Home Distiller

That's kinda the opposite. Maybe I should have said the aim was to reduce size (or increase HEX for a given size), not to minimise it absolutely. Wasn't chasing a theoretical ideal, just trying to increase HEX capacity for a simple Liebig to help keep its size down for hobbyists, using simple desig...

Can someone explain to me what is meant by this word "efficiency" in this context?

Minimising condenser size for given quantity of heat exchange.

scruffing = a polite word for what consenting adults do in private.

My element is 2400w, and my liebig is 3/4 over 1/2, with a cooling jacket length of 530mm (21"), plus a wire spiral in the coolant jacket and another one inside the product path to generate some turbulence. It handles 2400w of water steam okay. Coolant flow rate is fairly high for water steam, ...

Thanks for that, Bushman. Fine words.

One thing I would add...add a vent tube from the sealed end of the LM condenser back to the CCVM tube to help balance the pressure of the vapor. The LM condenser is "dead-ended" and might not flow vapor properly without the vent. Can't see the point of the vent. I am not trying to balance...

Can't see that balancing act working too well. I think you will get limited, non-linear, and hypersensitive control, and low output from either path. Looks to me like one of those designs where you will just end up chasing your tail, and go mad trying to get it to work. :crazy: Your aim is worthy en...

RIP, MR.

Condolences to your family and friends, and thanks for your great work and passion for hobby stilling.

Yes I did insert scrubbies at the location that Hooklike recommended (in the RC path). Sometimes I could get a pencil-sized stream out of the PC, but I was not able to get that except on a few occasions. How long are you waiting after you open the product arm valve before you call it? Because in my...

Along the lines of what some others have suggested, my first guess would be you have an imbalance in the resistance to vapour flow through the two paths. Try filling the section between the blue lines with a bit of scrubber/mesh to add a bit of back pressure in that arm: Lampshade still test.jpg If ...

Always good to somebody thinking outside the box.

Hi goose

goose eye wrote:If its holdin a bead that's what you lookin for agein.

How long is 'holding'? Several seconds?

ageing proof = around 55-60% ?

Nice work. :thumbup: There seem to be two primary concerns about home distilling from congressional members and government staffers/employees. These are methanol poisoning and house fires resulting in injury or death. We found two studies concerning residential fires done in New Zealand where home d...

my currently VM setup has a distance of 50-60mm from the refluxcoil to the actual VM takeoff and runs fine there. Maybe a reduction to 40 or 30mm would be beneficial for my takeoff rate? Increasing vertical distance between the take-off port and bottom of the reflux coil will help increase max take...

Yes, has to have valve to be LM, otherwise just a pot still. The first 2 look like it would be a pain to get those collection funels in place... Solder the funnels in before attaching the top narrower section. and the rest look like complicated bokas. Nothing especially radical about them, just othe...

You have turned the lights on for me, thanks Hookline so much. Valve snug as recommended, how "slightly lower"?. 10mm pipe turns upward inside. Valve 8mm, hope its enough. Angle the tee slightly downwards, with the valve slightly below the tee so the liquid goes to the valve first, not do...

Schroeder wrote:Can you point me to a member who has built or used this design?

Nope, far as I know nobody has built one.

Possibly. Limitation of standard VM design is it has a fixed minimum reflux ratio with the take-off valve wide open, determined by the port ratios, but rarely below 1:1, so not so good for pot stilling. But if you can lower that minimum ratio substantially below 1:1, so there is much more vapour goi...

Cheers

Some simple LM heads that can be made without using fittings, just pipe/tube.

thisguy wrote:In the pictures you posted hookline, where does the vapor out go to? is it kind of a pressure release?

Here is a drawing.

bellybuster wrote:Wholly crap BS!!! How come I've never seen this thread? I for sure would have clicked on a thread with the title mix master.

Same here. Best just to click on any thread by Odin, from now on.

The minimum reflux ratio you can achieve on a VM is determined by the cross sectional areas of the two vapour paths when the VM valve is wide open. skow69 covered it. But my 2c worth... You are right, given the vapour pressure at both ports is equal. But that doesn't apply so neatly when the vapour...

Looking good, casper, apart from shifting the LM valve closer to the tee (but still slightly below it).

Then run her up and see how it goes.

skow69 wrote:

HookLine wrote:Hey, one of my crazy ideas finally gets put to the real world test. As all ideas should be. Thank you, casper.
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Cheers

'bout time you showed up.

I been away pirating.

I come back to port, and I see you lot have been breeding like mad. Nearly 26000 of you now.

Danespirit 1. VM port probably too close to the join between column and condenser housing, may not be able to get enough condenser on the column side of the port to condense everything in full reflux mode. 2. May not be enough vertical distance between condenser and VM port during take-off mode. Tha...

Damn that is fine work.

Hey, one of my crazy ideas finally gets put to the real world test. As all ideas should be. Thank you, casper. :clap: On a related note, VM discussions often debate the inertial effect of rising vapor barreling past the takeoff arm and lunging headlong into the RC. Hook's notes indicate he was hopin...

Some videos on youtube about these travelling stillers. At least there was a year or two back. Most were not in English, so search foreign language ones as well.

Updated version of the Rum Production Flow Chart. Mainly just fixed the palm sugar notes. Can the mods please edit a copy of the PDF link back into the original post in the original thread , at the top of the post just above the word FERMENT, and also into the pinned edited version of the thread . T...