Some advice please

[Acidgut]

I'm looking at building a reflux still with a condenser copying this design.
My question is, with the vapours travelling past the ope needle valve to condenser do I lose any vapours out of the valve. Also with the condensed alcohol coming down and out of the valve won't it mix with the vapours going into the condenser and if so will it effect the end product?

[Yummyrum]

There will be a Dam or resoviour ( see the Red thing in my pic) that the condensed reflux ( the blue stuff ) builds up behind .
You take off a small amount , typically about 10-20% as product via the needle valve , the rest overflows down into the packing . Thats how a reflux still works .
So no there shouldn't be any vapour that can come out the needle valve as it should be sitting below a pool of liquid.

The only exception might be if you are using it as a stripper in which case you would have the valve wide open so that all the reflux comes out the valve . . Interestingly I have wondered about that myself . A product cooling condenser would fix that problem and also cool the liquid during reflux mode so you can use a parrot if you want .

Just as a side note . That Brass needle valve is almost guaranteed to have lead in it . Just say'n .......Modern domestic plumbing brass is mostly lead free but things used for fuel lines and air lines is not ....just be careful

If it was me I'd look at some more modern reflux still designs .

[Acidgut]

Thank you for your help

[Acidgut]

Yummyrum can you point me in the direction of more modern designs

[Cu29er]

http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36050

Easier design is to use a hacksaw to cut the two plates' slots into the vertical pipe rather than the diagram has the angled plate on the chiller. Add the thermometer hole+tube just under the take off plate and don't push packing up tight in that area, much more accurate temperatures this way. Put your needle valve as close to the take off point as possible, measure how high you can reach, and that will make the temperature and valve position feedback easier to control.

Never over-fill your boil pot under this rig (15% head space volume is recommended) and strain to keep debris out while filling it. That packing can plug in the lower couple of inches, pressurize and burst your pot lid open, scalding anyone within fifteen feet with boiling thick and sticky material.

[rgreen2002]

Welcome, Acidgut... glad to see you here starting your journey in HD. Be safe, always.

When you ask about more "modern designs" what you really want to ask is "What kind of still am I looking for"(seems very existential but it really isn't....). So you should ask yourself "What product am I trying to make"? This will play a role in your choice of still. Nixon/Stone or offset head stills are vapor management reflux stills. The reflux still is good for neutrals but can give you a run for your money if trying to make a flavored spirit like rum or whiskey.

I will say this... if you haven't built/bought a still yet.... wait. Do a little more reading here and ask yourself the right questions. Once you have better information and knowledge about the type of spirit you want, the budget you have, the facilities at your disposal, the time you can dedicate to a run, the space you have to distill, etc.... then you can build/buy something once and spend less money. I would hate to see you build a Boka still and then not have the 6-10 hours it can take to do a run, or build a Flute and not be able to stack plates high enough in your stilling space. This hobby gets quite costly as it is (sugar, grains, yeast, materials, electric/propane, etc...) and having to build/buy several stills to get where you want to go is a controllable expense.

Al that being said... I still think the best still for a beginner is a simple pot still. It is very simplistic in its nature, it gives you a great understanding of distillation and with few "moving parts" makes operation a little easier for a beginner. Also, most anyone can build a good pot still and the build also gives you a better understanding of the process IMHO.

Finally, there are several good links here on still types... Check out my signature for a link on how to use the HD google search (BEST WAY TO GET ANSWERS...). To get you started, here are a few good links to look at:

http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=46 - New Distillers Lounge is chock full of info on this topic
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... =1&t=46605 - Types of Stills is a great thread by Brendan that has a lot of info in it.
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 60&t=46216 - Kiwi's review of Reflux designs since you are asking about a VM reflux still

Also the link Dantuss gave you on the CCVM is a good one to start with...

Welcome, good luck and be safe.

[still_stirrin]

Also, I want to add the concentric design as an option for the LM builder. It’s relatively easy to build and very easy to operate. I use a combination LM/VM still head and the concentric is exceptional at compressing the heads.

Here’s a link to Rad’s design: http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36382

It gets a vote of recommendation from me.
ss

[Bushman]

Yummyrum can you point me in the direction of more modern designs

The link below shows a few designs but also has links to several builds.
Column Builds

[ben stiller]

All really good advice that you are receiving. The only thing that I would add is if you are going to build a reflux column build it
modular so you can use if for fast stripping as well as in pot still mode.

[zapata]

Nixon/Stone or offset head stills are vapor management reflux stills.

Probably a typo, but nixon stone offsets as pictured are liquid management.

[rgreen2002]

Nixon/Stone or offset head stills are vapor management reflux stills.

Probably a typo, but nixon stone offsets as pictured are liquid management.

Sorry... I was looking over VM stills while I was answering the post.... I do mean LM. Thanks zapata, nice catch!

[StillerBoy]

Also, I want to add the concentric design as an option for the LM builder. It’s relatively easy to build and very easy to operate. I use a combination LM/VM still head and the concentric is exceptional at compressing the heads.
Here’s a link to Rad’s design: viewtopic.php?t=36382
It gets a vote of recommendation from me.

I support this recommendation also.. have been using the concentric design in 2" and 3" in modular setups for the over five yrs now.. and I have other designs such flute and VM, but the concentric, once learned how to dial it in, is the best.. set up on a controller with temp gauges for water, bottom and top of column, and the system works also in automatic..

Mars

[Acidgut]

Thank you to everyone for your advice. A lot to learn and I'm positive I'm in the right place. Merry Christmas to all.