Home Distillation of Alcohol (Homemade Alcohol to Drink)

Control Systems


Update - Peter summarised the two alternative methods of control required.. I haven't yet found the need for elaborate control systems to regulate the heat input or flow of cooling water etc. I believe that you first ensure that the fundamental design is correct, matching the rate of cooling (and reflux produced) to the heat input; once this is in balance the still should really look after itself. Just set the cooling water flowrate, and check it every half hour or so (remember the cardinal rule of never running a still unattended !!)

Probably what is of benefit to the lay distiller however is the control over the gross heat input. Given the long time it takes to first get the wash up to distilling temperature, there is some benifit in having a variable power input - so you can give it heaps to get it up to temperature, but then back off the power once you're distilling. Two ways of doing this;
  1. Have two elements - one large, one small. Use both to heat up to temperature, then only have the smaller one on while distilling. Or
  2. Use a single large element with a variable control on it.
Others find control systems however to be of benefit, and enjoy the challenge of designing & tuning them. So here's their side of things.

Pilch writes .. Tony writes ..

Roberts solution

Andrews Microprocessor

Andrew writes ... Stay tuned here ...Andrew has offered to describe & detail it all, etc - a big thanks to him !!. Andrew also cautions about triac controllers ..

David

David Reid writes ...

Jan-Willem's Triac

Jan writes ...

Ross's Time-clocks

Ross uses time-clocks to help with the long distillation times involved with operating a high-puirity Nixon/Stone still ...

Smithers Triac

Smithers (of http://go.to/distil), who is a electronic technician by trade, suggests the following ..

Andrews Temperature Control Circuit

Andrew Graham supplies details (diagram, parts list, and explanation) for how to build a cheap, simple temperature controller at http://www.shortcircuit.com.au/EVCA/tcc.htm.

Reimas controller

I used to run my old SS-beer barrel with a 0,6 kW immersion heater (the ones with a 1" BSP male thread on), then I burned it up and found that they are not made any more, so I decided to buy two 1,2 kW heaters and run them parallel connected to get up to temperature (2400W) and then switch them to series = twice the resistance and half the current = 0,6kW.

Here in Queensland you do not need any more if you do not have a lake of your own for cooling water.

I have also a teeny weeny 100W cartridge element in the barrel, this is hooked up to an ordinary dimmer switch, so this gives me 600 + (100W with stepless adjustment for fine tuning).

PS. Dimmer switches can take up to 300W for fine adjustment-heater and would be better wintertime, but you take what you have ;-)

See schematics below (click to enlarge).



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