Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

Afternoon/evening all
before i crank this thing up for the 1st time just want to get the experts advice for anything i have missed. I have the water inlet for the def at the top and outlet at the bottom. Same for the condenser. The boiler has 2 2400w elements, my plan is to run with a vinegar/water mix to clean it then TPW i have packed section filled with stainless scrubbers, they seem to slide down to the top of the copper section below not sure if i have not put enough scrubbers in?? once it gets up to boil shut 1 element off and basically follow macs post on how to run a bubbler with full re flux for approx 20 min then slowly shut the def off and let it all come over to the condenser trying to have a toothpick size stream flow out of the condenser. If i have missed anything please chime on in with any advice not matter how picky
Cheers

Cooling water in bottom out top both condensers :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Water should be in at the bottom and out at the top on both your rc and pc.
:laughing-rolling: you beat me to it bluc

so i have them round the wrong way bluc for both the def and condenser ??

yep makes sense :violence-smack: stupid me cheers fellas anything else i have missed

To really split hairs once plates are loaded go full reflux for full half hour then bleed fores off...

Spot on - and abv% will be linked to takeoff or reflux. Once you go above 2.5-3 litres per hour takeoff The abv drops and fluctuates.

Control the reflux and this controls the output and the abv. My 4 inch FSD unit needs steady water supply and not to greedy on the takeoff amount. Stripping takes longer but it’s better quality product.

And yes supply in at bottom out at top on condensers. I mixed mine up once and wondered why product was coming out in full reflux with correct water flow.

Great looking rig btw.
:handgestures-thumbupleft:

OK finally got to have a go at this new toy after having a shit fight with leaks from various parts :cry: it held full reflux no probs and the plats looked fairly even. this was my sacrificial run so i didn't hold reflux for all that long, approx 10 min then i shut the rc back till i got a good steady stream from the parrot, At this point what should my plates look like?? after about 10 min the plates looked to dry up they had some fluid still on them but no where near as when it was in full reflux being a newbie not sure what i should be seeing. Then a real strange thing happend the parrot vomited :o it spewed a heap of spirit out the top. Not sure what caused this could it be a water fluctuation issue as when someone uses a tap it changes the pressure here. I stopped the run after collecting 2 1/2 litres which being the maiden run after a water/vinegar i thougfht that should be a good clean. I did notice some copper residue on my sg's whats the best way to clean the flute?? Hopefully some of you distilling guru's can help me with these issues that i had and hopefully help with some solutions
:text-thankyoublue:

Hi, Your photo does not show the parrot connected but assuming you have it piped under the PC somewhere you need to ensure there is an air breather or you get surging. Just like in this picture. (The little tube on the left pointing upward.)

PeterC wrote:Hi, Your photo does not show the parrot connected but assuming you have it piped under the PC somewhere you need to ensure there is an air breather or you get surging. Just like in this picture. (The little tube on the left pointing upward.)

cheers Peter C yep i need a breather pipe added to my parrot glad its not a major issue

Whats the pipe on the left looks like a breather to me

If your plates are drying up it could mean not enough reflux, how much liquid was coming off your downcommers? Or may be leaking plates but less likely. The surge is most likely caused by no breather on your parrot or someone using water elsewhere, like has already been suggested. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Hope she behaves on the next run for ya

woodduck wrote:If your plates are drying up it could mean not enough reflux, how much liquid was coming off your downcommers? Or may be leaking plates but less likely. The surge is most likely caused by no breather on your parrot or someone using water elsewhere, like has already been suggested. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Hope she behaves on the next run for ya

its a perferated plate set up plenty coming off the downcommers Woodduck yes the parrot issue was no breather fixed that but my 2nd run was better had it in re flux for 45min only a very small amount was in the parrot approx 2-3 mls. When i got into collecting after the fores the 2nd plate up from the boiler didn't have as much activity as the other plates but still a fair amount of fluid coming through . MY thinking is the TPW wash i was running was about 3 months so it could be a low alcohol wash. The bottom plate fogged up after collecting approx 1ltr of hearts but still had a fair amount of activity on the bottom plate.Next wash ill be measuring the starting gravity and finishing gravity so i have a better idea of what im starting with.

My guess is you either have a leak on your second plate or your downcomer doesn't generate a vapour lock.

:text-+1:

Good idea :handgestures-thumbupleft:
Don't know much about perf plates so can't help there sorry

G-day mate,are you useing a plate tree and some details on hole size and downcomer specs may help ,yes it sounds like your second plate is leaking relux past the plate,Woodduck added a rim to the plates on his 6inch beast to stop that sort of thing happening.cheers hillzabilly :handgestures-thumbupleft:

hillzabilly wrote:G-day mate,are you useing a plate tree and some details on hole size and downcomer specs may help ,yes it sounds like your second plate is leaking relux past the plate,Woodduck added a rim to the plates on his 6inch beast to stop that sort of thing happening.cheers hillzabilly :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Mate I'm not sure its a 4" that was made in tassie I'd have to wait till i get home to see what dimensions are on the plates here is a photo of it

How high up sight glasses are the downcommers. Those three plates are not mildly flooding are they? Bit to much power?

Sure looks like 2nd plate is leaking ,have a look at woodducks build viewtopic.php?f=36&t=11218&start=100 .cheers hillzabilly :D