Bubble plates in 2 inch column?

[brewmaster2014]

Hello everyone. First before I ask my question here is description of my system.
POT STILL.
-40 loters boiler
-2 inch column ,5 ft long consiste of 3 separate stainless steel pieces.
- liebig condenser.

Now to the question.I want to add 2 bubble plates and dephlegmator to it, so I can either run flavored spirits 1 time ,or just simply mess around and experiment, because why not?

I'm facing few options.
1- get 2 inch borosilicate column
2-get 3 or 4 inch borosilicate column and attache it with 2-to 4 inch reducers on both sides.

One think that perplexes/ worries me about 2 inch bubble plates is that it had only 1 cap and it is full of holes all around,where the 3 and 4 inch are solid copper with caps in them.Now I don't know anyone who used 2 inch bubble plates,but how they are supposed to fill up with liquid and flow back through down Comer if the plate has holes it will drip down constantly. Just seems lime this kind of cap should never work properly, or is there logical reason/explanation for it?

Anyone else here using 2 inch plate column?
Thanks.

[NormandieStill]

No personal experience but I've looked into a 2" plate system myself and if you search the forum you'll find a few threads on the subject. IIRC the common conclusion was they were an area to make them work. Super sensitive and hard to keep loaded. And that sieve plates were the best option if you really had to.

So I would guess that adapters to a larger diameter set up would be your best option.

Also, and I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, you dont need a dephleg (cm) head over plates. Any reflux head will work.

[brewmaster2014]

No personal experience but I've looked into a 2" plate system myself and if you search the forum you'll find a few threads on the subject. IIRC the common conclusion was they were an area to make them work. Super sensitive and hard to keep loaded. And that sieve plates were the best option if you really had to.

So I would guess that adapters to a larger diameter set up would be your best option.

Also, and I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, you dont need a dephleg (cm) head over plates. Any reflux head will work.

Thanks for the I put,I was just wondering, aside from dephlegmator and ccvm style copper condensed on top,is there are any other condensing solutions for such set up? Thanks.

[NormandieStill]

CM, VM (and CCVM) and LM heads should all work. It depends on what you have to hand or feel like making. Any setup that causes distillate to condense and fall back into the column will work.

[BrewinBrian44]

I use a VM head over my plates and love the ease of control. Only problem with it is collecting deep into the tails for feints after a run. VM essentially shuts down the flow of late tails to the product condenser. The solution is to remove the RC and cap it to finish collecting at the end of the run essentially in pot still mode. I rarely do this though as the stuff I can collect before it slows way down are all the flavors I’d actually like to keep as feints. The rest is just nasty.

There is a safety concern doing this though. If you forget to open the valve, you’ve essentially created a pressurized bomb. Some members on here do not recommend this.

[Saltbush Bill]

Now I don't know anyone who used 2 inch bubble plates,but how they are supposed to fill up with liquid and flow back through down Comer if the plate has holes it will drip down constantly. Just seems lime this kind of cap should never work properly, or is there logical reason/explanation for it?

Might be an idea to read some or a lot of this post viewtopic.php?t=59216 it will give you a better understanding of how plated columns work.
One of the reasons that not many people use 2 inch plated columns is that they are so slow.
Plates stay loaded because liquid cant go down the holes while vapour is coming up, Vapour cant rise up through the downcommer so has to go through the holes.

[Tummydoc]

I run a 2inch CCVM on an electric Keg boiler. I also run bubble cap plates for whiskey (I can run 4 plates but prefer 2). My 3 inch borosilicate plate column has 2 inch triclamp ends. You can choose your triclamp diameter on Aliexpress for any 3 inch plated column. The 3 inch plates have 4 caps, one inverted as a downcomer. Loading is not a problem.

[brewmaster2014]

I run a 2inch CCVM on an electric Keg boiler. I also run bubble cap plates for whiskey (I can run 4 plates but prefer 2). My 3 inch borosilicate plate column has 2 inch triclamp ends. You can choose your triclamp diameter on Aliexpress for any 3 inch plated column. The 3 inch plates have 4 caps, one inverted as a downcomer. Loading is not a problem.

This is great info,yes I find 3 inch column with 2 plates on Aliexpress,I was just curious, how did you find the whiskey turned out with plates? Flavour and test? The ease of separating cuts?

[Bushman]

Now I don't know anyone who used 2 inch bubble plates,but how they are supposed to fill up with liquid and flow back through down Comer if the plate has holes it will drip down constantly. Just seems lime this kind of cap should never work properly, or is there logical reason/explanation for it?

