Concentric Pot/Reflux Still
Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2013 8:09 pm
I'm sure some folks around here have been wondering about my apparent absence over the past few months... My life was getting somewhat hectic with everything that was going on last year and I was already starting to lag a bit behind... Then, a week and a half before Christmas, my female companion of 22 years and I split up... I am now in the process of moving into my fathers house which has sat empty ever since he was stricken ill back in May of 2012... And I am anticipating my new special someone to join me in the near future...
Now that I am staying here I am feeling much better, overall... I was dying being all cooped up in an apartment without being able to do much of anything... But things are looking better... I am getting to tinker day in and day out because there are so many things that need attention... But I'm also able to use some of my bigger carboys and have washes waiting to be run...
One night around 10:00pm I headed down to the basement and finally built my concentric pot still I have been intending to build for a couple years now... I was basking in the heat coming off the wood stove and working frantically to get the prototype built... I finally got to put the copper sent to me by LWTCS to good use... I'm not sure if anyone else has done this but my still head uses no reducers... Instead, I make copper rings out of 12 and 10 gauge wire... And I leave the deformation lip caused by the tubing cutter to help keep the rings in place during trial assembly prior to soldering... And I add 3/4" pieces of the same gauge wire evenly vertically spaced around the vapor inlet tube to keep it centered during assembly as well as to reduce stress when in operation...
I now have additional heating options as well... I can use the gas range in the kitchen, the wood stove or three burner utility stove in the basement, 120V electric just about anywhere, or 240V electric in the basement and barn...
I have done several runs both in pot still and reflux column mode using different length packed column sections... Todays run was done using only a short packed column section... I ended up with roughly 1.75 liters of spirits that averaged out to be 128 proof... After airing for a short time and blending I ended up with a liter of 140 proof, with the rest dumped in the feints jug... The 140 proof with be diluted to 100 proof for drinking...
Just a few quick pictures... I'll try to take some with better details of the head when I get a chance...
One thing to note is that when the pictures were taken the lower cooling hose, which is the return, had not yet been raised to above the input line at the top...
Now that I am staying here I am feeling much better, overall... I was dying being all cooped up in an apartment without being able to do much of anything... But things are looking better... I am getting to tinker day in and day out because there are so many things that need attention... But I'm also able to use some of my bigger carboys and have washes waiting to be run...
One night around 10:00pm I headed down to the basement and finally built my concentric pot still I have been intending to build for a couple years now... I was basking in the heat coming off the wood stove and working frantically to get the prototype built... I finally got to put the copper sent to me by LWTCS to good use... I'm not sure if anyone else has done this but my still head uses no reducers... Instead, I make copper rings out of 12 and 10 gauge wire... And I leave the deformation lip caused by the tubing cutter to help keep the rings in place during trial assembly prior to soldering... And I add 3/4" pieces of the same gauge wire evenly vertically spaced around the vapor inlet tube to keep it centered during assembly as well as to reduce stress when in operation...
I now have additional heating options as well... I can use the gas range in the kitchen, the wood stove or three burner utility stove in the basement, 120V electric just about anywhere, or 240V electric in the basement and barn...
I have done several runs both in pot still and reflux column mode using different length packed column sections... Todays run was done using only a short packed column section... I ended up with roughly 1.75 liters of spirits that averaged out to be 128 proof... After airing for a short time and blending I ended up with a liter of 140 proof, with the rest dumped in the feints jug... The 140 proof with be diluted to 100 proof for drinking...
Just a few quick pictures... I'll try to take some with better details of the head when I get a chance...
One thing to note is that when the pictures were taken the lower cooling hose, which is the return, had not yet been raised to above the input line at the top...