T 500 tips and tricks?

[matty83]

A silly question - sorry - have you repacked the column? If so, how did you repack it?

[ledgenko]

my top temp normally sits on 78-79 and I keep by bottom temp at 53-55.

What do you mean by bottom temp ???

[ledgenko]

Not a silly question at all... no I have not .. its the original ceramic saddles ... I was thinking about changing to the Coles steelo pads which have been discussed in here .. happy to take advice ...

cheers

[matty83]

Ouch - then I have nothing for you :-) Mine was always solid when it was stock(and even after repacking - I did have an incident when I repacked too heavily, though).

Sorry mate!

[danmiz]

i understand the top temp she be 78-79 and the bottom temp should be 53-57 ( lower the better). the 3 runs ive done ive noticed my top temp being to lower at 75 or so when i run the bottom at 55ish. im going to run it a little hotter on tuesday and get the top temp at 78-79 and see what the bottom temp holds at. maybe my thermometers are not reading correct and im running it to cold.

[poompy]

my top temp normally sits on 78-79 and I keep by bottom temp at 53-55.

What do you mean by bottom temp ???

the bottom temp = the water outlet temp from the still.

[matty83]

Maybe a few things to check in no particular order:

1) If you set the needle valve on the tap and then fill up a water vessel over say 30 seconds - see how much water is transferred then compare with what happens when the still is connected - Connect it in sections as well. For example, the inlet to the outlet of the product condensor then from the inlet to the column to the outlet. Also, you could check how much flow there is between the product condensor output and the column itself(I actually do this indirectly when I flush the column)

2) Grab yourself a known good thermometer and heat a bit of water in the kettle(not too hot since your other thermo may not like > 70oC) and compare temps. You may suffer problems doing this since the bottom thermo is VERY hard to get out(I used rubber and an allen key with a hammer). I actually dont use it anymore since I broke two of them(stupid freaking design!) instead I use a Jaycar long stainless steel type(digital whole degrees only but still good!)

3) When the still is running, grab a small hand mirror and check for steam leaks

4) Check the power consumed by the boiler when running. It should be about 2kW I suspect. In general, mine takes 1h10m to heat approx 25L to boiling(give or take)

5) Empty the column and check for any blockages or problems that are obvious, use a good LED torch(and perhaps flush it whilst your there).

6) Check that you've still got the receipt :-)

Please let me know how you go.

Regards,

Matt

[petes]

Not a silly question at all... no I have not .. its the original ceramic saddles ... I was thinking about changing to the Coles steelo pads which have been discussed in here .. happy to take advice ...

cheers

Dunno about those steelo pads.
Always understood anything with iron in, i.e. it's magnetic, is a strict no no.
Should maybe be copper scrubbers - still do the magnet test though to be really sure.

[grumpthehermit]

Yeah,

Not steelo pads, they are steel wool with or without soap in them.

I think he meant stainless steel pot scrubbers, thats the go.

Cheers
GTH

[zwagerman9]

$1 a pop at coles, They strech out easily too!I got 6 for a 160cm packing. Got one spare :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[matty83]

$1 a pop at coles, They strech out easily too!I got 6 for a 160cm packing. Got one spare :handgestures-thumbupleft:

For "now" I run coles ones as well. I did have a problem because I packed the column too tightly and it surged like a mofo! Other than that, they run great!

[danmiz]

MDH i have a question for you. how do i check my power output? ive notice my t500 takes about 1 hour and 20 to 1 hour 30 to heat uo.

[matty83]

MDH i have a question for you. how do i check my power output? ive notice my t500 takes about 1 hour and 20 to 1 hour 30 to heat uo.

Hey Mate,

I have two energy monitoring devices in the house mostly because I wanted to find out why my freaking power bill was so high per qtr. I have a single plug in as well as a electrical box type inductive unit sold by CleverWatts or something like that.

1h20 to 1h30 sounds ok to me.

Another quick question - are you using the ceramic boiling thingos as well?

Regards,

Matt

[danmiz]

Yes I use the ceramic boil enhancers. I going to do a run today and I. Let u know results.

[danmiz]

okay guys i did a run today with lot better results. i gave the column a good shake to make sure it was not obstructed. i ran it at top temp 78.5 and the bottom temp betwwen 64-65 c the whole time and got 4 L at 93% in 4.5 hours. ill take it!

[Kimbo]

thats great news Dan, glad it :handgestures-thumbupleft: worked out for you

[danmiz]

me toooo! i didt want to hate the t 500. i guess i have to run it at 65 c instead of 55. i try and run it lower next week and see what happens.

[Linno]

MDH i have a question for you. how do i check my power output? ive notice my t500 takes about 1 hour and 20 to 1 hour 30 to heat uo.

Gday Dan, I have the same boiler (different still) and mine is not insulated takes around 1h 15mins to get to temp with 25ltr on board so I dont think theres anything wrong with the times.

Linno

[poompy]

What is everyone's thoughts on wrapping the boiler in some cheap camping mat, the blue stuff from $2 stores.

I have done this on an old keg for my HLT (hot water for brewing beer).

[Kimbo]

Good idea :handgestures-thumbupleft:
If your running an electric element. ;-)