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Turbo 500 as a Pot Still- having trouble

PostPosted: Sun Jun 14, 2020 7:58 pm
by Biggles
Team I need some help.
I'm trying to do a molasses run using my Turbo 500. I took out all the saddles as advised but it just gets hot and steams out like it's blocked.
I had the same happen when I was doing a gin run using a botanicals basket and which I now understand blocked the column. But this time the column is empty?
Any advice, I was very much looking forward to this being cool as it's the first time I've tried molasses as carb base.
Cheers
Biggles

Re: Turbo 500 as a Pot Still- having trouble

PostPosted: Sun Jun 14, 2020 8:21 pm
by mattyb
Have you got water going through your product condensor?

Re: Turbo 500 as a Pot Still- having trouble

PostPosted: Sun Jun 14, 2020 8:30 pm
by Biggles
Yes mattyb water is running as I'd normally do. I was trying to run it at 60°C but it was hissing a spitting steam instead of product running out.
I've reduced how much is in the boiler to see if head room is an issue

Re: Turbo 500 as a Pot Still- having trouble

PostPosted: Sun Jun 14, 2020 8:37 pm
by Doubleuj
Shut her down mate, they cannot run safely without the packing.

Re: Turbo 500 as a Pot Still- having trouble

PostPosted: Sun Jun 14, 2020 8:40 pm
by Doubleuj
So the Condensers in the t500 aren’t good enough to knock down alcohol vapour without the packing.
Maybe it works for distilling water like their manual says but not booze.
Unfortunately you’ve probably warped the top plastic part now too.

Re: Turbo 500 as a Pot Still- having trouble

PostPosted: Sun Jun 14, 2020 8:50 pm
by The Stig
:text-+1:
You would need the outgoing water around 20 - 30 deg to work and that’s never going to happen.
The T500 isn’t a pot still no matter what “they” say

Re: Turbo 500 as a Pot Still- having trouble

PostPosted: Sun Jun 14, 2020 8:59 pm
by Biggles
Thanks Doubleuj I've erred on the side of caution and shut her off.
When it cools off I'll repack the saddles and run it again.
Then I'll get a pot still lid to save blowing up the house.
Thanks for your help.

Re: Turbo 500 as a Pot Still- having trouble

PostPosted: Mon Jun 15, 2020 7:41 am
by Doubleuj
I’d suggest building a simple pot rather than buying the pot still attachment, it’s PC isn’t big enough to be very effective.

Re: Turbo 500 as a Pot Still- having trouble

PostPosted: Mon Jun 15, 2020 7:57 am
by Biggles
Doubleuj are there tips for building a pot on this forum.
I'm handy with a welder not worked with copper though.
Cheers

Re: Turbo 500 as a Pot Still- having trouble

PostPosted: Mon Jun 15, 2020 8:10 am
by The Stig
viewforum.php?f=7
Heaps of ideas in there.
If working with copper, its best to solder :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Re: Turbo 500 as a Pot Still- having trouble

PostPosted: Mon Jun 15, 2020 1:26 pm
by Tesla101
Biggles wrote:Thanks Doubleuj I've erred on the side of caution and shut her off.
When it cools off I'll repack the saddles and run it again.
Then I'll get a pot still lid to save blowing up the house.
Thanks for your help.


If you turn the column upside down and fill it with water does it leak from the black plastic part at the top? (On the bottom if upside down)

Re: Turbo 500 as a Pot Still- having trouble

PostPosted: Mon Jun 15, 2020 6:46 pm
by Biggles
Tesla101 yes is the answer :angry-banghead:

How bad is that? Or is that a dumb question?

Re: Turbo 500 as a Pot Still- having trouble

PostPosted: Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:27 pm
by Tesla101
Not a dumb question, but it's not good. Sounds like you've warped the plastic and now it won't seal.

It means that vapour can and will escape from there, which is a safety risk. Could lead to an alcohol fire, which would be really bad. Not worth risking your house and loved ones for.

If it's still under warranty you can try and see if your HBS will replace it under the warranty. Be aware that most HBS believe that it should leak and "it was designed to do that".

Re: Turbo 500 as a Pot Still- having trouble

PostPosted: Tue Jun 16, 2020 4:20 am
by The Stig
If going warranty route, do not tell them you took out the packing and ran it as a pot.

Re: Turbo 500 as a Pot Still- having trouble

PostPosted: Tue Jun 16, 2020 11:10 am
by Tesla101
The Stig wrote:If going warranty route, do not tell them you took out the packing and ran it as a pot.


:text-+1:

If it was me, I'd tell them you followed the instructions for distilling water and after that it started leaking. ;-) ;-)

Re: Turbo 500 as a Pot Still- having trouble

PostPosted: Thu Jun 25, 2020 8:08 am
by Biggles
Ok latest update to the dramas with the T500.
So you may recall I tried using a botanicals basket to do a gin run using the T500 (saddles out) as a pot.
Well that nearly blew up the bathroom. I resorted to putting the botanicals in after as a soak.
Well I went to the home brew shop yesterday and had a new reflux condenser on the counter. Then the sales chap - the owner- talked me out of it and suggested the alcohol line was blocked and I should at least try to clear that first before forking out $460 on a new one.
So I put my air compressor to work and kept cleaning, the botanicals from the gin run were way up in the column, blocking the alcohol line.
So once all cleared I cranked it back up and she ran like a new one.
Thanks team for making me think and thanks home brew man for not going for the easy sale.
I'm back in business and a little bit wiser!!

Re: Turbo 500 as a Pot Still- having trouble

PostPosted: Thu Jun 25, 2020 9:57 am
by The Stig
Thanks for coming back with that little gem.
I can honestly say I’ve never heard of that :laughing-rolling:
Was the botanical basket one of the SS ones ?

Re: Turbo 500 as a Pot Still- having trouble

PostPosted: Thu Jun 25, 2020 10:33 am
by Doubleuj
Yeah that’s a first for me too. Cheers for the update and glad to see you back on track.

Re: Turbo 500 as a Pot Still- having trouble

PostPosted: Thu Jun 25, 2020 11:10 am
by bluc
Dam that could have ended very badly.... :shock:

Re: Turbo 500 as a Pot Still- having trouble

PostPosted: Thu Jun 25, 2020 12:28 pm
by Biggles
The Stig wrote:Thanks for coming back with that little gem.
I can honestly say I’ve never heard of that :laughing-rolling:
Was the botanical basket one of the SS ones ?


yes Stig it was a SS Basket - It'll be an ornament for a little while - that's for sure