Home Distiller

Hello to all, I have spent countless hours reading about different styles and looking at pictures and yet I still can't seem to decide what I want to build.
So here I am hoping some vet's will chime in with some advice about which will suit my particular setup and needs.

First a little background info, so far I have been running an 1.5" Boka with good results, however I am tiring of the 14 hr runs and would like to try my hand at some whiskey/ rum runs.
I currently have 70l of uncle jesses corn wash going and want to make my new pot still head before running.
My boiler is 20l max but I usually go with around 15. Electric heating element 1500w although I am thinking about going to a 2000.
It's probably worth noting that half the fun of this hobby for me is building the still and my soldering and fabricating skills are "I think" well above average.

Now for my question, I am torn between a roughly 12" x 1.5" riser into 1.5" 90 then 1.5" 45, then down to 1/2" Liebig of about 19" length.

My other choice would be a 1.5" riser into a 1.5" U shaped elbow then a roughly 12" long 1.5" jacketed shotgun with either 1/4" or 3x 1/2" tubes then dropping to 1/2" output after condenser. The shotgun would be in vertical position.

Any advice or personal experiences are welcome.
B.

Also forgot to add that I have been using this setup for stripping thus far, but I think that going to 1/2" too early is affecting my output speed and quality. With this setup running full 1500w I can get 2L/hr maybe a touch more depending on wash

B.

at 1500 watts you aint gonna get any better than that. Plus a 19" leibig, its at its max cap[ability anyway.
My pot head is 1.5" but my leibig is 36" (1/2" under 3/4") A 4500 watt element and wish I had the extra 1000 watts a 5500 would give me. Boiler size means little


keep your present setup, go to 2000 watt element and increase the length of your leibig. easy

gotta say... the Dora box is a nice touch.

Thermometer and a temp sensor?? What ya doing there???

Haha ya it just happened to be what I had(trying to cover up my obsession with Dora )
Ya there is a temp probe there connected to my triac controller but I use an arduino based setup that logs my power settings and temp to and sd card for graphing later. No real reason other than I thought it was cool. I could always make it PID but what's the fun in that.

Thanks for the reply BB but remember my decision is based far more on efficiency and looks than ease of build.
So far at 1500w my 19" Liebig has always knocked all the vapor down.
As I stated I enjoy the build as much as the likker.

I'm sure it's obvious but the stainless steel thing at the output is my parrot also handmade by myself.

Like bellybuster said, if you'd like more efficiency, you'll need more power. It won't get any more efficient than your current build at that low of a wattage.

So it seems like your decision rests almost entirely upon looks Pick the one you think would be prettiest!

(Or the one you think would be the most fun/difficult to build - those can end up pretty in their own way)

We'll I'm sure glad I asked before spending time and money on something that doesn't make sense for my setup.
Unfortunately adding more wattage at least more than 2000w seems like a waste of time for the size of my still.
I really like the idea of the shotgun but it sounds like overkill for what I have, and yes a lot of my reasons for wanting it are based on looks and "coolness" but hey the heart wants what the heart wants
So the Liebig it is then. The other thing I was wondering was about the size of the Lyne arm, I've read some posts saying that the change in pipe size should be as gradual as possible and my current head is 1/2" soldered into a 1.5" cap so a very abrupt change in size. Any thoughts on whether using 1.5" 90 & 45 would change my output rate at all or the flavour of my product?

Output rate is determined by the amount of power used in the boiler and a few other things but once it hits the condenser, it is what it is.

tp

So output rate will not change any opinions on product flavour or quality? I was thinking my current design although doing the job wasn't as good as it could be. I'm getting the impression I shouldn't waste my time or money on a new pot still head at all, at least not until I make some other necessary upgrades as well.
My logic behind changing to larger pipe until the Liebig was based on a possible restriction through the 1/2" 90 & 45 but I guess at my low wattage that's not very likely?

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Hmmm, justt reread..
if you're getting 2l per hour out of that you have nothing to complain about. Thats very respectable output for your power and still size

So I decided to rebuild pot still head all 1.5" until 3/4" over 1/2" Liebig. Just doing my alc cleaning run right now, and something interesting to note is I am getting 2.4L/hr with about 20% wash.my new Liebig must be far more efficient than the old one though as it was huffing real bad which never happened before. After adding PWM controller to my circulation pump I can now slow water flow down to a small trickle which stopped the huffing. I added a few extra inches to condenser and wrapped a wire around 1/2" for turbulence . All in all I'm pretty happy with my new setup. I will post some pics after next run and double check my takeoff rates as well since I would agree with t-pee that at my wattage the pipe size really shouldn't change my output.

Thnx for info everyone

Forgot to mention 2.4l/hr was measured at beginning of run so I'm sure it starts to slow as run progresses. I'll take a couple readings next time and find average. If there is a difference in output am I correct in assuming its from the change in pipe size and not my changes in condenser? As t-pee said once it his condenser it is what it is?

"So output rate will not change any opinions on product flavour or quality?"
Yes, for a given still it will...the longer the product boils and is exposed to copper, esterification will increase and add flavor.

Esterification is the general name for a chemical reaction in which two reactants (typically an alcohol and an acid) form an ester as the reaction product.

So most grain/rums charges benefit from increased boiling and acids reacting with copper. So, a slower distillation would add flavors.

Ok that makes sense, so would I be correct in assuming that given the same heat input my switch from 1/2" to 1.5" for most of the pot still head will allow the vapours to travel slower hence staying in contact with the copper longer? As well as added surface area?

Pot still change to 1.5"- it will be a minimal improvement. Since your pot is SS, pack it with copper mesh, just for the extra copper as a catalyst. Better taste and less toxins going to the product condenser.

This started as question about a new product condenser...if you built that parrot, build a shotgun condenser from SS!