Running my still for the first time in years!

Vapor, Liquid or Cooling Management. Flutes, plates, etc.

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HPD
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Running my still for the first time in years!

Post by HPD »

Yeah, guys. Just thought I'd post some pictures of my still in action and also share some ideas.

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The condenser is a Bokakob design. It's modular. The condenser, condenser housing and reflux plate/takeoff assembly can be removed from each other for cleaning. The boiler is a modified stainless steel turkey smoker with about an 8-gallon capacity. I installed a 1500 watt heating element, equipment grounded the housing and use a GFCI (of course). The lid of the smoker is compression fitted, so condensate will leak without the PTFE tape you see in the picture. A sink drain (a connection means I've used for about 15 years) connects the 1.5 inch column to the boiler. The cooling system works great. I use a 12-gallon container filled with 7 gallons of water. Water is circulated with a fountain pump (not a very powerful one so I don't flood the column). The return hose passes through 20 feet of coiled copper hung on a three-speed industrial fan (approximately 300 watts). I adjust the speed to control the temperature of the cooling water. My condensate is warm but not piping hot, just like you want it. You don't need as much water or water velocity with this system. I plan on making improvements (e.g. moving the thermometer to where its supposed to go - tucked under the top place), but this system works great. I collect at about 600 ml per hour. I could go a little faster, but I distill a wash in about 4 to 5 hours at this rate which is fine with me. Also, I did both a water and alcohol cleaning run before this run in case you were wondering.
Last edited by HPD on Sun Nov 16, 2014 8:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
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ga flatwoods
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Re: Running my still for the first time in years!

Post by ga flatwoods »

Pretty unique setup there HPD! What do you pack the column with? With no valve on the discharge you cant regulate the reflux. What proof did you end up averaging in this configuration?
Ga Flatwoods
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HPD
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Re: Running my still for the first time in years!

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ga flatwoods wrote:Pretty unique setup there HPD! What do you pack the column with? With no valve on the discharge you cant regulate the reflux. What proof did you end up averaging in this configuration?
Ga Flatwoods
There's a brass needle valve on the takeoff (yes, I know about lead and brass). It's hard to see in my crappy pictures. The still uses a "Bokakob Liquid Management Still Head." I use stainless steel pot scrubbers for packing (just over a meter). I use a few pure copper pot scrubbers in the pot to help with sulfur removal. I get 95 percent if I run at 600 ml an hour.
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Danespirit
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Re: Running my still for the first time in years!

Post by Danespirit »

Looking good HPD.. :)
A boka is a bit slow to run compared to others,you could improve it a bit by scaling up your heating element a few hundred watts.
I like your homemade "radiator" with a fan.
How much coolingwater do you roughly circulate per hour?
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ga flatwoods
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Re: Running my still for the first time in years!

Post by ga flatwoods »

If the copper is not in the vapor path it is doing you no good.
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Re: Running my still for the first time in years!

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Have you done any tests on how effective the fan and the copper helps with the coolant?
HPD
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Re: Running my still for the first time in years!

Post by HPD »

Danespirit wrote:Looking good HPD.. :)
A boka is a bit slow to run compared to others,you could improve it a bit by scaling up your heating element a few hundred watts.
I like your homemade "radiator" with a fan.
How much coolingwater do you roughly circulate per hour?
450 ml per minute, so about 27 liters or just a little over 7 gallons per hour. The radiator really helps, especially with the fan. That fan makes a huge difference.
HPD
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Re: Running my still for the first time in years!

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halfbaked wrote:Have you done any tests on how effective the fan and the copper helps with the coolant?
No, nothing controlled. But I will say this. After running the fan on "low" for about 45 minutes or so, the water starts to warm up a bit. If I turn the fan to "medium," the return water cools back down to almost room temperature within minutes. Toward the end of the run, I need to turn it on "high" periodically; when I notice my distillate getting too cool, I turn it back to medium.
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Re: Running my still for the first time in years!

Post by Halfbaked »

Is that a 25 ft section of 1/4 in?
HPD
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Re: Running my still for the first time in years!

Post by HPD »

ga flatwoods wrote:Pretty unique setup there HPD! What do you pack the column with? With no valve on the discharge you cant regulate the reflux. What proof did you end up averaging in this configuration?
Ga Flatwoods

I just did a hydrometer check on my distillate from the run I did last night. 600 ml/hour gives 94+ percent ABV (corrected for temperature). Tony's calculator is right on.
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Re: Running my still for the first time in years!

Post by HPD »

halfbaked wrote:Is that a 25 ft section of 1/4 in?
If you're talking about the coil on the fan, its 20 ft of 1/4 inch copper tubing. The fan is an 18-inch diameter shop fan.


For anyone wanting to make something similar, the copper tubing was just under $20 here in CA. The fountain pump was under $30 and the plastic container was about $5. The hose was about $6. Package of clamps about $2. You can get an 18-inch shop fan for about $33 at Walmart. Total cost for the cooling system including tax is a tad over $100 US. I suppose it might be cheaper to get a big-ass tub and a bigger pump, but for those of us with limited space and/or don't want to "waste" water, the system I use is an alternative.
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