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Zombie
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Quote: Originally posted by radiance88  | Judging from this Amazon link.. an "NPT tap" is some sort of drill bit? You use this to create threading, am I right?
So I should drill a hole in the lid (it's already got one there, probably just make it larger?), and then use this "tap" to create threading in the
lid, right? Then fit the other end of the adapter into this thread?
I just sat here for about an hour trying to figure how all of this fits together.. Sorry yes I am a pipe retard. lol |
You are correct on all counts (minus the pipe retard) I wouldn't dare go there...
Here's a Utube vid, and there are plenty more.
The first link I posted in that billy moonshine vid shows the exact fitting I am talking about.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veO270DcKXE
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radiance88
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Are you guys sure this thing is even thick enough to thread properly? It looks like I'd barely get half a turn in there.
Also, is NPT absolutely necessary? This is an American standard, correct? I was looking on my country's version of Ebay... I found some tap/die sets
with NPT, and some with metric..not that many though.
I'm not even sure I'm going to be able to find the compression adapter here.. considering that the people in the biggest hardware store in town had
absolutely no clue what plaster of paris was.. I'm pretty sure they will have no effing clue about all the stuff that I'm about to be asking them
tomorrow.
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morganbw
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| Quote: Originally posted by radiance88 | Are you guys sure this thing is even thick enough to thread properly? It looks like I'd barely get half a turn in there.
Also, is NPT absolutely necessary? This is an American standard, correct? I was looking on my country's version of Ebay... I found some tap/die sets
with NPT, and some with metric..not that many though.
I'm not even sure I'm going to be able to find the compression adapter here.. considering that the people in the biggest hardware store in town had
absolutely no clue what plaster of paris was.. I'm pretty sure they will have no effing clue about all the stuff that I'm about to be asking them
tomorrow. |
NPT is not absolutely necessary. It does offer the benefit that it is slightly tapered and normally seals well.
You have lots of options, ( welding/silver solder/brazing/compression fittings/threading/(hell you could just stick a tube in the hole and use oatmeal
or starch/flour to seal it).
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Zombie
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| Quote: Originally posted by radiance88 | Are you guys sure this thing is even thick enough to thread properly? It looks like I'd barely get half a turn in there.
Also, is NPT absolutely necessary? This is an American standard, correct? I was looking on my country's version of Ebay... I found some tap/die sets
with NPT, and some with metric..not that many though.
I'm not even sure I'm going to be able to find the compression adapter here.. considering that the people in the biggest hardware store in town had
absolutely no clue what plaster of paris was.. I'm pretty sure they will have no effing clue about all the stuff that I'm about to be asking them
tomorrow. |
Why is the hole there?
Was that a safety pop out valve?
You can rig up whatever you like. I just explained the easiest way.
The lid is plenty thick for an NPT. That stands for National Pipe Thread.
ASE is different, and they do not exchange places or uses.
Were you able to watch the videos? It's all in there.
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blogfast25
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Regards that seal on the starting point pressure cooker. Many are made of vulcanised food grade NBR. There should be no problem using that even for
drinking alcohol.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrile_rubber (uncompounded NBR)
If in doubt about leaching, soak the seal in cheap vodders for a week or so.
[Edited on 24-2-2015 by blogfast25]
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aga
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Damnit !
I leach !
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Magpie
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| Quote: Originally posted by radiance88 |
.. considering that the people in the biggest hardware store in town had absolutely no clue what plaster of paris was.. I'm pretty sure they will have
no effing clue about all the stuff that I'm about to be asking them tomorrow. |
Try to find a clerk older than 50. 
The single most important condition for a successful synthesis is good mixing - Nicodem
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Zombie
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| Quote: Originally posted by blogfast25 | Regards that seal on the starting point pressure cooker. Many are made of vulcanised food grade NBR. There should be no problem using that even for
drinking alcohol.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrile_rubber (uncompounded NBR)
If in doubt about leaching, soak the seal in cheap vodders for a week or so.
[Edited on 24-2-2015 by blogfast25] |
A lot of beginning "hootch" distillers will go that route but in the end they all move away from rubber / silicone / nibril, ect.
