Pot still configuration football head und column.

[cetate]

Hi. What do you think of this setup?
The boiler is a 50-liter Vevor whit 2x1700 electric heater elements. The copper column is 2 inches in diameter and 80 cm tall.
For ujssm and brandy.

So far, I’ve used the still in the classic Vevor configuration and then only with the copper column. Now, I’ve decided to combine the two setups.
Ideally, the column would start from the "football" head. I wonder if it will work properly from the side, too?
I’m waiting for the ujssm fermentation to finish, and then I’ll run it.

Some advice will be helpful.

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[Saltbush Bill]

Interesting setup, it seems to me that you can solder and build , or did someone else do that for you ?
The double liebigs are cool , I often run a Liebig on the end of my shotgun product condenser when I'm doing stripping runs.
Personally I think you'd be better to kick the football and stick the pots still column straight onto the boiler, at least when making UJSSM....
Having said that , what exactly is inside of those things , why all of the taps/valves in the sides and on top ?
Are there cooling coils inside to create reflux ?........Ive always considered them to be a cheap Chinese weird sort of still, but am happy to learn more about them and what makes them tick.

[cetate]

Only the second liebig I solder self.
Cooper I can solder. But stainless steel I can't welding.

I want to try this new setup specifically for the spirit run. Will it yield more flavor? Anyway, unless there are safety concerns, I’m going to give it a try. Maybe I can find someone to weld a tri-clamp flange onto the "football" head.
The "football" is hollow inside; it just has a screen, like a gin basket. The top valve is for removing methanol at the start of the distillation, though I don't use that function. A thermometer gets installed where the middle valve is. The bottom valve is interesting: after 10 minutes of distillation, you open it for a minute to purge certain impurities. The liquid that comes out smells very unpleasant.

[PalCabral]

Cool set up. I have always been quite negative to the football but I think with this set up you will get some reflux in a spirit run and quite possible it will make it a bit easier to do your cuts (less smearing).

Yeah, all those valves are confusing. Sounds like the design is based on some sort of theory that is way above my pay grade.

[BigSwede]

I would have sworn that the football had a condenser inside for reflux.

[IAmPistolPete]

My first still was the 20l version of the football. There are some pretty cool qualities to it. The bottom of the [American]football has an interior collar with a screen. It comes with textured ceramic balls. The size and shape of the head gives it some passive reflux like an onion, and you can use the ceramic balls as packing to further refine. The lower internal collar actually creates a reservoir from falling condensed vapor and operates as a tails trap that you can drain thru the lower valve. Not really useful but a neat concept. The upper valves are objectively pretty useless too. They are made of brass so I replaced them all with a couple stainless steel valves & bolts and a thermometer. I fill the football with copper mesh above the ceramics to get some copper in the vapor path. I can get 90+% from a wash and a bit higher from low wines. I use a 6foot section of baseboard heater as a product condenser. It's a great little 5gal stovetop unit that doesn't require much effort.

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[cetate]

I would have sworn that the football had a condenser inside for reflux.

It looks that way, but it certainly doesn't have one. But one can be built.

[BigSwede]

I would have sworn that the football had a condenser inside for reflux.

It looks that way, but it certainly doesn't have one. But one can be built.

In the sense of exterior valves, it looks like a reflux condenser, but without any packing below it, it wouldn't be hugely effective as one. As guys have described it, it sounds like either a variation of a gin basket, an onion-type of device, maybe a little of both. The liquid trap could function as LM if there is a packed column below.

If guys have success with it, that's what counts.