StillSmart

Pot still that is. I have looked at this thread and there are so many designs and such. Does anyone have an easy to understand plan for a pot still?

You could start here...



...or this one (same, same but better explanation...I think!)



I'll root around and see if I have anything else

AM

Note: The angle of the Liebig Condenser in these drawings is representative only and you should set the angle to suit your output requirements.

Here's some more. (Click on any pic to see large version)

This one shows the main components in using a 50lt stainless steel keg...



... and these show the parts of the Pot Head assembled





...and this is how the Pot Riser is connected to the keg using a Tri-Clamp and Gasket



...and finally you'll be needing a Liebig Condenser (easiest to build but very effective)


Simples

AM

Just remember that for a pot still you should really start with the condenser. That needs to match your power input and from there you just work backwards to make it fit.

Thanks for the replys I think I'm starting to understand a little bit.

Each time you reduce the diameter of the vapour path it increases the vapour speed. This puts more of a load onto the product condenser which means you either need a bigger condenser or you run at lower power to compensate.

The old onion stills used a tapered vapour path because they were so big that they lost a significant amount of heat. The reduction in size was to compensate to maintain a constant vapour speed.

Now our small stills don't have this issue, so you can keep the vapour path as big as you like - it is more about cosmetic appeal and cost than anything else.

There is some evidence that gradual tapers are better than sudden changes but both work to some degree. I would say to look at the total cross sectional area of the vapour path inside the condenser (if using a multi tube condenser) and use that as the smallest diameter in the vapour path. Then just work backwards to gradually increase to the diameter of the boiler output.