Finally achieved a steady little stream on a run!!

[Hybrid pot still]

So i finally achieved a steady stream on little Bestie... the 3rd run with her and on a electric stove, what i done differently this time was made my Lynn arm go upwards angle to condenser, that way, any heavy elements in the pipe that has condensed with roll back to the pot as alcohol vapors go forward and up to condenser, maybe better, more pure product. That was my idea anyway, but on the same setting i achieved, a steady stream all of a sudden which is a bonus. Still learning the new girl and adjusting, taking notes and learning this art. Im not sure if what i done is the reason yet, but anyone wanting to share some knowledge with me as i read on more on here if they know what i done is reason/benefit for it let me know. I really enjoy this site, thanks guys

[Hybrid pot still]

Some pics of the stream and Lynn arm

[stillanoob]

Most electric stoves turn on and off to regulate the heat and this is one reason why you may be experiencing an unsteady stream. Another reason may be "surging" which is when you have a low spot in your condenser and the product pools and then spurts out.

It is very unlikely that you have introduced any measurable amount of reflux by pointing your Lyne arm up. It is too short for there to be any significant temperature drop to cause reflux.

[Deplorable]

Why are running the distillate through a filter?

[Hybrid pot still]

Most electric stoves turn on and off to regulate the heat and this is one reason why you may be experiencing an unsteady stream. Another reason may be "surging" which is when you have a low spot in your condenser and the product pools and then spurts out.

It is very unlikely that you have introduced any measurable amount of reflux by pointing your Lyne arm up. It is too short for there to be any significant temperature drop to cause reflux.

There is no low spot in the coil tho, tested it with a jar of water, pour in and check to see i get the same amount back, it just slightly less because the worm was going dry so im sure that very little bit stayed in the pipe as it wet i think

[Hybrid pot still]

Why are running the distillate through a filter?

Because since the jar is close to floor, just to keep crap out, And

his hair lol

[Hybrid pot still]

Why are running the distillate through a filter?

Because since the jar is close to floor, just to keep crap out, And 20210607_212153.jpghis hair lol

Plus makes it nice and clear, i should probably start putting charcoal or carbon in their too to filter, idk if it would make a difference

[Deplorable]

Okay, as a fellow dog owner I'll give you that one.

[Hybrid pot still]

Okay, as a fellow dog owner I'll give you that one.

Lol, thanks. His name is Desil

[Hybrid pot still]

Goes with me everywhere and does everything with me. My best friend

[Deplorable]

Goes with me everywhere and does everything with me. My best friend

Yeah I can relate. My wife calls my chocolate lab "the mistress" that she takes care of while I am at work. Once I come home, it's like the wife doesn't even exist.
Dogs are the best. We have two, and a "granddog" that we dog sit 4 days a week for our oldest kid while she's at work.
All I do is pick up dog shit, vacuum up dog hair, and make whiskey, and work 50 hour a week.

[SomethingObscure]

Your lynn arm look to be unnecessarily long to me. Iirc length should only be 5x the diameter. I'm probably not remember that correctly, but I'm sure someone more knowledgeable than I will be along in a mo to correct me.

Cheers SomethingObscure

[Hybrid pot still]

Your lynn arm look to be unnecessarily long to me. Iirc length should only be 5x the diameter. I'm probably not remember that correctly, but I'm sure someone more knowledgeable than I will be along in a mo to correct me.

Cheers SomethingObscure

It may be but im fixing to use propane burner and i want my worm as far as possible from that naked flame. Im not sure how far i need to be when i start doing that but i have a extension im going to put on to get 2' more away from the flame. Idk if thats necessary or not, as being i never used a flame before. Ive read but i dont like fire and like distance lol, correct me plz if im being to paranoid in that aspect

[Hybrid pot still]

Goes with me everywhere and does everything with me. My best friend

Yeah I can relate. My wife calls my chocolate lab "the mistress" that she takes care of while I am at work. Once I come home, it's like the wife doesn't even exist.
Dogs are the best. We have two, and a "granddog" that we dog sit 4 days a week for our oldest kid while she's at work.
All I do is pick up dog shit, vacuum up dog hair, and make whiskey, and work 50 hour a week.

I already know about the hair lmao, especially when he starts shedding the winter coat lol

[stillanoob]

Lyne arm length looks fine to me. Mine is longer than yours. The flame in my rig is about 6' from the output of the still. The key with running with a flame is make sure you have no leaks and don't overwhelm your condenser. I also have an overhead ceiling fan slowly turning during a run. I like running propane, no need for a controller, less worries of scorching, no minimum liquid level in the still due to heating element placement. Works for me.

[Setsumi]

a steady stream on a small volume still and small volume of total alc at a specific abv may be undesireble. before venturing into charchoal filtering, try running low wines. it might suprise you.

[Hybrid pot still]

a steady stream on a small volume still and small volume of total alc at a specific abv may be undesireble. before venturing into charchoal filtering, try running low wines. it might suprise you.

