Custom built stainless still

[Zak Griffin]

Is that 91/92% temp corrected?

[SMOKEU]

Is that 91/92% temp corrected?

Unfortunately it is. :( As soon as the alcohol started coming out of the still I could tell that it was coming out way too fast.

I'm not happy since I got the same out of my old SS Super Reflux still (which is a very, very basic brew shop reflux still).

[SBB]

s it worth plumbing the bottom cooling hoses up, the ones that are on the bottom section of the tower? Or do I need to find a way to reduce the power output of the element? It's a 1.4kW element according to my power meter, and this still just feels overpowered.

Ive had a quick look through this whole thread, and Ive had a rum or two so maybe my answer wont be up to scratch.
From what I see you want to make neutral/ vodkaish type things.
A 1.4 element isn't a huge amount of power, a T500 with a much shorter column that you have runs more than that from memory,
Id be hooking those two bottom fittings up for sure, you need to get all the reflux you can, Id also be trying to pack some scrubbers or copper mesh in around those reflux tubes to try and get more reflux action, Why it was suggested you not use them I have no idea.
Just be careful you don't pack it too tight , you need to be able to still blow through the column easily.
If all else fails Id be knocking up a Rum wash and running it to see what comes out the business end, you might be pleasantly surprised.

[Yummyrum]

SMOKEU...to elaborate a bit more...
These stills work by condensing the vapour that comes out of the packing on those Three cross tubes.
To get good purity you need to have at least 9/10s of the vapour condense and fall back into the packing.
Only about 1/10 of the vapour makes its way past the tubes and gets condensed in the output product condenser.

So these little tubes have to a lot of cold water flowing through them to condense 9/10 of the vapour created by the boiler.
There comes a point where they can't cope and you end up wirh more vapour going past them than is being refluxed and therefore there is not enough condenswd liquid falling back through the packing.

The only way to restore balance is to reduce the boiler power with a power controller so that the condensing ability of the cross tubes is restored..

Smokeu...this was what I was concerned about when I wrote this ....and it seems you have this situation.

You are running water through those pipes as fast as you can and it still can't condense enough vapour to provide sufficient reflux back into the packing.
So you need a controller to reduce the amount of vapour going up the column ...or major surgery to get better reflux .Easiest might be sticking a whole lot more cross pipes in up the top or make something like this

2 inch RC shotty.jpg

I still maintain that you should not connect the bottom pipes .They are a legacy still design .
The whole idea behind a packed reflux column to produce high ABV is that the temperature gradient is across the whole length of the packing .....boiler vapour temp at the bottom .....Take off temp at the top . and this takeoff temp is determined by how much reflux falls back into the packing
Having cooling tubes at the bottom upsets the whole equilibrium happening


Also , you might find a major improvement by double distilling ....First distill ,fast rough and ready ....second distill watered down to 40 % ...as slow as you can

[hillzabilly]

s it worth plumbing the bottom cooling hoses up, the ones that are on the bottom section of the tower? Or do I need to find a way to reduce the power output of the element? It's a 1.4kW element according to my power meter, and this still just feels overpowered.

Ive had a quick look through this whole thread, and Ive had a rum or two so maybe my answer wont be up to scratch.
From what I see you want to make neutral/ vodkaish type things.
A 1.4 element isn't a huge amount of power, a T500 with a much shorter column that you have runs more than that from memory,
Id be hooking those two bottom fittings up for sure, you need to get all the reflux you can, Id also be trying to pack some scrubbers or copper mesh in around those reflux tubes to try and get more reflux action, Why it was suggested you not use them I have no idea.
Just be careful you don't pack it too tight , you need to be able to still blow through the column easily.
If all else fails Id be knocking up a Rum wash and running it to see what comes out the business end, you might be pleasantly surprised.

Thats the good thing about distilling ,you can allways dilute and try again,connect the other pipes dilute to 40% or less .In my experience with stills I never got the best out off them the first couple of runs ,cheers hillzabilly

[SMOKEU]

The first run I did, the alcohol smelled absolutely disgusting, like a high gravity turbo sugar wash put through a pot still with no cuts, but now I know why. Each time before use, I turn the reflux tower upside down, and flush water through it. The water that comes out of the spirit outlet hole is always brown for the first minute or so, because I can't find any decent stainless scrubbers, and these ones are rusty.

Anyway, I connected the bottom cooling hoses up to the still today, and put in the spirit from the first run (feints and hearts), and diluted it right down to around 10-12%ABV to "simulate" a normal tomato paste wash, so I could get an idea of what the still can do if a normal strength wash were to be put through it. Since connecting the bottom cooling hoses, it's like a completely different still. Suddenly I can control the temperature very well with minimal cooling water, and the still stayed at 75.5°C for the whole run until tails.

After collecting the hearts, I put the container in a 20°C room for a while (that's what my hydrometer is calibrated for), and the alcohol strength is 95.6%ABV according to my hydrometer! I'm still in awe that this still can produce such pure spirit, and I have no reason do doubt the accuracy of my hydrometer as it reads 0%ABV when put in 20°C water. To double check I may take a sample of my spirit to a brew shop to test with another hydrometer.

The spirit comes out with a fast drip, but not a steady stream like it did before, so connecting the bottom cooling hoses has made a massive difference. It no longer feels like it's completely out of control as it did before, as now I can precisely adjust the temperature the still runs at instead of it running at whatever temperature it feels like as it did before. The spirit that came out this time round is actually quite nice, and even at its full strength it doesn't really have any smell to it. I watered some down to 40%ABV and it's pretty clean. So if the alcohol reading is true, then I'm very happy that it can do more or less an azeotrope, or at least within a small fraction of a percentage of one from a normal strength wash.