Might be an idea to read some or a lot of this post viewtopic.php?t=59216 it will give you a better understanding of how plated columns work.
One of the reasons that not many people use 2 inch plated columns is that they are so slow.
Plates stay loaded because liquid cant go down the holes while vapour is coming up, Vapour cant rise up through the downcommer so has to go through the holes.

I tend to agree with SB, I have never run a 2 inch plated still but my 2” VM was very slow and I would think the possibility of this happening is very high. About 10 years ago with the same charge Mash Rookie ran his 3” bubble plate column side by side with my 4” column with mesh. Both made a great product but running my still seemed a lot smoother and faster.

[IAmPistolPete]

I have a 2" 4-plate assembly I use sometimes on my 8gal boiler. There is no problem keeping the plates loaded but it is slow going & harder to keep them from flooding when I get impatient. The product is pretty good tho once I got it figured out. My 4" plates on a 13gal run so much smoother once I get it balanced and the run is much quicker. Never ran a 3" unit.

[BrewinBrian44]

My bubble plates are 3 inch, they work well. I got them on Ali Express. Eventually I’ll upgrade to 4 inch.

[Tummydoc]

I run a 2inch CCVM on an electric Keg boiler. I also run bubble cap plates for whiskey (I can run 4 plates but prefer 2). My 3 inch borosilicate plate column has 2 inch triclamp ends. You can choose your triclamp diameter on Aliexpress for any 3 inch plated column. The 3 inch plates have 4 caps, one inverted as a downcomer. Loading is not a problem.

This is great info,yes I find 3 inch column with 2 plates on Aliexpress,I was just curious, how did you find the whiskey turned out with plates? Flavour and test? The ease of separating cuts?

I get plenty of flavor through on a one and done run (usually chocolate sundae bourbon). I discard the first 500-1000 mls as early heads, save the next liter as late heads in my feints container for a later neutral run. I then will collect 1.5-2 gallons down to a final output of about 20% abv. I find even then it's mainly sweet water with no tails in the output. The plates trap tails great. I run 9-10 gallons in my boiler, about 7-8 gallons of grain slop in a thumper, with the column over the thumper.

[tjsc5f]

I get plenty of flavor through on a one and done run (usually chocolate sundae bourbon). I discard the first 500-1000 mls as early heads, save the next liter as late heads in my feints container for a later neutral run. I then will collect 1.5-2 gallons down to a final output of about 20% abv. I find even then it's mainly sweet water with no tails in the output. The plates trap tails great. I run 9-10 gallons in my boiler, about 7-8 gallons of grain slop in a thumper, with the column over the thumper.

Are you adjusting your coil much when running whiskies like this (ie mostly closed for taking off heads and opening it up for hearts) or just leaving it wide open for the entire run (roughly 50:50 RR).

Also curious if you can share what kind of power you're pushing on this setup, and how/if you change it throughout the run.

[Salt Must Flow]

I use a VM head over my plates and love the ease of control. Only problem with it is collecting deep into the tails for feints after a run. VM essentially shuts down the flow of late tails to the product condenser. The solution is to remove the RC and cap it to finish collecting at the end of the run essentially in pot still mode. I rarely do this though as the stuff I can collect before it slows way down are all the flavors I’d actually like to keep as feints. The rest is just nasty.

There is a safety concern doing this though. If you forget to open the valve, you’ve essentially created a pressurized bomb. Some members on here do not recommend this.

I've used my VM to remove 100% of all alcohol from my sugar wash and it wasn't slow. Just crank the power to max and let her rip. I even removed the gate valve to open up the vapor takeoff diameter more. My packing is much more efficient in comparison to 2 or even 4 plates so that might make a big difference. I've never used my VM head over bubble caps, but I'm sure I'll try it one day.

[Tummydoc]

I get plenty of flavor through on a one and done run (usually chocolate sundae bourbon). I discard the first 500-1000 mls as early heads, save the next liter as late heads in my feints container for a later neutral run. I then will collect 1.5-2 gallons down to a final output of about 20% abv. I find even then it's mainly sweet water with no tails in the output. The plates trap tails great. I run 9-10 gallons in my boiler, about 7-8 gallons of grain slop in a thumper, with the column over the thumper.

Are you adjusting your coil much when running whiskies like this (ie mostly closed for taking off heads and opening it up for hearts) or just leaving it wide open for the entire run (roughly 50:50 RR).

Also curious if you can share what kind of power you're pushing on this setup, and how/if you change it throughout the run.

