Downcomers and the evolution of them, where are we now?
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- Swill Maker
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Re: Downcomers and the evolution of them, where are we now?
If the cap was up off the plate I would not think it should boil I need the cap
Re: Downcomers and the evolution of them, where are we now?
Yes. There a pain to get plates to load but work OK when loaded but can unload indiscriminatky during a run. Just not Worth the hassle IMO.cede wrote:Did you manage to flood it ?googe wrote:1/2 inch sucks on a 4 inch.
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- bluefish_dist
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Re: Downcomers and the evolution of them, where are we now?
My plates for both 4 and 6" were with a #50 drill, .070". About 230 on the 4" and 500+ on the 6". Downcomers are 3/4 on the 4" and 1" on the 6". Both will easily handle 30w per hole. They will also run at lower rates, having run them under 15w per hole as well.
I much prefer them over the bubble caps I ran prior. They handle more power yet still give a wide range of vapor speeds to vary the composition of what you are making.
I much prefer them over the bubble caps I ran prior. They handle more power yet still give a wide range of vapor speeds to vary the composition of what you are making.
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Re: Downcomers and the evolution of them, where are we now?
What are your thoughts on flared tops I see a few guys doing that saying they drain better
Re: Downcomers and the evolution of them, where are we now?
That's why I asked if it was a matter of open surface to collect the liquid. I was thinking about putting some kind of reducer cups to have a large mouth to the downcomer but you have a better/cheaper ideaBig Stogie wrote:What are your thoughts on flared tops I see a few guys doing that saying they drain better
Re: Downcomers and the evolution of them, where are we now?
@Bushman, this from Adam:
Hey Larry,
It’s complicated, unfortunately no rule of thumb for that since it greatly depends on your column design, heat source, preheating, etc.
Here are a couple rule of thumb related to the post:
Downcomer area = 0.1 * Column area
% Hole area = 8-10% This is the ratio of hole area to bubble area where bubble area is the area in the column that vapor is actually bubbling up in…basically column area – downcomer area – calming zone area (if you have any calming zones…probably negligible…)
Hey Larry,
It’s complicated, unfortunately no rule of thumb for that since it greatly depends on your column design, heat source, preheating, etc.
Here are a couple rule of thumb related to the post:
Downcomer area = 0.1 * Column area
% Hole area = 8-10% This is the ratio of hole area to bubble area where bubble area is the area in the column that vapor is actually bubbling up in…basically column area – downcomer area – calming zone area (if you have any calming zones…probably negligible…)
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Re: Downcomers and the evolution of them, where are we now?
I don't have any hard data that says that works best. But I can certainly see how a little trick like that could optimize $$ limitations on available size tubing or the like.cede wrote:That's why I asked if it was a matter of open surface to collect the liquid. I was thinking about putting some kind of reducer cups to have a large mouth to the downcomer but you have a better/cheaper ideaBig Stogie wrote:What are your thoughts on flared tops I see a few guys doing that saying they drain better
Trample the injured and hurdle the dead.
Re: Downcomers and the evolution of them, where are we now?
tried that once. scared the shit outta me when the vacuum breaker screamed bloody murder at me just a few drips trough the top cip and it got very loud all a sudden!LWTCS wrote:Sure that's always been a challenge.HDNB wrote:the problem i see with bigger "cups" like the jbend for example, or with multiple down commers in the case of some designs of bubble caps is that each of the downcommer cups holds a quantity of undesirables for my finished spirit that shows up as clouding throughout the run. (diluted to sub 46% abv.)
the down commers on my perf plates (about 2" then the spirit falls 4" to the next bath) don't descend as far as bluefish suggests being better, i have not seen the problem with them as described. the idea of a drain hole in the makes good sense though...a modification i'm gonna make on my next tear down.
Are you running back to back runs or do you have time to hook the water hose to your PC and back flush the system for 10 minuets or so? yeah i run some water thru the cip but it does not clean a black soot residue in the cups
Also, can allow the system to cycle in reflux mode so that everything in your liquid cups gets sent back to the kettle.tried that too, the residue remains (but it cleans the hell off the sides and plates)i got a ton of heat but the RC is a bit small to full flood the shit out of the plates so a single DC is lots on these plates
Cotherman Distilling actually sprays a bit of cold water on the top of his kettle. This immediately causes instant vapor collapse which in turn creates a vacuum. The vacuum created literally sucks all of the liquid off and out of all of his plate assemblies.
so i do fresh water clean them after every run and tear down after every 5-6 runs. the amount of shit in the downcomer always surprises me...and the more and bigger you have (DC's) the more shit ya got too.
i gotta spare perf. i'ma try that 45* deal up there^^^ one day when i'm rich and famous i plan to do a caustic/acid recirc on the cip too.
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Re: Downcomers and the evolution of them, where are we now?
Haha, yeah when I first seen it ,,it kinda makes ya recoil a bit lol.
Trample the injured and hurdle the dead.