Noob needs some advise

[Mormash]

Hi guys, I recently purchased a plated column still from my local hbs and have attempted to run two 25l TPW's with minimal success.
My still is currently set up five bubble tee's high with a packed column and is powered by 2x 2200w elements. The cooling system is recirculated tank water using a 350w pump.
Trying to balance the plates in full reflux has been extremely difficult as one element doesn't seem to create enough heat and when I set the second element to 88deg using a PID it can't hold a constant temp as it's either ramping up or cooling down.
I've recently bought a variable voltage controller from eBay to hopefully solve this problem with temp fluctuations but haven't tried it as it's yet to arrive.

When I finally do manage to balance the plates and begin the process my abv starts off at around 94% then quickly begins to drop at a steady rate throughout the entire run.

I'm hoping that the problems with abv are directly caused by inadequate temp control but I just thought I'd ask here to see if it could be due to other problems. I've checked for leaks during both runs and haven't found any.

Any feedback would be appreciated as the sooner i can learn to drive this thing the sooner i can get started doing all-grain whisky runs.

[scythe]

Post some pics of your still that will help us work it out.

Sounds to me like its the fault of the PID.
You CANNOT control a still by temperature, its just not going to work.
As you have noticed it wont hold the temp, this is because the heat put into the wash from the elements is quickly lost when the vapours are produced.
A PID controller cannot react quickly enough to maintain the temp.

Have a look in the newbies corner at this link:
CLICK ME!

As for the %ABV issue this could be because you are running the output too fast.
How fast was your output rate?

[warramungas]

Does your pid allow you to set a max value output? (manipulative high or mh)
You might be able to set an upper limit throttling back the element. Sort of like a psuedo power controller that you just set to max temp and let the mh do the power controlling for you.
Say 50% of 2200 plus a second controller for example.
I know most home or cheap pids might not let you.

[orcy]

Your voltage controller should help a lot. As mentioned, the PID really wont work for this application.

[woodduck]

They are all on the money :handgestures-thumbupleft: get your controller running and read this and you'll be fine.

viewtopic.php?f=36&t=2681

[Mormash]

Thanks for all the input guys. My voltage controller arrived a few days ago and after giving it a test run in my all grain system it seems to control the temp well. Im pretty excited to try the next TPW this weekend.

Just another question- im about to begin my first wash of BWKO and I bought whole wheat. Will this be fine or do I need rolled wheat? Ive got my own mill so would i benefit from milling the wheat and barley?

[woodduck]

You don't have to mill it but I definitely would if I had a mill, it would have to help release flavours.