Weird thing running feints

[Archee72]

I was running 3L of feints thru my T5000 and when I was up to the hearts run the product starting surging as if it was blocked? But it didn’t appear blocked as it was running a nice steady stream as usual? I was just about to collect 100ml of my first hearts jar when it surged, so I changed jars and it did the same at 90 odd ml’s?
Anyone know what this could be?

[still_stirrin]

Worm, or Liebig condenser?

Is the coolant water cold, or icy?

Is the vapor path restricted, that is, is the pipe a small diameter?
ss

[Archee72]

Liebig
Cool/ warm water
2”
Normal Still Spirits T500 rig set up

[Demy]

Perhaps the heart was about to finish or maybe you had a tension drop in the electric supply. Some possible causes.

[NZChris]

Not much info in your description, but it might be flooding the column. Too full, or too much power.

[Yummyrum]

What ABV was the feints in the boiler?

[Archee72]

Demy - 1st jar of hearts
NZC - only 7L in boiler, have no power regulator, hasn’t happened in 18 months of distilling?
Yummy - I put 3L of 90% feints and 4L of water
Thanks for your replies Guys

[still_stirrin]

Demy - 1st jar of hearts
NZC - only 7L in boiler, have no power regulator, hasn’t happened in 18 months of distilling?
Yummy - I put 3L of 90% feints and 4L of water
Thanks for your replies Guys

That could be the reason it’s “burping” out of the spout!

When you run a wash, the %ABV is low, so the heat input is sunk into the wash to bring it to a boil more slowly because water takes more heat than alcohol. But when you’re running low wines, like a run of diluted 90%ABV feints, it requires less heat to produce vapors. But without a power controller, you’re boiling hard, producing a lot of vapors. It is no surprise that it surges coming out of the Liebig.
ss

[Archee72]

Thanks SS, I’ve never had that happen before and the T500 doesn’t have a power controller. I want to get a copper still soon so I’ll purchase a PC anyway.
Cheers

[Stonecutter]

Demy - 1st jar of hearts
NZC - only 7L in boiler, have no power regulator, hasn’t happened in 18 months of distilling?
Yummy - I put 3L of 90% feints and 4L of water
Thanks for your replies Guys

Huffing is usually a harmless occurrence manifest in a Liebig condenser. Caused by collapsing vapors. That’s why SS asked about your cooling setup. I’m not familiar with T500’s at all but obviously controlling your heat source and understanding the reasonings behind doing so is a critical step in the creation of a fine drop. I’m not trying to preach but these are basic ideas and easily searched for. I think it’s safe to say that a majority of members here if not the vast majority of the hobby itself is a never ending pursuit to refine and improve upon cooling and heat management.

[ThomasBrewer]

Here's some diagrams of the T500. It's a CM setup with a Liebig. Since there are no pumps or electronics that rely on full supply voltage to function, a simple router speed control would work easily to control the heat input.

Speed Control (US plug) (https://www.amazon.com/Electronic-Contr ... 07T9BLJ7L/)
Universal https://www.amazon.com/Controller-Volta ... 0894LG58M/

T500_2.png (32.67 KiB) Viewed 940 times

Source: https://www.homebrewery.com/image/data/ ... Manual.pdf