How to Build a THUMPER For Your Pot Still!! 

I put a ball valve in the section between the T fittings which is great for not only sending foreshots out without disturbing the flavor stuff in the thumper, but also lets the air pressure in the pot even out when open at the end of a run before turning the heat off the pot, preventing implosion.

Bahahaha love the dune reference! Awesome to see this vid live my man :)

Mr Bearded,my thumper is just like that,except for a little change I made,your verticals may be too close together,but remove your 90's and replace with T's,put a valve between them,now you can run like a pot,close and activate thumper,or open on shut down for open system,it works!

Hey Bearded, Man you did a great job on your Thumper! I'm old School and a 5th Generation "Hobby Distilling Moonshiner ;-) " and i just have to have a Thumper. You'll be pleasantly surprised at how much your proof goes up especially when you get to know your Thumper. Man I'm so happy you're going to be using a Thumper! Theirs just not enough people using one and teaching and educating our community about them. I'm really enjoying the direction of your channel. Thanks For sharing Man!! Looking forward to the follow ups. Your on a Roll 😁

I'm late to the party but thank you bearded. I've learned more in watching this video that I have in dozens of others. One thing I've learned is to keep your thumper above your boiler. This will keep your thumper from filling up. Also as another option, disconnecting your thumper from your boiler right as you shut down will help clear the vacuum. Good stuff brother I appreciate it

Put a on and off valve on your thumper. Where the elbows are at. So you can keep running. Open for the four shots and heads. Then close it to push the steam down into the thumper for the flavor.

Thanks for the info. I like your attitude and way of getting the point across. Don't do this or that because you will have problems. I'm gathering your information before I start to build my first effort.

You save me soo much time trying to figure out the details and attempt a build. Great sage and well researched advice. I was going to build a thumper but after watching this I think as you suggest better to perfect and learn the nuances of my new build first before adding this module to my system. Thanks again for another great video.

Another GREAT Video!!! Excellent safety explanation!!! I built my thumper with a tee and two ball valves for a by-pass line around the thumper. When starting up my still I open the valve that by-passes the thumper (while the valve to the thumper is closed) but goes through the condenser. I have a cork stopper in a tee between the by-pass ball valve with a thermometer to give me an idea of where the temperature of the vapor stream is to also tell me when the foreshots are boiled off (and I also collect the foreshots at the end of the condenser they are a very good solvent for cleaning). After the foreshots are gone, I open the valve to the thumper and close the valve to the by-pass in that order and let the thumper come up to operating temperature. I also add a 50/50 mix of tails and boiling water to my thumper to get things heated up as much as possible. When I shut down the still, I wait until the condenser stops dripping and then open the by-pass valve before walking away. I have seen the video of people throwing water into a 55 gallon drum on a fire and closing the bung hole and spraying the drum with water. the effect is drastic!!! Actually that is how the thumper gets its name. As the hot vapor starts to hit the slightly cooler liquid in the bottom of the thumper the vapor condenses and sucks a small volume of liquid from the thumper into the down pipe (that is why you want a short section of pipe above the thumper). That small amount of liquid moving up the inlet pipe makes a thumping sound.

I'm like a Jedi on the mechanics of the process,when you brought up the process of shooting the thumper,I thought back where I seen this ,then it came to me,it was a wide pony keg with a 4 inch ferrell on top,after the heads,he just popped the clamp,opened it an put a bunch of fruit in it,he did lose heat,a little steamy,so I thought about the bypass,which is only a valve above the top,you run the heads like a standard pot,when your through heads you open the 3/4 ball valves and let it go,then to avoid any chance of vacuum you close the valves at the end and your back into pot still mode and simply shut down,my mistake third valve in the cross over,your thump is charged from the start,works fine,you've taught me a lot,all three of you have unique perspective.

I haven't even watched the video yet. I had to like and comment on the video immediately upon seeing the Dune references. Love it! I enjoy the rest of your videos as well.

Love the DUNE reference!! Building my thumper tonight and now Im going watch the movie at the same time!!