I collect fores and early heads slowly. If I leave my coil fully down and run at 9-10 amps (240V input ont a 5500watt ULD element), I'll get a few drips/second takeoff after the plates load (So i'm not in100% reflux even with the coil down). I'll take off about a liter, then raise the coil fully and collect. Early i'm running 9 amps, towards the end I may have to push to 12 amps to maintain a small stream output. I stop collecting when the ouput is 20% ABV, and it doesnt taste like tails at that point yet.

[SDEngr1]

I run 2" perforated bubble plates with a single downcomer cap and it works perfectly. I typically pull 92% ABV with all four plates. Typical output when running hearts is around 1 Liter per hour.

[Yummyrum]

I run 2" perforated bubble plates with a single downcomer cap and it works perfectly. I typically pull 92% ABV with all four plates. Typical output when running hearts is around 1 Liter per hour.

Love to see a pic of those plates out of curiosity SDE.
What's the hole size and count ? And plate spacing ?
1 l/ h is about what I would have expected tops . There's not much around about 2" plates so your setup would be of interest .

[rubberduck71]

This is great info for someone like me considering buying a bubble plate column!

[SDEngr1]

My photo importing on this site is non-existent. Search Amazon for Hooloo 22 L still and you will see the setup and plate detail. I believe the sight glass segments are around 7" in height per segment.

[acfixer69]

Nothing found on Google search.

[Salt Must Flow]

Nothing found on Google search.

My first google search found plenty of results, but I could only find this listing on Amazon.

[shadylane]

Years ago, I asked about making a plated 2-1/2" column. The advice I got was it wasn't worth the time.
Being that I'm bull headed and wanted to, I built one anyway.
The advice I got was correct, the column was very slow and any attempt to speed it up led to flooding.

[SDEngr1]

Nothing found on Google search.

My first google search found plenty of results, but I could only find this listing on Amazon.

That's the unit!

[Yummyrum]

Hooley Dooley , with a dot point lineup like this ... What can I say

High quality: The alcǒhól distiller is made of 304 stainless steel. It is a complete set of distillers, very suitable for beginners or professionals. the first choice for DIY. (Capacity: 22L/5.8 gallons, Height: 44.49 inches)
Built-in thermometer: The alcǒhól distiller still kit has a built-in thermometer that displays Celsius and Fahrenheit temperatures, so the operator can easily check the temperature while the distiller is running to prevent burnout, and give the distiller better results.
Unique design: The stills for distilling comes with four layers of distillation towers with sight glasses to observe the distillation at any time. The white wine vapor fully reacts with the pure copper tower core and distills layer by layer to effectively remove methanol and accurately remove the creosote. It makes the wine clear and refreshing.
Multi-function: Our whiskey making kit can not only make wine but also be used for seawater, steam distillation, and alcǒhól at home. According to your preference, you can make alcǒhól, ethanol, distilled water making, essential oil, and so on.

[LWTCS]

Hooley Dooley , with a dot point lineup like this ... What can I say

High quality: The alcǒhól distiller is made of 304 stainless steel. It is a complete set of distillers, very suitable for beginners or professionals. the first choice for DIY. (Capacity: 22L/5.8 gallons, Height: 44.49 inches)
Built-in thermometer: The alcǒhól distiller still kit has a built-in thermometer that displays Celsius and Fahrenheit temperatures, so the operator can easily check the temperature while the distiller is running to prevent burnout, and give the distiller better results.
Unique design: The stills for distilling comes with four layers of distillation towers with sight glasses to observe the distillation at any time. The white wine vapor fully reacts with the pure copper tower core and distills layer by layer to effectively remove methanol and accurately remove the creosote. It makes the wine clear and refreshing.
Multi-function: Our whiskey making kit can not only make wine but also be used for seawater, steam distillation, and alcǒhól at home. According to your preference, you can make alcǒhól, ethanol, distilled water making, essential oil, and so on.

Oh dear.
I would imagine any technical support would be equally as,,,,entertaining.

[Chauncey]

Creosote!

[buchrob]

Most 2" sightglasses will also accept a bubble plate at the top as well as the base, provided there is some clearance above. I use mine as visual feedback for the boil, and overall general health.

[n_plains_drifter]

I'm working on a plate build for a 2" column and will post up the build here as I get the components assembled. The concept is stolen from Stillin' Canada on YT and involves building your own upcomers(?) and downcomers from copper plasma welding tips and 1/2 inch copper pipe caps. The final plate consists of 3 upcomers and one downcomer.

While it won't solve the vapor volume issue, perhaps it will solve the finicky issues.