Suggestions for improving my reflux?

[Apsynt]

Can anyone give me any advice on improving purity/speed of my still without a total re-build?
It's a 40mm column, 15mm reflux going through 2 points. Sits on a 50L keg and is packed with stainless wool(can't seem to find copper here in NZ)
It has given 96% throughout with reflux on full and iced water but there is still a bad smell in most of the distillate. When using ambient temperature water i collect at 93.5% and smell is worse.
Thanks!!

[Hawke]

IMHO, the only way to improve that particular design is to drop it in the trash.
Let your distillate air out for 1 or 2 days before making cuts.

[liquordude]

Build a bokakob Still head and recycle your Liebig condenser and make yourself a nice pot still.

as I Did here:
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... &sk=t&sd=a

[punkin]

Or a VM design and likewise recycle the condensor.

Copper mesh is available through these guys in NZ, they're locals and they know their shit...

http://www.amphora-society.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Best of luck with it...

[Apsynt]

Thanks Punkin, that link will come in mighty useful. I might remove packing and use it for stripping. Think it would be easier to make a new one from scratch

[decoy]

If you follow punkins advice you will get a much beter result in falvour, this would be applied to any other head you build..
copper is good the more the better.

Altho some what direct the advice given in relation to building a bokakob slanted plate or a VM head is correct as well.

you should be able to build a new column from scratch well under $100AU all new parts, and if you scrounge around much less...

it is somthing worth considering, there have been some huge improvements in design since that one..

cheers..

[punkin]

Thanks Punkin, that link will come in mighty useful. I might remove packing and use it for stripping. Think it would be easier to make a new one from scratch

That's a good idea. Blank the tubes off going through the column and remove the packing, it will serve you very well indeed as a stripping head.

[manu de hanoi]

- Your still is already made of copper, unless the inside is completely dark, I dont think copper whool will improve your taste.
- If it still stinks at 96% then extra reflux wont help.
- What are you distilling ? Do you properly make cuts ? How does it smell ?

EDIT If you still need more reflux without going to another design (you wont regret the VM or LM upgrade),
you can also try to level the water pipes at the point where it forks between reflux and condenser (the reflux path should not branch upwards but horizontally) and add a vent. The vent is needed cause during the distill some air/vapor will be created in the reflux pipes and create pockets that will slow down the flow of water/ lower the surface contact with copper pipes.

[Apsynt]

thanks everyone for the feedback. We managed to get hold of some decent copper and are now making a new still. We are thinking of slanted plate as marked on the pipe. Any suggestions or possible improvements with what we have so far. the control valve will go just before the condensor

[HookLine]

Nice coil condenser.

If it is not too late, I would suggest a VM column. The Bokabob slanted plate is an excellent design, and it will do what you want. But it is an LM still, and needs some reflux ratio adjustments in the later stages of the run, whereas a VM will sit rock solid right all the way through (with maybe one minor adjustment right near the end if you want to squeeze out every last drop).

[Apsynt]

thanks, after a number of disasters finally nailed the coiling! still haven;t made any cuts in the column so am open for suggestions. with VM do i need a needle valve? tried finding them here but it;s proving bloody difficult.
Despite reading the threads still not quite clear on the whole VM thing.

[HookLine]

Yeah, there is a knack to coiling.

With VM most use a gate valve, but some are getting good results with a ball valve, which is a lot cheaper than a gate valve. Personally, I would only use stainless valves. A needle valve might work, but it would have to be at least 3/8", and that size would be a lot more expensive than even a 1/2" gate valve.

This is the basic VM design (this diagram does not show any reflux diverter or turbulence generator):

Basic VM Design.jpg (32.02 KiB) Viewed 2873 times

[Apsynt]

so would omitting slanted plates and placing a gate valve at the output pipe be sufficient? would i need a bigger output pipe? would definately need a bigger condenser! output at the moment is in 1/4 and the column is about 2 1/2

[HookLine]

1/4" is too small for the take-off vapour path in VM. For a 2.5" column the take-off port needs to be at least 1", maybe even 1.5", and the vapour path from there to the output probably should be no smaller than 1/2" (this is big enough, much bigger does not add much value). I started with a 3/4" (vapour path) Liebig condenser, but it is overkill, and I am swapping to a 1/2".

Some recent discussion about VM design here.

[pHneutral]

And please.. make sure you drill a VENT HOLE in the top of your reflux condenser if you do a VM design!

[xx7777xx]

I thought I'd offer a couple thoughts based on my recent VM build. First off, here is a picture:



And here is a picture of my reflux condenser:


Here are a few things to consider:
-My condenser is about 10" long and made of ~15' of 1/4 copper. Depending on how hard you want to drive your still, your reflux condenser might be a little small. When I'm up and running the first 3-4" of my condenser are fairly warm.
-As per the previous suggestion you really, really need a vent in your cap. If you look at my condenser I added a small 1/4 vent line which makes it real easy to check with a mirror and see if anything is boiling past my condenser.
-I am very glad i went with a gate valve as you can get a very granular level of control my making small measured adjustments.
-You may want to consider building your column in a manner that would allow it to easily be converted to a pot still (unless you already have a nice pot still). Here is a link to a design pick to give you an idea of what I"m referring to: http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp18 ... Design.jpg
-Lastly there are several good threads on LM vs VM, but here is one that might be worth a look: http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... &sk=t&sd=a

Good luck, would love to see more pics as you progress.

[Apsynt]

Thanks for the suggestions!
Yep, already got a vent hole on the cap. i was a bit concerned that the coil might be bit too small, i guess i'll have to try it out when i make the joint for the bowl. as from now i make all the joints and fittings by hand i am bit limited with what i can pull off. basically i'd have to weld a bit of 1 1/2 to where i wanted to put the slanted plates, reduce it, valve it and stick a bigger leibig on the end of it? no internal components needed?
will not need to run it as a pot as i have a stripping and a pot column, both of which fit on the same bowl.

[Apsynt]

Finally decided to go for LM, at the moment it is too difficult to source a decent valve. We can always cut the top off and make interchangeable heads later on.

This is our new joint for the bowl in 2.5" with adapter for 40mm

bowl with 2.5" hole and sleeve

001.jpg (40.18 KiB) Viewed 2585 times

002.jpg (33.13 KiB) Viewed 2585 times

2.5" just slides in, sleeve has been wire-cut so there is hardly any clearance, might even be enough like that not to leak

003.jpg (26.33 KiB) Viewed 2582 times

underside with 2.5" in place

004.jpg (25.57 KiB) Viewed 2582 times

adapter ring with a fixed 40mm female for easy change of heads

005.jpg (44.06 KiB) Viewed 2584 times

[Apsynt]

and the rest

006.jpg (28.55 KiB) Viewed 2555 times

007.jpg (36.81 KiB) Viewed 2554 times

[Captain_McCoy]

packed with stainless wool(can't seem to find copper here in NZ)

HI Apsynt, have you tried HaurakiHomeBrew?

http://www.haurakihomebrew.co.nz/produc ... cts_id=712