Question about bubble plate still

[Microplaned]

I have a test still and have a couple of questions if someone could help.

 

Setup: 4"-4 bubble plate column, with shotgun defleg, and condenser on a 26 gallon boiler. I am currently using propane to heat this because my electrical service isn't hooked up yet. I am running a 10.5% wash.

The question: When i load my plates, how full should they be, and should all four plates be loaded? I seem to have no problem loading the top two, the top is usually completely full. Am I not running it correctly? Any help would be great!

 

Thanks in advance!

[Silk City Distillers]

No.  Full sounds like flooded

Not sure what kind of still but I’ll guess 3/4” to 1” of liquid.  When running it may be difficult to determine liquid depth on a still like that, as you’ll see lots of froth/boil action.

Your dephlegmator is far too cold, or you are running too much power into the kettle, or both.

[Microplaned]

40 minutes ago, Silk City Distillers said:

No.  Full sounds like flooded

Not sure what kind of still but I’ll guess 3/4” to 1” of liquid.  When running it may be difficult to determine liquid depth on a still like that, as you’ll see lots of froth/boil action.

Your dephlegmator is far too cold, or you are running too much power into the kettle, or both.

Thanks. I agree. I turned it down a while ago and it is running nice and smooth now. Just way too much heat!