Dammit Bearded! I saw the title and said to myself I'll make a Dune reference comment! And you beat me to it! Your taste in booze and sci-fi (a Dune fan and an SG-1 fan) are beyond reproach!

Interesting factoid - the thumping sound comes from the instant collapse of the hot vapor as it hits the cold liquid in the thumper. It will quieten down considerably as the thumper liquid heats up.

I have the same pot as my thumper. I have always used it. I have a 10 gallon boiler. I do use silicone as a seal and wrap it with Teflon tape. I have never found any foul flavors from it. I also use regular wood clamps( med. Size) to clamp it down. I have never gotten a leak that I could not fix with another clamp. I did add, on both my pot and my Thumper, a ball valve. Once my run is done I open them instead of undoing all the clamps right away . I just open the ball valves. Instantly releases the pressure as it cools. Wish i could leave a picture. All in all nice video.

Hi, you could use a pressure cooker for stove tops, they aren't expensive anymore and they come with a handy gasket and a pressure relief valve.

Thank you..This video is awesome. I am going to try and build this exact unit. I have zero soldering experience so it should be frustrating and fun.

DFB on this end Bearded my friend. Great screen presence by the way. The content is wonderful. I have seen folks using a thumper to extract essential oils . Any info, suggestions, experiences recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

That's nice & affordable...thanks bearded....you rock

Word of warning: Be SUPER careful dremel-ing out copper pipe. About a year ago I wrecked about 25 square feet in my basement because I took a dremel to a copper pipe using a burr-style bit. The copper dust wasn't actually dust but millions of tiny shards that instantly dig themselves into your skin/clothing. It was weeks before all the slivers came out and no matter how hard I scrubbed that concrete floor there were still hundreds of shards there. Either use a sanding bit (which just creates dust) or do it outside. Also, the shards really stuck to the inside of the copper pipe and it took some ingenuity to get them out of there.

Great video! I made a 3 gallon thumper and used it today for the first time. I put about 1-1/2 gallons of apple juice for flavor. It took forever to get alcohol running out of the condenser! How much liquid do you put in your thumper if any? Hopefully I can get my thumper lid like you have, but finding someone in my area where I live is almost impossible. Keep up the great videos!

Awesome video brother, can't wait to see what is the grey juice in the back ground

Another great video buddy !! Fermenter in the back looks to be a corn wash/mash maybe. MM MM delicious !!! I may have just done a small experimental 3 gallon batch of flaked corn and corn sugar, aged on dark toasted chips for a couple of weeks at 115 proof. Then proofed down to 100 proof for a few days. ( all hypothetically of course ) Yup, I can't lie, it didn't suck, ha ha ha !!!!!! --den

THANK YOU SO MUCH. i needed to know this.

i like your video, yes the sight glass is at least 3 times thicker than a mason jar. I put a sight glass on the side of my thumper just so I can keep a check on what's going on there.

dude trip out. my vapor locks bubbling away next to me at the exact time and pace as the one behind you in this episode. totally had to be here im a stoner lol. love the show

Looks interesting. I may have to check it out eventually. My new 8 gallon still is on order and I'm waiting on 1 more part to build my PID. I've got my cooling system figured out and 12 gallons of mash sitting here. The thumper will have to wait for a while, lol. BTW, the BlackBerry wine and brandy came out DELISH 😁 Merry Christmas !!

Truly interesting. The seal is a long way from bread dough. Love it. I have a question just about what I call the 'trinity'; I'm hoping you'll know: is George still okay?

Great job bearded. Looks great. 👌

Great Vid! I'm not into thumpers, but love the info and geekery. Keep it up, you'll have your 100k in no time.

there's also the cardboard gasket wrapped in ptfe tape if you've got the time and patience

Hmmmmmm... This "Thumper" may be the end game, in my life quest, to finally create Sapho (Sa- foe) , to Join my fellow Mentats

Thanks for the info! Great video. It all looks so easy when watching the Discovery Channel! :)

Thanks, you saved me from buying copper sheeting for my mason jar thumpers. And also possibly going to the hospital, and then jail.

Good Sunday morning B and B. I have reversed engineered a stainless steel pot design for a still using info from you videos and need to purchase the copper pipe. My still pot will be 10 gallons and my Thumper will be approx 3 to 5 gallons and then to maybe a 10 gallon pot for the worm for cooling. What size pipe should i have from the still pot to the thumper and from the thumper to the worm and finally the size pipe for the worm itself? Your help in this last step will be all i need for completion of this beautiful piece of equipment. Many thanks!

to the creator, I just stumbled upon yer site and this vid. New subscriber. I have a 5 gal Chinese unit with thumper. had about a dozen runs. only 3 fails (was told one wasnt a fail , but a batch of orange sunshine. ummm aint verified that but he been at it about 40 yrs soooo...Doh !) loved this clipp. learned a few things. I did a quick somewhat deep dive into the comments to try and find any info on how much the thumper build was at the time. and also same for the main unit. any direction please or even a direct answer is great !! LOL and soooo rare these days. great clip, looking fwd to further discovery. Peace and God Bless.

That thermometer in the kettle becomes useful in at least seeing still temp, hypothetically. Nice to at least see wash temp raising

I call my rig the Roller Coaster. BOILER: 15.5 gal keg with 6" TIG welded tri clamp top, legs welded on with 1/2 ball valve clean out on the bottom. THUMPER: 15.5 gal keg flipped upside down with a TIG 6" tri clamp top, legs welded on the bottom there is a 2" clean out with 2" butterfly valve 26 tri clamps and PTFE gaskets total. Goes 6" to 3" (with Manometer) then 2" TEE with 1" copper spear to the thumper, output is 2" then to a 3" stainless shotgun.

you can use a food grade safe silicone to make a molded gasket

I know a fella who got one of them vacuum dented water purification units cheap.

thank you that was good

lol love the Dune reference

Great bits of info, I appreciate that you do alot of research. Does anybody ever put a thermometer at the exit near the condenser, or anywhere for that matter?

Great advice!

The spice must flow!

Cracking video, you made a cracking point regards to fore shots/heads going through the thumper, shutting off & then adding backings to the thumper, I started my build but have added a bypass using ball valves to save having to shut down, can you see a problem with this at all? Just thinking of pressure but as long as I open the one in & out to the thumper before closing the other, I think I should be ok.....right!🤣

OK! Finally I have found a way to make a gasket for Any Pot! Apparently it comes from the moon based on delivery schedule on Amazon, but who cares! I still don’t care about Thumpers but your design is a nice bit of kit! Thanks, Bearded! Is your torch using Map Gas or propane?

silicone works well but it has to be platinum cured silicone. that is what is used in labs when they process alcohol vapors.

Try white teflon it comes in sheet you can cut gaskets out .

Hey Bearded you going to be doing the THUMP KEG WALTZ😂

Great explanation. 👍🏻

Can you use a stainless steel pressure cooker with locking lid and gasket for your thumper?

Awesome job!!!

To thump or not to thump, that is the question. Or is it just better to do a stripping run, then spirit run? Looking forward to your future “function and purpose” video 👍🏻

Cool video, keep em coming.

Put watered down citric acid in a spray bottle to clean your pipes. Like newer then new!

With the expanded PTFE gasket material, couldn't it be cut laterally and formed around the edge of the pot to create the gasket and only have just the two ends meeting?

great video. i prefer reflux stills but if i did a pot still i would do this.

Thanks!

Can't remember if you said it, but let people know to use solder without lead

Very helpful video thank you!

Haha... not a cop?? I think you are more scary!! 😁😁 As for that lot bubbling in the background... thanks for keeping us in suspense... I was wondering this whole show!! 😉🥃👍

can i still run a thump keg while running a controlled heat source??

