My first Reflux

[vault13]

Hello all, This is my first reflux from an Ebayer. The pot and column is sealed by rubber so I'll change that to a flour seal. The material used in all components is food grade stainless steel including the column packing. It utilizes a heating element.

I did my cleaning runs the other day and finished by running some cask wine through as advised for the first bit of practice as its cleaned.

She looks pretty simple, nothing like some of those fantastic looking copper units here but its a good start. One distilling question though.
From all the reading I have done here I am still not too sure about the cooling water temperature control. When I ran the cask wine through I managed to keep the temp very steady at 78.4 degrees for a long time with out touching the water flow. Do you adjust the flow of cooling water when required to maintain that temp or do you just let it go and perform your cuts at different temperatures? I kept the flow of spirit very slow through out the run by adjusting the cooling water flow to maintain the temp until towards the end.
I have done a lot of reading and will continue to do so but a lot of advise is for pot stills and I am a bit fuzzy with all the info, I know in time and a few runs I'll get the hang of it . Thanks in advance.

[HookLine]

Hello all, This is my first reflux from an Ebayer. The pot and column is sealed by rubber so I'll change that to a flour seal. The material used in all components is food grade stainless steel including the column packing. It utilizes a heating element.

Howdy

Is there any copper in the vapour path? You need some to remove any unpleasant tasting sulphur based compounds from the spirit.

I did my cleaning runs the other day and finished by running some cask wine through as advised for the first bit of practice as its cleaned.

She looks pretty simple, nothing like some of those fantastic looking copper units here but its a good start. One distilling question though.
From all the reading I have done here I am still not too sure about the cooling water temperature control. When I ran the cask wine through I managed to keep the temp very steady at 78.4 degrees for a long time with out touching the water flow. Do you adjust the flow of cooling water when required to maintain that temp or do you just let it go and perform your cuts at different temperatures? I kept the flow of spirit very slow through out the run by adjusting the cooling water flow to maintain the temp until towards the end.

Depends on the type of reflux still it is. Not quite sure what yours is. Looks like liquid management, but there is no valve on the output. Do you know what type it is?

[vault13]

Hello Hook, there is no copper in the vapor path, not sure how I could introduce some? Not sure what type of reflux still it is but all I know is that there is no heating control on the boiler and that the cooling water inside the column follows a double helix run, goes in from the top down and back up the top and out.
Thanks again.

Edit - here is a cut and paste of the manufacturers selling points from the Ebay posting.

" The All-Aussie Still "
MADE FROM BRAND NEW 100% PURE CLEAN 3:16 STAINLESS STEEL

UPGRADED TO DIGITAL THERMOMETER

This New Australian made High output internal condensing reflux still. Made from 100% 3:16 grade Stainless Steel
This sturdy design easy to operate Spirit Still will produce 95% Ethanol alcohol or can be used for the extraction of essential oils or distilled water.

The still head stands 600mm high by 50mm diameter and has been polished to a high finish. Comes with it's own boiler fitted with an electric heating element. Comes with digital thermometer and all hoses needed for operation. This still has been designed with Australian conditions in mind and runs on a minimal amount of water.
The still heads have been Tig Welded with 316 grade filler wire by a tradesman of 25 years experience, the welds are clean and neat.
*


Our internal condensing still head has been designed and made by us to run on and up to a 25 ltr boiler with a minimal amount of cooling water producing a high quality and percentage spirit.

All our Stills are tested to the Highest Quality standards. To guarantee, Workmanship and Performance.
You can buy our product with confidence.

Our Still Head stands 600mm high x 50mm diameter, This is a professional unit. We make our Still heads from Brand New 100% 3:16 Marine, food grade Stainless Steel, The best you can get.


*

" Contents "

1.. 600 mm Internal Condensing Reflux Still Head

2.. Stainless Steel Boiler, with heating element fitted (message me for boiler size)

3.. 2 metres of 8mm clear nylon hose.

4.. Rubber seal and clamp

5.. Full easy to understand instructions

6.. Reflux Packing ( installed and Ready )

7.. 12mm Clear nylon hose for distilling outlet

8.. Digital Thermometer.




Some home truths & Questions to ask before .buying a still

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What is the height & diameter of the still head? Is there enough area for the reflux action to work to produce a clean pure product? The more reflux area the better

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What is the still head made from.

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What was the still head welded or soldered with? Some solder contains high levels of Lead.

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How much water will the still head run on? A smaller still head fitted to a larger boiler than it was designed for will need more water to keep it cool, with some you wont be able to.

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Is the heating element to large? This will only force you to use more water to keep the unit cool, you also risk exploding the yeast cells causing a foul smell in your spirit. We use a 1380 watt element to reduce water usage and because it produces a pure clean product.

SOLD! I brought one

[Ayay]

From the info given it looks like the still is a short column LM reflux with a pre-set heat input and the LM fixed/non-adjustable but well balanced. The only thing you can control is the coolant flow and if you can maintain 78.4*c for most of the run then it's working.

Chop up some 1/2" copper pipe and throw a handfull of the pieces into the boiler, and stuff a handfull into the column inbetween the packing

Making the cuts remains...http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 5#p6799119 ...Usge gives a very good description of how to go about it!

[vault13]

Cheers yet again for the advise, I'll grab some copper tube and do that, I have read that post a few times and its an absolute ripper, we have been saving jars for a few weeks now and plan to collect 50ml batches after fore shots to begin with Its really good to know that keeping the temp steady on my still is the right thing to do and it is quite easy to do until towards the end were any adjustment seems to make it fluctuate wildly, I guess with collecting so many jars in the run I can push it to the limit and re use all the tails and heads, I'm after a nice neutral. Thanks again.