Hi Everybody Alcoengine / Pure spirtis Reflux

[The Stig]

Hi all,

I Recently purchased an Alcoengine 2" still.

I managed to compare it to my friends Pure Distilling still and the design and method of use are almost identical. Few little construction details are different. The Alcoengine cap at the top is riveted in compared to the PD still that is brazed on. The brazing around the product output fitting on my friends PD still is a lot nicer than on my Alcoengine - Its not bad, just not as nice and not a big issue for me when considering the price.

To control the take off speed on this still they supply you with a 1 mm and a 0.6 mm restrictor that screw into the takeoff spout. Second distilling a wash at about 20%ABV, using the 1 mm restrictor I was getting about 500ml ever 15-20 minutes. the 0.6 mm restrictor really slows it down to a couple of drips per second. (I started with .6 mm and realised I wouldn't have finished the run in the limited time available and swapped it for the 0.1 mm restrictor)

One thing I noticed about this design (compared to my older still) is that the product come off very warm.

I ended up picking up a charcoal filter kits which contained a 25cm long 2" tube. This tube can also be used to extend the column. When packed with stainless steel scrubbers and using the 1 mm restrictor, I was getting an average of 93% ABV for most of my run with very little smearing

Cheers!

Below is a photo of the extension tube in use.

EXTENDED.jpg

[The Stig]

Welcome to the forum Skoshi Tiger, since this was your first post I moved it into the welcome centre for you.

[Doubleuj]

Gday mate and welcome here.
Warm product isn’t ideal, you might need to increase your cooling

[Skoshi Tiger]

Will do. I have a Birdwatchers bubbling away at the moment and will try out some extra cooling flow. My wife has taken over our backyard for her permaculture garden, so there are plenty of things needing water.

Cheers

[Hepcat]

Hi All , I have just completed a spirit run on my Alcoengine Reflux Still, you are not kidding about the product temp - even with the hose running at 6 litre per minute it is still quite hot 50- 60 deg. but when cooled down to 20 it is reading 96% on my alcometer, only have one and can't compare. also this still is painfully slow 7 hours for 3.5 Litre of 96% AV. I will try the larger hole tomorrow for a stripping run I'll give it an hour and see what it does then if too slow I will go back to my home made pot still I have 50 liter of TPW and 50 Liter of Peach wash & 20 Liter of all grain to strip, not really sure what to think of the Alcoengine Reflux Still but great Chrissy present and being retired time isn't that important but hell I could hurt myself falling off my chair watching and waiting for the bloody thing drip drip drip for weeks on end
Merry Christmas everyone and a Happy New Year

[Sam.]

Hi All , I have just completed a spirit run on my Alcoengine Reflux Still, you are not kidding about the product temp - even with the hose running at 6 litre per minute it is still quite hot 50- 60 deg. but when cooled down to 20 it is reading 96% on my alcometer, only have one and can't compare. also this still is painfully slow 7 hours for 3.5 Litre of 96% AV. I will try the larger hole tomorrow for a stripping run I'll give it an hour and see what it does then if too slow I will go back to my home made pot still I have 50 liter of TPW and 50 Liter of Peach wash & 20 Liter of all grain to strip, not really sure what to think of the Alcoengine Reflux Still but great Chrissy present and being retired time isn't that important but hell I could hurt myself falling off my chair watching and waiting for the bloody thing drip drip drip for weeks on end
Merry Christmas everyone and a Happy New Year

Mate 50 - 60c off take temp is way too high, the higher the temp the lower the flash point which makes everything unnecessarily more dangerous.

Are you running a rericulated system or straight off the tap? If off the tap what temp is your water?

[scythe]

That speed sounds abit slow...
2" stills should be able to got 1-1.5L/hr at a decent % ABV.
1hr to heat up, maybe 1.5 if you only have 1 element, then 3-4hrs to get your distillate...

I really hope that 50-60°c is your cooling water temp and not your product temp... just asking for a still fire.

Your cooling water needs to run as fast as required to keep your distillate under 30°c preferably.

[Hepcat]

That speed sounds abit slow...
2" stills should be able to got 1-1.5L/hr at a decent % ABV.
1hr to heat up, maybe 1.5 if you only have 1 element, then 3-4hrs to get your distillate...

I really hope that 50-60°c is your cooling water temp and not your product temp... just asking for a still fire.

