Hi , i recently purchased a second-hand Pure distillation Rx tower , the problem i am having is low yield i seem to only get 1.2 litres of 93% and have done two runs with it so far , one was the pure distillation yeast kit and one was a TPW , both 22ltr started of similar sg 1.65 and fermented to .990.
My Questions are what is the upper limit of temp you would you allow from the spirit offtake , i am running the cooling water around 3 liters a minute coming of the town water which is around 22degrees and my spirit is leaving the tower at around 55 degrees and the effluent water is probably 10 degrees warmer, i am using the standard boiler and just the 1700w heater , tower top temp 78 at start and increasing too around 81 before i shut it off.
I have cleaned the tower with the vinegar wash and done the citric acids wash , after the second run i pulled the packing out and it seemed to be clean and in good condition , i also stuck a camera up the tube and everything seemed to be clean , but i did find a copper scrubber or packing in the top of the column above the thermowell , I haven't touched it as it seems that it would be a pain to get back in position , is this packing Normal? as it is not included in the packing replacement kit.
is it possible that my low yield is due to the fact that the condenser is not efficient enough letting the spirit leave the top of the column as a vapour ?
Do these units benefit from a power control ?