Stoked i upgraded from a pot still

[greenguy]

Well a few runs down on my 4" FSD SSG with pref plates
I am stoked with the results im getting :handgestures-thumbupleft: good booze high % and supper easy to run
For the first 4 runs i was pissing around with gas inside the shed it was cold as hell and had to have the door open to let fresh air in was a pain to keep the still at a stable temp and out put was erratic.

But now i have finally got the 2400watt FSD elements wired up what a dream to run took 40ish min to heat up to full boil switched one of and ran just one for the whole run it is still cold here in NZ ATM around 16-18 most days and it still has no problems pumping gods nectar from the 4" at a steady rate of 2-2.5 LPH

If your thinking about getting one do it you will be happy
I have been pulling in around 3-4 litres per run inc heads and tails thats with my UJSSM mash of around 9% and a 40ish LTR charge
around 200ml fore shots 600-800ml heads 2-2.5 litres of hearts and rest tails i could prob keep more into the tails a lil
The still sits at around 93% for heads and fores then drops to 93-92 for hearts down to 90% then from 90-89 it takes ten min and the bottom glass will be foggy showing me tails is on its way then ill keep any thing at 89% in a jar as soon as it drops the slightest i change jars and let it rip and in ten mins its at 25% the same for my rum but it held at 93% for most of the run and by 90% it was getting to tails when it hit 89% it was tails and it only took 5 min to get to 20% but the rum was a higher % wash at around 12% and i got 2.6 litres of hearts

It uses sweet F all water around 1.5 litres all up cost's me may b $4 to run on power and coming from a copper home made pot still with a copper worm and flour paste as seals i was able to pretty much have it working with out any hassle
Big thanks to all you guys for ya help when i have asked Questions you haven't hesitated :clap:

Now to play with some TPW but think ill strip it in my 2" pot still on gas then run it threw the 4 plates :handgestures-thumbupleft:
The only thing is now i want a 6" 5 plater with on of Mac's boilers think next year this will be next still

[MacStill]

So how are you finding the perforated plates ?

Quite a few have mentioned to me that they're not getting the bottom plate to dry up at the end of the run, which I think is a good thing.

So far I've not heard of anyone having any problem with these at all, and that they run very reliably on a 2400w element without the need of a controller to drive the still.

Keen to hear feedback from anyone using the FSD perf plates in their rigs, I'm working on a formula for hole sizes and spacing for the 6" and 8" rigs too.

Cheers.

[Aussiedownunder01]

I run 5 of your 4 in perf plates with a 500 mm ss packed section boilup with 2 =2500 elements then one to reflux
running this gives about 5 to 6 litres per hour at 88% turn on second element easy get 10 litres at 88 %
saying that the last run I was getting 88% in the parrot before cutting it next day I measured it 94% in the test tube bloody beauty

[greenguy]

So how are you finding the perforated plates ?

Quite a few have mentioned to me that they're not getting the bottom plate to dry up at the end of the run, which I think is a good thing.

So far I've not heard of anyone having any problem with these at all, and that they run very reliably on a 2400w element without the need of a controller to drive the still.

Keen to hear feedback from anyone using the FSD perf plates in their rigs, I'm working on a formula for hole sizes and spacing for the 6" and 8" rigs too.

Cheers.

Loving them Mac
i can get them pretty much even bar the top plate it holds a lil bit more fluid threw the run
never had the bottom plate dry up on me when im on gas or 2400w once on gas but thats because i didn't have snuff juice to the boiler

Reckon there would be no point at all having a controller for my set up i wouldn't want to turn it down it run's mint at 2400
and the signs of tails i have found is towards the end of the run the bottom plates goes foggy and the out put will slow a lil and the top plate loads up the level of fluid on the bottom plate drops but does not dry up then the second plate fogs and other follow

Whats the difference with the bubble caps do they need a lil less power to run?
100% happy with pref plates

Just want to insulate the boiler now

[stretch69]

Well a few runs down on my 4" FSD SSG with pref plates
I am stoked with the results im getting :handgestures-thumbupleft: good booze high % and supper easy to run
For the first 4 runs i was pissing around with gas inside the shed it was cold as hell and had to have the door open to let fresh air in was a pain to keep the still at a stable temp and out put was erratic.

But now i have finally got the 2400watt FSD elements wired up what a dream to run took 40ish min to heat up to full boil switched one of and ran just one for the whole run it is still cold here in NZ ATM around 16-18 most days and it still has no problems pumping gods nectar from the 4" at a steady rate of 2-2.5 LPH

Hey mate, did you have a heat shroud like BT?
viewtopic.php?t=3652

[Dominator]

As you know mac, I have your perf plates. The top plate loads more than the bottom plate during the whole run. Bottom plate does not dry up nor any fogging before tails. Does not worry me as I still collect in 250ml jars and air before making cuts.
2400w, insulated boiler and I can not get it to run any faster than about 1.5-2 LPH, even with the rc with a little flow as possible. I can get it to run faster if I add the second element and manage it with the power controller but my alcohometer bobs in the parrot a bit so I am worried about running it too fast. Low and slow seperates the fractions better so not only does it make it easier to make my cuts, I end up with more product. :-D

[tipsy]

I'm the same as Dom, I run it slow on 2400w I'm happy with the speed.
My plates run pretty even and they fog from the bottom up as tails come through.
I had the plates dry up once when I first got it and wanted to see what it would do. I shut down the RC in the middle of the run and pulled tails through. :roll: Lesson learnt.
Now I wait for the tails and close her up. The plates dry up but not completely (if you get my drift)

[MacStill]

Whats the difference with the bubble caps do they need a lil less power to run?

I've just found that with caps you dont need to pay so much attention to what the still is doing, they're like driving an auto ;-)

Perf plates by nature need vapor speed to suspend liquid on the tray, where as the cap system is more like a weir and will naturally retain the bath, there's a lot more to it than that but it's about as simple as I can explain.

[greenguy]

Whats the difference with the bubble caps do they need a lil less power to run?

I've just found that with caps you dont need to pay so much attention to what the still is doing, they're like driving an auto ;-)

Perf plates by nature need vapor speed to suspend liquid on the tray, where as the cap system is more like a weir and will naturally retain the bath, there's a lot more to it than that but it's about as simple as I can explain.

:handgestures-thumbupleft: