Home Distiller

Hello -

Working up a new liebig condenser and I was wondering if there's any harm to making it vertical?

Generally, I have it pointed down and away from the still at about 45 degrees, but with the new pot still head, my preference would be vertical.

Thoughts?

Actually probably better with one exception. If you are heating with propane you do not want the collection that close to the flame.

I've run my liebig vertically for a long time. I use electric heating elements so proximity to heat source is not an issue. The only real difference I have noticed (and expected) was that the distillate was cooler. I use a 3/4 inch over 1/2 inch about 30 inches long. I run tap water at a rate fast enough to keep the discharge temp below 120 degrees. There are no scrubbies in the condenser.

Lynne arm angle I would think will effect your product much more than a liebig condenser could (unless you ran it almost horizontal)

I'm too inebriated to give you an accurate answer, but here's my opinion based on limited experiments
Vertical isn't the best.
The liebig needs to be on an angle to channel the condensed liquid down the floor of the liebig
That leaves the rest of the inside of the liebig for the vapor to condense on.
An angle as little as 10 degrees will work because vapor pressure is helping gravity.
Everything works fine until the liebig gets close to vertical, then condensed alcohol will run down the sides and blanket the vapor from the cool copper tubing. The condensed liquid will act as an insulator and lower the efficiency of the liebig.

You are a smart cookie shady, sober and I didn't think of that

I do mine vertical, but it comes out of a thumper so I don't worry about heat from the boiler.

thecroweater wrote:Sober and I didn't think of that

Sober-New years-Ausie Something isn't right
You better turn in your down under card mate

Well 5:00 this morning when I finally went to bed I may not have been 100% sober but 23 coffees later and I'm buzzing with all the get go of last nights road kill

As state above, I run my liebig condenser vertically. I do so to maximize the amount of contact between the condensed distillate and the walls of the condenser. As the condensed vapor runs down the wall of the liebig it does not necessarily insulate the wall from the vapor. The cooled liquid performs the same way as the cooled metal wall of the condenser. It provides a cooler surface where heat exchange can take place. I don’t think an angle between 45° and vertical has a significant effect on the condensing ability of a liebig condenser, all other things being equal. For what it is worth, mine produces a heat gradient similar to when I used to run at a 45° angle.

I choose to run my liebig vertically based on information I came across years ago while researching heat recovery from domestic waste water stacks. The condensate itself can be cooled more effectively when it is running slowly down the pipe in a relatively thin film than it would if running in a faster moving thicker stream. If you want your liebig to produce cooler distillate, you may be better off running closer to vertical than to 45°. That has been my experience, anyway.

this is all good info. ive been thinking about using my liebig vertically for when i rebuild.

im glad you said what you did skipper. i was about to head back to the drawing board.

Thanks all. I'm at 45 degrees. I recently rebuilt my pot still head to be much shorter.

I had something 2' with gauges (pressure and temp) and found they didn't matter much (just a rough idea when I needed to sit and monitor).

With the shorter head, and a much bigger liebig, I'm stuck at 45 deg for now. If/when I can make my stand taller, then I can get vertical.

My two cents.
If alcohol vapor is heavier than air if the leobig is vertical there is a small chance that vapour could fall through it with out being condensed. Yes it is a slim chance but it could happen. I run mine at around 45°. I believe that it would be good to have it at least a tad off vertical.
Just the ramnlin of a simple redneck.

jedneck wrote:My two cents.
If alcohol vapor is heavier than air if the leobig is vertical there is a small chance that vapour could fall through it with out being condensed. Yes it is a slim chance but it could happen. I run mine at around 45°. I believe that it would be good to have it at least a tad off vertical.
Just the ramnlin of a simple redneck.

what sort of pressure dose a still produice. im just thinking out loud but couldnt the presure even at low amounts push the vapour fater than gravity?

So long as the liebig is designed/built/operated correctly, i can't see how any vapor can escape at vertical. However, if you slow the coolant and ramp up the heat then i spose it would be possible.
I run mine at vertical because i was having huffing issues that wouldn't go away using a tapered angle. At vertical i get next to no huffing at all. I also get better coolant efficiency. I run propane/LPG for stripping but run a sloping downward 3ft pipe from the bottom of the liebig away from the boiler to the collection point.