Next up I might hit up a cleaning supply store with a magnet to try and find some decent SS scrubbers, and if that fails, I'll give up on SS and go for copper packing instead since decent SS scrubbers seem to be very difficult to find in shops here. Thanks for all your help everyone, and I'll keep you posted if anything new happens!

[hillzabilly]

Good ta hear she is behavin herself ,your product quality should be improved further with copper packing as the copper removes sulphides.With mine I got the best result by doing a couple of runs dilutein to 40% or less then soak on carbon for a couple of weeks then 2nd distill real slow (after removein carbon )cheers hillzabilly

[SMOKEU]

Good ta hear she is behavin herself ,your product quality should be improved further with copper packing as the copper removes sulphides.With mine I got the best result by doing a couple of runs dilutein to 40% or less then soak on carbon for a couple of weeks then 2nd distill real slow (after removein carbon )cheers hillzabilly

I've already got some copper scrubbers in the bottom section of the tower. I haven't actually heard of distilling, then carbon filtering, then more distilling. I should try it some time. Normally I stick with the normal method of distilling, then watering down to 40%ABV, then carbon, then drink.

Do you know if rusty scrubbers can make the spirit dangerous to drink? I was careful to keep flushing the still out with cold water until the water came out clear before distilling. I will replace the scrubbers before my next still run.

[1 2many]

Do you know if rusty scrubbers can make the spirit dangerous to drink

Doesn't sound like your scrubbers are copper, maybe time to upgrade to real copper. :-B

[SMOKEU]

Do you know if rusty scrubbers can make the spirit dangerous to drink

Doesn't sound like your scrubbers are copper, maybe time to upgrade to real copper. :-B

Some of the scrubbers are copper. The rest are crappy stainless steel. I'll keep the existing copper as it has showed no signs of corrosion, and I'll replace the rest of the scrubbers with either good stainless steel (if I can find them), or with more copper. I'm thinking Chore Boy scrubbers, as they seem to have a good reputation for use in stills.

[Yummyrum]

SMOKEU

Sorry If I gave you a Bum stare with the recommendation not to connect the bottom cooling tubes ...Although it goes against all theory ,seems the extra cooling at the bottom stopped enough vapour to allow the top reflux tubes to do its job . Perhaps a lower power element should have been fitted to the boiler . ;-)

Pleased you got your desired ABV in the end :oops: Well done for persevering and ...how did you hook up the cooling pipes in the end

[Sam.]

Do you know if rusty scrubbers can make the spirit dangerous to drink?

I don't reckon I would drink anything out of a rusty still mate :puke-huge:

[hillzabilly]

Do not forget to clean (soak in citric acid or vineagar solution)copper packing inbetween runs ,check the FSD store for quality packing.give her another cleaning run to be sure ,befor drinking ya product.cheers hillzabilly ;-)

[SMOKEU]

SMOKEU

Sorry If I gave you a Bum stare with the recommendation not to connect the bottom cooling tubes ...Although it goes against all theory ,seems the extra cooling at the bottom stopped enough vapour to allow the top reflux tubes to do its job . Perhaps a lower power element should have been fitted to the boiler . ;-)

Pleased you got your desired ABV in the end :oops: Well done for persevering and ...how did you hook up the cooling pipes in the end

That's all good! I'm glad I got it working properly in the end. I'll post a pic tomorrow of how I connected the bottom cooling pipes.

[SMOKEU]

Do not forget to clean (soak in citric acid or vineagar solution)copper packing inbetween runs ,check the FSD store for quality packing.give her another cleaning run to be sure ,befor drinking ya product.cheers hillzabilly ;-)

Will do! Cheers.

[bjay]

Hey Smokeu
I got some s/s scrubbers from bunnings just the other day ,, The sabco ones 3 pak pot and pan scrubs
could be just the ticket for your outfit ,,,Linky below

cheers
B



http://www.sabcoprofessional.com.au/index.php/products/surface-cleaning/scourers/683-pot-pan-scrub-stainless-steel-scourers-3pk

[Sinerjee]

Hey Smokeu
I got some s/s scrubbers from bunnings just the other day ,, The sabco ones 3 pak pot and pan scrubs
could be just the ticket for your outfit ,,,Linky below

cheers
B



http://www.sabcoprofessional.com.au/index.php/products/surface-cleaning/scourers/683-pot-pan-scrub-stainless-steel-scourers-3pk

So are these the best thing to pack a column with? Obviously some copper is needed so I'm ordering some copper mesh to place in the column as well but should it be all copper or a mix of copper and stainless? Also would there be any benefit of transferring the ceramic saddles from my T500 into the new column?

[SMOKEU]

how did you hook up the cooling pipes in the end

[SMOKEU]

Hey Smokeu
I got some s/s scrubbers from bunnings just the other day ,, The sabco ones 3 pak pot and pan scrubs
could be just the ticket for your outfit ,,,Linky below

cheers
B



http://www.sabcoprofessional.com.au/index.php/products/surface-cleaning/scourers/683-pot-pan-scrub-stainless-steel-scourers-3pk

Unfortunately Bunnings NZ don't sell them. The hardware store scrubbers all rust out at the first use, and specialist cleaning shops also have very poor quality SS.

[P3T3rPan]

You have a Southern Hospitality in ChCh
Very good ss scrubbers
Definitely not cheap but only need to buy once
Store Location
Telephone: 03 377 3835
Fax: 03 377 3782
Delivery Address: 94 Tuam Street, Christchurch
Manager: Steve Boyles

Opening Hours:
Mon – Fri: 8am – 5pm