Some help with yield issues

[Sam.]

Yeah fair enough mate.

Yeah you should be getting more than that out of a run.

All I could suggest is to slow your run down a bit to try and get a bigger heart cut and run the still until almost all alcohol is recovered to confirm that you are not losing it as a vapour leak :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[WTDist]

Yeah fair enough mate.

Yeah you should be getting more than that out of a run.

All I could suggest is to slow your run down a bit to try and get a bigger heart cut and run the still until almost all alcohol is recovered to confirm that you are not losing it as a vapour leak :handgestures-thumbupleft:

I agree with Sam.

try collect all the run, tails and all. If you only get half then there will be a problem. I had a pinhole leak in my t500 and instead of getting 3L i got barely 23L and it tasted like heads and tails, no hearts

[WTDist]

I have an idea on how to look for a leak but some more knowledgeable people may say its not a good idea, or it is i dont know. It very well may not be a good idea but i thought i would mention it.
May very well be a bad idea

before i start i haven't got a keg/boiler or neutralizer so maybe what i am going to say will have to much weight on the keg or maybe not i dont know and maybe to much pressure. I cant say if it would be safe or dangerous so people with similar rigs might want to chime in.

so...
If you have a drain on your keg or a point that you can connect a hose to you could hook a hose up and then fill up your boiler from the bottom, or whatever as long as it fills up under the column. Have a hose on the end of the PC going up above the still and have slack so it can connect to a tap also (for now leave open to atmosphere). Fill the boiler and still up until the column fills up with water completely and comes out the hose leaving the PC and then switch of the tap and close the tap on the boiler so no water can leave now. then connect the PC hose to the tap. No water should leave now as the boiler tap and PC hose should be a closed unit now with no openings, sealed up. Then with the hose on the PC and tap, turn this on slightly so it increases the pressure in the still and tries to add water.

My thinking here is it would be like a hose with a crack or pin hole leak. If there is a leak somewhere in the still then water should spray or drip out no matter how small it is. Unless it only leaks under a certain heat from thermal expansion but this might work.

Sometimes with a pin hole leak in a Tyre you can put water around it and see bubbling, this is the reverse, water inside air outside

Again this might not be a good idea and experienced people might want to share their thoughts on this process. Im not sure how much weight and pressure these rigs can handle and i dont want to suggest something that will break your rig

[mark-gabb]

logical...but working with steel wouldnt this run the risk of it going boom
or of it creating a crack where there wasnt one already?

[P3T3rPan]

I regularly fill my still with water when cleaning in place
I just fill it till water comes out the pc, switch off water while holding my thumb over the pc outlet
Most leaks will show up very quickly with little or no added pressure
Paper towel or dunny wrap is better than a mirror to instantly show even very minor leaks of water
As a plumber I would usually test to working pressure but of course with a still there should be little to no pressure as it is always open to atmosphere

[WTDist]

This is how i tested for leaks in my PC and RC when i was building them. hooked them up to the hose and closed them off with water on. I was surprised that when i run water fast through my PC it didnt have a leak but once i added a lot of pressure all of a sudden i had a sprinkle of water spraying out only the pressure would find :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[P3T3rPan]

Yes as I said "test at working pressure"