Pure Distillation

[shadow74]

Hi , i recently purchased a second-hand Pure distillation Rx tower , the problem i am having is low yield i seem to only get 1.2 litres of 93% and have done two runs with it so far , one was the pure distillation yeast kit and one was a TPW , both 22ltr started of similar sg 1.65 and fermented to .990.
My Questions are what is the upper limit of temp you would you allow from the spirit offtake , i am running the cooling water around 3 liters a minute coming of the town water which is around 22degrees and my spirit is leaving the tower at around 55 degrees and the effluent water is probably 10 degrees warmer, i am using the standard boiler and just the 1700w heater , tower top temp 78 at start and increasing too around 81 before i shut it off.
I have cleaned the tower with the vinegar wash and done the citric acids wash , after the second run i pulled the packing out and it seemed to be clean and in good condition , i also stuck a camera up the tube and everything seemed to be clean , but i did find a copper scrubber or packing in the top of the column above the thermowell , I haven't touched it as it seems that it would be a pain to get back in position , is this packing Normal? as it is not included in the packing replacement kit.
is it possible that my low yield is due to the fact that the condenser is not efficient enough letting the spirit leave the top of the column as a vapour ?
Do these units benefit from a power control ?

[howard]

i'm no expert on those stills, but it sounds like you are overpowering the condenser.
55°c sounds a bit hot.
a power controller will certainly help to adjust the 1700w element so you get a nice rolling boil that the condenser can handle better.
have you checked for vapour coming out of the spout?

[shadow74]

i'm no expert on those stills, but it sounds like you are overpowering the condenser.
55°c sounds a bit hot.
a power controller will certainly help to adjust the 1700w element so you get a nice rolling boil that the condenser can handle better.
have you checked for vapour coming out of the spout?

Thanks, Food for thought , By spout i assume you are talking about the spirit outlet ? and if so then no just dribbles no spurting
I did think about a power controller and i was going to bite the bullet and buy one but The pure distillation kit is fairly common, i would have thought that it would have been mentioned before?
Can you recommend a controller?

[Wellsy]

https://5stardistilling.com/product/pow ... 00w-10amp/

all 5 start stuff is great

[Wellsy]

https://5stardistilling.com/product/pow ... 00w-10amp/

all 5 start stuff is great

[howard]

i'm no expert on those stills, but it sounds like you are overpowering the condenser.
55°c sounds a bit hot.
a power controller will certainly help to adjust the 1700w element so you get a nice rolling boil that the condenser can handle better.
have you checked for vapour coming out of the spout?

Thanks, Food for thought , By spout i assume you are talking about the spirit outlet ? and if so then no just dribbles no spurting
I did think about a power controller and i was going to bite the bullet and buy one but The pure distillation kit is fairly common, i would have thought that it would have been mentioned before?
Can you recommend a controller?

wellsy has pointed to the 5-star controller.
as for dribbles and spurting, if you are overpowering the condenser, you will still get dribbles, but you will also get uncondensed high abv vapour exiting the still.
if this is happening, it's not only wasteful but not safe either (i'm trying to understand the low collection of 1.2l) :think:

[The Stig]

Your controller will be in the post tomorrow :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[shadow74]

Your controller will be in the post tomorrow :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Cheers for that , appreciated

[shadow74]

Thanks for the power.controler , arrived very quick , but unfortunately has not fixed my problem