Ok I think I'm in trouble here? Got him all set up for his maiden voyage of rum running. I added a 1" extension to the drain. Waiting for heat up now. But what I'm worried about is I precharged the Fu Man with water. As it heats up it bubbles very slow. Well instead of bubbling through the caps. It's doing it through the drain. I was worried about this when I came up with the design. But wanted to see where I could push it. I no it will run different during the run. With reflux coming into play. But I will be watching it close. To see what happens.
Oh shite. The damn thing just let loose and drained it all down to the upcomers. Must have lost my vapor lock. Hope I cam get it back. With reflux after it gets going.
Anyway. I took out about 8" of packing. This leaves me 4" in the column. I'm going to shoot for 80% to 85% output. Hopefully.
The plate drain needs a vapor lock. So that the vapors don't bypass the play through the drain. On a bubblecap plate. You want the vapors to go through the upcomers out through the bubblecaps. On a perforated plate you want the vapors to bubble through the holes in the plate.
And oh my freakin god. This rum smells like buttery heaven. I should have tried this a long time ago. Why didn't you smack me in the back of the head a long time ago Larry? WOW!
Liquid level rose right up and its bubbling nice. I'm trying to upload a vid.
Oh man, you're getting me exited about makin my own!! I only have a 36 liter stock pot and a gas stove though, I wonder if I'd have enough heat to make even a small one work? Any ideas on minimum power/size mr P?
Ok here is a vid of the bubblecaps with a 1" extension on the drain. http://youtu.be/QorGL_4cA4c" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
It was my browser, firefox doesn't like it apparently... But the bubble caps look awesome! I have one idea though, would it be worth putting a fine screen on the bottom of your caps, rather than the slots? would that help create smaller, more uniform, and more bubbles? Just thinking....
Just finishing up tails collection now. Bout to shut the first run down. Collected 3.5 qts between 80% and 90% not including 600ml I took off as fores. Ok just pulled the plugs. Another 600ml at 30%ish tails.I haven't ran any numbers yet. Will later. I'm gona let it cool a bit. While I go get me some wood and a cigar box. So I have something to whiddle on while I run the next one.
But here is another video of about midway through the run. Bubbling action changed over the course of the run. http://youtu.be/r-pC4demsBs" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
Frosteecat wrote:When you note that one cap is not working as hard, could it be that your plate is slightly off plumb and that one is a tiny bit higher?
Yes but the opposite. I think its lower then the others? I knee from the getgo the opposite it was a little higher. I tried to get it straightened out. But the way it tweaked a little when I soldered it together made it impossible. I got it square and plumb as I could. And him taking a nose dive of the workbench didn't help. I don't think its hurting anything. It still bubbles. And when I get more power from Scotty. I think it will work itself out.
I'll be doing somewhat similar stuff, so you f*ing up and providing the solution is ideal...
I thought higher as the vapor would hit the others first/harder and the higher one would get a lesser flow...I would think a lower one would get more...? I am pretty dyslexic so maybe I have it backwards...in any case I doubt it makes much difference, its just fun to micromanage other people's shit sometimes!!
“Well, between Scotch and nothin', I suppose I'd take Scotch. It's the nearest thing to good moonshine I can find.”
William Faulkner (1897-1962)
It's lower so it has a deeper liquid level to contend with. I'm not talking much lower either. Maybe a 16th of an inch? I don't even think its that much. More like a 32nd of an inch.
*It should be observed, that neither age or double distillation, will render good, whiskey originally bad; or that has recieved an improper flavour during the fermentation. From The Distiller, by Harrison Hall 1818.
Kidnapper2 wrote:Could be one of the coolest things ever
Thanks. In my eyes right now it is.
Just finishing up the second run of the day. May I like saying that. Before I would still be on the first ha. I got it dialed in a lot better that run. I collected 2.8lt at 2.2 lt an hour. First two jars were low 90%s. And they ran in 8.5 min each. I'm getting the hang of it. Got another run to do of this rum.
Well I got side tracked with fathers day stuff. Went ABV got my fathers day present. Two cigar boxes and 6 cigars. Ok we had to buy the cigars to get the boxes. Probably not that great of cigars. But the boxes are awesome. Gona make for a good geetar and amp. It's gona be my during stillin project. I gota sit there and watch the still. I mite as well make a geetar and learn how to play it.
I bled the air out of the fermenter with CO2. And shut everything down. See if I can run it tomorrow night after work.
Ok total newb question here...how is there fluid for bubbling? It's right above the boiler do shouldn't there just be vapor coming up??? What am I missing? I understand reflux coming back down but how is there liquid coming up?
“Well, between Scotch and nothin', I suppose I'd take Scotch. It's the nearest thing to good moonshine I can find.”
William Faulkner (1897-1962)
It boils turns to vapors the reflex condenser condenses it back to liquid that falls back to the plate. Once the plate fills. The liquid on the plate will also be condenseing some liquid out of the water.
I must have missed some essential piece of design...thought it just drained back to the boiler and got revaporized...so there is a trap/pool with a vapor column rising out of it below the plate? Damn I'm dumb this morning...
Here's an exploded diagram for any other noobs/designers:
“Well, between Scotch and nothin', I suppose I'd take Scotch. It's the nearest thing to good moonshine I can find.”
William Faulkner (1897-1962)
Frosteecat wrote:thought it just drained back to the boiler and got revaporized.
The over flow in PP's case does go back to the boiler....PP's goal here is to stock pile an amount of proofier ABV to feed his column section. That stock pile insures that the vapor feeding the column will always be more volatile than any thing coming directly from the boiler.
My first thumper has the capacity to hold 7 liters and as such does not let any previously distilled alcohol to drain back to the boiler only to be rediluted.
So there IS an area below the plate that refluxed fluid collects, cause all I'm seeing is a boiler into a sphere with a plate in it... I ask because it is sort of critical to a current design...
“Well, between Scotch and nothin', I suppose I'd take Scotch. It's the nearest thing to good moonshine I can find.”
William Faulkner (1897-1962)
Frost it is the difference between a bubble plate and a thumper. In PP's case the sphere contains a bubble plate that is used to increase the ABV of the vapour that feeds the column. However the overflow from that plate returns to the boiler.
In the thumper alternative the thumper has the same function - it increases the ABV of the vapour feeding the column - by the same amount, however it ALSO retains the liquid that drops out of the column. Depending on the capacity of the thumper it might require an overflow so that any surplus liquid is returned to the boiler.
There is also another possible option, if the column is working correctly the liquid "column bottoms" contain very little residual alcohol. So why bother re-heating them? If you are sure they are depleted they can be diverted out of the system.
That column illustration that you posted by the way is for a steam heated continuous stripping column.
Wash is fed in at the mid point and reflux at the top. Steam is fed in near the bottom as the heat source. Low boiling point volatiles go out the top, high boiling point go out the bottom. BOTH usually get further processing in subsequent stages.
Frosty if you look at the pic of my plate. You will see the 3/4 drain in the center. It goes through the plate and out the bottom about 1.5" then has a 1" cap soldered on the bottom. This will make the vapor trap. It fills up with liquid and stop the vapors from rising through it. This assembly would ne called a downcomer. The liquid draining just flows out and over the 1" cap and falls back to the boiler. Because at this point I have nothing below it. Will ne trying packing and other plates below it later.
