I was unaware that there were any pressure dangers running a plated column with dephlegmator...does anyone understand this issue and are able to elaborate on the possible safety concern please?
"During the distilling process the distiller must be very careful not to over- cool the dephlegmator/pre-condenser. Doing so with a non-safety equipped system will cause the alcohol to condense quickly and possibly collapse the still. All distilling systems should be equipped with a pressure and vacuum safety valve. In a safety-equipped system, over-cooling of the dephelgmator/pre-con- denser will only result in stopping the flow of spirit from the condenser and will avoid disastrous results."
And if your answer is just to run warm water from the product condenser through the dephlegmator, well these excerpts are on the same page...
Some systems use the warmed water exiting the condenser to cool the dephlegmator/ pre-condenser. Although this can save some water, by using colder water and slowing down the flow exiting the dephlegmator/pre-condenser, finer control of the purity of the spirit can be achieved.
Clean sweet spirits can be obtained by running a “cold still.” This is accom- plished by keeping the head temperature of the still under 180oF. This is done by running a significant amount of water through the dephlegmator/pre-condens- er cooling the top portion of the column which will increase condensation and thereby allowing greater reflux.
It almost seems contradictory...running the dephlegmator cold could cause disastrous results, but then to run it cold for cleaner sweeter spirits!!?? :wtf: