Max Action Posted July 5, 2013 Share Posted July 5, 2013 I'm thinking about building a 500 gallon still to be used for stripping runs. I'd repurpose a 500 gallon jacketed tank as a pot, and have local fabricators build and attach lyne arm and condenser. Just looking for ballpark suggestions on sizes for various components. Right now I'm thinking about using a 499K BTU atmospheric boiler (about 80% efficient, so net around 400K) . I can do the calculations on degrees/hour/pounds of water theoretically, but curious about real world expectations and if that's going to be enough energy to strip 500 gallons of 10% wash in a reasonable time. Also thinking about using 3" stainless tube as lyne arm since it's readily available with easy connectors, but not sure if that's big enough to prevent a bottleneck. Then there are the issues of the type and size of condenser. I would want something to keep up with a stripping run at full blast, but don't have the spare mental energy to figure out how to do those calcs regarding heat exchange material and area. I assume the traditional route is a stainless shell and tube condenser with ??? sqft of tubes. But I'm also considering building a tube-in-tube coiled condenser with copper tubes. My first thought would be towards commonly available 3/4" copper for interior tube and 1" for exterior, but i would need to figure out how many feet I'd need, and whether reducing from my 3" (or whatever) lyne arm to 3/4" tubing would create too much restriction. One more thing I'm considering is including an empty column on top of the pot for possible upgrade to a spirit still in the future. I'm thinking a 10" stainless pipe about 3 feet tall that I could eventually add a small reflux condensing coil and copper raschig rings (for non-vodka spirits), but I'm no chemical engineer so I would definitely appreciate any feedback on that. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Action Posted July 9, 2013 Author Share Posted July 9, 2013 Maybe that was too many questions for a single post. How about the lyne arm? Any thoughts about the 3" diamater tubing being sufficient? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Made in Maine Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 Maybe that was too many questions for a single post. How about the lyne arm? Any thoughts about the 3" diamater tubing being sufficient? Max, That is a good size to go with. rethink the copper coil. it will create backpressure and high velocity gasses running which will require a longer coil. I would go with a good sized tube in shell. Not a single tube either, a bundle of tubes in a tube sheet in a shell. call me and I can give you a few minutes and some suggestions on the other questions. 207-416-9353 Also be sure to pressure test the jacket on that tank and check it for any leaks. Might be good to do a dye penetration test too. watch close for stress cracks. In Great Spirits, Jesse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dehner Distillery Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 I'll build parts for you. And test for leaks!!! A coil or jacket may be bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fldme Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 You will take half the day to heat up with that boiler. You need at least 750k btu's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CopperPig Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 Max, take Jesse's advice, he has a wealth of still building knowledge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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