Alright Setsumi, i will try it, im up to trying anything with this, im new and open to different techniques or processes to try or to learn about, im always on here reading. I really enjoy getting feedback from people and to chat on the subject/hobby i took up, as i dont have anyone around me to do so with, nor do i even dare to trust them to share what i do with any of them lol

[Hybrid pot still]

Lyne arm length looks fine to me. Mine is longer than yours. The flame in my rig is about 6' from the output of the still. The key with running with a flame is make sure you have no leaks and don't overwhelm your condenser. I also have an overhead ceiling fan slowly turning during a run. I like running propane, no need for a controller, less worries of scorching, no minimum liquid level in the still due to heating element placement. Works for me.

Ive wondered about footage, thanks stillanoob, helps me feel a little better about running propane, i know my still dont leak, what would be a sign of overwhelming it tpu would say? Huffing, smell, feel air off the worm with your hand? Or see the air pushing the coffee filter down in steady burst/pushes of air against it? Its always cool air tho coming out the worm

[stillanoob]

Lyne arm length looks fine to me. Mine is longer than yours. The flame in my rig is about 6' from the output of the still. The key with running with a flame is make sure you have no leaks and don't overwhelm your condenser. I also have an overhead ceiling fan slowly turning during a run. I like running propane, no need for a controller, less worries of scorching, no minimum liquid level in the still due to heating element placement. Works for me.

Ive wondered about footage, thanks stillanoob, helps me feel a little better about running propane, i know my still dont leak, what would be a sign of overwhelming it tpu would say? Huffing, smell, feel air off the worm with your hand? Or see the air pushing the coffee filter down in steady burst/pushes of air against it? Its always cool air tho coming out the worm

Huffing is not due to overwhelming the condenser. It is caused by vapor collapse. In essence, the condenser is too good at its job and the vapor goes from a gaseous to a liquid state almost instantaneously. This leaves a vacuum and so some air rushes in to fill the void. You can feel it puffing in and out and it sounds like a dog panting. My still always huffs a little, more so at the start of the run when the water in the flake stand is cold. As the top water heats up it huffs less.

As to how to determine if your condenser is being overwhelmed, that is tricky and a little dangerous. You can try sniffing for vapor but then there is plenty of alcohol around to smell already. One warning sign is if the distillate is getting warm even though the water in your flake stand is still cool. When I was learning my still I wanted to see if my condenser was adequate so once it was running on a strip run I upped the flame. A little more started flowing out. I did it again. More came out. So in steps I increased the power and I always saw an increase in flow and the distillate remained cool. On a recent run we were pushing the flake stand water temperature just to see how long we could get away with it. The distillate got hot and then we started to see a little vapor coming out of the worm. At that point we quickly added some cool water to the bottom, we had the hose ready and were watching to see what happened.

[Hybrid pot still]

Lyne arm length looks fine to me. Mine is longer than yours. The flame in my rig is about 6' from the output of the still. The key with running with a flame is make sure you have no leaks and don't overwhelm your condenser. I also have an overhead ceiling fan slowly turning during a run. I like running propane, no need for a controller, less worries of scorching, no minimum liquid level in the still due to heating element placement. Works for me.

Ive wondered about footage, thanks stillanoob, helps me feel a little better about running propane, i know my still dont leak, what would be a sign of overwhelming it tpu would say? Huffing, smell, feel air off the worm with your hand? Or see the air pushing the coffee filter down in steady burst/pushes of air against it? Its always cool air tho coming out the worm

Huffing is not due to overwhelming the condenser. It is caused by vapor collapse. In essence, the condenser is too good at its job and the vapor goes from a gaseous to a liquid state almost instantaneously. This leaves a vacuum and so some air rushes in to fill the void. You can feel it puffing in and out and it sounds like a dog panting. My still always huffs a little, more so at the start of the run when the water in the flake stand is cold. As the top water heats up it huffs less.

As to how to determine if your condenser is being overwhelmed, that is tricky and a little dangerous. You can try sniffing for vapor but then there is plenty of alcohol around to smell already. One warning sign is if the distillate is getting warm even though the water in your flake stand is still cool. When I was learning my still I wanted to see if my condenser was adequate so once it was running on a strip run I upped the flame. A little more started flowing out. I did it again. More came out. So in steps I increased the power and I always saw an increase in flow and the distillate remained cool. On a recent run we were pushing the flake stand water temperature just to see how long we could get away with it. The distillate got hot and then we started to see a little vapor coming out of the worm. At that point we quickly added some cool water to the bottom, we had the hose ready and were watching to see what happened.

Thank you for sharing your experience with me and, i finally got me a propane burner, got to get a couple pieces for it but im excited to use it, going to have to relearn temp control, going to do a practice run with water to see how fast it heats up and all that to kinda feel it out, as i never used fire to run my still yet. Got use to the stove tho lol

[Setsumi]

aint non to learn in temprature control if you want to distil. you need to control the rate of boil and that is a function of energy input.