Hey Guys,
I am trying to start a distillery. I have recently completed creating my pot still (approx 350L) out of a repurposed stainless steel vat. I made a lid that then connects onto the top tht can be connected to a condenser.
To save money I created a mesh cone (filled with ceramic beads) that could be retrofitted into the pot still to replicate a packed column so it could also double as a pseduo-reflux still.
Unfortunately when I gave it a whirl it didn't seem to work like I had hoped. It only produced about 70ish percent.
I was wondering if anyone had any ideas about how to get the distillate coming out at around 90%? One thought is that we pumped to much heat into the boiler and heated the mash too quickly and need to do it slower. Another thought is that the column is getting too hot and needs to be cooled with running water (not sure how i do that, maybe wrap the outside of the column with pipes).
The other thought is that I turf out the mesh cone idea. I can make a reflux column top that can be swapped out with the pot still top as required.
Thanks in advance guys!
BWK