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Originally Posted by: Darth_Baker 
4.5 Gallons water w/ 18 pounds sugar & Turbo Yeast) and use the unit in ""traditional"" mode.
Get rid of the Turbo and use less sugar.
My first suggestion would be to get on the HD forum as Bayou recommends and read, read, read. Then do some more reading.
If your goal is a simple neutral, do a few stripping runs with your rig configured as a pot still, then do a spirit run with your strips configured as a reflux. That way you can enjoy the flexibility of your rig. ;-)
A) What setting do I put the hot plate to?
Consider making the mods to your hotplate that removes the thermostat and get yourself a power controller. Then run full power for your stripping runs. For your spirit runs, you may be able to drop the power if you insulate your column or if your power controller gives you a good full range of power.
B) Is the hotplate setting ever adjusted ?
It's not necessary during stripping runs. During a pot spirit run, you'll want to adjust power to control your output rate. During a reflux spirit run, you may want to drop your power, but that will depend on the ability of your hotplate and power controller to drive the column. I've found that my 1500w hotplate just doesn't quite drive the column adequately when I cut in my power controller -- unless the column insulated. The controller I have won't give me enough power (at full power) without the insulation.
C) Do I use the Aluminum Diffuser Plate under the pot when on the hotplate?
I always use the diffuser. I don't know much about metallurgy, but I'm told that aluminum is ""highly conductive"" so it's supposed to do a good job of spreading the heat out across its surface area.
D) Is the Aluminum Diffuser Plate only for when using on a propane burner?
No. aluminum is supposed to spread the heat out, regardless of the heat source. With the small area on your hotplate, you'll want to use the diffuser.
E) What to expect as far as bringing this up to temperature, signs to look for?
Just watch your temperature closely. I'm a bit paranoid about this, so I typically start my cooling water once the temp gets to about 45 C or thereabouts.
D) How will I know when to turn on the water flow to the condensor?
For safety reasons, you don't want any flammable vapors leaving your condenser. Just start the water before this can happen. So too soon is better than too late. With this in mind, there's really no such thing as ""too soon.""
E) How much of a flow of water do I allow thru the condensor?
This is a question that has many different answers that depend on many different factors. However, during a stripping run, just run it as fast as you can. The goal is to simply reduce your volume for a subsequent spirit run.
In a reflux spirit run you're asking a religious question. ;-) So folks will tell you 1L/hour. And there are some that might say a few drops/sec. I typically collect 250 mL at a time and I control the output so each 250 mL takes somewhere between 15 and 20 minutes. You'll have to play around with this until you figure out how to get the results YOU want.
F) I see people throwing out 1st 50ml to 125ml of collected, What is best?
That will depend on what you're making and how much you're starting with. For a sugar wash (something like Birdwatcher's or Rad's All Bran) I toss somewhere in the neighborhood of the first 150 mL. The purpose is to discard any of the acetone and/or methanol. Use your nose -- it'll be obvious. Then just be conservative until you become more confident.
In the end, if you collect in multiple jars and make conservative cuts, you won't take the bad stuff from the start of the run anyway.
G) Any good links to get better ideas as to temperatures and collections?
As per Bayou -- it's all at HD.
Regards,
--JB"
