StillSmart

I got to ask cause I can't figure this out.

In the "almost horizontal condenser" it appears the condensed liquid will come out the pipe, below the coolant tails, that has a piece of clear tubing on it connected to the pipe below?

As I said I can't figure this one out and would appreciate if you would put me out of my misery

AM

Thats correct AM, rather than sending the condensed vapour back the way it came, it will come out that spout and be returned to the top of the packing below the splitting section.

There is an upturned bit of 15mm tube inside the 64mm connector (shown in the pics) this will set a liquid level in the silicon tube.

By closing the needle valve you cause an obstruction in the flow, raising the liquid level until it overflows the loop (I'll probably drop this a little more than shown in the last pic).

This is for heads removal only. After that the needle valve will remain fully open, and I'll use the splitting section to divert a portion of the vapour to the product arm.

Capt,
Maybe I am slow,I am still trying to get this still sorted in my head!
I can't wait for you to say that is finished and working as expected!

Robert

Capt-Cudellez wrote:Thats correct AM, rather than sending the condensed vapour back the way it came, it will come out that spout and be returned to the top of the packing below the splitting section.

There is an upturned bit of 15mm tube inside the 64mm connector (shown in the pics) this will set a liquid level in the silicon tube.

By closing the needle valve you cause an obstruction in the flow, raising the liquid level until it overflows the loop (I'll probably drop this a little more than shown in the last pic).

This is for heads removal only. After that the needle valve will remain fully open, and I'll use the splitting section to divert a portion of the vapour to the product arm.

Got it! An ingenious creation addressing many different operating requirements.

I'm constantly amazed by the ingenuity and creativity of distillers here who develop their equipment based on their live experience and CC has always been one of our leading innovators.

Can't wait to read your reports of operations with this new development.

AM

The 4 core shotgun condenser is a bust, I know what I did wrong and I'll recover the inners as the 10mm bits are hard soldered in and leak free, it's the 22mm pipe going into the manifold that has the leak.
So in order to get this bloody thing finished, I've made up a new condenser.

This is a 28mm inside a 35mm outer, with a 15mm cold finger. I wound and soldered some 2.5mm wire around the 28mm which was then too tight to fit inside the 35mm, but 20 mins with a file and all was good. this should make a nice path round the tube for the cooling water to travel.

click for bigger pics


I soldered on some bits of 6mm tube to act as a centering device for the cold finger




All put together and leak free




As you can see all I need now is to mop that floor, its disgusting.

Finished and just needing to be plumbed in and cleaned up

Looks good Capt C

Bet you can't wait to put it through it's paces, I love the look of a clean copper still when it rolls off the production line, shame they change colour so quickly once you start using them, its a differnt design to what others are using so I'm looking forward to reading about how it performs

bloody Hell CC

"It's Distilling Jim but not as we Know it !"

Hopefully this video will make clear how it works for anyone still scratching their heads.

https://youtu.be/4l3c9PHN78M

Some finishing touches done yesterday.

Soldered in a thermowell


Stuck on a thermometer


Blinged up the parrot


And did a final cleaning run as id done a bit of soldering and repacked with new scrubbers that got a good wash in the dishwasher first.
Charged the boiler with 35L of 11% wash, and about 3L of 70% junkahol, (so about 15-16%)

Managed to get about 94% reading on the parrot using a 70-100 narrow range alcometer, but the liquid was about 12oC so it may have been higher ABV as the alcometer is calibrated for 20oC, I have no problem believing it will do azeotrope if charged with low wines.
I'm waiting on a couple of 6mm fuel line valves to let me bypass the tube going through the parrot to prevent overcooling of the distillate in future. I could have just changed the plumbing yesterday, but it was just a cleaning run.

I'm also not sure how often I will actually run with the parrot, it does hold quite a bit of liquid, so I've bent another bit of 22mm that I can screw on to the fitting to use a spout if I find I get smearing (shouldn't really be pulling anything but hearts off down the product arm any way)

I found I was able to adjust the reflux and increase the output quite finely and dialed in 93,92 and 90 ABV - so looks like this might be good for things like white rum, or doing a grain vodka where you want to preserve some of the flavour.

I then stuck it into pot still mode and stripped the rest of the alcohol out.
Don't think I'll actually use this still as a pot still, as its just so cumbersome to get onto the boiler. I'd have to have a boiler that I could fully drain and clean in place with the still head still attached to make that something that wouldn't turn into a huge PITA after the novelty wore off.

Interesting to read your observations so far Capt.
Awaiting a "proper" run,and your findings,for which,I wish you luck.

Robert.

Nice one CC even if you've still got be a bit baffled

I see you got the splitter working mate. Congrats.