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I have been working from the Build A World Class Still Plans, and I have combined the two designs. I built an offset head vlaved reflux still. however, as the title suggests, I used A Jacket Condenser instead of a coil condenser. My still is a smaller version of these, and it uses 3/4" pipe instead of 2". It is very difficult to fit a coil inside of 3/4" pipe, so I figured the jacketed version was my best option. It has been proven to work in the internal reflux model where all of the reflux occurs in the column, but in the valved reflux model all of this will occur in the jacket (which is in the same place as the coil condenser in the original design, on the top of the offset head) I am not sure it will provide enough cooling.

To simplify this, does anyone with the Build A World Class Still Internal Reflux Design notice that the water coming out of the jacketed condenser is warm?

And Even better, has anyone tried using a jacketed condenser in the head of a valved reflux column?

I will post My Blueprints later, and then any results, but hopefully i will get some replies before my next wash is done.

Thank you all who reply

maybe you could use this? : http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... hlight=oil

and look for 'cold finder', that's an internal condenser, you can you it together with the jacket=> more efficient.
the condenser will have to be long enough

in a condenser, you can have cold water leaving the condenser and still not condensing the spirit, it all depends on the speed of the water, temperature, and the internal surface (=efficiency). The best condenser will have an exit temp of 77°C and cold spirit

I have another question about this still. I am using 3/4" pipe as I mentioned previously, and i am wonderinbg how this will effectr my column. will this create a dangerous pressure buildup (5 Gal SS Boiler)? or will it just slow down the distillation process? I am interested to see how this will work, but if anyone has already researched or expiramented in this area, let me know.

you will not have pressure problems
the only thing that will happen is that your vapour will rise quicker, and so less seperated. but that depends also on your heater

How are you controlling the distillate flowing back into the column?
After thinking about it, a good arrangement might be to hang a copper pail off the end of the condenser and put two valves in it one to the column one to collection. This should give you better control over what you return to the column. Just a thought.

What I am using is called a valved reflux still for that very reason. my head is offset from the column, so directly below it there is a copper Tee fitting. I have 1/4" tubing on either side with a valve compression fitting on each. this way I have complete control over both reflux and construction. for a similar, but different design, check http://www.moonshine-still.com to get an idea of what Im talking about. but it's the same basic thing as what you were talking about.

Sorry, I understand the valved part of the design. But I guess I was thinking that there is going to be a slight build up of distillate on top of the valves. If you are using a jacketed condenser that effectively makes it a closed system and vulnerable to pressure build up, if something was to go wrong. the original valved set up got around this by having the condenser open to the air. My suggestion would have also eliminated this since the pail would also be open. I might be over thinking things a bit but that's where my head was at. It's a newbie perspective.

sorry, was gone from home for a while.

in order to prevent this problem, i am going to use the old flower and water paste in a hole method to prevent pressure buildup

I make stainless and copper valved offset head reflux columns for retail sale ( . I include a rubber bung for a thermometer to sit in a hole at the top of the reflux column, This keeps the unit airtight, but allows a safety release should pressure build. I have found this to be pretty much failsafe, however it is worth noting that it is important to remove the bung prior to allowing the column to cool down. Even 1.6mm wall stainless tube can succumb to vacumn collapse........[/url]

rider, I did the same thing. but i actually built the internal reflux first and was unhappy with it never able to get above 89%. So i cut the cooling tubes off and turned the jacketed condenser upside down, added a tee with a short nipple and cap to install the valves and reflux tube to the column. i just fired it up and all works well with water the only problem is the height, just barely fits in the garage. dont worry about presure build up because it is also an open system. cant wait for my mash to finish to give it a real try I will try to post a before and after pic when i figure out how . Good luck with it