I've been very happy with my reflux column so far, SPP is a joy to run. But I'd like to make it a little more user-friendly. A glass column would be fun, being able to see the progression of fluid up the column is powerful. Copper is what I have, though, and it's all I'm going to have for a while. So - sight glasses are in order!
For cost, I think I'm going to have to go with 1.5'' trap adapters and 1.75'' diameter 3/16'' thick borosilicate disks, as discussed here and mentioned here. 2.25'' disks fit in the 2'' trap adapter, so I'm assuming the same 1/4'' difference applies for the smaller adapter/glass.
It seems like a no-brainer to install two of these in the column directly above the packing. From what I've read, this is the most beneficial part of the column to be able to see clearly.
That part of the column is open, so light can bounce around. Should I install those glasses opposite each other? I have a feeling that would mostly let me see *through* the column, which wouldn't be very helpful. A little thinking says they should be installed at a right angle to each other, or less, so light can enter one glass, bounce off the inside of the column, and everything will be visible from the other glass. Does this sound like a solid idea?
Would it be helpful at all to install any glasses lower down the column, in the packed section? I'm mostly thinking about the 'zones' Odin wrote about in this post. This is where I could use the most help!
Is there any benefit to trying to keep tabs on and maintain zones like this? Should the middle of the packing really be 'dry'? Or is keeping the entire packed section fluidized a better goal?Odin wrote:To sumarize it: an SPP filled column has different zones, when working optimally. That's based on above explanation as well as of careful observations of both my glass SPP rig and my bigger rashig ring packed rig. From the bottom to the top:
1. Aquatic environment (aka semi-flooded, where I use semi to say you should not actualy flood the column);
2. Semi-aquatic environment (notice that I use the term aquatic to state there is liquid, not stating it is water, it can be high abv reflux as well);
3. Non-aquatic environment (roughly the middle of the column);
4. Another sem-aquatic environment;
5. And the aquatic environment at the top.
As long as my reflux is not overly cooled, and there is a scrubber above the SPP to allow the reflux to penetrate better and plenty of empty space above that, can I just assume that an aquatic environment at the top of the column means the column is in its optimal state? Or would an eye on different sections of the packing give me a better idea of how exactly the column is doing?
Sight glasses like this sticking out of the packed section, with packing filling them and pushing out against the glass, could be a huge weakness. Should glasses like this only be used in 'empty' parts of the column? I do have one tri-clamp connection in the middle of my column - it feels like a round 2'' inline sight glass would probably be a much better idea here. If an eye on the middle of the packing would be useful, but flat glasses would be too risky, this is probably what I'll have to go with.
Is it okay to dress a packed column up in a flute costume? Or will this give too much of a false impression if I ever show it off?
Well, that was a lot of writing editing. I think I got everything out of my head and onto paper, though. There's been too much rattling around up there about this stuff for the past few days. So perhaps I'll fall asleep a little faster tonight
You're all wonderful people, and I'm glad to have such a great community for support in this hobby.
May your blended product always have exactly the right amounts of heads and tails,
-carbohydratesn