Running a 4" modular column as a pot still

[Copperhead road]

I run a lot of my whiskey through a pot still rather than running it through my plated Bubbler. I like using my bubbler as a potstill because i like collecting product from my parrot at waist height. (i have a bad back with multiple fusions so collecting at ground level through my other potsill is not good for me due to not being able to bend over)

My question is when i use my 5 plated column as a potstill i have been leaving the plates in there and have no water running to my RC.

Would my column be better and run more efficiently as a potstill if i removed all 5 plates up the tower?

I would appreciate feedback on guys that are running plated columns as potstills.

I do run on HP gas so my flute has a 1 meter long 2" lynne are so me, the shotgun condenser and parrot are nowhere near the naked flames for safety reasons.

[Salt Must Flow]

I can't think of any reason why you can't just leave the plates in there unless you see that you're getting enough passive reflux to cause the plates to load up and start bubbling away.

[Bolverk]

You might be getting a slight amount of additional rectification off the plates with just passive reflux from the exposed metal. If youre happy with what youre making then no change needed, if you think its a little too fine or want something grungier then it would be better to remove the unnecessary plates, segments, and RC.

[shadylane]

My question is when i use my 5 plated column as a potstill i have been leaving the plates in there and have no water running to my RC.

Would my column be better and run more efficiently as a potstill if i removed all 5 plates up the tower?

Turn off the dephleg cooling water and insulate the column.

[Yummyrum]

Copper ,correct me if I am wrong , but don’t you have one of Emptyglasses perf plate stills .

If I remember correct , they have the downcomer go straight down to the plate below with no j trap except for the bottom plate .

I had a similar setup and it was fine to run as shady says .
Especially if the bottom J trap is empty /dry you will see no action on any plate . It’s just one big copper riser .

[PalCabral]

I have no advise to give as I have no experience from plated stills at all, but I have a question. Will the plates impact the speed of the vapor flow when stripping? I notice that with my copper onion, I am restricted with the speed I can run with it mounted, because of the added passive reflux. Would it be the same with plates in the vapor path?

[Saltbush Bill]

Thats one of MTs old builds, it will have perf plates.
I often run my 5 plate 6 inch bubbler / flute in pot mode.
Ive never had it create enough passive reflux to load the plates.
The best mine can do is get a very thin layer of moisture on the bottom plate which sort of splashes around a tiny bit.
You really couldn't call it a loaded plate......or anything like one. I see no reason to take the plates out when running this way........just run it like a big potty.

[Copperhead road]

Copper ,correct me if I am wrong , but don’t you have one of Emptyglasses perf plate stills .

If I remember correct , they have the downcomer go straight down to the plate below with no j trap except for the bottom plate .

I had a similar setup and it was fine to run as shady says .
Especially if the bottom J trap is empty /dry you will see no action on any plate . It’s just one big copper riser .

yes you are 100% correct yummy, mine is a 5 plate Emptyglass still, and as you say all plates have a downcomer straight down to the plate below except the first plate (at the bottom) that one has a cup at the bottom of the downcomber.

As you know i am a buyer and not a builder so i didn't really know why the bottom downcomber had a cup on it. I just followed what empty told me on the phone and that was to start the modular tower with the cup on the bottom.

i used to take out all the plates to run it as a potstill until one day i had flown in from work and i got lazy and used it as a potstill with all the plates in. To me i could not tell the difference so that is why i asked the question and started this thread to see what everyone else was doing out of curiosity.

after reading everyones comments i will not bother removing plates again.

Now i am thinking about putting a 4" copper onion on the bottom of my column. I was going to run a couple of ideas i have with Salty when i catch up.

[Username]

Interesting, I have a 3 plate 4" column with pro caps.

I take the caps off but leave the plates in, to have copper in the vapour path (pretty much all stainless)
I also have copper pipes in the boiler and add some loosely rolled copper mesh on top of the plates.

