StillSmart

So, at great expense I have repacked my column with the new stainless steel saddles. After doing my first run here are some observations.

1. The run seemed to take longer....maybe an hour or so longer.
2. Temperature control seems more problematic....fluctuating more than normal.
3. There are more wasps around my plum tree*.

* Number 3 may not be relevant.

Anyone else noticed this?

Cheers,
Mike

Yes Mike I noticed #3 wasn't relevant, too

packapoo wrote:Yes Mike I noticed #3 wasn't relevant, too

I don't have a T500.
Point #3 made me giggle.

Robert.

Okay, I'm up first...

The specific heat capacity difference of the stainless steel saddles and the standard offering saddles with the T500 will be (massively?) different - leading to the differences in times you see. Is the cost and time of an hour's worth of leccy worth it to you for the output you're getting? Maybe not...

As for temp fluc's, I wouldn't know, because once the metal of whatever type has heated up, it should be stable? However, I did have some serious tmep flucs and I discovered I'd let my column seal kink a bit and this caused an air gap causing temp diffs.

However, I've also noticed that running my still at night, weekends and esp. Sunday teatimes means my temps go all over the place by around 4C. I'm assuming my super-selfish neighbours are washing their kiddies for school the next day and cleaning dinner plates after Sunday Tea while I have much more important matters to attend to like my still.... pah and hurumph!

Sunday tea times is interesting. I get where you are coming from. I bake bread and the heatup time for the oven can vary wildly. I have considered monitoring the voltage and seeing if there is a correlation.

Did you pack them in nice and tight.
They have a lower HETP value because of the greater surface area, so if I were using them I would run the boiler at less Kw's than normal when it's up to temp.

I run SPP in mine, so I reflux 100% for 15 mins (turn up the water flow until no product flows), then I switch to 1400W and decrease the water flow until it starts flowing product. I found that full wattage tended to flood which in turn caused temp fluctuations.

EDIT: I have just worked out some HETP values, apart from SPP which is the best at HETP 2.8cm, the next best and most economical packing is SS scrubbers which are HETP 12cm giving the number of theoretical plates for the T500 at 1800W as 6.0. Running the T500 at 1400W gives HETP 11cm and 6.2 plates which shows running at a lower wattage is better.