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Low temp distilling

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Guest		#1 Posted : Sunday, October 30, 2005 2:40:10 PM(UTC)
Rank: Guest Groups: Guests Joined: 2/10/2002(UTC) Posts: 5,254		OK, This is primarily for Rick, but anyone with any suggestions, PLEASE jump in! I love this Brewhaus forum cause I have learned quite a lot from you guys, but I still have a lot to go! So here tiz! Rick, what is the lowest 'safe' temp one can distill a sugar based wash using Prestige Vodka yeast,OR maybe even a good Turbo,? I tried Gert Strand's 'Amazing Plastic Still' and loved it. Trouble was, it didn't last very long before burning out! I know there were a 'few problems' with some of the submersable heating elements, but in any case, I'm stuck and I'm still thirsty! Therefore my question? Just how low a temp ,as opposed to conventional higher temp distilling,, is safe? I'm working on a 5-gallon ,stock-pot, still that I want to insulate and heat with a 1500watt hotwater element, and control it with a common electric kitchen stove top burner switch! I'm thinking that If I set the heat on low ,or simmer, and leave it overnight, I should obtain about the same results as one of Gert's rigs. I plan to open the top of the pot with a 9-inch ss bowl ,inverted and mounted over a similar size opening in the lid, to premit a little more vapor expansion. This will have a 'brass', 1-1/4 X 8 inch 'bathroom lavatory drain' mounted as a short tower which in turn is attached to a 90-degree 'ell' and more drain pipe which forms the lyne arm. I intend to bend this 'Lyne arm' down ever so slightly and attach yet another 'ell' ,turning the flow downward,into which I will then plug a rubber stopper with a 3/8-inch copper tubing passed through it, which in turn runs into a closed collection vessel. I think that this will allow for a large enough space for the vapor to gather ,cooling somewhat as it does with Gert's rig,, before dripping into the collection vessel, In any case, there should be plenty of room for the liquid to collect in the large tube ,lyne arm, until it does drain into the collection vessel; which may need to be vented to prevent pressure build up. I thought maybe a water filled airlock would work as a releif valve, or maybe even one filled with carbon as Gert suggests! My target temp ,the range I'm shooting for,, is somewhere around 100-140 degrees F.,liquid temp,. Is this safe? Can you offer any suggestions or advice? Thanks for all I've learned to date. Some of you guys obviously know what you are talking about, so, I'm listening! Thanks again, Spiritmaker

Guest		#2 Posted : Monday, October 31, 2005 3:07:00 AM(UTC)
Rank: Guest Groups: Guests Joined: 2/10/2002(UTC) Posts: 5,254		It is not really a matter of 'how low of a temperature is safe'. Lower temperature distillation works in much the same way as traditional Pot Distillation, but at a slower rate. The primary difference being that in a lower temperature operation you are working by speeding evaporation, whereas in a higher temperature Pot Distillation you are boiling. The latter, when controlled properly, allows for a slightly higher purity distillate because you have created a greater difference in the speed of evaporation / vaporization of different components based on boiling points. In short, too low of a temperature is safe, right down to the point of using no heating source. The result would simply be a far slower output.

Guest		#3 Posted : Monday, October 31, 2005 2:51:33 PM(UTC)
Rank: Guest Groups: Guests Joined: 2/10/2002(UTC) Posts: 5,254		Hey Rick, thanks for the prompt reply ,An I thought no one else but me wuz readin this stuff anymore. Hah!, I guess I won't hurt myself after all by distilling at lower temps. Now, do you have any suggestions about my proposed rig I described? Also, what really is the difference in the submersable elements ,used in the 'Amazing Plastic Still's', from Gert Strand; and any other high wattage aquarium type element,Except that maybe yours is priced a little more reasonabley than most pet shops? Thanks, Spiritmaker

Guest		#4 Posted : Tuesday, November 01, 2005 2:49:03 AM(UTC)
Rank: Guest Groups: Guests Joined: 2/10/2002(UTC) Posts: 5,254		The main difference between the heaters from Gert and Brewhaus versus those in pet stores is the temperature range. Most aquarium heaters are not made to reach the same temperatures, as they are not intended to cook the fish. ;-,

Guest		#5 Posted : Thursday, November 03, 2005 6:30:57 PM(UTC)
Rank: Guest Groups: Guests Joined: 2/10/2002(UTC) Posts: 5,254		What? No fish fry with my hootch?

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