coldfinger coil advice

Anything cooling/condenser related.

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Thatstink
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coldfinger coil advice

Post by Thatstink »

Hi all. I am pretty new to distilling but handy at DIY. Dont tell the misses. I have started a column build. 2" 4ft high on 5 gallon pot. The short column is short cos ceiling high and I am aware of drawbacks. Ok so I finely got the salt out the 7 inch 8mm coil. Coil was a work of art until it came to getting salt out. But its all fine. I have a choice of 15mm or 22mm for the finger. I am using a water pump to circulate the coil and wanted to know is either going to be better than the other. Is a space between finger and coil a benefit or fill the space with a 22mm ? Also I have a few mm between wall of column its not touching but is there any rules as to space. I went with a cold finger cos the pump issue. Thanks.
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skow69
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Re: coldfinger coil advice

Post by skow69 »

I would use the biggest tube you can while still leaving some space between surfaces. It's all about giving the vapor as much cold surface area as possible to condense on.
Distilling at 110f and 75 torr.
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Deerhunter
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Re: coldfinger coil advice

Post by Deerhunter »

Get yourself a bigger pot. You won't regret it.
Sky Diving without a parachute is a once in a life time experience!
Thatstink
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Re: coldfinger coil advice

Post by Thatstink »

Deerhunter wrote:Get yourself a bigger pot. You won't regret it.
Thanks for clearing that up guys. And a bigger pot is on the cards as well as a propane burner. Been looking for a SS keg but not found what I'm after yet. And I also need to see how fast or should this column produce. My pot is slooooow.
Thatstink
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Re: coldfinger coil advice

Post by Thatstink »

Deerhunter wrote:Get yourself a bigger pot. You won't regret it.
Took your advice fella. got a 50L ordered today. any more advice on burner size. propane
joeymac
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Re: coldfinger coil advice

Post by joeymac »

You mentioned "short" column because of ceiling height restrictions but also mentioned propane burner...

a) If you're running propane indoors, be careful that you have good ventilation and/or good CO detectors nearby. Always be careful with open flame, but extra careful indoors.

b) a 4ft copper column is not really "short". I had 2"x30" column that would make 90% all day long with copper scrubbers and 95% packed with marbles.

Your speed and purity is going to depend a lot on your packing and reflux ratio.
SPP and Marbles in 2" columns seem to be able to run 3.5-4 L/hr of takeoff product at or near 95%.
Copper or stainless crubber packing might be about 1-2 L/hr making 95% depending on column height.
Rashig rings are somewhere in between.
"Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks" - God (Isaiah 5:22)
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Deerhunter
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Re: coldfinger coil advice

Post by Deerhunter »

Thatstink wrote:
Deerhunter wrote:Get yourself a bigger pot. You won't regret it.
Took your advice fella. got a 50L ordered today. any more advice on burner size. propane
You won't regret it!
Sky Diving without a parachute is a once in a life time experience!
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