Vm reflux

[unsub]

If you have any big discount stores in your area check them out for big glass jars. I picked up a 15l glass jar for $11 the other day!

[Distillnation]

If you have any big discount stores in your area check them out for big glass jars. I picked up a 15l glass jar for $11 the other day!

Wow. That is an amazing price. Pretty big jar as well. Do you have any pictures of it?

Update!

My packages have finally started arriving again :happy-partydance: Today it was the parts for the element controller:

controller parts.jpg

The parts are all installed in the PSU, apart from the GPO for the element, needed to buy a new drill part to make to hole for it. Can get that done tomorrow though.

The existing ground for the PSU uses a ring terminal, would these be okay for the rest of the ground wires as well?

Is it okay to use ring/spade terminals for the connections. It doesn't seem like it would be possible to solder the wire to the SSR terminals.

Cheers

[Yummyrum]

Ring terminals ,perfect .

No you definitely don't want to solder to the SSR

You can just strip of the insulation and twist all wires together and clamp under "clamp" but ring term best if you can get them to fit

[Distillnation]

That's good to hear. It didn't seem like it was possible or like it was meant to be soldered to the SSR.

Ring terminals sound like the best way to go, I could just use what is already there (the screw clamp) but I don't feel like it will be as good as the terminals. Plus, I've got hundreds of them here anyway.

[Distillnation]

It's done. It's finally done. I gave up and just soldered a 1/2" pipe over top of the 3/8" pipe. I went on a journey today. Went next door, they said go to shop A, they said shop B, they said shop C, etc.. After 6 shops, I said ":angry-cussingblack: it, I'm doing it my way".

I minimized the space between the dam and the valve as much as I could, and I'm actually pretty happy with how it turned out. I reckon I actually minimized the deadspace more than I would have been able to with a reducer anyway.

Here it is. Finished at last. (The still that is.. waiting on my weldless element from Mac :handgestures-thumbupleft: )

still_complete.jpg

Ignore the weird angle I took it from. Getting a bit cramped under the pergola :))

I can't wait to get it going. If I'm lucky I'll get the element today and I can have it installed and a cleaning run done :D

If not, there is always tomorrow!

Exciting, exciting, exciting.

Should probably start thinking about putting a wash on for a sacrificial wash..what to do, what to do :think:

[MacStill]

just PM'd you the tracking number mate :handgestures-thumbupleft:

11/04/13 06:45 On board with driver for delivery today

[Distillnation]

That was quick postage :handgestures-thumbupleft: :happy-partydance:

I bet it will come while I'm at the dentist..Something to look forward to when I get back I guess :D

The voltage controller got wired up last night, so everything is a go. Got myself a drill bit to cut the hole for the element. Everything is coming along nicely.

Cheers Mac!

Will post some pics when it gets here.

[MacStill]

That was quick postage :handgestures-thumbupleft: :happy-partydance:

Cheers Mac!

Yeah "overnight express" postage takes at least 48 hours from here 8-} and they gave us the pleasure of increasing their rates this week :handgestures-thumbdown:

[Distillnation]

Yeah "overnight express" postage takes at least 48 hours from here 8-} and they gave us the pleasure of increasing their rates this week :handgestures-thumbdown:

Oh, yeah. I love their "express" postage. *Only within the express network* :angry-banghead: Australia is a big place, but surely it can't be that hard to work on mail speed, especially with some of the prices we pay. Like you said, they have the nerve to increase prices, so they could at least increase their delivery speed.

I'm happy though. I was hoping it would be today, but thinking it would be tomorrow, so I'm really happy with that!

[Distillnation]

Okay. Update time.

*Note* It really didn't take this long to get everything installed and set up, I've had to do bank/real estate stuff for the past couple hours now.

So, the element came in the mail around 130pm. And I was extremely happy :happy-partydance: It's a nice looking piece of equpiment, I definitely recommend them after seeing just how easy they are to install.

Here's a couple snaps of the element itself.

IMG_20130411_125702.jpg

IMG_20130411_125708.jpg

IMG_20130411_125729.jpg

Now, the big thing was getting a hole in the keg. Dad got the hole saw ready, I went inside to get some oil to keep it cool. Get back outside ~10secs later. "Done". Well that was quick. No effort required at all, and did a better job than the step bit did on my AG boiler. Can't complain with that.

