motor fuel

I've been meaning to build this column for a while, but other plans kept bumping it to the back burner.  I knew what I wanted to do but kept getting bogged down on which details to keep while maintaining basic design principles for whichever end product I'll have in mind at that moment.

Pot stills and a reflux stills function differently and require specific design considerations to achieve the best possible end result.  I want the best of both worlds, and this is the sticking point.

A taller column, with it's reflex action, will produce cleaner alcohol with a higher proof and less flavor.  A short column will produce more flavor with a lower proof.  It's a simple trade off... 190 proof alcohol with no flavor or 120 proof with a carry-over of whatever you used to produce the ferment.  For me, the best of both worlds would be an end product of 150 proof with lots of flavor or 190 proof using the same column with a few simple adjustments.
I think I'm almost there.

The column is 2" x 32" copper with a 3/4" reducer.  I chose an open top for the remote thermometer and ease of cleaning.  Packing the column with copper mesh and adding a secondary condenser to the top opening will produce excellent reflux by condensing the alcohol vapor and returning it to the boiler to be re-distilled.  The reflux action cleans and purifies the alcohol vapor with each cycle while the copper removes the sulphides, producing a flavorless, high proof alcohol.

That's all well and good if you're making motor fuel but what if you want some flavor with that?  If distilleries used this method, everything would taste like vodka.  Even moonshine has a corn flavor in the background.  This is where a slight modification comes in.

The lyne arm is the tube that goes from the column to the condenser.  The angle of the lyne arm is just as important as the column as to what comes out the pipe.  Horizontal will produce more proof and less flavor.  Vertical will produce more flavor and less proof.  45 degrees is preferred for the best of both worlds, reflux and pot stills alike.  But due to the length of the column I feel I need to compensate by running the lyne arm straight down to the thumper for a second distill, followed by a liebig condenser.  This will require a copper pipe assembly to join the thumper, if needed.

So, the whole unit past the boiler will consist of the 36" column, copper pipe and reducer assembly, a short stack thumper, and ending with a vertical liebig condenser.  The whole thing could be assembled and re-assembled with quick disconnects, making cleaning and storing as simple as possible.

This design is perfect for future modifications like extended lyne arms, multiple condensers, column gin basket, detachable parrot, carbon filter, etc. 

The best whisky stills on the market use this design, sans thumper, that produce superior spirits... with a price tag that starts in the thousands.  I'm not saying my design is better or even equal to some of the high tech units out there.  Just sayin it's way cheaper and more adaptable.

Then again, this is all theory.