A holy crap moment aka never leave the still
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- T-Pee
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- Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2013 9:20 pm
- Location: The wilds of rural California
A holy crap moment aka never leave the still
I got a different propane burner from a buddy that fits under the boiler a bit better and tried it out today. Pretty much the same burner or so I thought.
Lit off at 7:30 and wound it up to full bore busying myself with getting the laptop set up and getting settled in for what I thought would be the same old hour-long warmup on an 8 1/2 gallon run of 2nd generation sweet feed and feints. I cracked the condensers open and kicked back for the wait.
About 15 minutes into the heatup I started smelling that familiar smell of coming product and thought I had a leak so I shut down, checked out the rig, found everything copacetic and lit back off. Five minutes later I was about to go in the house for something to drink real quick when something made me do a thorough lookover. I find the thermo at 165 degrees and fores pouring from the parrot drain into the fores collection jar!
Jump up, drop the heat to almost a yellow flame, blow open the reflux valve and do some serious rein-pulling to slow it down and it still took a full 200ml to get it into equilibrium. I don't know what the main difference in the burners is. Same roar at full tilt, etc but somehow my heatup from a dead start is now about 25% of what it used to be. At this moment the rig is putting out 250ml every 6 minutes at 92%. Not bad for a 1-1/2" CM column that shouldn't.
Moral of the story: Just when you think you've got it all figured out..........you don't. Be careful out there!
tp (and how not to do it)
Lit off at 7:30 and wound it up to full bore busying myself with getting the laptop set up and getting settled in for what I thought would be the same old hour-long warmup on an 8 1/2 gallon run of 2nd generation sweet feed and feints. I cracked the condensers open and kicked back for the wait.
About 15 minutes into the heatup I started smelling that familiar smell of coming product and thought I had a leak so I shut down, checked out the rig, found everything copacetic and lit back off. Five minutes later I was about to go in the house for something to drink real quick when something made me do a thorough lookover. I find the thermo at 165 degrees and fores pouring from the parrot drain into the fores collection jar!
Jump up, drop the heat to almost a yellow flame, blow open the reflux valve and do some serious rein-pulling to slow it down and it still took a full 200ml to get it into equilibrium. I don't know what the main difference in the burners is. Same roar at full tilt, etc but somehow my heatup from a dead start is now about 25% of what it used to be. At this moment the rig is putting out 250ml every 6 minutes at 92%. Not bad for a 1-1/2" CM column that shouldn't.
Moral of the story: Just when you think you've got it all figured out..........you don't. Be careful out there!
tp (and how not to do it)
Last edited by T-Pee on Mon Jul 28, 2014 7:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Caution: Steep learning curve ahead!
Handy Links:
The Rules We Live By
GA Flatwoods sez
Cranky's Spoon Feeding For The New Folk
My "Still Tutorial" CM w/PP mods
Handy Links:
The Rules We Live By
GA Flatwoods sez
Cranky's Spoon Feeding For The New Folk
My "Still Tutorial" CM w/PP mods
Re: A holy crap moment aka never leave the still
Sigh.........
Electrician and still no electric......
Electrician and still no electric......
There is no such thing as a stupid question....... Unless you didn't research it first.
Re: A holy crap moment aka never leave the still
Last run I changed my pressure regulator... Same scary shit with hot distillate spraying all over my garage ceiling...
RR, take the money you save after you convert to folding instead of bunching, and pitch into the TP electric fund.
RR, take the money you save after you convert to folding instead of bunching, and pitch into the TP electric fund.
- T-Pee
- Site Donor
- Posts: 4355
- Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2013 9:20 pm
- Location: The wilds of rural California
Re: A holy crap moment aka never leave the still
RR, I just won a bet with myself that you would be the first reply to the thread and the first thing off your keyboard would be grief about e-power.
Truth be told, we won't be at this location at the end of the year and I can't justify the effort and expense of installing a 30 amp run to this shop for a short amount of time in a place that I don't own. Unfortunately, running at the new place may be problematic so I have to wait until likely next year when things start to settle down to see what I can do.
Such is life. Besides, I've got that personal swamp cooler that I found at the dump keeping me comfy here so not all is lost.
tp
Truth be told, we won't be at this location at the end of the year and I can't justify the effort and expense of installing a 30 amp run to this shop for a short amount of time in a place that I don't own. Unfortunately, running at the new place may be problematic so I have to wait until likely next year when things start to settle down to see what I can do.
Such is life. Besides, I've got that personal swamp cooler that I found at the dump keeping me comfy here so not all is lost.
tp
Caution: Steep learning curve ahead!