Your cooling water needs to run as fast as required to keep your distillate under 30°c preferably.
Yes the product temp is sitting steady at 61.6 at the moment while doing a run with the larger hole in the outlet popped 100 ml in the freezer to bring it back to 20 and it measures 90 av according to my alco meter, took a photo but not sure how to post a photo' LOL
Lionel beginner alcomist

[Hepcat]

It seems that there is something wrong with the cooling system on my alcoengine refux still
I have measured the outlet water temp and it is steady at 20deg c. Product temp is steady at an alarming 61.8 deg c. cooling water is 18deg.c. and flow rate is 20 litre per minute I am using the outlet water to sprinkle the lawn but this is a ridiculous amount of water to cool.
I have looked at the vid of how this still works and it seems that the water supply is only to the reflux coil on the top and there is a small funnel catching the product and getting heated from the vapor rising up the still to the reflux coil so the high temp must be normal I can see no other way the product can be cooled with this system unless another coil of cooling water is wrapped around the outlet pipe
If anyone else has one of these alcoengine reflux stills can you test your product temp at your outlet and let me know
I will ring supplier when they open again and see what they have to say
Lionel the Beginner Alchemist

[Wellsy]

Silly question Hepcat
Is your cooling water plugged in the correct way around. The inlet water should be plugged in at the lowest point ant the cooling water outlet at the highest point. This forces the cooling water to contact all of the condenser to cool your product

[RC Al]

How are you measuring your water rate?

You would need a good lot of psi to pump 20l/min through that condenser...

Which would be much too fast... The water would not have enough time to transfer the heat out. Try slowing it down if that is your properly measured rate -see how long it takes to fill a bucket. Not that it matters much, just slow the water down so that the water outlet is much hotter... The product will be cooler then

[scythe]

Hrmmm looking at the still image on Google it has no product condenser.
I suggest you make one.

[Hepcat]

Yes it seems that the high temperature is normal for a still of this type, I just watched a vid from south africa and he was selling a still very similar and there product outlet had a cooling jacket to cool the product so as to be able to use a parrot they said that it was not a condenser because the HOT product was liquid and needed to be cooled to 20deg for the parrot to work
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puj5nqu ... e=emb_logo
I have tried all speeds for the cooling hose using a collection container and a stop watch from 1 litre per min to the hose flat out no change in product temp and no steam coming out of the top of the column can touch both the inlet and outlet of the cooling water and can only feel a slight change even at 1 litre per min.
I think that I need to find experienced distillers familiar with liquid management systems
Thank You for all your attempts to get a clearer understanding of my problem, but let me assure you I have tried all suggestions and nothing has made any difference. I just hope that someone out there is using one of these stills and has solved the problem without having to build a small cooling jacket.
Lionel the beginner alchemist

[Tesla101]

Lionel, I run a LM still. It's similar to a boka design like your still, but it also has a product condenser after the take-off valve. Product comes out the same temp as the cooling water.

To solve your problem you MUST add a product condenser.

:law-policered: It's a big safety issue to have 60 degree 90%+ abv alcohol coming out of your still, not worth risking burning down your house which insurance won't cover when they figure out how the fire started. :law-policered:

[Hepcat]

Ok thank you , it looks like I'll have to add a product condenser before the next run
aside from the heat of the product and the time it takes with the 0.6mm hole it does work as advertised shame that they haven't addressed the heat problem before now, I can't be the only one experiencing this
Thanks again
Lionel the beginner alchemist

[scythe]

Oh your definitely not the only one.
It is a function of the distillation process, not just limited to LM stills.
What you have there is a partial still, all stills need a boiler, vapour column and product condenser.

As the song goes, "two out of three ain't bad", but in this case, is dangerous.

[Hepcat]

Problem temporarily solved
packed Alcoengine back in box and wait for supplier to refund a faulty and dangerous product
dug home made pot still out of shed and stick to whisky for a while neutral 95% is overrated anyway LOL
Lionel the beginner alchemist
Thought I should mention this is a cleaning run and I am collecting the vinegar and water into the plastic container
images/icons/smile/redface.gif

Pot Still.jpg

[Tesla101]

Hmm, I would've tried to fit the PC from your home made pot still to the Alcoengine. Looks like it would do the job easily.

Just a couple of observations on the pic of your pot still.
1) Replace that brass elbow with a copper elbow. No one wants lead in their whisky.
2) Looks like you top cooling hose is collapsing from the warm water flow. I'd consider putting a copper elbow there too so the hose is attached vertically instead of horizontally.

[Hepcat]

Yes the top hose does need to be corrected to make it vertical that hose doesn't like warm water at all , I had the vinegar vapor running through the whole setup without cooling water for about 1/4 hour and as you can see the hose just collapsed , strangely it didn't seem to affect the flow a all , crazy I know

Yes this condenser would help the alcoengine no trouble but I feel ripped off by the seller sending me a dangerous piece of equipment and it is up to them to supply me with a small condenser for the outlet, otherwise there could be some serious problems it is quite emotional.
Lionel the beginner alchemist

[Hepcat]

Oh I missed the brass elbow, I was assured that the brass was lead free ??? don't know ??? I will have a look for copper or stainless just in case