Still Spirits Super Reflux ideas / modifications

[datrat]

Thanks!

[Irritable]

So what is the consensus on modifying the super reflux - yes/no? Not worth it?
I am pulling mid 80''s on tpw washes but high 80's and low 90's on turbos.
I'd like to get consistent 90's.
I am close but can't quite get full reflux on full open water, ie product still exits, and abv goes to it's highest.

I thought a simple 500mm extension, packed with SS or similar would increase reflux and raise abv, or am I dreaming? It's frustrating seeing some later model, relatively cheap HBS reflux stills pulling 95 with out issue, but this is my 1st unit and well...I've grown attached to the little bugger.... :-)
What to do????
Cheers
Si.

[OzKev]

I'd strip your TPW first in pot still mode. On my old super reflux I could get 91%-92% running a strip through slowly.

[Irritable]

I ran as slow as I could and 88 was highest and that was a drop every second or two...not fun.

Do these extensions work?
Saddles or stainless scrubbers?
Water hoses routing?
Boiler controllers?

Resign to defeat and purchase a new and improved unit?

Si.

[Sam.]

I'd strip your TPW first in pot still mode.

:text-+1: Yeah, im with Kev,

Strip your wash first and then do your spirit run. This will help you boost the abv and also give you a cleaner neutral.

No mods to your still are required.

[Irritable]

Okay - so I ran the tpw through the little essencia reflux and it came out averaging 75%, this was with barely any cooling water being applied and I pulled about 5 litres.
I've packed the column again and ran about a litre a minute of water and...93% !! Not too bad.
I pulled a lot less back through 2nd time, ill be lucky to keep 2 litres after some harsh cuts, but the quality is there and that's what I wanted!
Thanks everyone for their advice, much appreciated. A very clean tasting spirit, albeit with a little mucking around.

I now have a 30 litre grainy wash settling - the outcome of this one is going to be very interesting.
Don't know whether to run in pot mode and take cuts, or lot mode it first for stripping and then semi pack column for spirit run...decisions decisions. Guess ill see what flavour is like when it comes off pot still mode.
Si

[skurvy84]

So your stripping run was without packing and minimal cooling?

How long did the stripping run take as in from start to finish? what abv% did you run till

Wanting to do the exact same thing in the coming weeks.

[Irritable]

Stripping run was with a handful of copper saddles and a handful of ceramics. No stainless scrubbers, no copper meshing, about 2 inches below the cross over pipe. So reflux was there but very minimal and the copper was only to help with sulfides.
Water was barely running through and was coming out very hot. Took 3 hours and I collected to well below 40% - didnt take last few readings.
The packing seems to be the key here.
If you pack hard with about 5 stainless scrubbers with a few copper saddles, and pack VERY hard - then run the water a luttle higher than normal, then abv will rise to very reasonable levels. You can achieve full reflux - no product coming out at all. This means that you can then dial back the water very slowly and theoretically, you could get 95% but OMG is is so damn slow you'd be there for a month.
I have found that to get low 90's as a needle width stream, You need to be able to just breathe thru the collection pipe but mine was only 'just' and water cooling was just over a litre a minute.
I think I have discovered/learning the extremes of this little unit and it is teaching me a lot.

Si.

[wildburkey]

I'm still yet to experiment with packing or using a voltage controller but have found having the extension has made a noticeable difference (cleaner tasting neutral) when run correctly. Funny enough the best plumbing configuration seemed to be just leaving it as is from the store and not cooling the extension tower at all when running in reflux. It seems I have been doing it all wrong when running detuned to a pot still tho because I have not been removing the packing which I apparently should be doing. Cheers Si I will buy some stainless scrubbers and see what difference it makes.

[Irritable]

I'm about to run a CFW through and plan on removing all packing except 3 (why 3?) copper saddles floating in the reflux column. Nothing else at all.
Ill also remove the water cooling from the column and only run water to the condenser which will move the wash through in about 3 hours or so. Ill treat it like a stripping run, but ill take cuts just to see how it comes out. If the hearts are too smeared, ill save up until I have enough for a spirit run.
That being said - I did the above with a nutrigrain wash and i kept 2.5 litres of hearts, taking more towards the tails for the taste and flavour, ended averaging 60%abv and it's now resting on chips...and ive another fermenter running off the trub of this wash, its pretty Nice, even at higher %. If this CFW comes out similar, ill be happy.

Ill have my 1000 litre recirculating water tank installed soon, then ill move to re packing and trying for some high abv neutrals again.
Si.

[Irritable]

Just to add, I've had a couple of pm's re people getting a little dissapointed with these small hobby stills.I'd just like to add that I'm closer to 50 that I like to admit, I won't drink cheap top shelf like normal jim beam or JD, (but I don't mind makers and small batch), and ive recently done a few whiskey tours. A couple of nights ago I visited a person who has the blue essencia reflux express I think they are called - and he had the best home brew whiskey I've ever ever tasted, bar nothing. He was mixing, fermenting, stilling as agriculturally as you could be. Forget cuts and abv, he just does his thing. This product was simply...fucking amazing. He was even using turbo yeasts. I started a thread about it and copped a little, but I don't really mind - I know what the product was -(which is subjective anyway) but to all those with the little HBS units - a bloody good product can be done, and from what I witnessed - without a lot of concentrated effort, just a decent amount of experience.
Si.

[Sam.]

Exsitable, there is a reason you copped a bit from that thread so how about you stop talking about the same thing in other threads?

Your last post above was reported by a member so I'm not the only one getting sick of the same story. Let's keep this thread on topic.

[Irritable]

You know what Sam, i doubt that very much. This post was about ppl getting disgruntled with stills that you and others openly frown upon. And now I apparently can't make reference to another post re my opinion? Ever since you weighed in on a couple of threads and were...well, quite weird about a few comments and ppl were wondering wtf, you've been looking for something else to power trip over, and this is the best you could come up with? really?? I thought moderators were supposed to "moderate" and not "opinionate". Whats the saying power corrupts...it's a bloody open forum mate, or is it?
I guess the best thing to do, is to do everyone a favour - please delete my account.
Good luck with your hobby everyone.

Si.

[Sam.]

I was merely moderating this forum keeping tech threads on topic.

Your wish is my command. :greetings-waveyellow:

[MacStill]

I was merely moderating this forum keeping tech threads on topic.

Your wish is my command. :greetings-waveyellow:

:text-+1: :text-lol: :teasing-nutkick:

Good move Sam :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[WTDist]

Irritable :wtf:

:laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling:

Well i had to look, read and look again :wtf: then realised what happened. oh snap damn that's funny :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling:

[Hawkeye]

:text-+1: :text-lol:

Sorry for being off topic Sam but THANK-YOU ^:)^

[MacStill]

I must admit the name change was my doing, but Sam did the rest :laughing-rolling:

[1 2many]

Bugger i have been gone to long...but now I get it. :))

[Mad]

hope im not rehashing somthing up further. but i have a super reflux that i removed the cermaic saddles from and replacedwith stainless scrubbers 4 of them - yup i jammed 4 pot scrubbers into that little sucker! i pull 93.2% on spirit runs with it. every time and im just getting a little extension tube made up similar to what you used to be able to buy should see me closer to 95 hopefully - for a free mod i thought why not