StillSmart

Hi All new to this hobby and the art of alcohol Distilling

Just brought A T500 Still one major flaw Ive found with it after 4 runs on mains Pressure Tap water Takes too Long to get 3.5 Ltres of Spirit ( Nearly 10 Hours) quality is awesome though 96% ABV Only supoosed to take 4 - 5 hours......

Is there any way I control the temp better like other posts ive read on here I too have the problem of the water coming out of the bottom temp gauge hole on the colum

Water pressure isnt an issue here so Im at a loss as to what to do to correct this problem any ideas would be appreciated anf thanks in Advance from a newbie lol

Whimpy

First thing to do is to get some PTFE tape, remove the lower sensor, wrap some tape around it and put it back in the hole. That should solve that problem.

I've found the T500 is quite sensitive to the way the column is packed - I've changed the way mine is packed and it had a major effect on the lower water temp - I now tend to run mine at 64 degrees and get a genuine 93% at 20 degrees at 1 litre an hour.

Admiral made a good suggestion on packing the T500 slightly differently to the instructions on this thread. http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=1063

You allude to temperature control problems in your post

Is there any way I control the temp better like other posts ive read on here

Can you describe the problems you are having??

Thanks !

[Mod Note - moved to T500 forum ]

Thanks So much Guys for the quick and informative reply to my first post...... As I live in the coldest State In Aus (Tasmania)..... When I first run my T500 I watched the dvd that came with the package..... This told me to get the top temp up to between 55 and 65 deg celcius to allow the Alcohol to flow...... after trying this I found that this Temp was way too low and was informed by my Local Home Brew Supplier that the Temp needed to be at 78 Deg to run.

After doing the first run I got approx 3.5 Litres from my sugar wash @95% after approx 4 - 4/1/2 Hours which was right on the money.

However the Last two runs have had the same or better ABV up to 96% but have taken approx 10 hours to complete and have had the bottom thermometer pop out and water leaking from where it sits even when in place..... Any thoughts on this one at all..... btw the end product has been clean clear and beautiful to taste!!!! so wondering why distilling time has doubled since my first run ?? thanks again in advance

Whimpy

Hi Mate and welcome

Thats taking way too long a normal run should take about five hours from when you switch on to the dregs
But its a very high yield at 96 % I find starts 93 % drops to about 90 at the end
Column packing may have a bearing but I suspect you are running too cool especially when you say water is escaping from the temp probe at the outlet. This only happens with mine when I quickly turn water up to purge air prior to running.
I run at about 60 to 62 dec C
If you are running below 55 the flow will be very slow
Have you checked that the probe is reading correctly ? try putting them both in a glass of warm water and comparing readings
hope this helps

AT

Ok - the top temp needs to be in the region of 78 degrees - it depends on the accuracy in the thermometer, how far it's inserted into the hole etc etc. I'm just happy with a constant reading there !

The lower temp is the one that needs to be in the region of 55 to 64. This is the temperature of the cooling water as it exits the column. A quick summary of this lower temperature reading is the lower the temp then the slower the output but the higher the Quality. The higher the temp then the faster the output but the (relatively speaking) lower the quality.

This might get a bit technical now.

Ok - the lower temp (and water flow) controls the reflux of the column. Relux is the amount of vapour/condensate that gets returned down the column. The higher the reflux then the higher the quality. You have multiple distilations going on in the column - the vapour travels up the colum and condenses on the packing in the column. As more vapour passes the condensate the condensate 'liberates' energy from the vapour and it turns back into vapour but each time it does that it gets purer. The cooling water reduces the amount of energy in the vapour so less and less condensate can liberate energy so it has to be purer to make the journey to the top of the column.

I might be wrong about this - I've heard at least three different versions of what happens in a column but the simple principle is the more energy the cooling water removes from the column the less vapour will get to the top but the purer it will be.

I hope this makes sense ??

Thanks again guys.... ok top temp is running at 78deg as I said in my previous post and the bottom temp seems to sit on or around 13.5 most of the time here and if I let it get any higher it runs too hot and pops the little tube at the top of the condenser off every time and makes a hell of a mess as you can imagine.

Also just another query in regards to the black cap on the condenser where the top probe goes in..... (The metal probe) Is the black cap sitting level and flush on the condeser as mine is raised slightly??

Thanks again for the quick responses this is a fantastic forum for us newbies to learn all the tricks of the trade


Whimpy

I'm sorry for asking such an obvious question but which way round have you got your pipes?

The water should go from the tap, through the needle valve, into the bottom of the condenser and then out past the lower temp sensor.

The reading of 13.5 seems way too low and makes me think that the pipes may be the wrong way around.

13.5 degrees thats cold water temp ! got to be wrong way around surely

top temp at 78 going slightly higher at end of run is fine

the cap is just a push fit, after advice from others on the site when reasembling after periodic full clean I put a bit ptfe tape around for a snugger fit
AT

Thanks for the reply once again guys..... Sounds like I've boo booed with pipes ..... How embarrassed do I feel...... lol So on my next run I will try them the opposite way round and see how it goes thanks again all....

Whimpy

Fingers crossed that sorts it - don't forget the "water in" goes to the bottom of the condenser and not to the bottom of the column (where the temp senser is)

Thanks Again for your great info and the quick reply.....

Ok.... Found one major problem with the condenser..... It had a hairline crack in the out let pipe on the condenser which you couldnt see with the naked eye,,,, My mate picked it up when he used a manifying glass to inspect it. Problem was fixed by taking it to the local raditor repair shop here The guy just "bronzed" the whole thing tested it with water and air pressure and walla no problem there anymore Cost me the princely sum of $5.00 and 20 mins of my time.

Secondly, Got some pumber's tape as advised by you guys and taped up white temp probe.... Tested the gauges no probs there they both read the same temp were whithin .1 of a deg.

thirdly Im off to local hardware store tomorrow to get some copper mesh for the top of the column and off to supermarket to purchase a box of steelo pads to put a couple in the column after the brass saddles go in will then top up with the ceramic saddles as suggested.

I rang the place where i purchased the equiptment told him of the problem..... told me that if I had taken it back he possibilly would have replaced the condenser foc as it was only two months old.... Consquently I will be making my purchases from another bewshop from now on.

My wash will be ready to distill saturday so hopefully no more hassles.

I will keep you guys posted....... Once again thanks heaps for all the helpful info and advice its much appreciated.

Whimpy

good to hear you got sorted

I wouldn't overdo the scrubber packing as I recall someone advising me against completely replacing the saddles with these

If you do use some make sure they are good quality stainless steel of course

maybe try experimenting with standard saddles against a mix ? will be interested to hear how you get on

AT

Thanks Admiral..... point taken with the pot scrubbers I only intned to try a couple and then top up with the ceramic saddles..... forgot to mention in previous post that I have also swapped the pipes around as suggested so i'm hoping that I'll have no more hassles


Thanks once again I'll report back on my progress on Sunday

Whimpy

Hi Guys, Turned on Still At about 8.30am..... following all instructions given by all on here turned the pipes around etc and its running beautifully Temps both where they should be and not one bit of water leaking from anywhere.

Thanks to all for the great info tips and tricks.....

Whimpy