LM Reflux Column PLUS Alembic Dome?

[Captain Spaulding]

Hello stillers!

I have the 35L Digiboil 110V/1500W with AlcoEngine alembic dome and pot still condenser. Makes terrific whiskey and rum! I just ordered their LM reflux column and intend to make some neutral. Looks like that column is only about 21.5" tall. Am I correct that putting the reflux column on my alembic dome will effectively increase column height and thus purity? More copper contact is good right? Any reason NOT to do it this way?

Muchas Gracias!

[Pure Old Possum Piss]

It's basically a Boka design. Slower than Christmas. Was big in the 80s and 90s but most folks have moved on to better designs. It'll work and it should reach azeo. If it was me I'd go with a CM or VM so I could make neutrals or whisky and rums. And cm/lms are quite a bit faster. What ever you decide on, make sure you can take it apart for cleaning or replacing packing. Copper packing works best for clean neutrals. And be certain it uses Triclamps to put it together.

[Salt Must Flow]

Hello stillers!

I have the 35L Digiboil 110V/1500W with AlcoEngine alembic dome and pot still condenser. Makes terrific whiskey and rum! I just ordered their LM reflux column and intend to make some neutral. Looks like that column is only about 21.5" tall. Am I correct that putting the reflux column on my alembic dome will effectively increase column height and thus purity? More copper contact is good right? Any reason NOT to do it this way?

Muchas Gracias!

No, but a taller packed column influences % ABV. The general rule of thumb is that the packed column height should be at least 20x the diameter of the column.

[Yummyrum]

Agree with SMF .
The dome won’t do anything to improve purity . A Column extension full of packing will .

You are correct that the extra copper can’t hurt . But there is probably enough in those Copper Alcoengine reflux stills to do the job and if its got copper mesh in it , way plenty . ( I could be wrong but I thought they were supplied with Stainless Scrubbers for packing) . Regardless , the Copper column should be enough .

As Possum said , they are slow . But that is the nature of reflux stills . I argue that there is no difference in speed between any of the still heads to achieve a target ABV . They all do the same thing , just in a different way .

That Alcoengine will come with two restrictors ( Brass couplers with a hole drilled in it ) that goes before the takeoff valve . These are what determine the ABV (quality) and subsequently the take off speed . Big hole , fast take off ,less refluxing , low quality . Small hole , slow take off , more refluxing , high quality .

Adding an extension full of packing also means more refluxing and higher quality .

[Saltbush Bill]

Yummy has beaten me to it , I was going to answer this question as soon as I had finished reading all of the other unready posts that have popped up during our night.
I agree the more copper the better , use the dome but it wont increase ABV, or output speed, only a longer packed column will achieve that.
I also agree that a slant plate / boka style still is no slower than any other reflux still type of any particular diameter and length.
I would also place a CM reflux at the bottom of the list of Reflux still, purely because they are fiddly to run unless you have extremely stable water pressure/ flow.
At a hobby level and at that size the alembic dome really doesn't make very much difference at all , Its more manufacturer marketing " a big word that sounds fancy.
You do have the advantage of also having a pot still head, this will help because you can strip you wash down to low wines before running them through the reflux, that will make quite a difference.
1 find a good Tried and True recipe, id suggest Shadys Sugar Shine.
2 after fermentation strip wash......preferably strip 2 washes.
3 run collecting in small jars.
4 leave jars covered for 24-48 hours , then make good cuts.
In my experience these small off the shelf reflux stills will make pretty good neutral as long as give them a fighting chance by doing everything that you can to help them.

It's basically a Boka design. Slower than Christmas. Was big in the 80s and 90s but most folks have moved on to better designs.

I really cant agree with that POPP.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with the boka design.
Even today there are probably as many of them built as any other type of reflux still.
For ease of use, output speed of product and quality of product I would put my 3 inch boka up against any other reflux still of the same diameter and hight.
There seems to be a weird trend lately on this forum for bad mouthing bokas.......a lot of what is said is BS imo.

[Captain Spaulding]

Thanks again everyone! I’m not after absolute max ABV anyway as I plan to make Absinthe, Liqueurs, etc. and will use the pot still for stripping. I may do a small spirit run with the larger 1.0mm flow restrictor just to see what the lower end performance might be. Pretty sure it will be ok for a batch of Kahlua or something. If not I can always rerun with the 0.6mm hole. Second run I’ll go for as clean as I can get so I can learn the range of the reflux head.

Based on my experience here I’m pretty sure my worst effort will still be better that most of the swill at the likker store LOL