Condenser on new pot still has failed!

Simple pot still distillation and construction with or without a thumper.

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Asos21
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Re: Condenser on new pot still has failed!

Post by Asos21 »

ThomasBrewer wrote: Fri Oct 22, 2021 10:17 am I think folks are concerned that the pipe diameter is going to allow too much vapor to flow through without interacting with a condensing surface. Water is not a real good analog for testing purposes since it condenses easier. If you do find that you have problems, putting a little copper mesh/scrubby inside will increase surface area and turbulence.
I understand your point and I would definitely like to forsee any issues and fox them before running alcohol in the still.

After all having a still plummeting ethanol vapours out is a huge safety risk. And as said I'd like to be confident that when I put ethanol in the still it will function safely and efficiently. Instead of let's try it and see what happens approach.

Regarding your post. From what I understand the length of the Liebig 48" should prevent ethanol vapours leaving the condenser before it has enough time to condense. Is this not true?

And if so how do large stills function with large diameter pipe such as my 28mm pipe?

Because from what I understand, whether the still boiler is 8g or 80g if the same power is being used to heat the boiler per gallon then the same amount of vapour would enter the condenser. So I'm just not really seeing how the boiler size makes any difference? As in how does a smaller boiler cause more vapour to enter the condenser if the same amount of power is being used to heat the still per gallon.

So let's say you have an 8g boiler with a 3kw heat source. And you have an 16g boiler with a 6kw heat source. Both run side by side with a 28mm condenser. The vapour entering each condenser should be relatively the same.

Also is their any other alternatives to ethanol that I could use to test the still? As you say water isn't a good test source.
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Yummyrum
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Re: Condenser on new pot still has failed!

Post by Yummyrum »

Asos21 wrote: Fri Oct 22, 2021 5:51 am Okay but can you please tell me what is wrong with using 28mm on the 8g boiler? As in what harm will it actually do?
If it works OK and there is no vapour escaping then good .
At 3’ long cooled section you should be OK .
I guess I was also saying that its probably not an upgrade because typically , a 1/2” or 3/4” liebig or worm is perfectly adequate for use on a 8g sized setup
ThomasBrewer wrote: Fri Oct 22, 2021 10:17 am I think folks are concerned that the pipe diameter is going to allow too much vapor to flow through without interacting with a condensing surface
Yes that is the reason . Particularly on a short liebig , there can be Laminar flow , the vapour in the middle goes straight out the end un condensed . Of cause this can happen also if you turn up the power too high .
Asos21 wrote: Fri Oct 22, 2021 12:54 pm Because from what I understand, whether the still boiler is 8g or 80g if the same power is being used to heat the boiler per gallon then the same amount of vapour would enter the condenser.
Correct , vapour production is proportional to power input. ( assuming no heat loss to outside )
Asos21 wrote: Fri Oct 22, 2021 12:54 pm So let's say you have an 8g boiler with a 3kw heat source. And you have an 16g boiler with a 6kw heat source. Both run side by side with a 28mm condenser. The vapour entering each condenser should be relatively the same.
No , you have contradicted what you said above .
6kw will produce twice the amount of vapour as 3kw regardless of the volume of water .

On a stripping run , this doesn’t matter .

On a spirit run , watts /litre is important . This is where we need a certain amount of power to vaporise a certain amount of liquid to allow the separation of fractions to occur .Halve the volume , halve the power , double the volume , double the power …. but the amount of vapour produced will always be proportional to the power .
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