 Rank: Junior Member Groups: Registered
Joined: 3/28/2014(UTC)
Posts: 17
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I am new here, but have been running my homemade 1 1/2 inch tower w/o valves, I was cooking with a hot plate and just for nuetrals...at 5 foot tall it worked like a dream, always putting out 180-190 proof every single run, it did take 12 hours to finish a batch but no worries, now I got the ps11 valved reflux, my first batch took forever to get to temp, then with any reflux at all it dropped immediately to 100 degrees, all night I screwed with it but ended up tossing the batch after producing about a half gallon of 140 proof, over the weekend I ran both stills (I had a lot of wash to get rid of), I ran corn through the ps11 in pot still mode on the same burner, and holy crap I got a half gallon of 180 in half the time, however I didn't want it that hot...lol, in the directions that came with the still it said to put the copper mesh all the way through the tower, sounded like a bit much but I did it, is that the problem, also I put 2 wads in it when I ran the corn, should I have left it out then? On a good note though my old faithful hooked to a keg with propane yielded me plenty of neutral at 185 proof...lol...and I am going to water heater elements this weekend, already got both fittings and rsc's ordered...would like it producing a little better before I keep spending the cash though...any ideas?
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 Rank: Senior Member Groups: Registered
Joined: 1/12/2012(UTC)
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"Hi hookset, Welcome to the forum! Quote:I got the ps11 valved reflux, my first batch took forever to get to temp, then with any reflux at all it dropped immediately to 100 degrees, all night I screwed with it but ended up tossing the batch after producing about a half gallon of 140 proof Congrats on your new rig! What size boiler are you using? What was the charge? And what's the power rating of your hotplate? Sounds like you need more power. BTW: I wouldn't pay any attention to the thermometer. Stay focused on your collection rate. Quote:I put 2 wads in it when I ran the corn, should I have left it out then? What you describe is normal when configured as a pot still. A single plug is plenty and is just there to get some copper in the vapor path. With two or three plugs your abv will be higher since it'll cause some parasitic reflux."
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Rank: Junior Member Groups: Registered
Joined: 3/28/2014(UTC)
Posts: 17
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I agree with ya on needing more power, the hotplate worked fine for the last year or so cooking in a 13 gallon pot that covered both burners on the cookpot....and the ps11 is quite a bit smaller at the base and covers nowhere near the same area , my washes are always a min of 30%, sometimes a little more near 40, but what caught me off guard was the corn mash, it produced that well and it was only almost 20%, on my old system 20% aint worth the time to even mess with, like I said, I have the fittings and rsc's coming in the next few days and everything should start coming together....hopefully...
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Rank: Junior Member Groups: Registered
Joined: 3/28/2014(UTC)
Posts: 17
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Oh, and how many plugs when running in reflux mode do you think is sufficient? I got about 12" of wadding in my old one that runs fine, will 2 or three plugs work, or do I need more?
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Rank: Senior Member Groups: Registered
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in reflux mode I pack the whole thing to stack the different fractions when they come off
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Rank: Senior Member Groups: Registered
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"As diesel noted, I think you'll find most people fill the entire column ... and also stuff some copper mesh around the reflux condenser tubes. But I suppose it depends on what you're trying to accomplish. If you're shooting for max abv, then you'll want packing throughout the length of the column ... and collect slowly.
Let us know how you make out when the rest of your gear arives. And again, welcome to the forum!"
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Rank: Junior Member Groups: Registered
Joined: 3/28/2014(UTC)
Posts: 17
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Had the fittings welded on, one on the ps11 pot,
the other on a keg I've had for awhile.
Got everything together, I have 36 gallons of 15-20% wash ready, (6 gallon increments of course)
and wouldn't ya know it, my guy blotched up the weld on the ps11 pot, but the keg is firing fine as I type..
well, it has been running about 30mins. and gentlemen we have JUICE....Love it...no more late nights babysitting the rig...awesome
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Rank: Junior Member Groups: Registered
Joined: 3/28/2014(UTC)
Posts: 17
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and I figgered out how to do pics hooksetz attached the following image(s):  2014-04-23%2018_25_07.jpg (24kb) downloaded 0 time(s). 2014-04-23%2018_25_23.jpg (31kb) downloaded 0 time(s). 2014-04-23%2018_25_34.jpg (30kb) downloaded 0 time(s). 2014-04-23%2018_26_40.jpg (20kb) downloaded 0 time(s).You cannot view/download attachments. Try to login or register.
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Rank: Junior Member Groups: Registered
Joined: 3/28/2014(UTC)
Posts: 17
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when running with the RSC, do I leave it on full, or switch to variable when I get to temp.? Blew two internal 15 amp fuses yesterday, (but still got it ran). I am getting ready to run more and would like to know if that is standard or have I screwed something up?
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