StillSmart

The new T500, inaugural run......

2011-03-28T03:48:11+00:00

I had it happen again today and found that where the water in pipe fits to the condenser isn\'t as good a fit as perhaps it could be - I think the smooth walled stainless steel pipe allows a little air in.
I put a zip tie around the tube and cinched it down tight against the pipe but that didn\'t work so I removed the tube, wrapped a few loops of PFTE tape around the pipe and slid the tube back on.
Problem solved

Statistics: Posted by MrCat — Mon Mar 28, 2011 3:48 am

The new T500, inaugural run......

2011-03-28T02:43:27+00:00

Was the temp fluctuating quite rapidly - say 3 degress in about a minute and in a constant cycle???(hot/cold/hot/cold etc) I had that on my last run and tracked it down to air bubbles in the condenser slowing the flow of water to the reflux. I \'jiggled\' the column a few times, the air bubble moved and the temp settled out.

Yes, it would be about the 3 C range of the temp swings. I did try tapping the column to remove a couple of bubbles that I could see in the clear tube at the top, but it either isn\'t the cause or perhaps I didn\'t jiggle the column enough.
I\'ll try that with the next batch I run.....
TVM for the suggestion MrCat
regards
P!

Statistics: Posted by Phantom — Mon Mar 28, 2011 2:43 am

The new T500, inaugural run......

2011-03-27T05:12:46+00:00

Was the temp fluctuating quite rapidly - say 3 degress in about a minute and in a constant cycle???(hot/cold/hot/cold etc) I had that on my last run and tracked it down to air bubbles in the condenser slowing the flow of water to the reflux. I \'jiggled\' the column a few times, the air bubble moved and the temp settled out.

Statistics: Posted by MrCat — Sun Mar 27, 2011 5:12 am

The new T500, inaugural run......

2011-03-26T19:23:57+00:00

Well it's off and running again......
This time with a Vodka Star wash. Which is a little weird, because it had cleared naturally and last weekend when I give it a good stir to de-gas, and then chucked in some Ritchies brand wine finings, it must have taken 2, or maybe 3 days to clear again. Plus I notice that the wash, while with the Ritchies finings (sachets @ about Â£1 each) doesn\'t seem to get it as clear as the Still Spirits finings.
Also, the wash has a distinct yellowish colour to it, which I haven't seen when I've used the still spirits triple distilled yeast/carbon combo. Maybe that's part of what the carbon helps remove..... don't know, though I'll be mixing up 2 more batches in the next day or so.
The T500 is also a little weird as well. The needle valve seems to be really sensitive, because I like to get it running balanced to about 55 C, or just over, yet slight fluctuations in mains pressure seem to make it swing up to 3 C (it doesn't seem to drop below 55 C but it does seem to go up to 57 or 58 C before dropping back down to about 55.2 or .3 C
Not too fussed about that though, because unless I set up a stable cooling supply, I'd guess it's bound to do that a bit.........
So yes, "happy as Larry" here.....
I took the first measurement and it's still chucking it out at 93.5 % ABV (according to my alchometer).......

Statistics: Posted by Phantom — Sat Mar 26, 2011 7:23 pm

The new T500, inaugural run......

2011-03-20T14:24:03+00:00

Good to see you are enjoying the 500 phantom.

Im back on the vodka star bandwagon, best allrounder for me i rekon.

Statistics: Posted by dict8 — Sun Mar 20, 2011 2:24 pm

The new T500, inaugural run......

2011-03-20T13:58:48+00:00

Well, I ended up re-distilling 3 gallons that were about the 80% or so mark, in total.
It took about 9 hours in total to get 2 and a half gallons at 93%, which has taught me the lesson that it doesn\'t matter how much you\'ve got, it still basically works at a set speed.
So I\'d guess that the 3.6 litres of distilled spirit in about 4/4.5 hours quoted in the literature and DVD is pretty spot on.
Funny really. When putting it together, the T500 seems like it\'s gonna be complicated, but once it\'s up and running, it\'s quite simple.
A very clever piece of kit.
I should be able to run the 25 litres of wash that\'s ready, if it\'s cleared Ok. I\'m pretty satisfied how well it distills from a SS Triple Distilled yeast wash, so this one will be it\'s first Vodka Star wash.

Statistics: Posted by Phantom — Sun Mar 20, 2011 1:58 pm

The new T500, inaugural run......

2011-03-19T23:50:38+00:00

Well, it seems to be playing the game. That's the first gallon @ 93.5% ABV though I now also understand the comments about how It's a little fucker to keep the discharge water temp stable. I only have to fart in the direction of the needle valve and the temp swings by 3 or 4 degrees.
I'll know for certain how it performs after tomorrow, once I've run a batch of straight wash, rather than a re-distil of let down spirit.
Either wary, its looking good.
regards
P!

Statistics: Posted by Phantom — Sat Mar 19, 2011 11:50 pm

The new T500, inaugural run......

2011-03-19T20:23:19+00:00

So it\'s all set up and heating.
My only concern is that I\'m redistilling some other distillate that has been let down to about 45%. I put the 3 gallons of spirit in and topped it up with water until it was at the maximum mark, then took a reading, which said the 45% above, so I\'ve let some out, well I\'ve taken a gallon of the 45% spirit out so it\'s got some vapour space, as I suspect once it starts running it will produce the distillate quite quickly, given the strength of the still charge.
Hopefully it won\'t cause any surging or such nonsense, but I\'ve made sure that there\'s plenty of rings in the bottom for boil enhancers and I\'ve put some conditioner in as well.
So fingers crossed.
Got a bucket of vodka star wash clearing as well, so I\'ll be able to run that tomorrow, hopefully.

Statistics: Posted by Phantom — Sat Mar 19, 2011 8:23 pm