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In this Discussion
- AceNZ May 2015
- bbok March 2016
- bentstick July 2014
- brewsmith December 2014
- captainshooch October 2014
- CothermanDistilling January 2015
- ElectricEd September 2015
- Fiji_Spirits September 2015
- FloridaCracker September 2015
- FullySilenced March 2016
- grim January 2015
- Lloyd February 2015
- meatheadinc February 2015
- mikew September 2015
- Moonshine February 2015
- Myles February 2015
- punkin September 2015
- rossco January 2015
- Sadi March 2016
- SDeurope September 2014
- Smaug April 2015
- Sunshine September 2014
- TheMechWarrior January 2015
- Unsensibel January 2015
- vooharmy September 2015
Comments
Now that is interesting @Sadi, and it opens up another scenario.
Your perforated plate is less active bubbles wise because the vapor is taking the easier route through the bubble cap. The depth of the vapor lock on the slots is lower than the depth on the holes. Am I right in thinking that there were bubbles from the bubble cap slot, or have i made a mistake?
Does this mean we can add a hole to a bubble cap plate to make it self draining for CIP use, without it disrupting the function of the plate? One hole would be all that was required.
That has successfully been done before, if I remember correctly it was a 2 mm hole in each bubble plate.
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There were bubbles mostly from the bubble cap slot @Myles but there were some from a few of other holes as well. For some reason not apparent to me, they were mostly from one side, not spread accross the plate.
Cheers.
I'm guessing your column was not exactly square at that time. a minute lean and slight change in bath depth would make one side more active
You are probably right @meatheadinc , thanks.
For thumper experiment, I tried all bubble plates without a downcomer with a 10% abv wheat germ wash.
Again I didn't use a dephlegmator.
It was easy to load the plate, but the level of liquid did not ever go over the caps. With the perforated plate it was raising gradually.
Abv started below 70% which was nice to see. There were more bubbles and they were evenly distributed this time.
Product flowed faster, and I once again saw that having some restriction after the boiler helps.
My feeling is, bubble caps worked better than the perforated plate for simulating a thumper.
Cheers.
Nice observation Sadi, reinforces the point about the reflux flow rate through perforations compared to the flow rate trough the bubble cap standpipes.
At some reflux ratio levels you don't need a level control on a bubble cap plate. The bubble cap standpipes can cope, but as you increase the reflux returned to the plate you get to a point where you need a downcomer.
Lloyd and others have correctly IMO put forwards the view that there is very little difference between a thumper and a bubble cap plate. Just how they are used.
I will be honest with you though, I had never actually considered the option of the self regulating bubble cap plate. This was sort of rendered unnecessary by the ProCaps. However, for a short plated column in pot still mode. Perhaps.
It is an interesting thought though. At what point do you actually NEED a downcomer with old style caps, to prevent the plate from flooding?
Everyone tends to think of bubble cap plates being used on tall columns at high vapour speeds (and high reflux rates?), but not everyone uses them like that.
@Sadi Today I saw a program about a visit to the Grand Bazaar Market (Büyük Çarşı) in Istanbul...holy smokes ... it made me want to hop in the car and go visit you for a month or two...seemed to be an amazing place with all types of shops... food and fun... even a gramophone repair shop...LOL when was the last time you saw one of those at the mall.
Looked like a mix of cultures from several time periods... all blended into todays lifestyle. It was a great hour of television..
You are always welcome :) and you are right about a month or two as there is so much to see...
I think I saw the program with the gramophone repair shop some time ago. It was nice.
Istanbul is a nice city capable of addressing diverse interests. Although it is very crowded these days I always feel at home there.
I'd love to buy some pistols made on the premises. The gunsmiths there have always fascinated me.
StillDragon Australia & New Zealand - Your StillDragon® Distributor for Australia & New Zealand
Yes, lots of nice craftsmanship there, mostly on gold and copper though.
I did another thumper test.
I tried to see what difference does it make if I had some forced reflux. I think it works better with no or very little forced reflux.
I put the plate in the middle this time to see if any liquid is coming down. There were few drops now and then. I think this gives us an alternative from the downcomer version as very little is going back in the boiler. Might be good for sprit runs.
It was a melons wash which I used to make raki. This time I stripped it and it smells wonderful. It seems melons brandy or vodka is worth a try.
Cheers.
I have a whiskey low wines ready for a strip run Smaug. The wash was a combination of several leftover grains. Some Millet, Barley and Wheat.
I can do half of it with perf plates and the other half with bubble caps. I am thinking of using two plates and an abv between 70-80
Do you have any suggestions for testing?
Cheers.
Sounds like your on track Sadi :-c
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I did the strip runs of the same whiskey low wines one with two bubble caps
and then with two perforated plates
Runs were quite similar nothing extraordinary there. Abv's started a bit high and hearts were collected between 85-75%
After the cuts it was interesting to see that the abv of perforated plates run was 80% and 78% for bubble caps run.
