Contonous stripper plates

[bluc]

Anyone know about the still in my attachment. Wondering what type plates are in left column.

[Bushman]

Bubble on the right look to be perforated.

[Yummyrum]

OK
I’ve been wondering this for a while . Just trying to understand why .

Why are 1/4” holes , or thereabouts suggested as best on plates used on thick beers as safe ? This makes one think that small holes will clog and block ? Why would they with a thick beer more than a thin beer if the vapour pressure is the same ?

If there is a down comer , and its probably 3/4” or 1” on a 4” plate , then does the beer not go down this path?

Why do the holes need to be so big ? .
Do the holes allow a passage down stairs ?
If so , why bother with a downcomer then ?

[LWTCS]

It's just a fowling / cleaning thing Yummy.
The perfs need to be big enough to wash down solids.

You can use a plate with no weir. But doing so would reduce the operating range of the plate. This matters when factoring in diameter, plate spacings etc.

[Yummyrum]

t's just a fowling / cleaning thing Yummy.
The perfs need to be big enough to wash down solids.

Ahh . So its not an operating safety thing but rather a cleaning priority . Thank you .

So Iff’n you were commercial then it might matter but for home distilling where one might have time and ability to clean plates by other means then it would be practical to have smaller holes and … I guess … not need such high powers .

Soooo , what I’m getting at is Iff’n hole size is more about easy cleaning and not so much about safe operation , would it not be practical for home distillers to use smaller size holes in thick beers on a lower power that is more realistically found at home ?

[LWTCS]

I think that's a fair statement Yummy.

The other consideration would be if you were also trying to optimize processing speed. In other words calculating hole size for the amount of desired speed that the diameter and available power can cope with.

Remember we are just trying to create enough dwell time to flash the alcohol and ensure none is going down the drain.

We don't need that more familiar plate behavior associated with spirit runs.
This is why (many) continuous strippers look like they are running in a partially flooded state.