For $12 I managed to get a cover installed. (Dad already had the box and the main cable gland, just needed to buy the brass connection and the small cable gland).

Pretty happy with it. Not as nice as Macs copper ones, but it will get the job done :D

IMG_20130411_165004.jpg

IMG_20130411_165014.jpg

Will get the cleaning run done tomorrow after I buy some vinegar. Can't wait to test it out!

[MacStill]

:happy-partydance: :happy-partydance: your on ya way now buddy :happy-partydance: :happy-partydance:

Well done :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Distillnation]

:happy-partydance: :happy-partydance: your on ya way now buddy :happy-partydance: :happy-partydance:

Well done :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Thanks :D I couldn't have done it without the help of the guys on this forum, not to mention you Mac for releasing all these great products..
There us one downfall though about this forum.. I want a pot that does 19lt/hr. And I want a 4" bubbler.. I haven't even run this one yet and you guys have got me wanting more and more :laughing-rolling:

I'll definitely be posting tomorrow to say how it all went. Got to be up at 6 tomorrow so I'll get a nice early start on it. (after getting the last couple supplies that is)

Cheers, never thought I'd be capable of the work required to get it working, but it's so much more rewarding knowing I got it running.

[googe]

Good stuff mate :handgestures-thumbupleft: , been a good journey for you. Good luck tomorrow :-D

[Yummyrum]

From mail box to Keg.

Geez your keen as !

Fire it up Mate :handgestures-thumbupleft: Good your Dads on the team too.

[Distillnation]

Good stuff mate :handgestures-thumbupleft: , been a good journey for you. Good luck tomorrow :-D

Cheers googe. It took a little longer than I expected it to, but it was better than trying to rush it with inferior parts that would have let me down and cost more in the long run.

With any luck I will be leak free. It's like being young again, waiting for Christmas morning yet it feels like the night will never end.

From mail box to Keg.

Geez your keen as !

Fire it up Mate :handgestures-thumbupleft: Good your Dads on the team too.

Haha yep, no waiting around any more. Dad was just about as excited as me when I told him we were going to install it. He's been asking what the first wash is going to be for a few days now :))

I'm only a few parts away from complete. (just need some tube for the condenser). But I'll get that easy enough.

Might start a TPW as well tomorrow :D I really don't have enough fermenters :laughing-rolling:

[Distillnation]

Okay, so hit the shops around 845am. Look around for the parts for the condenser. Done. Buy that and head to Coles. Grab some vinegar, yeast and tomato paste. Sugar only comes in 2kg,so head to woolies. Grab 2x3kg bags, pay and head home. Takes a bit to get the condenser ready but I manage to get it leak free (so far).

Boil some water and start filling the boiler with hot water from the tap. Filling the keg, making sure there are no leaks from around the element. Nope. Perfect seal. Couldn't be happier.

The hot water is in the keg along with the vinegar. Set up the element with an red, et and turn it on. Man this thing is quiet. About 20mins in, feel keg and column.. Hmm. Not even warm. Unclamp still, shine in torch. Looks like the element isn't working. Unplug rcd and plug straight into GPO. Turn it on. 2 seconds later and I can hear it heating.

"you ***ing moron".

Plug rcd back in and set it up properly. It works fine.

I've used it so many times but in the excitement forgot to reset it before plugging in the element. :laughing-rolling: :angry-banghead:

Will post updates on how it goes soon :D

[Distillnation]

And it's done.

Once it got up to temp, it really got going. I let it steam for about 20mins before turning on the condenser.

Everything was leak free minus the cap the thermometer goes in (because it's only just pushed on top, no seal on it) but that is an easy fix. Will probably just use the teflon tape like yummyrum suggested.

The valve also had a leak when it was closed, but I fixed that easily enough with a couple turns of the spanner.

The steam was definitely hot and strong enough. It was pouring out the top.

I turned on the condenser and let it knock back the steam a bit. It couldn't quite get it all down, but that might have been due to the temp reading of 103.2C.

