??Condensor??

*MoonShine* · Post by ***MoonShine*** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 6:37 am

Ok, When I run water through my still on the kitchen stove "FullBlast" it builds up pressure, just a little. The bread dough still holds up but there is some pressure. I am using 3/8 line for the condensor, I tried 1/2 but i can not get it to bend and had to trash 30$ worth. My question is..

Is a little pressure in the still ok?

Is 3/8 big enough for a 12" dia 4 gal pot on a kitchen stove?

stoker · Post by **stoker** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 7:06 am

a little pressure is no problem, and in fact, normal
it depends on what mean by "little"

Post by **Grayson_Stewart** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 5:41 pm

The diameter of the tubing and the size of the boiler don't have the slightest bit of relation to each other.....what matters is the amount of heat you place to the boiler that pushes the vapor up the column/tubing. More heat - the larger the tubing needs to be.

markx · Post by **markx** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 1:43 am

A little pressure is normal and unavoidable....it's a part of the process. But if it worries you then just turn down the heat a little bit and the pressure will drop.

nanosleep · Post by **nanosleep** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 8:47 pm

If you are having a restriction in the condenser tubing you might consider reversing your setup. Instead of having a small tube of vapor surrounded by cold water, try having a small tube of cold water surrounded by vapor. A typical setup would be a 2 inch diameter tube with a coil of 1/4 inch tubing to carry the water. The coil is fitted inside the tube. Just an idea

OzarkWhiskey · Post by **OzarkWhiskey** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 6:48 pm

If your distillate is not hot I would not worry

riff42 · Post by **riff42** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 3:09 am

Grayson_Stewart wrote:The diameter of the tubing and the size of the boiler don't have the slightest bit of relation to each other.....what matters is the amount of heat you place to the boiler that pushes the vapor up the column/tubing. More heat - the larger the tubing needs to be.

I use a gas stove. Can I really run the still at any level of heat input then? Just as long as I don't go overboard?

Post by **Tater** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 6:34 am

In theory yes.You could bring wash up to temp really hot and fast and then lower heat to do run.If doing washes or mashes with pulp or grain scorching could happen if ya heat too hot to quick.Once stilling temp has been reached you"ll be suprised how small a flame it takes to do the run.