I just assumed it would try load the plates with the caps on, without I have 3 25mm holes in each plate

[Yummyrum]

As you know i am a buyer and not a builder so i didn't really know why the bottom downcomber had a cup on it. I just followed what empty told me on the phone and that was to start the modular tower with the cup on the bottom.

Each downcomer must have a fluid lock below it to stop the vapour simply blowing straight up it and bypassing bubbling through the plate. Empty does what I did . Each downcomer sits in the pool of liquid on the plate below .
Except for the bottom downcomer . It doesn’t have a plate below it , so it needs a J trap ( or cup ) fitted that fills with liquid creates the fluid lock .

This is why you can manage to use it as a pot still .
With no reflux , each plate will run dry . The vapour will take the easy path and blow straight up the down comers . The bottom plate as Salty said may Fitz a bit if the bottom downcomer trap has some fluid left in from last time . But it won’t be enough to form a fluid lock .

Like Shady said , wrap it and it will run like a big hot Pot still riser .

Run it unwrapped , you might get some passive reflux . Especially if you are running it slowly for a spirit run . Remember you are not in Scotland or Northern America or Europe . So chances are it will be sweet bugger all unless you have a fan blowing on it .

And to be honest , I think you are wasting your money on an Onion for exactly the same reasons .

Your 5 plater will have way more copper surface area than a 4”
Onion . But …. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

[Yummyrum]

Caps are different , they will still bubble even with no reflux .You would need to remove them.
Perf plates will weep any initial liquid that develops on them and stay dry .
Bubble cap plates can’t so it will accumulate and eventually start to bubble .

[Username]

Caps are different , they will still bubble even with no reflux .You would need to remove them.
Perf plates will weep any initial liquid that develops on them and stay dry .
Bubble cap plates can’t so it will accumulate and eventually start to bubble .

Thanks for confirming Yummy, I had been assuming as much

[Copperhead road]

Each downcomer must have a fluid lock below it to stop the vapour simply blowing straight up it and bypassing bubbling through the plate. Empty does what I did . Each downcomer sits in the pool of liquid on the plate below .
Except for the bottom downcomer . It doesn’t have a plate below it , so it needs a J trap ( or cup ) fitted that fills with liquid creates the fluid lock .

Thanx for explaining the J trap cup yummy, it makes sense to me now how you have explained it for me. Its kind of funny that i didn't know why the bottom downcomber had a cup on it for the past decade.

[acfixer69]

Caps are different , they will still bubble even with no reflux .You would need to remove them.
Perf plates will weep any initial liquid that develops on them and stay dry .
Bubble cap plates can’t so it will accumulate and eventually start to bubble .

Not so with my caps, with no reflux in service, plates will dry up and will be a pot still. Passive reflux is non existing even in my 60F basement.

[shadylane]

Different plated columns have varying amounts of passive reflux and different amounts of total reflux needed to fill the downcomer cup.

Here's an example that could load up and run on passive alone. Not good but at a slower rate.
A flute made of copper tubing and bubble caps, that has a weep hole in the plate to dribble into the DC cup and slowly fill it without having to wait for the plate above to over fill and piss into the DC as normal.

A plate that can never load with passive reflux is a glasser with perf plates. It takes a lot of reflux to overcome the leakage and load the plate enough to overfill and prime the cup so the downcomer fills up. Until the DC is sealed by liquid the vapor blows up the DC and bypasses the plate.

Long story short, at the beginning of a run the column and plates are cool and there's going to be reflux.
Drips will fall on the plate below and flash into vapor but once everything gets to vapor temp there's little or no reflux without a dephleg, except for what is supplied by the surface area for the column and that quickly decreases when lots hot vapor raises it's temp.

[Saltbush Bill]

The perforated plates on my 6 inch are soldered into the modules of the column, there is no leak down to speak of.
Even when it first almost reaches operating temp and the defeg is still cool to the touch there isnt enough natural reflux to load a plate.
As stated before the best it can do without forced reflux is a very thin film of liquid on the bottom plate..
It seems to me that the results vary from still to still and operator to operator