need some clarification Thanks in advance.
Moderator: Site Moderator
-
- Novice
- Posts: 74
- Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2007 9:56 am
need some clarification Thanks in advance.
I distiller down some extra 15% alc. zinfandel wine I had threw my ministill. I refluxed to approx 50 to 75% reflux ratio. Approx. 2 to 3 drips a second. The spirits ended up at 83% alc, 164 proof. My question is, why did it still have a slight wine odor to it? I thought if you refluxed you shouldnt get any flavor or odor. It was flavorless but the odor was unexpected. Any help or clarification would be great. Thanks.
-
- Angel's Share
- Posts: 449
- Joined: Thu Sep 28, 2006 12:55 am
- Location: Beyond the Black Stump Australia
-
- Novice
- Posts: 74
- Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2007 9:56 am
Higher reflux ratio (more spirit going back into the column) = higher strength and purity alcohol. Try running a reflux ratio of about 5:1 and see what you get.
What size is your column, and how much heat you putting into it?
What size is your column, and how much heat you putting into it?
Last edited by HookLine on Sun Dec 23, 2007 10:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Be safe.
Be discreet.
And have fun.
Be discreet.
And have fun.
-
- Novice
- Posts: 74
- Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2007 9:56 am
the still is a reflux ministill, 1 1/4 inch think column, three feet high. Small compared to most. Temp at 170 to 175 for most of the run but dipped to 180 to 185 twords tails, never let it get over 190. I set the valve so I was getting about 2 or so drops per second. It took a little bit over 4 hours to get about 2000ml of drinkable run.
-
- Novice
- Posts: 74
- Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2007 9:56 am
I suspect you are mistaking temperature with the amount of heat you are putting up the column. The distinction is important.
The vapour temperature is not determined by the amount of heat you use (above the amount of heat needed to keep the wash at a very gentle simmer). The vapour temp is determined by both its strength, ie the amount of alcohol in it, and by the mixture of different types of alcohol in it. The higher its strength, and the purer it is (for ethanol), the lower the temp (with a minimum of about 78.3C, depending on atmospheric conditions).
The amount of heat you put up the column determines the the vapour speed through the column. If the vapour speed is too fast (above about 20" a second, with an ideal about 12-16"/s), then it will not re-distill enough times on the packing to give you good separation and a clean, high strength product.
A 1.5" column only needs about 400-500 w of heat going into it, maybe even less.
The vapour temperature is not determined by the amount of heat you use (above the amount of heat needed to keep the wash at a very gentle simmer). The vapour temp is determined by both its strength, ie the amount of alcohol in it, and by the mixture of different types of alcohol in it. The higher its strength, and the purer it is (for ethanol), the lower the temp (with a minimum of about 78.3C, depending on atmospheric conditions).
The amount of heat you put up the column determines the the vapour speed through the column. If the vapour speed is too fast (above about 20" a second, with an ideal about 12-16"/s), then it will not re-distill enough times on the packing to give you good separation and a clean, high strength product.
A 1.5" column only needs about 400-500 w of heat going into it, maybe even less.
Last edited by HookLine on Mon Dec 24, 2007 12:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
Be safe.
Be discreet.
And have fun.
Be discreet.
And have fun.
-
- Novice
- Posts: 74
- Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2007 9:56 am
hookline asked 3 times how much heat and you never even vaguely answered. he even explained vapor speed being related to the heat input. i know it is hard to tell how many btu you are using when cooking with gas but you could give a description of the flame such as "as low as it will go without going out." the more in detail you describe your setup the more people can help you. nothing is to trivial.
Day Late;Dollar Short
-
- Novice
- Posts: 74
- Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2007 9:56 am
Ricky, Thanks for the advise. Im new at this so its hard to pin point the exact info needed to be given for a question to be answered. Now that you put it that way heres what I can say. The flame, like you said was maybe turned up ever so slightly above where it would be blown out if a gust of wind cam eby. Not at the lowest setting it would run but really close to it. Just to add. I could hear the reflux flowing back into the column sometimes but not all the time. Hope that helps. Thanks again.