Valved Condenser Assembly Question

[JWH]

Hello All,

I am very new to distillation and am attempting to construct a very small still to test out all the ins and outs. I have gotten plans from the "moonshine-still.com" and have most of the column finished. If you look at the illustration on page 16 of the plans, look on the internet, you will see an assembly drawing of the valved condenser assembly. One thing that is dosen't say is if the condenser head has a cap on the very top of the unit. I think that there should be but I could be wrong. If one of the more knowledgeable people out there could take the time to look at these plans I would surely appreciate it and then let me know what you think.

Thanks a million

"Unsure"

[will]

First of all, that's not an especially good design,

Second, this forum is about legal, licensed distilling, and it's unlawful for you to build that still and operate it in the USA.

...and finally, no, there's not a cap on the end. a "reflux condenser" is called a dephlegmator. there are two types, closed and open. open types are used where the distillate is taken-off as a liquid, because without venting, even with 100% condensation, the expansion of the air above the liquid in the kettle would cause the system pressure to rise, causing one of those things the TTB worries about: an explosion.

read more books and

...go and sin no more!

will

[Coppersea]

Hello All,

I am very new to distillation and am attempting to construct a very small still to test out all the ins and outs. I have gotten plans from the "moonshine-still.com" and have most of the column finished. If you look at the illustration on page 16 of the plans, look on the internet, you will see an assembly drawing of the valved condenser assembly. One thing that is dosen't say is if the condenser head has a cap on the very top of the unit. I think that there should be but I could be wrong. If one of the more knowledgeable people out there could take the time to look at these plans I would surely appreciate it and then let me know what you think.

Thanks a million

"Unsure"

That design does not have a cap on the condenser and would be dangerous if it had one.

It's also no longer considered the best design among the hobby distillers and tinkerers who are involved with improving small still design.

You'll probably find a great deal more info on hobby stills, their design and construction on the home distiller forum at http://www.homedistiller.org/forum/ or the artisan distiller forum at http://www.artisan-distiller.net/phpBB3/index.php or the yahoo hobby distiller's group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Distillers/ .

The language and practice of even very small scale professional distilling are so different from the hobbyist approach that for someone new to the art, knowledge garnered from either sector will only serve to confuse when applied to the other.

The improved design that you want to go looking for is called "vapor management"