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Advice from the brains trust

PostPosted: Sat May 22, 2021 2:20 am
by Dopeassmonkey
Hi I recently got a 5 start
2 inch boka and pot still combo.. thanks for the help reccomedations from all..
But now here I am pretty much full novice coz I all I know is the t500.. I'm for now focusing on stripping run and reflux of tomato paste wash... can anyone give me s
Tips helpful hints even basic instructions... anything would be appreciated .. I think I have like half an idea but don't be afraid to break it down to me like I'm an idiot.
Thanks in advance

Re: Advice from the brains trust

PostPosted: Sat May 22, 2021 6:18 am
by Wellsy
Stripping run is easy my friend
Put the wash in the boiler lid on, set up the cooling lines remembering to put the inflow line to the lower side of product condenser and the out flow to the higher point. Turn it on and catch the output , most will catch output down to about 20%. These are the low wines that you will run in the stripping run later. I have noticed there is a fair bit of flex in the lid of the 35 litre boiler so I use some wood to support this if needed.
Sorry I can’t help with the reflux as I have never run one. But stripping runs are the first step and you need to do a couple of them before you are ready to do your reflux
Good luck, double check everything and relax and enjoy that first run :)

Re: Advice from the brains trust

PostPosted: Sat May 22, 2021 8:34 am
by Carol
Hi Dopeassmonkey
There is a thread on my 2"Boka and pot in Reflux stills. That might help you.

Reflux run for low wines. Low wines in the boiler - check that it is not more than 40% ABV. Column filled with copper mesh. Valve closed. When it gets to temperature turn the power down to keep the temperature constant and let it reflux for 45 minutes. Open valve until you get a drip-drip-dribble. Take off fores. I take off the distillate in 300ml lots.

Cheers
Carol

Re: Advice from the brains trust

PostPosted: Sat May 22, 2021 12:23 pm
by Dopeassmonkey
What roughly is enough power to maintain a good boil.. I have like a2000w boiler I think.. also what kind of flow rate can I get away with on the hose? It doesn't have to be full yeah?

Also I'm being impatient coz I just got it but it is actually worth doing a strip run then a reflux for just a 25l wash or isit better just to reflux it. I'll probably do a strip one anyway just so I get to play with all the bits.

Also haha... how does one run it "hard and fast" full power and not that much water? Just for the strip run obviously


Thanks

Re: Advice from the brains trust

PostPosted: Sat May 22, 2021 12:52 pm
by BigRig
Once the boiler is up to temp you can maintain a good boil at 30% on the power controller.

Re: water flow the answer is as much as is needed to knock the vapour back down to a liquid. That condenser is a beast so you shouldn't need much flow and it will still come off cold.

If you are keen to give it a run then you can strip the 1 wash then dilute again with water then do a spirit run with the boka.

Re: Advice from the brains trust

PostPosted: Sat May 22, 2021 1:48 pm
by Dopeassmonkey
Yeah that was my plan even if just to help lower the amount I have to pay extra attention to I feel like a reflux wash after a strip would be like 7 litres so would be a faster.
How do you figure out much water flow you need? Just use a bit more than you think or does it show you signs of stuff so you can adjust.. at some point I think I'm gunna look into a recyc system but it seems like it's gotta be prey big and I don't have a pool

Re: Advice from the brains trust

PostPosted: Sat May 22, 2021 2:15 pm
by RuddyCrazy
When I first started out with my 2" pot still I used a 200 litre pickle drum and found it did keep cool for a full run with the temp only rising about 5 degrees and I used a 12 volt flojet pump which delivered around 19 litres a minute.

Now I did find if I did a series of stripping runs the water did heat up too much so I had to wait a day for it to cool down.

I did move my setup to my shed up the hill and now I use a 5,000 gal rainwater tank and the same 12 volt flojet pump, when distilling in winter the water is that cold I get water vapour coming off my PC.

For my smaller stills I just use a 240 volt magnetic pump that one can buy from the HBS pretty cheap just be aware they have a zero head height input so the inlet has to be either level with the pump or below the tank.

So a cheap option may be the pickle drum and you can check the rise in temp of the water during a run and with some luck it will work out :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Cheers Bryan

Re: Advice from the brains trust

PostPosted: Sat May 22, 2021 2:27 pm
by Dopeassmonkey
Iv seen some of those drums for cheap on gumtree.. so I'd is just for one run you don't have to worry about temp?
Also before I do that is there any way to know how much I need just by turning the tap down?

Re: Advice from the brains trust

PostPosted: Sat May 22, 2021 2:43 pm
by RuddyCrazy
Here's an idea mate if you can pick up those pickle drums pretty cheap grab 2 of them then plumb it up where only one is used and a tap to the other one so it can switch over to the other one. Then one can empty the hot drum and refill it with cold water ready for the next switch over, you may even get some brownie points by watering the garden with the waste water :handgestures-thumbupleft:

So several taps are needed where for the inlet a tap on each drum goes to the pump where only one is connected at one time, then a tap on each drum for the drain where it will take a bit of time to gravitate out but with the other drum cool there is plenty of time to do it.

Now if you have a rainwater tank you could use that if there is plenty of capacity in the tank where the outlet for the PC returns to the tank. Thats how my system is setup and ever since i made it it just plain works :handgestures-thumbupleft: With my flojet pump I just use it at 30-40% power and find it's enough for the product to come out nice and cool which what we want.

Cheers Bryan