Wimmels wrote:Hello Dan,
let me start of with thanking you for such a good thread.
I must have read it 3 times completely by now. I am planning to build something simmelar as your flute but am doing some more research whether to go with perforation or bubblecap plates. Hence I have some questions:
What size drill did you use for your plate perforations?
Furthermore I would be really interested in the amount of heat you need to put in your kettle to keep your plates filled once you start distilling alcohol.
Regards
Wim
Wim,
For the plate perforations I used a 1/16" drill bit and there were 180 holes per plate x 5 = 900 per column. I went through about 12 drill bits to make all of the holes and that was with a drill press and plenty of lube drilling 2 - 3 plates at a time.
The digital controller that i built it is throwing 25 amps x 220 volts = 5,500 Watts at the keg boiler which brings the column to temp in about 30 minutes from about 70-75 degrees to 180-200 degrees. The digital controller is set to maintain a set point temp at the top of the column and when it reaches that temp it slowly sends bursts of power to the element to maintain that temp. I have not run any alcohol yet but I will very soon...
PP- Thank you for the thread on cleaning i will check it out!! I have just disconnected everything to make a few adjustments and to have a therm-o-well welded into my keg and to have a 4" flange and riser welded to the top to increase vapor path flow. I will post a few pictures once I get my keg back from the shop. Do you know if anyone has used their keg / boiler as a fermentation tank?? I am going to give it a try with the heating element and therm-o-well. I will be able to set the temperature of the keg to the ideal fermentation temp and it will maintain that temp. Then I can put the column straight on to the keg and move the temp probe to the column and start distillation without having to transfer any liquid. What do you think?? Thank you,
-Dan
I think its a bad idea. The element could fry your yeasties first off. You would have to rack it off to another container after it was done fermenting. So you could wash the lees out of the bottom of your boiler before you run it. Or they would defiantly burn on the element. If you live in a cold climate and you need to heat your ferments. It would be better to use a low wattage heat source on the outside of the fermenter. Like a heat blanket or pad. Or even a blanket wrapped around it mite do it. The yeasties will make their own heat to.
Wimmels wrote:Hello Dan,
let me start of with thanking you for such a good thread.
I must have read it 3 times completely by now. I am planning to build something simmelar as your flute but am doing some more research whether to go with perforation or bubblecap plates. Hence I have some questions:
What size drill did you use for your plate perforations?
Furthermore I would be really interested in the amount of heat you need to put in your kettle to keep your plates filled once you start distilling alcohol.
Regards
Wim
Wim,
For the plate perforations I used a 1/16" drill bit and there were 180 holes per plate x 5 = 900 per column. I went through about 12 drill bits to make all of the holes and that was with a drill press and plenty of lube drilling 2 - 3 plates at a time.
The digital controller that i built it is throwing 25 amps x 220 volts = 5,500 Watts at the keg boiler which brings the column to temp in about 30 minutes from about 70-75 degrees to 180-200 degrees. The digital controller is set to maintain a set point temp at the top of the column and when it reaches that temp it slowly sends bursts of power to the element to maintain that temp. I have not run any alcohol yet but I will very soon...
I hope that helps..... -Dan
Thanks a lot. I figured the holes to be around 1,5mm diameter. I just wanted to make sure. If I were to drill the holes in a 5x5mm grid that would give me around 7% of hole coverage on the plate.
I would like your findings with the alcohol distilling with your controller. I myself will be burning on gas. I can use different kinds of burners ranging from 4-12KW so I can modulate the heat input easily. If I read the Compleat distiller book correct they advise around 750watts of heat for a 54mm column. A 104mm column gives you roughly 4 times the surface area, thus around 4 times the heat(this is theoretical though) I am not sure how much heat the average flute distiller put in their kettles with 4" columns
I made some modifications to my keg boiler to make the connection to the column stiffer and the keg easier to clean out. Enclosed are a few pictures..... Tonight I ran a vinegar solution through the flute to clean it out. I also added a therm-o-well to the keg boiler just in case i want to add a temp probe or gauge
Hey Guys it has been awhile again but I am making some progress. I have my first generation of KS Sweet Feed in the fermenter and I did a little re-design of my first proofing parrot. I still need to vent the collection chamber of my final product condenser but I will do this before I run my first charge through the flute.
mash rookie wrote:good looking parrot dan. Are you ever going to run this baby? Is your brothers already done and online?
Mash rookie,
I have not finished my column yet but it is very close to being done. This parrot is for my brothers purification system. I will hopefully be posting a link to a video of my first run by the end of next week with his column. My KS Sweet Feed wash just finished day three and is starting to clear. I should be able to rack it straight to the boiler by Wednesday and fire it up for the real test run. I will let you know how it goes.
Here is a link to the run I did last night...... I still have some work to do to stop the leaks but it was pretty exciting stuff!! Two hours from start to finish with approximately an eight gallon charge in the boiler. 4oz. heads .... 1/2 gallon hearts and about a quart and a half of tails down to 60 proof before I shut her down..... Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uph26_r7XsI" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
dan wrote:Looking at a rice cereal wash for round two....... going for a very neutral vodka so let me know your favorite tried and true recipe.
As I recall, Gerber Rice makes one of the most effortless neutrals... I'm pretty hooked on All Bran and because I've run so many batches it's not much harder to get a clean neutral...
