Cheap simple Voltage Controller.

[DougyEthanol]

why 69*C?? Ethanol is about 10 degrees higher than that.

one issue with using a PID is the content in the boiler is not at a steady state. The ratio of ethanol : water changes through the run. simple on/off might work - I can't comment if it'll yet but its on my list to try. you will need to set a very small offset so you don't get wild swings above & below your set point.

that evil bay deal looks pretty good for the price.

Sorry typo **~79C**

I would set the tolerances quite low, say +/-0.2C. The change in water / ethanol mix would be accounted for through this method.

I have a spare AC fan lying around. Purchased a good quality 2nd hand ammo box today, just like the one in the pics above.

I might give the PID set-up a try. I have worked with them before for other applications with good control. For that price it won't be an epic fail if it doesn't work. Will let you all know.

hey Antamo, did you get around to trying this, or has anyone else tried it.
im thinking it should work, as vapour temp mostly reflects alc%.
so if you wanted your bourbon pulled out at 75%, you could set the pid to lets say84c vapour temp.
should make tails easier to define aswell, like when pulling nuetral out.

[Antamo]

hey Antamo, did you get around to trying this, or has anyone else tried it.
im thinking it should work, as vapour temp mostly reflects alc%.
so if you wanted your bourbon pulled out at 75%, you could set the pid to lets say84c vapour temp.
should make tails easier to define aswell, like when pulling nuetral out.

Yep. I got around to it. It works better than expected on my hardware. I installed the PID with a psr-25 set-up. Once the system reaches temp at the top of the column (or just prior to reaching temp) I set the pot to roughly 45% (4.5 on a scale of 1 to 10). The PID then takes over monitoring the temp at the top of the column and givng power to the element (at 45% power) as needed to achieve the temp I set the PID to. The temp at the top of the column remains constant, it doesn't fluctuate by any more than +/- 0.1C. I keep the water cooling pretty constant although it does fluctuate as it is from the main TW supply and the air temp also fluctuates during the still run, but the PID is always adjusting to these variables, so I can set the system up and come back after 6 hours. Better than the old gas setup I had.

[DougyEthanol]

Thanks for that antamo,
did the distilate remain a pretty constant abv? i imagine the tails would have come in quick and hard.
great how the pid can adjust for cooling flow/temp, takes the fidgettying out of the water adjustment.
good work :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Antamo]

It runs like any other reflux still. The temps are constant and can be whatever you set them to. I run the first still run a little higher for temp and push it through. I then rerun the distillate with water a second time dropping the temp to increase the purity and maybe a third if there is any hint of tails. I still use a good activvated carbon to clean up any impurities. I find this gives me a really good product. I find it easier than it used to be controlling the temp with gas.

[Hill]

I have my sparky hooking up my controller on Monday and he has asked about the pot, I ordered the same pot as listed and it has 6 connection points, 2 rows of 3.

Is there any specific way to hook the pot up?

[punchy21]

Did it come with an info manual? Could be 2 resistors in the one pot?

Just get your sparky to use a multimeter before its hooked up to ID the right pins. Should be one of the rows and it is usually the center pin and one of the outside pins that you need to connect to. There are two outside pins to choose, so that one pin will go up in voltage when you turn clockwise and the opposite for the other pin. Hope that makes sense...

:handgestures-thumbupleft: :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[RJB510]

Hi Guy's,
My first post!
Great form so far and i've just been reading and studying this post. Its good to see an Aussie dedicated forum as i've been a member of homedistiller.com for a while! I'm not new to distilling, not new to electronics either but am new to building voltage regulators in this particular field.

I have 2 questions.

1. Just wondering, when everyone has been talking about using the PID (Which a lot of my mates use for home brewing and fridge control). Can anyone see any drawbacks with using a thermocouple and putting that at your thermometer location at the top of the column and having the PID set at 78/79deg and using something like this: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/AC-100-240V-PID-Digital-temperature-controller-25A-SSR-K-Sensor-Thermostat-/220890859067?pt=AU_B_I_Electrical_Test_Equipment&hash=item336e1f063b
to control the element to ensure consistent temp. That way you should always get automatic adjustment of your element temp.

The only drawback I can see is that it might act like a stove top element and turn the element on and off slowly to control the temp, rather than a rolling boil that we need for stilling.

What do you guy's think?

Also, 2. Are there different types of SSR's? I have seen some that have VA, and DD and AA etc posted on the end. EG SSR-25VA or SSR-25AA. What is the difference and is there one for this application.

Thanks very much!

[crow]

Was on the look out for a cheap 4 ring burner but I'm not so sure I'll bother . The ND 747 has been perfect for the 18 gal boiler so far (gets warm enough)

[Brendan]

1. Just wondering, when everyone has been talking about using the PID (Which a lot of my mates use for home brewing and fridge control). Can anyone see any drawbacks with using a thermocouple and putting that at your thermometer location at the top of the column and having the PID set at 78/79deg and using something like this: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/AC-100-240V-PID-Digital-temperature-controller-25A-SSR-K-Sensor-Thermostat-/220890859067?pt=AU_B_I_Electrical_Test_Equipment&hash=item336e1f063b
to control the element to ensure consistent temp. That way you should always get automatic adjustment of your element temp.

RJB510, to answer your question...yes there is a big problem with this...the different alcohol compounds in a wash boil at different temperatures...you have to boil them off to remove them. Setting your boil at that temperature isn't going to collect the parts you want, you first have to remove the compounds with lower boiling points. Once they are removed the boil will stay at the desired temp until all those compounds are gone...

Think of if I told you to boil water for an hour...water boils at 100 deg C. Would you need a PID to keep the boil going at 100 degrees? No...while there's water left in the pot, it will continue to boil at 100 deg C, and that would boil until there was no water left...

The same is with your wash...it will boil at 77 odd degrees until those compounds boil off, then it will rise depending on the compounds left in the boiler...the compounds you want to collect boil at 78/79 deg as you mention...but you can't control this...hopefully that makes sense... :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[punchy21]

1. Just wondering, when everyone has been talking about using the PID (Which a lot of my mates use for home brewing and fridge control). Can anyone see any drawbacks with using a thermocouple and putting that at your thermometer location at the top of the column and having the PID set at 78/79deg and using something like this: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/AC-100-240V-PID-Digital-temperature-controller-25A-SSR-K-Sensor-Thermostat-/220890859067?pt=AU_B_I_Electrical_Test_Equipment&hash=item336e1f063b
to control the element to ensure consistent temp. That way you should always get automatic adjustment of your element temp.

The only drawback I can see is that it might act like a stove top element and turn the element on and off slowly to control the temp, rather than a rolling boil that we need for stilling.

What do you guy's think?

I think i have read of a few stillers that have, or were going to, set up a PID to control their wash boil but havent seen any results on how successful they have been. Seems more trouble than its worth IMO...

If you get the correct SSR then it shouldnt react like a stovetop element...

Also, 2. Are there different types of SSR's? I have seen some that have VA, and DD and AA etc posted on the end. EG SSR-25VA or SSR-25AA. What is the difference and is there one for this application.

Thanks very much!

There are different types of SSR, you will have straight relay type, as in on-off. Another can be controlled by a pot type resistor to increase or reduce wattage to element. The other is controlled by a voltage from the PID to increase or reduce the wattage to the element