Handy Links:
The Rules We Live By
GA Flatwoods sez
Cranky's Spoon Feeding For The New Folk
My "Still Tutorial" CM w/PP mods
Handy Links:
The Rules We Live By
GA Flatwoods sez
Cranky's Spoon Feeding For The New Folk
My "Still Tutorial" CM w/PP mods
Re: A holy crap moment aka never leave the still
Red Rim wrote:Sigh.........
Electrician and still no electric......
Here's to alcohol, the cause of, and solution to, all life's problems.
"Homer J Simpson"
"Homer J Simpson"
Re: A holy crap moment aka never leave the still
Bwahahahahahahahahahha!
You both have me pegged!
Maybe I will fold a little and surprise T_pee with a hand crafted electric version!
Good luck on your move brother! I don't envy your work load with moving.
However, people are starting to deliver apples and blackberry's to my front door. Is this a little weird? Hurry up before I cook them a down for myself.
You both have me pegged!
Maybe I will fold a little and surprise T_pee with a hand crafted electric version!
Good luck on your move brother! I don't envy your work load with moving.
However, people are starting to deliver apples and blackberry's to my front door. Is this a little weird? Hurry up before I cook them a down for myself.
There is no such thing as a stupid question....... Unless you didn't research it first.
- T-Pee
- Site Donor
- Posts: 4355
- Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2013 9:20 pm
- Location: The wilds of rural California
Re: A holy crap moment aka never leave the still
The move will be easy. It's only a mile and half of the crap we brought from San Diego is still in storage. Our circumstances won't allow me to run onsite but I have a neat place higher in the hills but still close where indulging in the hobby will be welcomed.
Might have to wait until next season, RR. Lots going on but ya never know when you'll find me on yer doorstep.
tp
Might have to wait until next season, RR. Lots going on but ya never know when you'll find me on yer doorstep.
tp
Caution: Steep learning curve ahead!
Handy Links:
The Rules We Live By
GA Flatwoods sez
Cranky's Spoon Feeding For The New Folk
My "Still Tutorial" CM w/PP mods
Handy Links:
The Rules We Live By
GA Flatwoods sez
Cranky's Spoon Feeding For The New Folk
My "Still Tutorial" CM w/PP mods
Re: A holy crap moment aka never leave the still
BTW , at a dentist birthday party tonight.
Three distillers. Myself, a brand newbie, with a triple thumper, and an electrician.
Which one of the three was still using propane?
You guessed it!!!!!!
Three distillers. Myself, a brand newbie, with a triple thumper, and an electrician.
Which one of the three was still using propane?
You guessed it!!!!!!
There is no such thing as a stupid question....... Unless you didn't research it first.
- T-Pee
- Site Donor
- Posts: 4355
- Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2013 9:20 pm
- Location: The wilds of rural California
Re: A holy crap moment aka never leave the still
A painter's house needs painting, a mechanic's car needs a tuneup and oil change, etc. It's the way.
tp (and a cracked faceplate)
tp (and a cracked faceplate)
Caution: Steep learning curve ahead!
Handy Links:
The Rules We Live By
GA Flatwoods sez
Cranky's Spoon Feeding For The New Folk
My "Still Tutorial" CM w/PP mods
Handy Links:
The Rules We Live By
GA Flatwoods sez
Cranky's Spoon Feeding For The New Folk
My "Still Tutorial" CM w/PP mods
Re: A holy crap moment aka never leave the still
My house needs painting, my cars need their oil changed, and my outlets are crooked and my old Federal Pacific breaker panel needs to be replaced. My shine however, is running with an angelic choir. Boil, boil, thump, thump, like harps and the Vienna boys choir.
There is no such thing as a stupid question....... Unless you didn't research it first.
- T-Pee
- Site Donor
- Posts: 4355
- Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2013 9:20 pm
- Location: The wilds of rural California
Re: A holy crap moment aka never leave the still
Yepper! These things are a hoot once you learn how to run your particular rig and make it sing! This CM started life as a questionable piece of equipment some time ago and now with proper mods and some experience this little 1-1/2" column runs a lot better than I think it should. Life is good when things are in harmony.
tp (and perfect pitch)
tp (and perfect pitch)
Caution: Steep learning curve ahead!
Handy Links:
The Rules We Live By
GA Flatwoods sez
Cranky's Spoon Feeding For The New Folk
My "Still Tutorial" CM w/PP mods
Handy Links:
The Rules We Live By
GA Flatwoods sez
Cranky's Spoon Feeding For The New Folk
My "Still Tutorial" CM w/PP mods