The only person upset about this is the local bottle shop owner- you wont need to stop in anymore.
Now down to the business of fermenting and feeding your beast. If I can say one thing, just keep fermenting, even if you get a backlog. Continual fermenting will ultimatly translate to continual supply, no matter what still.
Great video, as well made as the flute itself.
In hindsight, would you do anything different?
Any suggestions on sealing the glass'?
You design it, I make it. Copper and Stainless. Down under. PM me.
emptyglass wrote:The only person upset about this is the local bottle shop owner- you wont need to stop in anymore.
Now down to the business of fermenting and feeding your beast. If I can say one thing, just keep fermenting, even if you get a backlog. Continual fermenting will ultimatly translate to continual supply, no matter what still.
Great video, as well made as the flute itself.
In hindsight, would you do anything different?
Any suggestions on sealing the glass'?
EG,
Thank you for the feedback on fermenting it is something I need to work on. I have spent all this time working on the boiler and flute and did not even think about all the stuff to do a successful fermentation. I had to borrow the HDPE tubs that I used for my wet C.O.B. sweet feed wash and racked directly into the boiler. After a lot of reading I will definitely do a clearing rack before the boiler. I have done a second run with the same wash just to see if I could squeeze a little more alcohol out of it with a little more reflux time. I moved the temp probe for the controller to the side of the boiler and put a second temp gauge at the bottom of the dephlegmater. I set the temp on the controller to 200 and just let it come up to temp. after about 20 minutes of reflux I was able to pull about 750 mil of tails at about 80% and back down to 30% ABV. I was able to fix the leak with PTFE plumbers tape vs using the PTFE gaskets that I made from some PTFE .020" sheet that I purchased from a plastics company as a 3" wide remnant 50' long. Looking back I do not think I would do anything differently. My goal was to build this flute with as few fittings as possible because of the expense and to keep the lines as clean and functional as possible. I am just amazed at how fast this still will produce distillate. With a little insulation on the boiler I think it can be driven even faster!! Thank you to everyone on this forum for the help and advise!! I am just getting started and having a great time!
If they (flutes) are anything like a pot, the extra racking will give you a better, clearer product, not more. Less if you dont take the top and bottom of the ferment. I find this gives me a cleaner product leaving a bit of wash for the angels.
Drunken angels bestow better gifts.
Do you have access to a mill? You could mill the window seats flat if your gaskets don't work.
Or you could glue some emery paper to a disc with a spindle, mount that in the drill press and flatten them off that way (disc needs to run true)
Do you think we could have some fireworks somewhere in the next video? Maybe some halftime entertainment- give us all time to pour another.
You design it, I make it. Copper and Stainless. Down under. PM me.
Are you saying that you didn't like the cannon shot in the video?? I made this cannon from a very large bolt that was gift from a friend. I had to make it into something useful kind of like turning $4.00 / lb copper pipe into something useful.....
Well here it is the second flute build is finally finished and ready to run!! This is a link for the video of the cleaning run I did last night. Under the foam insulation in the sink is an 80 liter batch of Bird Watchers Wash that should be ready by early next week..... Getting just a little excited
dan wrote:Well here it is the second flute build is finally finished and ready to run!! This is a link for the video of the cleaning run I did last night. Under the foam insulation in the sink is an 80 liter batch of Bird Watchers Wash that should be ready by early next week..... Getting just a little excited
I have to say Dan, you have done a very good job on your flute! I have started my flute build. Mine will be a little bit different from most of the builds here as I am using 4" sanitary stainless steel pipe for most of the build. I will use some copper into it too. Going this way, I can add as many or less plates that I want. I am starting with a six plate build now. The tower alone will stand about six feet tall. I will post some pics soon. I like to thank all of you for your info on your builds, as this has help me to decide on the way that I am going with my build! So stay tuned!
moonshine guy wrote:I have to say Dan, you have done a very good job on your flute! I have started my flute build. Mine will be a little bit different from most of the builds here as I am using 4" sanitary stainless steel pipe for most of the build. I will use some copper into it too. Going this way, I can add as many or less plates that I want. I am starting with a six plate build now. The tower alone will stand about six feet tall. I will post some pics soon. I like to thank all of you for your info on your builds, as this has help me to decide on the way that I am going with my build! So stay tuned!
moonshine guy,
Thank you for the compliments! I can't wait to see pictures of your build, sounds big!!
dan wrote:Well here it is the second flute build is finally finished and ready to run!! This is a link for the video of the cleaning run I did last night. Under the foam insulation in the sink is an 80 liter batch of Bird Watchers Wash that should be ready by early next week..... Getting just a little excited
emptyglass wrote:Very nice. Congrat's on another one.
I'm a bit dissapointed - I was really hoping for some fireworks this time.
Didn't even get the cannon. Dammit.
Bet you cant wait till that wash is done.
Hey Dan, how did you hold your tree/s in place?
Empty Glass,
Sorry no fireworks or cannon shots this time..... that stuff is illegal within city limits!!
I used a 1/2" piece of 4" pipe that I cut a chunk out of and then slid that up inside my column at the bottom and soldered it in place. My plate tree is removable from the top if you ever wanted to make any changes. For cleaning after the first run I just poured a gallon of hot water down through all of the plates while it was still connected to the boiler. Today is day six on the ferment of the bird watchers does anyone know when I should pull the fish tank heater out?? Thank you,
