

adapter


this makes 3" more real. Take it from me, i modded my T500 and cost me a bundle, 3" doesn't cost much at a scrappy and the lid can more than handle it. I had 1.55m of packing plus my RC and bends and it was good.


Now im making a 4" bubbler after spending hundreds of $$$

[Kenster]

WT.. thx for the heads up... more decisions to mull over.

That is a mean mother T500 mod you got there...impressive
Serious question though, is it necessary for such a tall column to achieve what we are chasing...I was trying to avoid a lot of sections, tris' etc.
does such a tall column help with purity, run speed...advantages??


appreciate your involvement...there is no stopping you...builder extraordinaire..

[WTDist]

taller gets better compression of heads hearts and tails. width, like 3" or 4" gives faster speed. Diameter changes volume of a column greatly. a 4" column with 25mm of liquid holds 400% more than the same 25mm of liquid in a 2". the bigger you go the faster you can go, exponentially. see here With it that tall (1.55m packing) i hit azeo on single runs but now i just use 550mm of packing as i scrapped the T500 column (SS is hard to work with, get good seals with solder ) and used the rest to make a 2" bubbler. Go 3" minimum if you can and get the adapter. Made my own adapter, was hard and didnt solder right so i went and bought the adapter. saver the solder but its hard to use now.

Key tip. don't try go around what is a sure thing to do a cheap way. Sure thing works, cheap way :handgestures-thumbdown:

I should know :))

[Kenster]

WT.. thx for the theory..i did see your spreadsheet but wasnt quite ready to really appreciate it.. kind of am now.
What is '25mm' of...mean. Sorry , i dont get it.
I see your point of do it right..first time and i try to, normally, but cant really justify going to 3" as i already have a heap of 2" stuff, just wasnt sure which direction i should take.
I will pursue the 2" VM and hope it suits (the t500 was ok for quality and i put up with the speed of takeoff but the whole FREAKEN needle valve has made me go a bit psycho.
Once again.. a genuine thanks for your steering me around the right way.

[Kenster]

WT... you got my juices flowing buddy.
I am starting a 3inch build..
i am practical but dont do numbers too well. ... is the T500 capable of supplying enough heat for a 3" column. (say around 750m high)
Everyone says you need a large diameter ball/gate valve for the take off, is the output volume so great that a 1/4 inch needle valve cannot cope.
I thought needle valves had more precision...no good?
Hope someone picks this up...Cheers

[Zak Griffin]

There's a formula for the size of gate valve you need on a VM somewhere... Basically the valve has to be big enough for the vapour to want to travel through it rather than just keep heading straight up and out the open top of the column. Needle valves are too small, ball valves aren't ideal because you need precise control.

[WTDist]

The T500 will be fine. strip all your runs for nuetral and when uyou do a spirit run it will be much faster.

Before i had my controller made i had low wines in a 1.55m packed section which you can see here. I flooded it on full power with 21L of 40% and it was spraying out 95% at about 5 - 10L (ended up stripping it out and collected 2L to drink, was triple distilled in the end)an hour, very un steady flow but with a 3" i think you should get at least 3L hour steady. cant say for sure but you will def get some good speed with low wines. I back off to about 120V or 130V to run low wines in my 2" or it floods or my RC cant handle it.

More ABV washes need less power to boil and stuff so if you keep throwing the same power while increasing ABV it will also increase speed which the 3" can handle