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Is 2400W element with a 2 1/4" Coloum too much?
I have my still finished but the controler isn't working, but the controler isn't working yet. I want to give the still a run on the weekend but will I have any troubles with this kind of power??
Cheers

nimrod77 wrote:Is 2400W element with a 2 1/4" Coloum too much?
I have my still finished but the controler isn't working, but the controler isn't working yet. I want to give the still a run on the weekend but will I have any troubles with this kind of power??
Cheers

I run 1500watts with a 2 inch column. The 2 1/4" column will have about 1.265 times the area of my column. So you should have no problems running 1500Watts * 1.265 = 1897 watts. 2400 watts on your 2 1/4" column is equivalent to about 1900 watts on my 2 inch. I don't have heating elements in the correct values to run 1900 watts, but my gut feeling is that it would work fine. I know I cannot run 3000 watts (3795 equivalent on 2 1/4" column). It's easy to do a test run and see if your column can handle a certain power level. The amount of power you can run before flooding the column will depend on your reflux ratio, so you will want to test at full reflux (take no output).
Signs of a flooding column will be:
The head temperature is high
Bubbling or huffing sounds from the column
Liquid getting pushed out the vent at the very top of the column.

If the head temp comes up to 172F and sits there nicely then you are not flooding.