Home Distiller

DAD300 wrote:I believe I now have an A&P to help with my Glasair! Life will get easier...

Glasair!!?? You dog! I think I will call you DOG300 from now on.

I am doing 80% of the work under the supervision of an 85 year old A&P who has rebuilt a dozen airplanes. The old gent has forgotten more knowledge than I now know. And what I thought was good work... wasn't. I've had to re-do quite a bit. Aircraft grade work is sloooooowwwww.

Composites are not something I'm comfortable with, but the Glasair (and Lanceair) have curves like a woman, just beautiful (and fast) airplanes. I'd like to do an RV-8 one of these days.

And there I go, thread-jacking badly once more.

Wish I could offer my friend some quality Kool-Aid, but I'm just not sure how comfortable he'd be with it. Got to hide my SPP machine (among of course other things) when friends come by.

"What the HELL is that!?"

"Uhh, uhh, it makes custom springs..."

Hi guys!!! I got some SPP from Poland. I have 2 liters for my 2" Boka. I know the optimal point for SPP it's the flooding treshold.... but How could I get this point if I don't have a sight glass to see it??
Thanks a lot

You are likely to hear or feel the column boiling. Mine will "sing " when there.

But you'll also know by the output. If you're making the ABV you want, push for max quantity and then back off to a balance of power/ABV.

I've never had a sight glass.

sergiolis wrote:Hi guys!!! I got some SPP from Poland. I have 2 liters for my 2" Boka. I know the optimal point for SPP it's the flooding treshold.... but How could I get this point if I don't have a sight glass to see it??
Thanks a lot

Dad is the man and knows about this stuff, but is it possible to add one of those "sight tubes" to your bok?

One of these things...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-51MM-Flow-San ... 3ceddc4e1b" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Think of it as temporary. If your Bok is monolithic, you'd have to cut it just below the plates, and add ferrules, but it might be worth it because then you have made it modular, can swap heads, make a VM head to top the column, etc.

I bought one of these sight tube things, because I am really interested in what's going on. It's DEFINITELY not needed, but for $38, it's a really nice bit of hardware.

Thanks for your advices Dad and BigSwede... First I will try to figure it out without sight-glass, But really it's a nice hardware. Unfortunately they are not shipping to Spain and I saw some from China but surprisingly they are much more expensive. My Boka is already modular but just with an straight coupling. Anyway i will think about it.
But i'm just wondering that if you want to check the flooding treshold, wouldn't be better to put the sight glass at the bottom of the column?

SPP is a different animal. Because of it's mass, it transfers and holds heat so well, it can flood at the top and not at the bottom. You must be mindful of the temp of your reflux!

There are youtube videos of it doing this.

Also, there is SS SPP on ebay. I'm not sure if he ships to Europe? Ask BigSwede...

DAD300 wrote: Also, there is SS SPP on ebay. I'm not sure if he ships to Europe? Ask BigSwede...

Just checked the US eBay server. I sifted through 3 pages of results for "spp" with no results, and got 0 results for "spiral prismatic packing".

It was on there a few days ago. I know because I kept looking at it...and my wallet...and back at it...and my wallet.

He travels for work...I imagine it will be back soon...

I think he may be sold out......

just in case you are in Europe I bought it here:

http://pracowniametaloplastyczna.pl/en/my-spp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Ohhhh Dad my column vibrated like a dildo----

Thanks for the link. Interesting little read. I don't think they ship internationally.

Guys, I run that eBay ad, it is SPP off my machine, 6.45mm, with 0.6mm wire. Good stuff. The eBay ad with descriptions:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SPP-Spiral-Pris ... 1389393761" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow?

I will ALWAYS cut a break for HD people, a good sized one, but the eBay price of $13 per 250cc will probably not go lower for non HD folk. The stuff is simply a pain to make, I have to be within 5 feet of the machine at all times because when it goes bad, it goes REALLY bad. And the wire is expensive, I can't find a cheaper source that works, blah blah, all the lame excuses!

Definitely not getting rich but it helps with other distillation projects, and recoups some of the machine cost.

I did sell out what I had on hand a week ago, but I have a fresh 10 lb spool now. I realize this is an ad, and mods, if you want to delete or move it, please do so. Those interested, PM me, I'll do a significant discount off eBay.

Hi guys!!! one question about spp. After the run I just remove the column and rinse the inside of the column with the spp with a hose... Do you think that's enough to clean it ? thanks a lot

How do you usually clean the spp and the column after every run?

