2" Boka Modifications.

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2" Boka Modifications.

Postby Bodgy » Mon Aug 24, 2020 5:09 pm

Just wondering what people have done to improve or change the characteristics of the 5 Star 2" Boka?

I'm considering trying a shorter column with no packing, removing the needle valve and trying it in pot still mode that way.

I may be way off the mark here but after reading the Fu Man thread, what would be the effect of Mangrove Jack boiler > 4"/2" reducer > 4" bubble plate > 4"2" reducer > 2" dephlegmator > original packed column > original boka takeoff > original condenser section > original needle valve? Would that increase efficiency and run times? I'm getting kind of jealous of 4" plate guys and the take off rates they describe. Running for 12 hours (around 1000 watts) and a whole day to run some low wines on a reflux run is gonna get old really quick.

It makes some amazing spirits don't get me wrong, I love it. I just want more output for my time.
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Re: 2" Boka Modifications.

Postby Bodgy » Mon Aug 24, 2020 6:01 pm

Sorry I mean would adding a 4" bubbler and dephlegmator increase efficiency and DECREASE run times, would that allow me to run more watts at a similar purity level?
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Re: 2" Boka Modifications.

Postby RC Al » Mon Aug 24, 2020 6:42 pm

The defleg above the plate would be unnecessary - you should be looking to run it all from the boka head - provided you have a bit of cooling head room

The bubble ball larger than column benefit is that it holds tails out of the packing, you have to work out if you could achieve the same effect by just adding column height. One large plate, more power and reflux will only get you so far vs the 3 or more plates worth of packing you could fit into the same height

The bubble plate set up you described might be pushing the weight side for you MJ lid too
Last edited by RC Al on Mon Aug 24, 2020 6:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: 2" Boka Modifications.

Postby Bodgy » Mon Aug 24, 2020 7:06 pm

Good call on the lid strength. I got a couple of mates who are boiler makers so they can get the tig out for some added supports. Thanks for the input and everything you contribute to the forum mate, you are a wealth of information.
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Re: 2" Boka Modifications.

Postby Bodgy » Mon Aug 24, 2020 7:22 pm

As far as cooling I'm currently running a 12v diaphragm pump I had sitting around from my green waste wheelie bin. I don't use it for waste food because that goes in the compost but I'm gonna need the bin again coming into spring for lawn clippings and cutting down the hedges. I picked up a portable AC on gumtree for $50 so I'm thinking about boxing off a copper coil or car radiator on the output side of the AC and seeing how that goes chilling the output from the condenser. would like to see how low of a volume water cooling I can manage.
Last edited by Bodgy on Mon Aug 24, 2020 7:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: 2" Boka Modifications.

Postby RC Al » Mon Aug 24, 2020 8:37 pm

If you could put a 4" ferrule on the braced lid and and use a short reducer on top, you would gain some height back and tip it in favour of using a plate or 2 with as much packed section as you can fit

Otherwise, If you have no height restrictions, just add another meter of column to it

Pump wattage/voltage isn't a great description, mine is rated at 12w but is good for a measured 700l/h with 6 foot of head and 30m of pipe to flow through, from the sounds of it your on top of improving with your cooling setup

Depending on your location a 200l blue drum or two won't be dear to pick up to replace the wheely bin

Not a fan of releasing a.c. gas without the right gear though
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Re: 2" Boka Modifications.

Postby Tesla101 » Wed Aug 26, 2020 8:31 am

Bodgy,

You haven't really described how you're doing your spirit run, but when you do are you recording the column temp on your cuts jars? That way when you do cuts you'll have a better idea of what temp you're going from heads to hearts and hearts to tails.

Then the next run, once you know you're almost into hearts territory you can stabilise the column for 15-20 minutes and then take hearts off a bit quicker and then back it off again once you're near tails.

I'd also consider managing your output by the needle valve, not by trying to manage your power input. The Boka is a LM still, which when doing a spirit run means managing reflux and column equalisation by managing the take-off rate by the needle valve. When you try and manage it by power input, you're just slowing down the column vapour speed and the still is not working the way it was designed to.
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Re: 2" Boka Modifications.

Postby Bodgy » Wed Aug 26, 2020 3:22 pm

Short version of my runs are:

Full power (2000w) till column temp rises and product is being turned to vapour.

Turn down power to 1000w and equalise for 45 minutes.

Open valve slightly and take 150ml of fores very slowly. 1 drip per second.

Close valve and equalise again for another 15 minutes or so.

Open valve and take 2 drips per second, collect 200ml cuts. Temp will be stable throughout entirety of run, but my thermometer only does 1 degree increments.

When I see a temp rise of 1 degree (usually moves from a stable 79 then up to 80), I will open valve fully and crank power, collect into feints jar till I'm over it or its too tailsy to bother with.
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Re: 2" Boka Modifications.

Postby Tesla101 » Wed Aug 26, 2020 8:25 pm

Thanks for the update Bodgy,

That all sounds great to me, but 2 drips/second seems like a bit slow.

Maybe some of the other FSD 2" Boka owners can chime in with what their hearts take-off rates are.
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Re: 2" Boka Modifications.

Postby Carol » Thu Aug 27, 2020 8:20 am

Hi Bodgy
I aim for drip-drip-dribble in a spirit run. Haven't timed it per drip though. I collect in approximately 300ml lots. That takes roughly 12-15 minutes - so 1.2 to 1.5 litres per hour.

Cheers
Carol
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Re: 2" Boka Modifications.

Postby Bodgy » Thu Aug 27, 2020 9:50 am

Carol wrote:Hi Bodgy
I aim for drip-drip-dribble in a spirit run. Haven't timed it per drip though. I collect in approximately 300ml lots. That takes roughly 12-15 minutes - so 1.2 to 1.5 litres per hour.

Cheers
Carol


Wow, that is way faster than I am running it. I will go for more speed as from memory I'm pulling only 200ml per 30 minutes or so. The speeds you are describing are more like what I get from it when I'm running a strip. And it's definitely not drinkable. I don't have a pot still to strip with.

I wonder what the quality would be like if I ran it twice at my stripping speed one from the wash and another from low wines.
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Re: 2" Boka Modifications.

Postby The Stig » Thu Aug 27, 2020 10:26 am

I think from memory that Carol strips then does a spirit run.
2 run strategy will definitely allow faster runs
Last edited by The Stig on Thu Aug 27, 2020 12:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: 2" Boka Modifications.

Postby Carol » Thu Aug 27, 2020 11:28 am

Thanks Andrew. I was not very clear. I use the pot still to strip the wash - let it go flat out with no packing. Takes 2 1/2 hours or so for my 25 litre fermenter. Three stripped washes are enough for one spirit run. Low wines are diluted to 40% for the spirit run. That is a lot slower.
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