T500 reflux (bubble plate column and vapor temperature)

[jpsobral]

Hi everyone,

I own both the T500 copper alembic and reflux systems with my grainfather which I think are great for a small house without too much space.

I am thinking doing two mods for my T500 reflux column:

1) add a 2” or 3” bubble plate column
2) adding a temperature prob on the top of reflux to get vapor temperature to give more control on what’s going on.

Concerning point one I saw in aliexpress multiple relatively cheap bubble plate columns but they have silicone. I tried to search in this forum about this specific issue but I did not see mention the rubbers around the bubble plates (see picture). Are they safe?

For point 2) anyone tried to achieve this? I saw a picture from a store “modded” but before I make a hole in the reflux would be great to get some opinions and anyone that have done to get some feed back (see picture I found google it)

Thamk you!

[BrewinBrian44]

Hey man,

A couple things. First, your T500 boiler would likely struggle to provide enough power to a bubble plate column. If you want to run plates, you need a boiler upgrade. I started this hobby with a T500 boiler and the copper dome and quickly realized I needed to upgrade to reach my goals. I still use it for smaller batches of pot stilled stuff.. I now have a 3” bubble plate column from Ali Express and a keg boiler. Works very well. It’s the sight glass style in individual sections and I use PTFE tri clamp seals in between them. I also wrapped plumbers tape around the silicone seals that mate up to the glass. It’s not a perfect solution, but it’s the best you can do unless you know a guy with a lathe that can machine PTFE seals for you out of a big chunk of it.

Also, from all the reading I’ve done on HD, a 2” plated column doesn’t work well, you’re better off going 3” at a minimum. A lot of guys here run 4” as that was the original design’s dimensions.

[jpsobral]

Thank you BrewinBrian!

I actually have a grainfather g30 as a boiler gives more control over the power, however is kind of the same powet as the T500 (2000 watt 230v).

If it will struggle with the bubble plate and, as you mentioned, it needs at least 3” what about an extra packed column with 2” and a length of 300 or 400mm? You think it will struggle?


Thanks!

[Yummyrum]

One advantage of Bubble plates verses perforated plates is you can run them at lower power . It’s called the turn down ratio .( Perf plates need a minimum power to keep the plates from collapsing …. IE , the liquid falls through the holes )
Obviously you can’t take off product as fast as you could if you ran more power , but it would work .

Regarding adding a thermometer , it won’t tell you anything that your Eyes , tongue and nose won’t .
I’d rather read the forums than watch a thermometer .

[Saltbush Bill]

As above temps tell you about zero, even if running as the T500 instruction manual tells you to.
The water temp is only a rough guide to make it easy for them to explain how to run it for those with no idea.
Watching the out put speed " taking foreshots at a slow drip, heads a slightly faster drip.......and hearts at a broken, to very thin stream will give you much better results and make it easier to dial in a constant output.
Chasing temps is the hard way of doing it.

[jpsobral]

Thank you both. I rely only the output drip speed and taste. Absolutely the way to go. Temp is just an extra loose couple “reference” allows me to know ok I am roughly around here. So maybe not worth it! I learn a lot with my potstill in this matter and with a lot of info in this forum

[drmiller100]

Temp gauge is required for me. How else will you know true proof?
I also run one below the column to know how much etoh left in the boiler

[Saltbush Bill]

By using an alcometer.