Anyway, anybody know of a design for a still that would move my 5% prewash methanol from 86% to something higher, I assume it would have to be something with extremely precise temp control, also probably an outside heat source, water heater elements in contact with 86% pure methanol give me the heebie jeebies, would one of the high class home brew alcohol reflux stills do this?

quote:

Originally posted by fabricator:
would one of the high class home brew alcohol reflux stills do this?

Yup.. They'll bring it up well into the 90% to 95% range as I believe..

They are very expensive and you need a reflux design to do it..

I would suggest using an electric heating element to heat a water jacket around the methanol pot..

I was doing research to set up a 55 gallon drum into a methanol still..
For that, I need a 6 foot tall column that is 4 to 6 inches in diameter to do it within a resonable amount of time.

Expensive? Hah, I just need to lay my MKI eyeballs on one so I can copy it, I use my old processor with a few reflux type things added to distill in right now it will do 35 gallons of glyc in six hours and always hovers around 86 to 87 percent purity, I'm just wondering if I went with a larger fractioning column.
Right now, I have a 4" stainless pipe 1 foot long full of marbles, there is also a cage inside of the still full of marbles.
Hmmmmmmm I think I got plan................

fabricator,

There are a bunch of plans available on the internet for reflux stills.

http://www.moonshine-still.com/

Cool, thanks Rick.

try putting a control in place to limit the head temp to 152F. at 160F my purity is around 92%.

head temp: the temp at the top of the reflux column. right before it enters the condenser or pipe to the condenser.

I'm using a 5' tall 2" copper pipe loosely packed with stainless steel scrub pads.

with or without prewash I get 99% pure from start to finish.

I must warn you its not fast...24-36 hrs for 50 gallon of gly.

I'm still working on the rate.

something to think about :
instead of using larger diameter pipe use several 1/2" pipes or maybe 3/8" pipe. still pack the pipes and make them long with manifolds on both ends. my thinking is to remove the excess heat from the vapor making the refluxing better. this require more surface area of the columns. the packing helps with the surface area but the heat must exit the column. hence several small diameter columns.

-dkenny

I have a PID controller on my still, it keeps the pot at 190 degrees and the head temp is always right around 150 to 160, but I can see from your descriptions I dont have enough surface area, I only have a 1 foot long 4 inch dia pipe full of marbles.

fabricator,
take the pid off the pot and put it on the head.
then set the temp for 152F or so. you increase the time to recovery but you'll also increase the purity. at 160 I get around 92%
it also cycle the heat on and off much more than when it on the pot.

I have been stopping the collection when the pot temp reaches 200F

-dkenny

Thanks dkenny, I'll try that.

Great link Rick -Ive been looking for something like that... cheers

dkenny, we are not using a reflux column yet, just a 4 foot "plumber's delight" copper condensor hooked up to a little 20 gal capacity appleseed with hard plumbed piping and a high temp grundfos circulator pump. The head temp hovers at about 165 F during the bulk recovery phase, slowly climbing as the pot temp goes up. With a 165 F head temp we consistently get only about 80-84 % purity...

Duh.... how can I keep the head temp at 152F while trying to reach 200F in the pot? Will the reflux column help with this? Am I adding heat too fast? We're using a 4500 W 220v element running at 110 V for roughly 1125 watts. It takes all stinkin day to recover methanol from 15 gallons of glycerol/water mix (post prewash).

Thanks and sorry for the NOOB questions. Good thread...
Farmer

YeeeeeeeHawwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!, remodeled my still according to some great suggestions here, thanks dkenny moved the pid thermocouple into the marble pack in the head, added a taller column with 75% more marbles and according to my alcohol hydrometer, and the weight test we are making 95.5% pure methanol, did I say YEEEEEEHAWWWWW?

farmer,
that one way the reflux column helps. it drops the temp of the vapor on the way up. its also why they usually tall. mine's 5' tall of 2" copper pipe.
2nd put the temp control at the top of the column.

fabricator...GREAT...GREAT
now tweak your head temp down just a little bit and the purity will rise.

dkenny

Already messin with it.

Here she is in all her radiant beauty.

Well it just stopped flowing completely, started at 95.5, I tweaked it some and it went to a little over 96 for a while and I checked it just before it quit flowing and it was 93.5, so all in all I'm happy as a clam with these results, not sure on the yeild, I do 40 gallon batches and it goes into a 55 gallon drum so it is kinda hard to tell.

am I allowed to drool??

that looks great!!


where in West MI are you.

I was born in Grand Rapids and other than a short time in NY I grew up in MI. Auburn hills no less. outside of Pontiac
not that's in west MI. but my family is from Grand Rapids and I have spend a fair amount time on that side of the state.

-dkenny

Small world, I was born in Grand Rapids to, at Butterworth hospital 47 years ago, I now live 25 miles west of GR, 11 miles from the big lake.

Hi Fabricator,

Not a bad effort, with alittle more practice you could make a good one.

Ye Olde Tin Basher.

Give me another 30 years, I'll get it sooner or later.