Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

Hey guys, I've been running some whiskies through my 4" using 4 plates and I can't seem to find an equilibrium, both before take off and during a run, so I've had no choice but to run it anyway as no matter what voltage I set my controller on, and how much water is moving through the rc I cant get the top plate to get any depth about it.

The second and third plate balance well but the first and fourth plate remain shallow even after an hour of full reflux.
Whan I eventually back the water flow off to the rc to begin the run the bottom plate balances with the second and third but the fourth plate remains very shallow throughout the entire run.

I've checked for leaks so I'm positive that's not causing the issues.

The whiskies taste great but I just feel that I'm not utilising the still to it's potential.

Any suggestions as to what I may be doing wrong?

This has been coming up a fair bit lately and pretty sure everytime it has been a leak. Perhaps it time to replace the seals?

It's a brand new still with new gaskets but the copper plates seem to obstruct the seals from sitting snug into their allocated grooves so you may be right.

How reliable are mirrors to detect any leaks? I've checked it during every run and never seen any signs of leakage. I've also sprayed it with soapy water but there's no bubbling to be seen.
Is there any other way I can detect for leaks?

I may have to pack it with flour paste next run to see if that makes a difference.

Could be a plate seal issue also. Either the edge of the plate or wher the bc's and dc' join the plate. Fill her up with water and see how they go. If its like that every run might not be your issue though

Fill her up with water? Why didn't I think of that??
Thanks for the suggestions guys. Hopefully my next run will be the best so far, cheers!

Yeah run water slowly through the top of your column until the plates load and see if they drain at different rates (this is assuming you're running bubble caps not perfs). If ya fill it up too quick i have found it creates a vacuum and it'll draw liquid through the plate prematurely

Johno86 wrote:Yeah run water slowly through the top of your column until the plates load and see if they drain at different rates (this is assuming you're running bubble caps not perfs). If ya fill it up too quick i have found it creates a vacuum and it'll draw liquid through the plate prematurely

Yes they are bubble caps and pouring water down the column is how I've been cleaning the still after every run.
I have noticed that some take longer to empty than others however that could be due to the filling it fast as you say.
I first thought that you meant I should fill it with water to the top of the column and check for water leaks but that's obviously not what you meant.
If I do slowly run water through it to check the fall rates for each bubbler what will that tell me about any possible leaks as I'm not sure of the theory behind what you're saying?

Check if one or more plates drain faster than the other. Perhaps there is leaks around the bubble cap riser or downcomer that is draining liquid which stops plate fully loading :-B

If that's the case you should be able to see the flow down from the plate from that leak. I've got 1.6mm drain holes in my plates and you can see them flowing during the run but the plates are still loaded so it would need to be a reasonable leak. Unless it’s leaking down the side wall from the plate not sealing properly :think:

Seems odd that it's your top plate, that one is catching all of the reflux from the rc, it should be real full? What power are you running? Are you getting enough reflux? Is your rc holding all the vapor back or are you getting some product output all the time?

I would do what's been suggested to start with, it might show up an issue of some sort but I would then fill it right up with water to see if it's leaking somewhere else. Are your downcomers flowing ok on those plates? Are they the same as the others? If they're not flowing an unbroken stream then it may mean the vapour is bypassing, would that cause this problem? Not sure but worth a look.

bluc wrote:Check if one or more plates drain faster than the other. Perhaps there is leaks around the bubble cap riser or downcomer that is draining liquid which stops plate fully loading :-B

What he said lol. I check my glasser in this manner and works a treat, but being a glasser it is obviously easier to see

Ok guys I'll pour some water down her throat now to see what's going on. Here's a video of my set up so it might pay to take a look just incase I've set her up wrong.
https://youtu.be/MqLhlvILnDI

I'm watching it on a phone so I can't see it all that well but it looks like you have two flows of alc down from that top plate, one would be from the downcomer the other if it is there shouldn't be. It must be a leak, maybe one of your caps has come loose and it is leaking around the riser or the plate has shifted over and isn't seales around the edge.

woodduck wrote:I'm watching it on a phone so I can't see it all that well but it looks like you have two flows of alc down from that top plate, one would be from the downcomer the other if it is there shouldn't be. It must be a leak, maybe one of your caps has come loose and it is leaking around the riser or the plate has shifted over and isn't seales around the edge.

Your diagnoses is spot on again, woodduck. I filled it up with water and found there was a few leaks.
Question- should the copper plates sit on top of the seals or is it the other way around?
The guy from the HBS showed me how to assemble it however I was never happy with the way the plates sat on the gaskets as they never sat flush. As it was his first column still he's ever sold I think it may have been a case of the blind leading the blind.
I'm now thinking that I should have followed my gut instinct by putting the plate on the column first and then placing the silicon seal on top of the plate.

This would also explain why the gaskets have been stretching to the point where I can't reuse them after it's been disassembled.

Do the seals have a raised rib on them? If so I believe the plate should sit on top of the seal and inside the rib. That's what I've gathered from others, I've never had a modular still though. Someone who does will help out I'm sure.

woodduck wrote:Do the seals have a raised rib on them? If so I believe the plate should sit on top of the seal and inside the rib. That's what I've gathered from others, I've never had a modular still though. Someone who does will help out I'm sure.

Yeah the seals do have a raised rib on them but the plates seem to obstruct the rib seal when they sit on top which creates quite a gap in between the bubble tee's.
I've just had to tighten the clamps in hope that it creates a good seal but after testing the column with water today I found that it's leaking in quite a few areas.

Do your seals have the centre bit removed? Usually the bit inside the ridge gets removed then the plate sits inside. Unless there is a groove cut into the tee for plate to sit in..

Is it a 5star rig? If so give Mac a call, he'll be able to sort it out. If not ask the HBS bloke where he got it from and call them to sort it out :handgestures-thumbupleft:

bluc wrote:Do your seals have the centre bit removed? Usually the bit inside the ridge gets removed then the plate sits inside. Unless there is a groove cut into the tee for plate to sit in..

I reckon that's going to be the solution, bluc. I've been stewing over the idea of removing the inner part of the seals or shaving the outsides of the plates.

So if I cut the inside of the seals should I be safe to cut it right up flush with the centre rib?
I would generally just try it before asking however the hbs is all out of seals and I've got 3 60l washes ready to go so don't wanna risk messing this up.

woodduck wrote:Is it a 5star rig? If so give Mac a call, he'll be able to sort it out. If not ask the HBS bloke where he got it from and call them to sort it out :handgestures-thumbupleft:

It's not a 5 star rig (sorry Mac). Just when I was about to make my order with them the local hbs called me letting me know he was sticking them so I thought that would be better as I could instantly get any parts I needed.

Mormash wrote:

bluc wrote:Do your seals have the centre bit removed? Usually the bit inside the ridge gets removed then the plate sits inside. Unless there is a groove cut into the tee for plate to sit in..

I reckon that's going to be the solution, bluc. I've been stewing over the idea of removing the inner part of the seals or shaving the outsides of the plates.

So if I cut the inside of the seals should I be safe to cut it right up flush with the centre rib?
I would generally just try it before asking however the hbs is all out of seals and I've got 3 60l washes ready to go so don't wanna risk messing this up.

Very few absolutes in this hobby and I am only going by what others have said and done here. If it was me I would cut away enough so the plate fits inside the seal sitting on the stainless rather than the seal. Its up to you what you do from here..