6" column build

[hypnopooper]

As a followup, I ran a 10 gallon 50/50 vinegar run last weekend. No leaks on the column and yes this boiler running (2) 5500 elements is fully capable of producing enough dense steam in the jacket to move the steam in the boiler to the top of the column.

Issues left to complete:

1. There were some thread seal issues on my water lines that leaked and I overtighted a water out line and subsequently had to re-solder a joint on the condenser. complete
2. I need to clean up the solder work and re-seal the copper with ProtectaClear where the work was done.
3. I'm not sure about the thermowell as it is today, temps really got away from me quickly but that could also be the smaller volume run with 11000 watts or my inexperience with my control panel and how to operate it properly. I'm researching thermal transfer silicon based paste for possibly filling the void between the RTD and the outside walls of the thermowell.
4. The shiny copper dome got lots of water marks and some green spots that developed from the vinegar run, so I had to clean it real well and add 2 coats of ProtectaClear to keep it looking nice and make it easier to keep shiny. - complete
5. Unfortunately, after the vinegar run the column was left on the boiler and not rinsed and dried out, It developed an alkaline blue layer to the entire column. So now I will be re-cleaning with a water/citric acid solution soak to get back the a clean copper surface in the inside, then do a full rinse with a follow up full steam of the column. - will do as a prep over the next day or so leading up to hopefully my last cleaning run this weekend
6. I should be able to run a very timely sacrificial run of birdwatchers that started off at 20 brix and is currently at 12 brix today. I suspect it will be ready to run as my final sacrificial run on Saturday or Sunday with a swift steam run to follow.

[pope]

2x 5500w of power is an aw-inspiring sight in the garage! The elements are directly in the jacket? I'm curious exactly how the jacket works i.e. is the jacket completely filled with water or oil, jacket volume, heat up times, etc. Just curious is all.

If you have the ability to mod the thermal measuring spot, I have really enjoyed compression fittings with PTFE cones inside that allow your thermal probe to be directly in the vapor path.

[hypnopooper]

Pope,
Yes, 2x 5500w elements is definitely a beautiful sight and experience to have. I had to add a 60 Watt breaker switch into my electrical panel in the garage, then run 6/4 electrical power lines from the box to the corner in the garage. I saved a great deal of money by installing it all myself.
Fortunately, my garage electric panel was wired already to be able to distribute that kind of power.

I had fermenting/distilling on the grain in mind when i commissioned this boiler for construction. The jacket has two element boxes that have the elements tri-clamped in at the bottom of the jacket. The jacket can be filled to just about 3" above the element or 5-6" over the elements. I'm not sure on the total volume of the water the jacket holds at those points. There is a 15 PSI steam pressure/suction valve on the jacket to ensure that the jacket remains below 1 bar. On my run it never ran above 2 PSI in the jacket. Without the agitator running, I got to 10 gallons to boiling in 45 minutes. I'll know more this weekend with a full 28 gallon batch run for true heat up times with a working agitator.

I'm not sure on the Thermowell situation yet, as the run this weekend should provide more details and direction of what I will do for it.

[LWTCS]

2x 5500w of power is an aw-inspiring sight in the garage! The elements are directly in the jacket? I'm curious exactly how the jacket works i.e. is the jacket completely filled with water or oil, jacket volume, heat up times, etc. Just curious is all.

Completely filled with water would be the worst possible way to provide heat up. A jacket full of water would (max) pressurize long before temps can be achieved. Also with no head space for vapor, 212 F would be the max temp achievable. No bueno. Would take 7, 8, maybe 9 lifetime's to get to temp. Ok that's an exaggeration. Would only take 2 or 3 lifetime's to come to temp.

Oil is super efficient once temps are achieved,. But you still have to heat the entire mass of heating medium as well as wait for the heat exchange into the kettle charge.
Once temps are achieved there is literally no way to optimally adjust with power management. The oil does a wonderful job of holding on to heat. For this reason however you only need a fraction of input to maintain oil temps.
Pulling maintenance can be a giant pita because of the potential for messy spills. Heat exchange medium like mineral oil can be very spendy so a spill would likely hurt your feelings.
Can use peanut oil but does have a more limited service life compared to mineral oil. Can also produce an odor. Small quantities of peanut oil are easy to source. Mineral oil,,not so much.

Minimal amount of water (enough to safely cover elements) is a very good solution. The small amount of water in the reservoir will come to temperature very quickly at 1 bar. Jacket temps will be 248 F (or so) within just a few minutes really. Though the heat does have to transfer to the kettle charge. The small amount of water insures that the most amount of surface area (on the inner wall) is exposed to transfer heat.
The water is very cheap and just not that much volume so changing or dumping to pull maintenance doesn't really affect your purse strings or gobble up too much of your time. This set up also provides a reasonably precise level of control with a reliable controller.

[pope]

That all makes a lot of sense to me. I've seen at least one commercial still that was jacketed with oil though, do they just struggle through their spirit runs??

[hypnopooper]

I would think that the oil jackets are great but are probably leaning a lot on the controller for slow and controlled runs. Some use peanut oil others have use a heat transfer fluid that can easily get to 350is degrees but the fluid I’m told is rather expensive.

For my controller, I chose the Auber Instruments STL200 control unit seen at https://www.auberins.com/index.php?main ... cts_id=829

I know there’s not a lot of love by some here for complex PID controllers and I’m not here to argue one way or the other on that. I’m hoping it was the right choice for me and I get the hang of it quickly.

[shadylane]

I could see where a PID controller would be useful for controlling the HTF temp in a Baine Marie.

[LWTCS]

I could see where a PID controller would be useful for controlling the HTF temp in a Baine Marie.

Yes sir.
IMO, it's the only scenario where a PID makes any sense for power management.

That all makes a lot of sense to me. I've seen at least one commercial still that was jacketed with oil though, do they just struggle through their spirit runs??

Right out of the gate? Probably a bit. But once you get your parameters/protocol dialed in it's a rock solid run. Just need to provide most of the control through dephlegmator if running a column.
Like Shady alludes to, preheating your heat exchange medium will save valuable futzing around time.

50 gallon drum of mineral oil is like $750. I've never seen a smaller quantity beyond the drug store bottle.
A gallon of peanut oil is like $25-$30 so not a bad choice for a small rig.
Oy, but the potential for a mess is off putting to me. I am lazy.

[hypnopooper]

I had to bring some water to boil in order to do a citric acid soak for the column insides. I was able to bring cold water from the tap with 15 gallons to 180F took 45 minutes with the agitator running. I'm happy with that.

[shadylane]

Dang that's a pretty rig. It reminds me of Kim Kardashian's back side

[googe]

Impressive build mate, you got some skills

[pope]

The DSPR's in your Auber control box aren't really PID's anyway - they have a PID function but they also have a % power function that cycles the SSR on/off at high frequency from 0-100% so it works like a potentiometer/PSR setup. They are awesome little units and I will sing their praise as long as I'm on this forum.

And lol Larry I really doubt that you're lazy. But I handle drums of oil for my day job and I can attest that oil is definitely messy stuff. Distilling is so much more neat and tidy than my day job, and sugar residue cleans up so much easier than oil...