StillSmart

Has anybody put together a best practice guide for the t500 like the invaluable smartstill one?

Not on here....nor anywhere else as far as I know. It would be a daunting task, because I think those that have a 500 settle into a way of running it, that suits them.

There are too many variables to take into account, of which, ground water temp, mains voltage, column packing and water pressure are the 4 most important.

If these 4 things were a constant it would be easy to make a fixed plan of stages for a given amount of product, but unfortunately they are not.

It's a case of making it suit the distiller, I personally never used the temp gauge but took off the spirit at a rate of 0.7 litres per hour after refluxing at 100% for about 15 minutes, this gave me a very pure product. This took a lot of practice before getting it right.

+ 1 VT....you made a very concise & comprehensive post there mate.

I don't have a T500, but I have run a 2" column for many hours, the main point I would suggest as good practice would be to not take product off faster than 2 Litres an hour during a spirit run, if you have the time, keep it to 1.5 Litres and hour for best results, achieving this involves adjusting water flow, power etc

Also don't leave it in fully reflux for long, there a lot of thought that with a small column, there is little benefit in this and could possibly result in additional esterification of alcohol.

Thanks for the replies.

Up until now I only have experience of using my friendly little airstill
There seems to be a lot of conflicting advice around

So with my t500 on it's way and a 5kg sugar/vodka star wash clearing
Will stripping be nessesary? I usually use essences so need something
fairly neutral

IMHO BH YES to a strip run mate...just bang it in the boiler & run it flat out, strip down to around 30%, that's what I do....others will say 20%...it's all down to choice.

If you did S and S runs on your AS you will have noticed the difference.

When you've done that, do a spirit run nice and slow, and start off by getting a load of jam jars if you don't have anything else.

Number them 1,2,3, and so on...catch in 100/150 mm it's all up to you. This is what we said at the start of your thread, this is where you start to learn about "cuts" and running your still. This way you should finish up with a very nice neutral.

Whoop....2nd post again, don't know why that happens?????

Looking forward to a new challenge, just need to get a tap fitted in the garage now

Im fairly new to all this, only had a t500
8 months. Only advise I can input is, go by
the flow rate on the distillate. The temp on
the thermometer is just a guide.
I adjust my temp with the flow valve to get
just a steady trickle.
Also purchased one of those flow regulators
they are good.

http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=11265 refers to the previous model.

I've read here and elsewhere that de-tuning (taking the packing out of the column to run the T500 as a pot still) is a really bad idea because the tube at the top and maybe some gaskets won't be able to handle it.

they (who??) do say you should not run above
70 c or damage to plastics etc could happen.

Curmudgeon wrote:http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=11265 refers to the previous model.

I've read here and elsewhere that de-tuning (taking the packing out of the column to run the T500 as a pot still) is a really bad idea because the tube at the top and maybe some gaskets won't be able to handle it.

Thanks that's a handy link, so would I be best having 3 X 23litre washes ready to strip for a single spirit run?

Sorry for any misunderstanding. I'm agreeing with you Gaza that T500 should NOT be run as a potstill with the copper/ceramics/steel taken out of the reflux column.

It is possible to replace all the potentially dodgy bits with teflon, but the T500 pot head kit(without copper dome) is pretty good value imo as was indirectly pointed out to me in another thread here earlier, as the copper materials alone to build a pot head connector, column and condenser could be £50, not counting soldering, hoses, connectors, thermometer.

edit @Brewhunter I imagine you can run a spirit run with 7 litres or whatever without waiting for 2 more washes to be ready. It's 2 runs (strip and spirit) instead of 6 + 2 with an airstill. I'm jealous

Back the truck up a bit guys...

I'm not sure where to start with this....the link is from 2009 and it's talking about the early T500.

I've seen one when on a meet & greet in Aus with one of the guys from the Aussie forum.
It had a lot of plastic and the then thoughts from these guys were, don't try to do a strip run because there was a chance of melting parts of the column/PC.
In fact, some folks were posting about damage to the column ie bits melting & leaks because of the heat.

This is a post by SBB on this subject....I'm sure he won't mind me letting you guys read it...it's from Feb 2015.

The advice came from personal experience as well as that of others who have tried to use the early T500 still heads for stripping. There is no reason you can't use the boiler as long as it's fitted with a pot head or maybe one of the later all copper T500 designs.
The problem lays in the synthetic top of the older columns, it simply gets too hot and the still then starts leaking where the synthetic material meets the stainless column. I know some people have got away with using them for stripping, but many have not. If your happy to take the risk go ahead and try, see what happens for yourself.

Because of the above, I replaced the plastic tube at the top with a short length of copper. I've never run my T5 as a stripper with the original column, this was why I built a pothead from VT's plans....and as SBB said the boiler does the job, with my pothead fitted I now have no worries about anything melting.

When the still is heating up I can tell what's happening by the heat from the column...when it reaches the top elbow I know that's the time to turn on the water

brewhunter wrote:

Curmudgeon wrote:http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=11265 refers to the previous model.

Correct there C...

So would I be best having 3 X 23litre washes ready to strip for a single spirit run?

Yes & no....to that Q BH.
You could do 3 washes and wait for them all to finish...strip them one after t'other...then a spirit run.

I do a wash, strip, store in glass DJ's (at 30%) until I have enough to run a spirit run.
It's all down to what you feel is best for you matey...so my 2 cents is just enjoy learning, we're here to help if anything goes tits up.