Re: Re:Methanol Still

Of course, that's what I get for replying to email so early in the  
morning. Of course, the water heater will still be there...

On Sep 27, 2006, at 11:35 PM, Seth Moody wrote:

> The still is going back to Greg on Friday for warranty work.
>
> Seth
>
> On 9/25/06, Felix Kersting <[email protected]> wrote:
>> Friends,
>>
>> At this point I have copied this to all the lists as everyone  
>> seems to
>> be interested.
>>
>> No, Braising is a means of cooking using a butter or oil to brown  
>> meat
>> and then simmering in a small amount of liquid or broth.  Not to be
>> confused with stewing, which completely covers the meat with liquid.
>> (sorry, couldn't help it!)
>>
>> Brazing is joining 2 metal with a liquid filler that melts at a  
>> temp >
>> ~700°F and lower than the melting point of the base metal.
>> Traditionally done with brass.
>>
>> Soldering is uses a soft filler material that melts below 700°F (AWS
>> members feel free to correct me).  Soldering is what is normally  
>> done on
>> copper plumbing in domestic water systems.
>>
>> A good torch (and experience) is needed for brazing - a propane turbo
>> torch, or acetylene/air rig or oxy/acetylene, and brazing rod.
>>
>> I suggest sending the tower back to Greg for a warranty repair.   
>> He has
>> the equipment to make it happen (and hopefully the time.  I  
>> suggest a 5
>> or 10 psi pressure test.  solder a 1/2" male adapter on the  
>> distillate
>> outlet and cap it.  Test with soap solution.
>>
>> I have a thermostat that will work for this water heater if someone
>> wants to pick it up from my house.  You can by them at Home Depot or
>> anywhere.
>>
>> Regarding safety concerns, we were testing on the concrete pad, using
>> the hose for cooling water.  The most critcal part of this  
>> experiment is
>> having a solid base and plenty if clear working room.  This isn;t
>> something that should occur out in the grass, and fall over during
>> operation.
>>
>> If someone wants to write an SOP for testing, be my guest, but be
>> prepared to be on-site to help, please.  You will be hard pressed to
>> find a less flammable alcohol. especially since we mixed the glycerin
>> with 50% water before we started.   Please read the entire email  
>> below
>> so you are fully apprised of the results of the first test.
>>
>> More than anything, we need an experienced hand or two help get this
>> going.  Seth would beat me up if he knew I wasn't working on the site
>> code review!  My suggestion is to rope Greg (the Scrounge) &  
>> Amanda into
>> this. From the conversations I have had with them, both understand  
>> the
>> equipment and have done the process.
>>
>> The next time I have to fool with this may be the weekend of the 7th.
>> Let's try to get Felix, Amanda and Greg there at the same time and  
>> try
>> to crank this up.  If a time other than the weekend is better, let me
>> know - I think that a work party might not be the best time, since  
>> this
>> takes some a fair amount of focus.  On the flip side, I don't think
>> anyone should work on site alone.
>>
>> Zac - can you facilitate getting the tower to Greg (the Machinist)  
>> to be
>> fixed?
>>
>> Thanks to all.  Keep suggestions coming to keep this moving forward.
>>
>> Felix
>>
>>
>> Zac Imboden wrote:
>> > Is the braising like the type used on regular copper pipe? I've  
>> done
>> > that before (for a high pressure line to my washing machine). As  
>> for
>> > the materials, if you can get me started on where to get the stuff,
>> > I'll arrange to pick it up.
>> >
>> > What's the minimum we can get by with for our next experiment? I'm
>> > thinking fix the braising, and get a working thermostat. The water
>> > heater brand is "Reliable" but from what someone at the site  
>> said (the
>> > astronomer), thermostats are pretty standard.
>> >
>> > I think the filling tee can wait, can't it?
>> >
>> > Someone told me there's a parts store on Division that sells all  
>> kinds
>> > of replacement parts for appliances. (I'm thinking about the  
>> thermostat).
>> >
>> > On Sep 24, 2006, at 9:06 AM, Felix Kersting wrote:
>> >
>> >> Friends,
>> >>
>> >> Well, the good news is that we know what it will take to get the
>> >> still ready for a test run......
>> >>
>> >> There were a myriad of problems getting the still up and running.
>> >> We didn't discover that the bottom stat on the water heater was  
>> bad
>> >> and we weren't heatiing until 11:30 (thanks, Ron!)
>> >>
>> >> We then had to bypass the thermostat to get any heat into the  
>> water
>> >> heater. We over heated the glycerin in about 10 minutes (while we
>> >> were very distracted by newbies wandering around and setting up to
>> >> pump WVO for a member from Vancouver...)  When we returned to the
>> >> tower, it read about 200°F, and steam was relieving from the  
>> T&P, and
>> >> leaking at the braze on the bottom of the tower, where the female
>> >> adapter meets the reducer.  We shut down and called it a day.
>> >>
>> >> We need:
>> >>
>> >> hose washers for the cooling water
>> >> another hose to redirect the waste cooling water
>> >> fix the braze on the tower
>> >> thermostat for the bottom element on the water heater
>> >> Add a 3/4 tee to the top of the tower for filling/venting
>> >> either another T&P or a 30 psi relief valve (about $7 from B100  
>> supply)
>> >> A thermometer to replace the top element would be very useful (the
>> >> elements are 1" pipe thread)
>> >>
>> >> I am not available next weekend.
>> >>
>> >> More later,
>> >>
>> >> Felix
>> >>
>> >>
>> >
>> > --------------------------------------------------------------
>> > Zac Imboden
>> > [email protected]
>> > 1534 SE 35th Place
>> > Portland, OR
>> > 97214
>> > 971-563-2477
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
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>>
>
>

--------------------------------------------------------------
Zac Imboden
[email protected]
1534 SE 35th Place
Portland, OR
97214
971-563-2477