Home Distiller

help i cant keep my temp below 81 degrees no matter how much water going through it an 2 fans on it

see .

Are you sure your wash finished fermenting?

i have a still spirits 25l reflux still
i didnt check the % before i started as the hydrometer reading was 990
the wash is dextrose water andturbo yeast heat wave
and i started my still at about 9 am its now 335 pm and i have 1.5 litres at about 69% but my bigest problem is keeping my column temp down and it is only 30 degrees c outside so its not a real hot day

CoopsOz wrote:Are you sure your wash finished fermenting?

yep posative

my last batch came off no problems and was 3.75l @62%

its the piece o crap still you are using.. i don't know how they sell these things as a "reflux" still... if i remember correctly it is a tube about 1" round with 1 marble to "cause reflux" pack the column with SS scourers might help a bit and make sure you do a striping run before the spirit run

That was a bit harsh Absinthe!

but whats with the column running at 81 degrees all of a sudden thats what i dont get cos it was fine last time

i dont mean to be harsh to the operator lol just the still...

is this the type you are useing?

http://stillspirits.com/webfiles/StillS ... ctions.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

or "the super reflux"

http://stillspirits.com/wa.asp?idWebPag ... etails=106" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

its the super reflux its got the bigger column

it could be lots of things water temp air temp.... just run it all hot and fast then add that product back into your still and run it slow and controlled (slow on a spirit run will still look allot faster than than the first as the alcohol is much more concentrated)

I started with their reflux still.
mods that do improve it are
1 increase length of column, either cut & shut a 1mtr piece of copper to orriginal column or add a 1 mtr x 50 mm ext to base of column
2 fill column with scrub buds
3 reduce power to still
4 replumb cooling lines so you can increase reflux ratio as cookup increases and wash strength decreases.
with these mods you will be collecting neutral spirit
To answer your original queiry your thermometer depth can cause a change in temp readings
96% distillate requires the removal of the rubber & plastic in the vapour & distillate flow
newts

Wombat.

Was the weather different when you did the two runs? If it was sunny and cold for one run, and warm and rainy for the other, that can make a difference to the temp.

wombat_831 wrote:my last batch came off no problems and was 3.75l @62%

62% is waaayy to low for the super reflux still! You should be getting at least 80%.

Is it possible to retro fit a needle valve on those stills? If so you would be able to govern the take off, this would allow you to increase your water flow without upsetting the output. I did own one of those stills at one stage but flogged it off as I wasn't happy with it's performance, IIRC it has a barbed fitting for the output hose so it may be a little difficult....while I'm thinking about it, it might pay to get rid of the plastic hoses on the payout end.

it probably was cooler but i still thought it would cool more with the amount of water going in it may be some internal overflow outlet ill know when it finishes as i will be able to shake it and i think the % so low could be cos i think i forgot the saddles in the column

Theres one of the problems (I think), with that setup the cooling water governs the distillate output, IIRC the instructions say 400mls a minute, by increasing the water flow you have decreased the reflux therefore your product will be lower in percentage, I suspect this run would have been much quicker than the last.

na this one is taking forever its realy slowed down cos of the water going through but it needs it to keep the column cool

Do you have the saddles in the column this time?

I stand corrected....my apologies.

Still spirits instruction manual wrote: 6. The more cooling water that flows through the condenser the lower the temperature in the reflux column, this will show on the thermometer. The temperature of your water also influences the amount you need (i.e. In summer you may need more water than in winter when the water is cooler)
7. The slower the cooling water flows through the condenser, the higher the temperature will rise producing a faster flow of spirit. Running the cooling water at less than 400 mls per minute may result in the lid pushing off. If you run more than 500 mls of cooling water through the condenser then this will slow the process down.

nup i forgot them dont know y but i did

yea i read that and ive tried reducing the water flow but my temp gets too hot

Without the saddles it is a pot still, the temp values are now a different ball game.

Without any packing(ie the saddles) I think you're going to struggle to keep the temp down.

What's the % that's coming out at the moment? I'd say you have a problem with your wash and that's why its going so slow.

its about 68% but thats only if the temp is what i think it is as my thermometer is in the still

that's not a very reliable methode, certainly not with that still.
invest in an alcoholmeter.

my alcometer said 70% and i think my temp inside here is about 25 so that gives me a reading of 68%

If I were you I would turn the water flow down to run the output faster. Collect as much as you can and distill it again with the packing in the column.

I had exactly the same problem with that still, Wombat.

I ended up packing the column with some stainless steel pot scrubbers from Woolies and running the next batch through the still in an airconditioned room.

Temp was much easier to control.