The electric element worked amazingly. I do not regret that purchase one bit.
MacStill. You are an absolute legend. I can thank you enough for putting in the work and time to get these to us.

I can't wait to get a sacrificial run put through it. I put down a 25L TPW as well, so that should be good to go by next weekend. Might have to book it off so I have plenty of time free :laughing-rolling:

I'm almost tempted to buy a 48hour turbo just to run it through, but I don't really want to taint my still before its maiden run :))

[MacStill]

Glad you like the elements mate, it makes it all worth while when I get feedback like that :dance:

For a sacrificial run if your impatient, you could buy a couple of real cheap goon bags and run that, then your first wash will be a keeper :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Distillnation]

For a sacrificial run if your impatient, you could buy a couple of real cheap goon bags and run that, then your first wash will be a keeper :handgestures-thumbupleft:

If I get this house I've signed the contract for, I may just have to see what kind of power access I have. May get a dual element setup for faster heat up :))

I never thought of doing it like that. I might actually go check out the prices on some now. Like you said, I'll be doing a proper run next week, instead of 2 weeks from now. (definitely need more fermenters)

[Distillnation]

So I just finished up doing the sacrificial run. I was expecting to start at about 10am, but like most things to do with the still so far, that didn't quite go to plan. The little pump I had tested for the condenser couldn't quite cut it when it came to pushing the water up and out of the keg, to the condenser.

So, off we (my Dad and I) went to source a better pump. After heading to the obvious choice (water tank shop), we decided that was a bad idea. ($200 for a pump. Yeah, no thanks.) So we went to the boat shop, hardware shop, pool shop and finally the other hardware shop where they had the 750w submersible, similar to that seen on the bunnings site. (Perfect). So, $80 and an hour later, we had a pump, some tubing and a few fittings. Go home and finally get it sorted. The pump was a little hard to get set up, due to the tubing being a bit too small for the output, but after some heating and pushing it was on.

The pump was working perfect (putting out water damn fast too). Filled the keg with the 10L of watered down beer (stout, IPA, lager), spirits (cheap whiskey), other (alcoholic lemonade), and a couple jugs of boiling water from the kettle to give it a head start.

Now was the moment I'd been waiting for. Testing the voltage controlled. Plugged in the RCD (making sure it was setup properly this time :))), plugged in the voltage controller, and then the element into the voltage controller.

Voltage controller on. Check.
Volt meter reading correctly. Check
Turn on element. Check.
Element working......
Check.
Potentiometer working...Check.

It all worked perfectly.

Got it up to temp and reduced the element wattage. *Note, the condenser has been running the whole time*.

Leave the still in 100% reflux for 30mins before opening the valve to collect foreshots. Collecting at about 1 drop/sec. Get about 150mL out and test it. ~85%. Not bad. The "wash" would have been lucky to be about 5-6% ABV.

Started collecting into heads, still at ~85%. Continued collecting heads (200mL in), and notice an off smell, similar to that of tails. Measure it again and the ABV is about 70%. It has a sweet smell, but when rubbed between the fingers, it has a sort of off, corky smell. Hard to describe.

Because I'm running this at home, I was limited with my water storage. I used my other keg that I use for AG homebrew, so the water was getting pretty warm at this point, even after a few ice blocks and removing/replacing with cool water.

Next time I will use the big esky (few hundred litres) to recirculate the water.

Is there a reason it would have this off/tails smell this early on?

I decided it wasn't worth continuing (since it was a sacrificial cleaning run), bumped up the heat a bit and ran it with the valve fully opened. The condenser couldn't quite knock down all the vapor, not sure if that is because the guy only made it with a single-coil or if it was because the water was pretty warm.

Turned everything off and emptied/washed the still and boiler. Pretty happy overall with how all the equipment worked, but might need to get a few things sorted before next run so it is more fluent.

Made a little still bench today as well, but didn't get a chance to use it yet. That can be for next time.

IMG_20130415_160625.jpg

My TPW is still happily bubbling away, so hopefully that will be ready by/before the weekend, and I can get the rest of the problems ironed out before then.

Is there any rough guideline on what wattage I should keep the element at when running, or is it more unique to each still.

All in all, it was a fun day, even it it was a late start :laughing-rolling: