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Alpha Buy List And Missing Pieces

BOM-ALPHA-2026-03-13A

This page is the current builder-facing purchasing path for the first OpenSling distiller alpha. It is a bench-oriented, non-potable, low-pressure reference build, not a production machine and not a certified drinking-water product.

Price snapshot date: March 13, 2026
Currency: USD
Prices below exclude shipping, tax, duties, and any bulk-order discounts.

Scope Of This BOM

This revision assumes:

  • gravity feed or a simple elevated source tank during first commissioning
  • 1.5 in. sanitary clamp hardware on the external low-pressure wet loop
  • manual logging during first clean-water runs
  • non-pressure printed parts coming from the current repo fabrication pack

This revision does not assume:

  • a finalized pressure-shell weldment
  • a finalized internal tube bundle or film-forming insert geometry
  • a code-stamped vessel relief package
  • a finalized heater mount or control enclosure
  • a finalized compressor power architecture

Build Path

  1. Order the buy now parts on this page.
  2. Build the frame and accessible low-pressure plumbing around those parts.
  3. Print the current non-pressure repo parts from the Fabrication Pack.
  4. Freeze the pressure-core geometry and sensor-port pattern.
  5. Only then order the hold until geometry freeze items.
  6. Commission with clean water first, then move to dirty-water testing.

Buy Now

These parts are useful even if the pressure core changes later. They are the lowest-regret purchases in the repo right now.

Item Example source Qty Unit price Extended Why this is low-regret
Frame channel, 10 ft, 12 ga Superstrut ZA1200HS-10 4 $43.65 $174.60 Gives a serviceable bench frame before the wet core is frozen.
Portable inline GFCI ELEGRP G20CA-2FT 1 $33.60 $33.60 Mandatory bench-power protection for early heated runs.
Sanitary tee, 1.5 in. clamp x clamp x clamp Hamby tee 2 $52.00 $104.00 Useful for drain, demister, and sample-routing experiments.
Sanitary spool, 1.5 in. x 6 in. Hamby spool tube 4 $34.60 $138.40 Flexible straight sections for mock-up and rebuilds.
Butterfly valve, 1.5 in. clamp x clamp Hamby butterfly valve 2 $79.99 $159.98 Useful for manual isolate/drain work even if the final core changes.
Basic sanitary clamp, 1.5 in. Hamby clamp 12 $8.15 $97.80 Core commodity hardware for any 1.5 in. sanitary mock-up.
Silicone flange gasket, 1.5 in. Hamby silicone gasket 20 $1.99 $39.80 Better high-temperature margin than cheap Buna placeholders.
Clamp x 1.5 in. male NPT adapter Hamby adapter 2 $48.00 $96.00 Bridges sanitary sections to utility plumbing without locking the final shell design.
End cap with pipe for 3/4 in. transfer hose Hamby hose end cap 2 $24.88 $49.76 Useful for feed/product routing and temporary reservoir work.
3/4 in. transfer hose Hamby transfer hose 10 ft $16.00/ft $160.00 Good for cool-side feed, drain, and product routing. Do not treat it as a steam-hose substitute.
Mechanical pressure gauge, 0-30 psi AutomationDirect G15-BD30-8CB 3 $11.50 $34.50 Cheap enough to put on shell, suction, and discharge during manual commissioning.
Conductivity/TDS/temperature tester Milwaukee EC60 PRO 1 $77.90 $77.90 Fast screening tool for product-water trends during alpha testing.
Conductivity calibration solution Milwaukee MA9065 1 $16.70 $16.70 Keeps the EC/TDS tester honest.
Compact float switch AutomationDirect FLS-HM-100 1 $25.00 $25.00 Simple feed-tank low-level interlock before the full controls stack exists.

Buy-now subtotal: $1,208.04

Hold Until Geometry Freeze

These parts are plausible candidates, but the repo is not ready to tell someone to order them blindly.

Item Example source Qty Unit price Hold reason
Regenerative blower, 0.5 hp, 52 cfm, 43 in. wc GAST 33K820 1 $1,298.35 Current readily priced candidate is 208-230/460 VAC three-phase. Do not buy until power architecture and operating point are frozen.
Blower-side relief valve GAST AJ496 / Grainger 860DM9 1 $414.35 Only relevant if the matching blower is chosen. This is not a substitute for a code-appropriate vessel PSV.
Temperature controller AutomationDirect SL4824-RR 1 $125.00 Useful, but heater style and control architecture are not frozen yet.
RTD probe, Pt100, 12 in. probe, 1/2 in. NPT AutomationDirect RTD1-C12-01 3 $103.00 Port depth and exact insertion lengths are not frozen.
DIN solid-state relay, 40 A AutomationDirect GRSH-40-60-D-0-0 1 $108.00 Only buy after the heater current, enclosure, and cooling arrangement are defined.
Maintained emergency-stop operator AutomationDirect AR22Q2R-01R 1 $29.00 Good part, but the panel layout and final dry-zone build are still open.

Hold subtotal: $2,283.70

Missing Pieces

These are not just “shopping TBD” items. They are actual design gaps in the current repo.

Missing piece Why it is missing What unblocks it
Pressure-shell drawing No validated shell diameter, wall thickness, ferrule pattern, or weld notes are published yet. Freeze core geometry and publish a pressure-boundary drawing set plus hydrotest target.
Tube bundle and insert geometry The repo explains the thin-film concept, but it does not yet define tube count, length, insert material, or cleaning method. Bench heat-transfer and fouling tests on one or two candidate bundle layouts.
Startup heater package Watt density, mount style, and material compatibility are still open. Freeze shell geometry and pick a heater that will not scorch or overstress the wall.
Vessel overpressure protection There is no final PSV spec or setpoint tied to a validated pressure boundary. Complete pressure-boundary calculations and select a code-appropriate relief path.
Final compressor choice Public Slingshot pressure numbers exist, but the open build still lacks a validated blower/compressor map for the chosen core. Run a bench model or instrumented rig that confirms the needed pressure lift and vapor flow.
Sensor-port pattern Gauge ports, thermowells, and sample ports are still described conceptually instead of dimensionally. Publish a port map with thread standards and no-tool service access notes.
Electrical panel and wiring There is no finished wiring diagram, enclosure cut sheet, or field-safe service layout. Freeze the heater, blower, sensor count, and shutdown chain.
Potable claim pathway Distillation helps, but the repo does not yet define validation, post-treatment, or source-specific test criteria. Add a commissioning and validation protocol with contaminant-specific testing rules.
Feed pre-strainer package The repo references coarse pre-straining, but it does not yet freeze the micron target, housing size, or whether the strainer sits before or after any lift pump. Pick the alpha source-water envelope and publish the dirty-side plumbing layout.
Full fastener list The repo does not yet define the exact frame dimensions, brackets, casters, or panel mounts. Freeze the frame layout and publish a frame drawing or cut list.

What You Can Fabricate From The Repo Today

The current repo can already generate these custom non-pressure parts:

  • control panel blank
  • triple hose separator
  • blower mount spacer
  • demister endcap
  • dual cable cleat

Those files live in the Fabrication Pack. They are useful, but they do not close the pressure-core, heater, or electrical gaps listed above.

Why The Vendor Mix Looks Uneven

This BOM is intentionally “Amazon or whatever,” not “Amazon only.” The current picks skew toward:

  • Home Depot for bench-power safety and basic frame stock
  • Hamby for sanitary dairy-process hardware that is easy to reconfigure
  • AutomationDirect for controls and instrumentation
  • Milwaukee for a simple field-grade conductivity screen
  • Grainger for industrial blower candidates

That mix is deliberate. The goal is not retail convenience. The goal is to make the first alpha build more likely to work.