Worth the effort?

[Metalking00]

The boka that i have (one of the alcoengine reflux stills) I often think of as 2" because I sit it on top of a 2" ss spool, but its actually 1.5". I have several extra spools, including a couple 12" sections and im considering turning one of these into a boka head. Will the increased speed be worth the effort of making a new head and condenser?

I have a few reasons for wanting to do this-
1. the alcoengine isnt a slant plate style, it has a 90deg elbow (fairly small, too) facing upwards inside, and i suspect that a lot of the reflux misses the target. Even with the valve wide open on a stripping run the abv seems higher than it should be, and takeoff slower. (This first issue has been obviated by getting a potstill, which im waiting to arrive, but its illustrative of the idea that i think the design isnt optimal)
2. faster would be nice
3. If I had a newer, bigger, better boka, i could send this one to my brother who has expressed interest in distilling but needs a bit of a push to get going.
4. My boiler is 2400w, which seems overpowered for a 1.5", but more suited to a 2".

How much increase in takeoff could i expect? Ive read somewhere around 56%, which would be substantial. One of the parent site calcs seems to confirm that. Does it really work out to be that much in practice?

[Saltbush Bill]

The boka that i have (one of the alcoengine reflux stills)

Im not really sure that its accurate to call one of those a "Boka".
The Bokakob reflux still was originally designed by Alex Bokakob, mostly they do have slant plates.
"Alcoengine Liquid Management" reflux column or still might be more correct.

[Metalking00]

Yes, i agree. The design is different, but functionally similar enough that i always think that style as either a boka, or "boka-like", which includes the concentric design. I cant say im unhappy with it, it works fine for what its intended to do.

I guess my question would then be, is a 2" boka enough of an upgrade from a 1.5" alcoengine that Id notice a substantial improvement in production speed or general good feelings and self satisfaction that its worth the time and expense? I can sense that the answer is "it depends on what you want", in which case what i want is someone to tell me to make a new still for fun

But really, my question is how much, in practice, is the potential takeoff increase in a 2" vs 1.5". Is it really around 50%?

[Yummyrum]

Whats your takeoff rate and ABV now ?
I think you will find most with a 2” ~ 1Metre tall will be pulling around the 1 litre/h @ 95+ ABV .

Pushing Azeo , might be down to 500ml/h . Happy with 95 , you might sneak over the 1l/h mark .

[Metalking00]

I havent really timed my current rate, but its not unusual for me to have to stop and then begin again the following day. Definitely not getting 1l per hour. Hell, even pushing it as a stripping run it takes me about 3.5-4 hours to do 5L. I wont be using it for stripping anymore since i have pot setup coming, but yeah, its slow. As i said before, i think its design forces a higher minumum reflux ratio than a slant plate. It makes good neutral, but slowly.

I consistently get 95+ and im happy with the product but as this is the only reflux ive ever used i have nothing to compare to. I wish i could meet up with some other people from around my area to see whats what.

[LWTCS]

Are you locked into buying?

I'd try and engineer something with the largest possible collection cup/slant plate or the like.
Then install the take off port in such a way that no matter how wide open the draw valve was, there would always be return liquid to the packing to ensure optimal ABV. In other words orient the take off port so that the collection plate never runs dry no matter how much product is being collected.

This is a more power = more vapor, more vapor=more reflux, more reflux =more purity/more reflux= more product strategy. That usually means more height.