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Hi all,
Another question here.i have a 15 gallon keg as a pot.I am just wondering what the least amount of stripped alcohoul i could put in here and do a spirit run with?

I am using propane as my heat source so no elements to worry about.

Also it seems like i read somewhere that water needed to be added to the low wines before doing a spirit run? Is that if you have electric elements or is that all low wines?
thanks
booger

Hey I know the answer to this one. Add enough water to make the abv 40%. So It will not burn in case of a leak or spill. I would say that the minimum left in the pot should be 2 gallons. I just did my spirit run and I had my column packed too tight. Be fore warned that when the temp comes up it comes up real fast. I was luckily right there and had cut mine to 40% so it did not flare up. Nobody warned me that it would boilup so fast. FWIW I had about six gallons in mine to start with. Watch out to not have your column to tightly packed but turn the heat way down sooner than you would think. Put some scrape copper or couplings/elbows in your pot and listen to it and when you start hearing them jingle it is almost too late. Good luck and stay with it.

Krook

I'm curious, what happens when your column is packed too tight?
myerfire

myerfire wrote:I'm curious, what happens when your column is packed too tight?
myerfire

Liquid gushes out the top!

For starters I have 15 g keg with 40" Stainless column two inch diameter. On top I have twelve inch proper cold finger inside 18 inch copper two inch head. There is a cap on top with a pencil size hole to prevent pressure build up. That being said I read on here and asked how much cooper to put in the column and It was more or less as much as possible. Just cut the rolled up web 36 inches long and roll it up and slide in. I did and it takes about 8 or 9 rolls give or take. They were not difficult to get in. Just poked them in with a dowel rod. No big deal.
I started my spirit run with about six gal of 40% and an extra gallon of water just to be safe. I had the propane turned up pretty good figuring on twenty to thirty minutes till boilup. I did notice the temp was up all at once but that is the nature of boilup and was right there watching it and i was fiddling with a digital therm. trying to mount it in a small piece of wood. It leaked and was set aside for another day. Any way I was within inches of the gas valve and heard and saw the liquid gushed out of the top. WOW! Gas off no issues thankfully. Also the reason for less than 40% abv. I re-started after a little extra thinking. and really slowed down the heat. Really low. I could not tell what my reflux rate was but the purity was maxed out for two quarts before it started falling off. Temps stayed in the 172 to 174 range all run till the very end. It spiked right up and take off just about stopped. When the run was over I was curious and wanted to see what the flow rate was thorough the column. Imagine if you will 40inches of 2 inch stainless packed with rolls of copper. Normal...... I rested the end of the column on the water hose in a vertical position and started water flowing thorough it. I was quite surprised at the LACK of restriction. The flow was quite a bit more than enough I would think. But with extra ordinary vapor flow up it just flooded and overflowed. Several things noted while typing now. That cold finger really knocked down a lot of vapor and maybe even your point. The column was not packed too tight but I just pushed way too hard with vapors going up.
I would really like some feed back on this. I could hear the reflux in the column because of two trays I have inside the head to center up the reflux. How can I tell exactly how much internal reflux I have without opening take off wide open and checking then backing off. Apparently I had enough reflux after turning down the heat because the purity was really high.

I think I will try to find one of those flow sight glasses that is 7 or 8 inches long and triclamp it in line. http://www.nciweb.net/jacobytarbox/imag ... 7000_3.jpg Two reasons, one to see how much reflux and the second reason to see if I am flooding. It would be neat to watch also. Was the column packed too tightly I do not know for sure but I may shorten up the rolls by three inches 33" long long instead of 36". I do know the pot was not too full.

What do you think ?

Krook

You should be able to hear the column flooding if it's packed too tightly unless it happens too quickly... Even a loosely packed column can be made to flood if you push too hard...

I think I was pushing way too hard to just get up to reflux. Just do not know for sure.

Krook

Thanks folks
this is some good info here.If i ever do try running some neutral and pack my column this is going to the still file.
thanks
booger