Distillation temperatures, step by step.

[Fester]

The easiest way to learn a potstill is simply to start usin' it.

you are so right!. after a little reading and a little common sense there is no better teacher than hands on experience.
then comes the real learning. a fella can talk a good game but until he gets in there and does it it just does not really come together. to me, there are two basics. the ferment and the distillation. both are easy and both are complex too. easy when everything is working right and complex when something goes wrong. best advise i can give a true newbie is to keep it simple and keep it clean. but a newbie has several unique problems:
1. he needs a still. build or buy? how big? copper or SS? gas or electric? pot or reflux?
2. how to cool the distillate?
3. where to set it up and how to hide it from others?
4. how to clean it for first run
5. gathering all the assorted hardware for the still. hygrometer, funnel, big spoons, stir paddle, bottles, etc, etc,...
6. when all this is ready, newbie is anxious to run it but needs a ferment to distill
7. deciding on the ferment to make
8. gathering the ingredients
9. first ferment
10. record keeping and recipe development
11. lots of other stuff


and all of this is new to newbie. so we should try to always be kind to our newbie brothers and sisters. at one time we were all newbies too. if a noob gets frustrated and says weird shit, i think it is understandable. even the slightest effort on our part can have a big impact on their success or failure.
Fester

[Fester]

if a noob gets frustrated and says weird shit, i think it is understandable.

omg, Elut, i was not refering to you.

Silly Fester

[Elut]

Thanks to Everyone for all the answers.

I guess I begin to understand the whole concept, much better now .

Don't worry Fester, I know I do say weird shit right now and I'm sure I even will for at least the next 10 batches.
I just have this feeling that it's better to open my mouth in public, putting my own concerns on the table,
and look like a dumbass and sometimes get bashed, rather than making big mistakes that I can avoid.

I still have to figure out the heating source of the pot still I want to build.
For some reason my wife forbids me to go propane or butane (probably again some weird belief from the Far East ).
So, since she's the boss and that she must be obeyed, I'll have to go with an electric immersion heater.
I also agree since we live in a not so big appartment...

I'm right now struggling to know how much Wattage I can safely draw from my household. Since none can tell me or has an idea.
The only immersion heater I found were 3000W with a kind of temperature wheel controller mounted on it.
Meaning that it must be drawing around 13 point something AMP, but I have no idea wether it's safe to use or not on my electric household. I swear, guys, that's turning me crazy

Hopefully I'll get that figured soon and be able to try a first run someday.

[Hawke]

Most factory heat controls are simple thermostats, with on/off cycles. This is not good for distilling. You need something that will control the power applied, such as a variac or triac controler. (A high capacity dimmer switch)

[meltoner]

Hello everyone. I was wondering, in a context of reflux still, and by watching the temperature, would it make sense to run the distillation in lets say into two temperature phases.
phase 1. focus on just below the ethanol temperate lets say at 77.5 for an hour or so, so as to extract/remove the undesired components from the wash (Acetone,Methanol, Ethyl acetate) and then move
phase 2. to the temp of ethanol at 78.2-80 - which should result getting "cleaner" Ethanol.

I haven't read this somewhere but it makes some sense to my mind. to explain further the same way we remove ethanol by focusing on the ethanol evaporation temperature until it no longer exist,in the wash, wouldn't it be even better practice to focus first on removing the previous components by focusing on their temperatures?

thank you all for your feedback.

[still_stirrin]

Hello everyone. I was wondering, in a context of reflux still, and by watching the temperature, would it make sense to run the distillation in lets say into two temperature phases.
phase 1. focus on just below the ethanol temperate lets say at 77.5 for an hour or so, so as to extract/remove the undesired components from the wash (Acetone,Methanol, Ethyl acetate) and then move
phase 2. to the temp of ethanol at 78.2-80 - which should result getting "cleaner" Ethanol.

I haven't read this somewhere but it makes some sense to my mind. to explain further the same way we remove ethanol by focusing on the ethanol evaporation temperature until it no longer exist,in the wash, wouldn't it be even better practice to focus first on removing the previous components by focusing on their temperatures?

Well, are you meaning controlling the boiler temperature by the vapor temperature in the top of the column? If so, I think you'll have a loooong day distilling, because if you try to regulate the temperature instead of the heat input, your processes will asymptote to an "off state" as you approach the desired operating temperature. Vapor production will STOP.

Instead, you would be ahead by increasing the reflux ratio in the column, thereby compressing the fores and heads at the top of your column. Then draw those off and begin your hearts collection. You can monitor the vapor temperature of the volatiles in the column top with the thermometer, but don't try to reduce the boiler temperature to hold it. In fact, as you continue to reflux, you'll need to keep the heat input up so that the boiler continues to produce vapor.

Watch the thermometer to tell you what your producing and adjust the heat input to control the vapor production rate. Adjust your reflux control valve (CM, LM, or VM) to adjust the reflux ratio. You can also monitor the reflux coolant temperature and flow rate to help balance the reflux and product output.

Make sense to you (yet)?