EPTFE (teflon foam) is the only sealing product that is 100% inert to EtOH vapor.
Sort of or actually the goal is to make a liquor better than anything you can go out to purchase. All the tiny little things add up.
Best grains, best yeast for the purpose, the best equipment you can get, ect...
Like a home chef. A 400 dollar knife doesn't really cut better than a 40 dollar one but the love is there.
That same chef would never serve a fish filleted with a plastic spork.
Starting out w/ a pressure cooker is fine. Don't worry about spending money on it tho. Just make it work.
If you like the process (you won't like the product) move up to a better rig.
That's when you can start spending a few bucks, and getting things right.
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blogfast25
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Zombie:
There are plenty of vulcanised elastomers that resist hot EtOH very well. EPDM (ethylene propylene diene) based formulations would do very well too.
And MUCH cheaper too.
http://www.dow.com/elastomers/products/nordel.htm
EPTFE, Viton, Vamac etc are really the Rolls Royces of that application.
Trust me, I was an elastomer formulator for about 10 years. Bored the pants of me in the end.
[Edited on 25-2-2015 by blogfast25]
[Edited on 25-2-2015 by blogfast25]
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Zombie
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The only reason (to my knowledge) that distillers stay away from those materials is no one has been able to find a manufacturer willing to state (in
writing) that there products are indeed 100% inert in EtOh vapor.
Many MSDS statements exist for liquid EtOH but none for the heated vapor.
I do trust you are 100% correct but until we see the data sheets... Stillers are a superstitious lot.
We peek from behind logs, and shoot first.
I mean "THEY" do. Uh Hum... yeah... them.
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Fulmen
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There is resistance and there is the risk of imparting taste. We know that regular plastic/rubber hoses handle water just fine, but taste water that's
been standing in in for a while...
We're not banging rocks together here. We know how to put a man back together.
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hyfalcon
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You know, as thick as that lid is, I would suspect it being aluminum instead of stainless steel.
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Zombie
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Agreed. The pot does appear to be Aluminium.
Many distillers believe aluminium is dangerous to use but it is not.
For a boiler it is fine. It will etch away, and eventually give you Alzheimer but you will quickly forget where you got it. (bad joke sorry)
It will etch but the EtOH is far more dangerous to your health on a PPM basis.
What Mr. Fulmen stated about taste is the entire point in avoiding all forms of rubber, and silicone. Solely a taste thing.
If you do not have access to EPTFE then Flour, oatmeal, and water make a paste that will seal against vapor leaks.
You apply the paste when the parts are heating up. This will cure it quickly, and in general it will hold for the duration of the run.
Keep in mind that Eth vapor is heavier than air, and it will ALWAYS find the heat source.
I've seen my fair share of WHOOSHHHHHHH!
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radiance88
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I just googled the markings on the bottom of the pot. "mirro m-0536-11" and found out indeed that it is cast aluminum. I thought it was stainless but
I guess not.
Whoop-dee-doo.
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Zombie
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In that case you can save a few bucks on the drill bit.Any high speed steel bit will do fine.
Just for general information... Cobalt bits are required for drilling stainless. Titanium, black oxide, ect... all dull out almost instantly
[Edited on 2-26-2015 by Zombie]
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radiance88
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| Quote: Originally posted by Magpie | | Quote: Originally posted by radiance88 |
.. considering that the people in the biggest hardware store in town had absolutely no clue what plaster of paris was.. I'm pretty sure they will have
no effing clue about all the stuff that I'm about to be asking them tomorrow. |
Try to find a clerk older than 50. |
That's another prob.. there are no clerks older than 50.
The job market where I'm at in southeast asia is particularly horrible. The only thing actually keeping the country afloat is the remittance money it
receives from overseas workers. All the big corporations here only hire people contractually for 6 months, because in that manner they can avoid
paying people's insurance and other benefits. So everyone you find working in malls and stores here is generally a college-kid temp-jobber with no
actual experience or training, and it doesn't matter anyway, being that he'll/she'll be gone in a few months.
