Insulating my pot still.

[peanutaxis]

Hi,

In the interest of energy efficiency I plan to insulate my still - both the pot and the column. I am thinking that this should not affect too much the characteristics of the still.


any violent opinions against my plan?

[greenthumb]

i was just thinking the same about insulating the boiler of my T500 would it heat up quicker? even as i run it in the kitchen!! anyone know the pro's and con's?

[Mud Mechanik]

It will help hold in heat very well, mine is insulated and does great.

[NineInchNails]

If the still is fire heated then that can complicate insulating the boiler.

[greenthumb]

electric all the way for me!

[peanutaxis]

I plan on using those rubber-foam things you sleep on when tramping as insulation. I have some old ones.

I can imagine it being a problem if you insulated your pot but not your column, or the other way round - that would give your still different characteristics, though not necessarily bad characteristics.

[acfixer69]

Little pot still
why bother safety btu lost over a stove is nill

[greenthumb]

I plan on using those rubber-foam things you sleep on when tramping as insulation. I have some old ones.

do you mean the camping roll mats? thats a good idea

[fullhouse]

I used the 1/2 inch thick exercise or camp mats..2 layers thick ...then a foil tape for air ducts to wrap it all up works great!

[greenthumb]

@fullhouse

sounds like a good solution, has it decreased boil time at all?

[peanutaxis]

I plan on using those rubber-foam things you sleep on when tramping as insulation. I have some old ones.

do you mean the camping roll mats? thats a good idea

Yeah my brother in law came up with it. Genius!

[peanutaxis]

Had another thought.

A still must rely upon convection currents within the wash. Without any convection currents, a segment of wash on the bottom could not reach the surface and let the more volatile components evaporate. The more you insulate your still, the less convection currents will occur in your wash. I'm sure, though, that it would be virtually impossible to insulate so much that this would be a problem.