StillSmart

Posted: **Sun Feb 02, 2014 11:46 am**

My new T500 boiler based Boka did it's vinegar and wash cleaning runs today using SS scrubbers, no leaks and runs a treat.

It will be filled with 90cm of SS SPP (when it arrives) and scrubbers to hold it in position.
Used 50mm tool clips and 15, 22mm plastic pipe clips to retain the water pipes and one clip in the workshop rafters as a steady, that way, once clipped up, I can move boiler Left or Right, Forward & Back to obtain a true vertical.

Posted: **Sun Feb 02, 2014 11:53 am**

That is...IMPRESSIVE VT

Well done Sir.

Posted: **Sun Feb 02, 2014 1:28 pm**

It looks great, well done that man!! I bet you are so chuffed your socks are jumping up and down.

If you will indulge me I will make one observation, made with the best of intentions and based on my painful learning curve.

When I am running my Bok the temperature can vary by a few decimals of a degree, maybe I open the valve too much or something else happens. If the temperature rises by 0.2 degC tails start to get pulled through.

When this happens then I need to close the valve and let the column re-stabilise. This stops any more tails being produced but leaves some smelly stuff behind the valve.

The shorter the distance between the slant plates and the valve the less smelly stuff there is to contend with. Which is why you normally see Boks with the valve as high as people can get them.

Your valve is a lot lower than most and I think that there would be enough tails trapped there to make a big difference to a run. (AKA smearing)

One good thing about your set-up is that you will have SPP and from my reading this should give you a very stable run.

But if your Bok runs half as good as it looks you should be golden.

Posted: **Sun Feb 02, 2014 3:06 pm**

YHB wrote:It looks great, well done that man!! I bet you are so chuffed your socks are jumping up and down.

If you will indulge me I will make one observation, made with the best of intentions and based on my painful learning curve.

When I am running my Bok the temperature can vary by a few decimals of a degree, maybe I open the valve too much or something else happens. If the temperature rises by 0.2 degC tails start to get pulled through.

When this happens then I need to close the valve and let the column re-stabilise. This stops any more tails being produced but leaves some smelly stuff behind the valve.

The shorter the distance between the slant plates and the valve the less smelly stuff there is to contend with. Which is why you normally see Boks with the valve as high as people can get them.

Your valve is a lot lower than most and I think that there would be enough tails trapped there to make a big difference to a run. (AKA smearing)

One good thing about your set-up is that you will have SPP and from my reading this should give you a very stable run.

But if your Bok runs half as good as it looks you should be golden.

All points noted, I will move the valve higher and get a set of steps to reach it

Posted: **Mon Feb 03, 2014 9:24 am**

YHB, the valve is now 25mm from the slant plate take off and I do need to stand on some steps to reach it.

Posted: **Mon Feb 03, 2014 9:38 am**

Sometimes it is nice to be remembered

.

You will remember me every time you climb up there

.

Brian

Posted: **Mon Feb 03, 2014 10:05 am**

YHB wrote:Sometimes it is nice to be remembered .

You will remember me every time you climb up there .

Brian

Especially when I fall off

Posted: **Mon Feb 03, 2014 11:29 am**

The rule for not drinking while running a still applies double in your case.

Posted: **Wed Feb 05, 2014 8:12 pm**

Nicely done VT, you'll have a lot of fun with that. You'll have to do another cleaning run when you get the SPP, mine smelled a bit oily from being machined.

You say you need a step to reach the valve, the boiler is say 100cm, then 90cm of packing. Is the head longer than 90cm or are you just comically short

Posted: **Wed Feb 05, 2014 8:41 pm**

Capt-Cudellez wrote:Nicely done VT, you'll have a lot of fun with that. You'll have to do another cleaning run when you get the SPP, mine smelled a bit oily from being machined.

You say you need a step to reach the valve, the boiler is say 100cm, then 90cm of packing. Is the head longer than 90cm or are you just comically short

Yep, I'm a bit of a short arse, but the boiler is raised off the floor by 40cm as well.
I've got some nice 12% vinegar to do another run when the SSP turns up, it's been 6 weeks since I ordered it from istill, hoping it won't be much longer.

Posted: **Thu Feb 06, 2014 9:09 am**

Lovely job VT

What are you going to use to insulate the boiler and column?

I found that good quality insulation made controlling the still temp very easy but without it the temp wavered all over the place depending on where the breeze was coming from. Even in summer I couldn't keep the temp stable until I wrapped the boiler and column in Armaflex - great stuff!

AM

Posted: **Thu Feb 06, 2014 12:00 pm**

aidanmac wrote:Lovely job VT

What are you going to use to insulate the boiler and column?

I found that good quality insulation made controlling the still temp very easy but without it the temp wavered all over the place depending on where the breeze was coming from. Even in summer I couldn't keep the temp stable until I wrapped the boiler and column in Armaflex - great stuff!

AM

I have read somewhere when using SPP on a 50mm column it is advisable to insulate only the boiler because of the high latent heat retention, especially when used inside a building, as I do.
I will have to search for it again an have another read.

I may be wrong

Posted: **Thu Feb 06, 2014 3:29 pm**

My view of using insulation is simply to limit the amount of power required to achieve efficient separation of alcohol from the wash. Then again, I run a pot still so such things are very simple.

I've no useful ideas or opinions in relation to using SPP but I did find, when I was running a reflux column, that even the slightest draught where I ran my still, indoors, would have the digital thermometer dipping until I insulated everything up to the take off valve. Plus, the power I had to put in to maintain temp was cut by at least 40%

AM

StillSmart

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