The other day I asked a clerk at the local big house-improvement store if he had any 1/2'' threaded rod (for my hotplate).. He affirmed that he did,
and then proceeded to show me some 1/2 '' GI pipe. *facepalm*
I'm also having problems as well finding copper pipe and such. I was considering actually moving to a reflux column design made out of copper
(superior concentration of ethanol in distillate), but it turns out that copper as a water pipe is actually very rarely used here, and thus is very
expensive.
DIY here is such a pain.
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Zombie
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If you move to a column forget the pressure cooker.
Move up to a "beer keg". There is a 2" ferrule on top, that readily accepts a 2" sanitary fitting.
You can build completely out of Stainless, and just use some copper scrubbers in the vapor path.
Google around the distillation forums for ideas. All told you can spend around 4-5 hundred USD, and have a still that will make any liquor you like.
The pressure cooker will only produce a liquor that nobody likes. It is a way to learn the method tho...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbO7Z83uCKk
[Edited on 2-26-2015 by Zombie]
 
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radiance88
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Actually I was thinking of something a little smaller and simpler https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2DfCr2Qsx0
It seems I'm in quite a bind here. Copper is hard to obtain here, and stainless is expensive, and I don't know how to properly weld or solder either
one. I kind of wish that I could just head to a Handyman and grab everything to your heart's content like you can in the States.
I'm trying to get the requirements for me to head to a local trade school at the moment. but they only offer SMAW welding, which isn't any good for
stainless. I've never seen anyone here do any kind of TIG welding in my 15 years of staying here.
I'm also considering just doing everything via lab gear, 5 liter round bottom flask, water bath, vigreaux column and all.
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Zombie
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In the states, Stainless is one of the least expensive materials to use. It has very little scrap value, and can easily be found cheaply in any scrap
yard, marina, auto slavage.
That being what it is, you have to decide if you are using this as a drinking still or as a chemistry still.
In a 5 liter set up you will most likely end up with 300ml of palatable product rating between 30 / 40% ABV. The rest is acetone, ketones, and fuesil
oils. These come off before, and after the EtOH.
I will say that the palatable product will be better coming off of a glass-ware rig, than a pressure cooker.
There are lot's of solder-less methods if you choose to stay with metal components. There are literally thousands of builds, and designs on the
internet.
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Sulaiman
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or you could go for something like this
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Distillation-Apparatus-Kit-Lab-Vac...
All glass.
Note: I just did a bit of research,
a vigreux column like the one above only adds about one 'theoretical plate',
so one distillation 10% ethanol should theoretically give 80% to 85% product.
so maybe better to go for a reflux still.
http://homedistiller.org/equip/designs/reflux_plan
[Edited on 27-2-2015 by Sulaiman]
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Zombie
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The yield would be around 50 - 60ml @ 30 - 40% ABV (palatable) from a 10% ABV starting point.
When you are talking about boiler contents of 5 gallons or less... You are better off keeping the ferments as either wine or beer.
Even IF you fermented 10,000 gallons all the individual runs combined produce more waste, and the time / energy consumed is so great that it winds up
easier to buy a bottle of hootch.
Plus you don't have to worry about the Alphabet people. (ABC / ATF ) 
Don't get me wrong here... distilling is a great hobby, and the rewards are / can be many. Creating your own Single Malt Scotch, or hand crafted
Bourbon is a delight.
Reality is you need at LEAST a 5 gallon boiler to run 3ish quarts of a good product. 15 gallons is about the average size boiler for "hobby"
distillers, and old timers will run between 55, and 90 gallon rigs (pot / thumper).
If you're not an Alchy., and have not intent of selling your product, (I personally frown on people in this for profit) you can run 2-3 times a year,
stay under the radar, and have something you are proud to share with friends, and family.
Any other scenario ie: curiosity or profit don't lend well to making a really great product.
Just as in the chemistry you all love... Things have to be done correctly, and with the proper equipment if you want good results.
[Edited on 2-27-2015 by Zombie]
[Edited on 2-27-2015 by Zombie]
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