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Dephlegmator V1 for 4'' Dash SGK

Hey.

I'm planning to buy 4'' Dash SGK column and 120l pot belly with agitator. Have question about dephlegmator V1.

How big water tank I need to cool it down? Or there is other way how to do it? And how hight temperature need to go out from dephlegmator?

Thanks

Comments

  • Dephleg temps are going to differ across every single rig, lots of factors come into play. But, based on my little and big rigs, I'd guess anywhere from 65c to 85c on the temp depending on what you were doing.

    You don't need to use a water tank, for a small still like that, you can use water from the tap. If it's very cold water, you aren't going to use a significant amount.

  • I have a similar sized rig and I use tap water. I T the two condensers flow together on the hot return and I would describe the output volume as a "trickle"

    My inline thermometer says the dephleg water hits about 60 but the product condenser is normally only around 30C.

    If you are concerned about water usage maybe consider the V2 dephleg? That's the one I bought.

    Or even the longer dephleg (is it called the "super" dephlegmator?)

  • Isn't the super dephlegmator a bit tricky to control if you're using very cold tap water?

  • @squeakyclean said: Isn't the super dephlegmator a bit tricky to control if you're using very cold tap water?

    It can be. Just need to slow down the flow rate and also as a general rule expect slower reaction to adjustments.

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  • edited January 2017

    Yeah, @smaug nailed it.

    The bigger condensers are significantly more efficient, what that means is that they are also much slower to respond, especially if you are measuring temp on the outflow. Big water volume, low flow, it takes a long time to cycle all that water through.

    If you are heavy handled with your adjustments, this will seem like they are more "tricky", but it's not the case at all. It's just a matter of understanding that you can slug the condenser with significant amount of cold water before it will show up in the outflow temperature. So make very small adjustments, and be very patient.

    Operationally, it's easier to run an undersized dephlegmator, you can be totally sloppy with it.

    If you are running a glass still, pay close attention to the reflux condensation and the amount of flow off the bottom of the dephlegmator, it will show changes long before the outflow temperature does.

    The other thing to keep in mind with large dephlegs, is they are easy to crash, but slower to correct. So if you overshoot and drop the temp too low, you need to be even more patient on the recovery back up to operating temp, don't rush it, again it's a much larger mass of water to have to heat up.

  • edited January 2017

    If you are recirculating you will need about 400litres of water. I use two 200litre tanks on stands and move the pump between them. Alternatively you can use a single 200litre tank and dump half the water into a drain when it gets to 60deg and refill from the bottom where the pump is.

    As the tank heats up the condensers will become less efficient and so flow will need to be adjusted to maintain ABV in the target range across the run. The temp of the RC is critical, suddenly cooling it will directly affect takeoff rate and ABV. More efficient is not necessarily better, I have twisters that I can put in the cooling tubes of the RC to make it more efficient, but control is significantly more difficult. From my perspective the standard RC is a great compromise for this combination of still and boiler.

    The output temperature from the RC is not critical, but the volume is. I measure the output flow from the RC to control reflux levels. There is some conjecture about the best way to rig the lines. For the PC it should be counter flow but not for the RC.

    BTW volumes are for my boiler which is 84litres, you may require a little more at 100litre charge. Adding the extra 25% should mean 500litres, which is 2 pickle drums.

    Hope this is what you are asking, and my response helped. Rossco

  • edited January 2017

    I might be off base, but if your re-circulating then doesn't the efficiency of the RC not matter as much? You'd control the turn down ratio through volume and there's only so much energy that your reservoir will be absorbing (= temp rise).

    Where it matters to me is when you're running tap water. That's where you'd want to get away with the least amount of flow possible (= biggest/most efficient/oversized)

  • edited January 2017

    It matters in the fact that the larger condensers can function with higher input temperatures than the smaller units. So you can run your reservoirs hotter (or longer), or you can deal with high water temperatures from the tap.

    Like those crazy guys in Florida with their 80F "cold" tap water.

    But yeah, if water conservation is important, it means you can get the equivalent level of knock-down with lower water flow than you would with a smaller condenser.

  • edited January 2017

    @Unsensibel said: I might be off base, but if your re-circulating then doesn't the efficiency of the RC not matter as much? You'd control the turn down ratio through volume and there's only so much energy that your reservoir will be absorbing (= temp rise).

    Yes to both questions.
    That is why I use two tanks or replace the water as the run progresses.
    I have to pack my gear away, so no permanent tank, and water is expensive here.

    Control of the temperature of the water in the RC is an interesting subject. I heat it up and use the flow rate to advantage.
    Cold water would be an entirely different scenario. Guessing some people would rig it counterflow in that situation.

  • Pardon my ignorance, but isn't the water price (almost) the same all over Australia? I did some research and the numbers that I found where around half a (US!) dollar for 1 m3; that's not much I think??? In Europe water costs between 1 and 2 USD.

  • The most logical water tank these days is a 1 m3 steel caged cube that you can generally scrounge for free that prev held AD blue diesel additive. You need a bit of room bit the price is right.

  • @squeakyclean said: Pardon my ignorance, but isn't the water price (almost) the same all over Australia? I did some research and the numbers that I found where around half a (US!) dollar for 1 m3; that's not much I think??? In Europe water costs between 1 and 2 USD.

    Pretty sure it's different from state to state.

    My domestic rate here in South Australia is $2.27 for the first 27.6 KL then jumps to $3.24. This is of course on top of the supply charge which is almost $1/day.

    So thats more like between $1.71 to $2.44 US$ per m3 or 1000 litres.

    Not expensive in my option but I don't know any different either.

  • Cheaper than I thought. We get a regular sizeable bill.

  • The caged cube are pretty cheap really where I live they are 60 bucks. At 2.24 per m3 thats about 30m3 and your breaking even, even though you need a cheap pump for flow, ie another 200 bucks.

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