Copious quantities of boiling water, poured in the top. Until it doesn't smell at all coming out the bottom. Plus one gallon.

I do the water rinse also, after a long sit I may dump it out and run hot water over it. If I had a permanent setup, I'd probably be happy with the water rinse.

I empty my column after every run into a big bowl and fill it with hot water. I've only used it for a few runs, but it doesn't smell at all yet!

...but I don't think I'll be doing that anymore. I packed it a lot more tightly today, just about as tight as you can squeeze it into a column - and boy, did she sing I was having trouble keeping it 'fluidized' before, but packed tighter, and with a little more experience, it's easy. Makes a hell of a pretty sound.

I'm limited to ~2.6kw until I can get off 120v, but I was pulling the cleanest neutral I've made yet at 2.25l/hr using all of that power. Any faster than that and tails started to peek through.

This stuff is fun once you get the hang of it!

Wow carbohydratesn that's a lot? what column do you use? I got about 1,8L/h with my 2" Bokakob. But my last run was a disaster because i had a big problem with my needle valve and if i tried to collect more than 20ml/min the needle valve was completely open and dripping too much and destabilizing completely... i was really disappointed because just the needle valve cost about 100 dollars....

sergiolis wrote:i was really disappointed because just the needle valve cost about 100 dollars....

My wallet would have a heart attack! You gotta check eBay more often. I think my last 1/2" ss needle valve was less than $20 with shipping. I even have a spare.

sergiolis wrote:Wow carbohydratesn that's a lot? what column do you use? I got about 1,8L/h with my 2" Bokakob.

2'', with 2 liters of BigSwede's packing stuffed into about 40'' of column, with a stainless steel scrubber on either end to hold it in.

Well, two liters minus an ounce. I've found that SPP makes an excellent fluid-bearing packing for...'other' purposes, as well Threw a shot glass of it into my water pipe - for tobacco use only, of course - and it's great, it works perfectly. Fantastically smooth, lots of bubbles, five thumbs up.

Now there's a creative application I would never have thought of. Thanks for the tip.

Hi ladies & gentlemen.... I'm having a big issue with my needle valve using SPP. Sometimes when I open the valve more than about 20ml/min it floods like if it was completely open. I checked the valve separately with some water and it's working good, so i concluded the problem is not the needle valve. It's a big problem because when the valve floods i lose the equilibrium and some tails leaks too so the neutral is ruined. I was thinking about a flooding problem, but sometimes I've been distilling at 35ml/min and 2100w and it was succesful. I'm very disoriented.
Any ideas? thanks a lot in advance

If the output is too great then it must either be the needle valve or pressure buildup... If there is no possibility of pressure then it's the needle valve... I had to modify one of mine for finer control... One of these days I might break down and get a fine-threaded multi-turn needle valve instead of a cheap brass one...

Thanks Rad, excuse me if i'm wrong but in a bokakob with holes at the top i suppose therr isn't possibility of pressure, in the other hand i tested my needle valve just with a water tap and it was working perfect. That's why i'm relly lost and i don't know what to do!!! thanks a lot

I think maybe the problem is pressure up down. I mean the refluxed liquid is not able to drop down in the column. So I can figure it out some solutions. The next run I won't insulate my column. I was charging my keg boiler of 30 liters with 25 liters low wines (because is what i get from 4 stripping runs) but next time i will charge it with 22 liters. I will watch the supercooling issue too. If you have any ideas please let me know.
I'm working about 2100w because it's giving me a good ABV... thanks a lot

Could it be that you get a big spurt when you first open it, and then it settles down after that is gone?

It's something like that. When I open it slowly I never got drops at the begining, I get a spurt (not really big, but a spurt). Then I close the valve again and reopen it and then I get drops. And when the needle-valve floods i get a spurt, but I can't regulate it, I have to close completely again and wait for a while (about 1 minute) and then reopen the valve slowly. The only thing I can figure it out is too much liquid over the needdle-valve, so too much liquid pressure and then the valve floods. But I'm lost and I really don't know what is the problem. Thanks a lot for your help

I don't understand what you mean by the "valve flooding" but it is not uncommon for liquid to pile up behind the valve when it is closed and then come out all at once. If that is the case, just plan on it. You're in the heads anyway. With some valves the amount of liquid coming through increases gradually after you set it. That you can plan for, too. Watch the output and adjust. If the output changes randomly, I'd try a new valve.