The total volume of cuts for perf plates is around 200ml lower which may explain the abv difference.
I am sipping them now after watering, I like them both.
Is the one with the bubble caps run a bit better? Can it be due to lower abv? Or something else like more copper contact? Or due to resting/airing a week more?
I am not sure. #-o
Cheers.
@Sadi very interesting thread! Thanks so much for the various comparisons.
Have you looked at hybrid columns, mixing plates and SPP?
No, not yet with the SD parts but I did with my previous glassware. I enjoy trying different things, and if I have to offer a view about columnns, packing etc, if it is for neutral, I would vote for using as much as possible. :)
I have a 4" T which I plan to pack, probably with SS scrubbers or some glass, and use it along with 9 plates to see what happens. :)
I have so far only tried to see in what different ways that I could use my parts and I have some idea now as to what configurations will be good for certain protucts.
Maybe we can discuss them in a thread of its own, where everyone can contribute their findings. Like a certain target abv for each product and how to achieve that. :-? However, I suspect it will come down to personal taste and available equipment.
Cheers.
Sorry if this is a resurrection of a dead thread, but relevant question...
i've been giving some thought to running my 4" 7 plate column with a mix of procaps and perfplates. not sure how to position them tho.
Pushing 4500W into a 50l boiler for a neutral product. added a super depheg for more reflux due to high cooling water temps here. Havent had problems with flooding unless my boiler was too full and it started to foam up.
Not sure the order I should put them going up the column. was thinking 1 procap at the bottom then three perf plates, then procap, perf, procap (only have three procaps). trying to find best combination of speed and purity.
4 plate perf setup previous only pulled about 91% with about 1-1.5L/hour at full power.
Any suggestions?
Seems like I remember people having the best success with ProCaps up top because they are less likely to flood but I have no first hand experience with mixed plates.
There is a thread here somewhere i'm sure where that experiment is done. Don't know how to find it though.
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Follow a lot of threads here over time, some of the best quality discussion around but find some stuff hard to recover. Go looking for something I know exists... Punkins eye fails me and Instantly wish I had bookmarked it!!
I've recently tried procaps with perf plates on my 4" . on the bottom they flooded easily. The procaps can just take more power than the perf plates + they have alot higher reflux return of the perf's (each procap having it's own downcomer) So try the perfs on top, that way you can tune your power input to not flood them (the procaps will never flood)
Sorry for late answer @Fiji_Spirits,
My experience says, the amount of fluid is higher at the top and less at the bottom. Thus I try to put the perfplates towards the top to keep them working properly. Also a bubble cap/pro cap in between them seems to be a better solution to me.
Therefore I would try from bottom up,
pro + perfp + perfp + pro + perfp + perfp + pro
or may be better
pro + pro + perfp + perfp + pro + perfp+ perfp
I hope this helps.
Cheers
I have been very busy for some time and did not have much time for our hobby. It will be this way for some more time it seems. I was reading the forum though, only on the weekends.
However, I was able to do some additions and upgrades to my setup.
I now have a new induction owen, a new boiler with a proper induction bottom. A torpedo and a procap plate.
I hope to be able to do a run tomorrow and take pictures and can post.
Cheers :)
Here is some pictures of upgrades to my setup,
I got a new induction stove, and a new frame to carry the boiler
The paper insulation helps a lot. The surface does not touch the bottom of the pot which keeps the induction stove very cool. I can touch it and feel no heat. I am able to get 6Lt/h which goes down gradually.
I used springs to elevate the stove, which turned out to be very good. No problems in levelling and the stove does not carry any weight.
This is my new pot. It is 70Lt plus the dome, it seems 100Lt is possible.
I did a strip run for my melons raki, and I am confident that this VM setup is best for extracting more anethole. I use an endcap at the top which helps to reduce the abv. I am aiming about 80% abv and with the new valves at my cooling system, I can do precise adjustments.
Tomorrow, I hope to do a sprit run, and use my new torpedo and procaps.
Cheers
It looks like a Dalek. ^:)^
I was able to use my torpedo and ProCaps plate for stripping millet wash this weekend.
Torpedo is very nice and the ProCaps work really well. It made assembling simpler as I always disassemble everything after each run.
Cheers
Not mean like a Dalek I hope. :)
It serves me very well and I am happy that I have something "proper" mate.
Cheers
One of my favorite SD threads. What are you up to lately @Sadi?
Thanks @bbok :)
I am still trying to find time for our hobby. I had been trying a Ujssm style millet wash but that was not good enough. The raw tastes was carried over to the product, I tried cooking and then cooked tastes was carried over. Both of them was not good.
Then I have seen that one of our traditional drinks, which is called boza was made of millet. It is a thick syrup kind of drink that most of us like. I think if that taste carries over to the product, most of us here will like it.
If I can be successful that will be interesting and can be tried with other grains. I will post the results if it turns out ok.
Thanks again and my best wishes to all mates,
Cheers.