ghreef Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 Hi all, My first post past introduction - so be kind to the newbie. When performing a run, I often hear a puffing sound coming out of the condenser, sometimes while having dripping product, sometime in place of it. I don't see much about this in literature or online posts. Is this normal? The condenser water is cold (around 60F). Let me know what other info you need to help provide insight. I do find it occurs more at the end of hearts and through the rest of the run until I shut my heat off. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CountySeat Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 How hot is the distillate coming off at? Sounds like your condenser is undersized. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silk City Distillers Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 Commonly called 'huffing' in the hobby community, typically seen with single tube in shell Leibig condensers. Sometimes due to the geometry of the condenser, where the vapor path is too narrow for the vapor speed, and especially if the coolant is very cold, or the angle not allowing fast enough drain off. Creates a kind of resonance where the vapor rapidly condenses, the condenser sucks air in to make up for the volume, the air is purged and as vapor refills the condenser it rapidly crashes again. In mild situations it'll show up as a slight wavering in the take off speed. Usually poor condenser design but sometimes due to blowing through very cold coolant at too high a flow rate. If it is actually uncondensed vapor, do not run this equipment until you get the problem fixed or adjust your operating method to avoid it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteB Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 My still used to do that. Fixed it by putting the outlet under the condensate to create a vapor break so it is difficult to draw cold air back into still. A parrot will do same thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silk City Distillers Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 If it's a liebig, putting a turbulator down into the top of the condenser tube can help as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelangelo Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 Turbulator??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silk City Distillers Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 Small ribbon that is inserted down the condenser tube to force turbulent flow. Sometimes folks use this approach to eek a little bit more efficiency or headroom out of a heat exchanger. No relation, I just grabbed a google link, but they look like this: http://phinneytool.com/your-source-for-turbulators/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghreef Posted October 16, 2015 Author Share Posted October 16, 2015 ok - I lit a lighter just inside my collection container to ensure it's not flammable vapor - so I think I'm safe there. (just kidding - that is stupidity at it's finest) I'll either just deal with the huffing or insert something in the condenser tube to limit the effect. I even notice during spirit runs that the whole condenser has a certain resonation that causes the whole thing to gently vibrate. I'm guessing (at least in part) it's due to huffing resonation exacerbated by the stack of bricks the condenser is on. Thanks all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John McKee Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 Hey all, Any chance its dissolved CO2 in the mash being expelled from the system? I've seen that occur from systems with a vented final condenser. If your system isn't vented on the condenser, then you might be able to attribute this to C02. Cheers, McKee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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