Bozzy's 4 inch bubbler

[Bosvelk]

Hey Guys,
I picked up my self a 4 inch bubbler 4x bubble plates and tees
Now I'm currently running on gas as five star are still out of stock of elements and im waiting for them to get back to me
I've done 3 runs now and somthing is not adding up... I've got a thermo above the rc and during heat up it sits at 38 degrees as the plates start To load I cut back the gas heaps to get it in equilibrium for 45 min ish but the second all the plates start bubbling the thermo shoots up to 60 degrees and then slowely winds back To 38 with touching water flow or gas... also get about 20 ml of fores out... then as the thermo pulls back To 38 degrees it stops dropping and sits happily in equilibrium for Its 45 min...
I've got heaps of water flowing through rc and it's got 9 1/2 inch inner tubes

Any ideas?
Thanks

[db1979]

Sounds alright to me, a lot of guys let the fores bleed through then allow the still to reflux before taking cuts. It sounds as if you are putting more heat into it than the RC can handle initially, but it also doesn't sound as if it's a problem. If you don't want the fores to bleed through then back off on the gas before the column gets too hot. I don't run gas but I turn the heat down all the same once I feel the column heat up and let it come up to temp slowly. I don't have a thermometer, just use my hand on the column at regular intervals during heat up.

When the column is first heating up, you've got the column loaded with the fores which boil at much lower temperature than the rest of the wash and by the time the heads and hearts start hitting the column they heat the fores up really fast and push them through the RC faster than it can handle. This shouldn't happen if you back off the heat earlier.

Have the runs you've done gone ok other than this issue?

[Bosvelk]

Yea they went alright..
just don't seems to be getting all the alcohol out... as in
Currently running 55L of apple juice ferment at 10%
Only at 2.7L and the bottom 2 windows are starting to fog up slightly and take off rate is a broken toothpick stream at 1.8-1.5L/h

[db1979]

What's the cooling water temp at?

[Bosvelk]

Ibc is at 26 degrees

[Doubleuj]

Try a sugerhead wash from the tried and proven section to learn your still on.
Fruit washes are notoriously un predictable.

[db1979]

:text-+1:
I was just thinking that maybe your wash has lots of tails and less hearts. Cooling water temp is fine so tails shouldn't be coming through early.

[Wobblyboot]

Mine was same till I found my stills sweet spot. I use a 4ring burner. As soon as it gets to temp I leave outer ring flat out and next biggest ring on half, but that is 1 I turn up or down depending on wash. U will know when u find urs, just takes practice.