So informative big fella 👌have to pour one out for the loss of that imploded copper still tho,rip lol

A pressure relief valve will not relieve a vacuum that has formed in the thumper/still. The ring on top will allow you to manually release the vacuum, but would not be a safeguard if you were forming a vacuum unless you could keep the ring up somehow when you turned the still off because it has a spring inside to keep it closed

ok mmaybe it just me but is this the same guy from the choper show that use to come on tv any way love the video good work allso on the thup tank to keep it up

Where can I get the exhaust valve seen over your right shoulder? Inserted in the top of your(assuming) mash?

Thanks for the video

A question regarding the size of the Thumper, how many liters should it have for a 20 liter cooking pot?

Just because you opened up the pop off valve when you let it go it’s sealed again and 😅 could build more pressure again

What gasket material do you use

great video. i would suggest a reminder to not use lead solder in every build as a reminder.

What brand solder and flux did you use ?? Just trying to figure out whats toxic or not and how to clean it after so I don't make poison. Thanks

I believe George molded a gasket out of some sort food grade silicone gasket maker material when he was building the big blue cook pot still, didn’t he?

Pro tip.....but just the tip. When you're marking holes to mount anything, put it on your printer and make a copy of the hole pattern. It'll work for anything... clips, surge protectors...... Anything that'll for on the printer glass.

When do we see your version of sake? I see it’s bubbling away nicely 👍

Great info on the materials to avoid!

For a better seal arount the pot use cler tubing slicing it down on one side making sure the line is straight measure around the circumference of the pot and make the cut as tight as possible then glue the ends together for a good seal. Hope this helps. Cheers.

You said beginners shouldn't use a thumper but what if you can only use a wood fire and so need a thumper any advice for those people interested in starting the hobby but has to use a wood fire?

What kind of solder you use for stainless steel

Just out of curisoity, is there any way to know how to make cuts based on timing vs by taste if someone is using something like an electric 1 gallon air cooled still? If I was going to distill, My taste buds are not sensitive enough to taste the difference between heads, hearts and tails and need a way to go by times at least roughly. For example, "first 8 mins is heads, next 12 mins is hearts, last 15 is tails". Is there some sort of rough guess timing like this that someone with very insensitive taste buds can go by?

What about using a thumper with the type of still that Jesse uses on Still It? Does the still type preclude using a thumper since it has so much reflux capability? I'm only asking because the open top design seems like it would be the safest way to go considering the potential for pressure problems.

Were you get the clamps for lids thanks!

question for you...if you gent;y heat the thumper would that help speed the process?

when i get to the end of my tails, and cut the heat off i just made a habit of immediately unlatched the lid on my pot still and thumper to release any pressure or vacuum

Love the video. After sweeting the copper, how do you clean it and prepare it for a run?

You can use a food grade gasket for that

Wondering of the possibility of adding one into a t500 electric. Possible?

stupid question alert - If you have a pressure relief valve on your boiler, do you need one on the thumper?

Great video. Did you have any issues with air leaks at the handle rivets on the pot or the lid? If so, did you seal them?

Ahoy Mate. Did you use silver solder for copper pipe to lid soldering joint? and what did you use to solder copper to copper? Thank you and nice work. I want one too, lol

Sir have you ever tried running a thumper with a reflux still?? Would like to know if it worked for you and how you find running it , cheers and happy distilling.

Hey bearded , I wonder if an e.p.d.m (inner tube rubber ) gasket might work

Thanks for the info. I dont see a link for those clamps though. Could you tell us where to find them?👍

Watching on living room tv. My 3yr old walks in, looks for a bit "... i like his shirt" 😆

Where can you buy the joint couplers that solder for the 1/2” copper?

So what you calling the pot still then. The Barron Or Stilgar. No spilling of WATER tho. (Dune Refs.)

don't know IF you will ever see this BUT why didn't you use a pressure cooker? I use a stainless steel pressure cooker for my still would like a bigger still but I might get into legal problems if I tried to buy one LoL

wish i could buy this lol

what do you put in your thumper? what if you only have one jar of tails..what else can you use? thanks-