First Run, some issues?

by **karrotbear** » Fri Mar 29, 2013 4:08 pm

So this morning I decided to build me a pot head (2" column about 500mm long, with about 1m 32mm outer 5/8ths inner leibig) with a parrot.

I loaded my boiler with 2x20L TPW washes, and about 4 or 5 bottles of whatever I collected when I ran my reflux incorrectly.

I found at about the 50% ABV reading, my leigbig started 'puffing' and most of the distillate comes off at some temperature, definitely not icecold. The vapour exiting the leibig is also cold. So is this just an issue with it not being big enough?

In other news, I ended up taking about 17-18 bottles from this run (stopped collecting at 20% ABV) and then I aim to 'charge' my reflux and refine it a bit more.

I expect I would have to do this a few times to actually get the cutting right etc etc, but it's fun!

by **Sam.** » Fri Mar 29, 2013 4:13 pm

What angle is on your condenser?

Easy fix for huffing is to stick some copper mesh strands etc up the outlet

by **karrotbear** » Fri Mar 29, 2013 4:31 pm

At a guess, it looks about 30 degrees from the horizontal.

Would stainless mesh do?

by **Sam.** » Fri Mar 29, 2013 4:51 pm

Yeah stainless would be fine just don't pack anything too tight to make a blockage.

The less of an angle it is on will help cool more.

The huffing is caused from the vapor collapsing rapidly and making a vacuum.

The more gradual you make the reduction from the lyne arm to condenser the better

by **SBB** » Fri Mar 29, 2013 4:55 pm

Karrot, when condensers do that its referred to as huffing, you were pretty close to the mark.
Its caused by the vapor entering the condenser collapsing to quickly.
As you noticed it generally happens later in the run when the ABV of your wash gets down a bit. Ive never really looked into it but it must have to do with the fact that at lower ABV's there is more water vapor and less Alc vapor, and water vapor or steam must collapse quicker or is more dense or something like that.
There are a couple of possible solutions, Sams already given you one of them.
The other is to decrease the water flow to your condenser, try and get it so that the top of the condenser is quite warm to touch, about midway down its just warm, and beyond that point it is cold. You should notice quite difference, but you might find your ALC comes out a little warmer than you are used to. As long as its not to hot there's no need to worry.

by **karrotbear** » Fri Mar 29, 2013 4:57 pm

That makes sense. Currently its just a column going straight up, with a 50 - 32 reducer, 90deg bend, 90deg bend, joining straight onto the condenser.

If the angle plays a very big part in this,

Would it be worth while having the colum going straight up, and the condenser coming straight down at the top?