I've joined the Boka club!
Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2022 10:51 pm
Hey all,
I’ve recently acquired a pre-loved FSD Boka - thanks to a connection on this forum. She's called Beverly - or Bevy/Bev for short.
I did my first stripping run on Bevy last night and it went...?... ok. I had to cut it short to head out to dinner, so volume was lower than I could have achieved, but for a stripping run I'm chuffed with the output (smell) and learnings I got from my first use of Bevy-Boka.
Despite having great instructions on hand (compiled by posts/comments from Carol and others), I didn't keep the valve closed long enough. In hindsight I was very anxious, thinking that pressure would build up and it might go “kaboom”. But after re-reading various posts I feel ok if temp is monitored. A also have a better understanding of the reflux process going into the next run.
A few queries that I’m hoping the brains-trust can provide at least comments on:
The Boka feels very weighty and unstable over my 35L boiler. It could be that the lid hole is slightly too big causing a bit of horizontal give. A snug fit might resolve that (I have a lid with a smaller hole on back order - should be here this week). Is my 35L boiler suitable or should I consider upgrading to 65L?
Using a power controller, I lowered the power slightly to 80-90 once it first reached temperature, but soon after the temp drifted down so I set the power controller back to 100%. Throughout the run the temp never climbed again so I left it alone. In hindsight, I'm thinking that might be normal for a stripping run. Can I expect it to differ when doing a spirit run?
I also read here that a run can be stopped/paused and restarted. I probably could have done that last night when I knew there was more to get out of the wash but after 4 hours I had to abort. Anyone have a few tips and guidelines on when it is a good idea to continue the run and when it's ok to pause? If pausing, I suspect that a run would have to restart within say 24 hours or less - yeah?
I’ve recently acquired a pre-loved FSD Boka - thanks to a connection on this forum. She's called Beverly - or Bevy/Bev for short.
I did my first stripping run on Bevy last night and it went...?... ok. I had to cut it short to head out to dinner, so volume was lower than I could have achieved, but for a stripping run I'm chuffed with the output (smell) and learnings I got from my first use of Bevy-Boka.
Despite having great instructions on hand (compiled by posts/comments from Carol and others), I didn't keep the valve closed long enough. In hindsight I was very anxious, thinking that pressure would build up and it might go “kaboom”. But after re-reading various posts I feel ok if temp is monitored. A also have a better understanding of the reflux process going into the next run.
A few queries that I’m hoping the brains-trust can provide at least comments on:
The Boka feels very weighty and unstable over my 35L boiler. It could be that the lid hole is slightly too big causing a bit of horizontal give. A snug fit might resolve that (I have a lid with a smaller hole on back order - should be here this week). Is my 35L boiler suitable or should I consider upgrading to 65L?
Using a power controller, I lowered the power slightly to 80-90 once it first reached temperature, but soon after the temp drifted down so I set the power controller back to 100%. Throughout the run the temp never climbed again so I left it alone. In hindsight, I'm thinking that might be normal for a stripping run. Can I expect it to differ when doing a spirit run?
I also read here that a run can be stopped/paused and restarted. I probably could have done that last night when I knew there was more to get out of the wash but after 4 hours I had to abort. Anyone have a few tips and guidelines on when it is a good idea to continue the run and when it's ok to pause? If pausing, I suspect that a run would have to restart within say 24 hours or less - yeah?