• 1 )  Tweak for safety first. Make sure your boiler and still are vapor tight, you’ll be unsafe and losing precious ethanol if it’s not.
• I pressure tested mine using compressed air.
• Keep the boiler and still separated, so that if vapor leaks develop, the vapor won’t be near flame. 

2 : TWEAKING THE FERMENTATION PROCESS

• 2 )  Tweak your fermentation process next. Just when I think I have it all down, I learn something new, usually the hard way.
• Fermentation is complex :
  •  start small, then after getting consistent results, batch sizes can be increased.
  • Aim for as high a proof beer as practical, because 10% beer distills at a much higher rate than 4% beer.
  • Cleanliness and attention to detail are vital.
  •  Make notes.
  • Put a thermometer probe in your vat so that you can watch what’s going on.
    • Keeping the temperature consistent is key to consistent results, especially in cold or hot weather.

3 : TWEAK THE BOILED & PLUMBING

• 3) Tweak your boiler and the plumbing connecting it to the still next.
• In the “Safety and Boiler Operations” section of the website Robert Warren wrote,
  • “The distilling process begins at the boiler and the
    plumbing from the boiler to the still becomes the first stage of the still.”
  •  Robert outlines    Some ways of increasingproduction by paying
    attention to the boiler and plumbing later in this section.
  • Tweaks I’ve made in this area have yielded good results.
    • I will outline them below.

4 : TWEAK THE STILL

• 4 )  Tweak the still last.
  • It works as designed and doesn’t need to be fixed.
  • Most opportunities to increase efficiency occur prior to vapor entering the still.
  • The simplest way I’ve found to increase production is to pay attention to the boiler and the plumbing connecting it to the still.
    •  I offer my experiments to the forum with the hope that anyone who tries this will do so cautiously, with safety always in mind, and then will share their results in the interest of further development for the Charles 803.
• The following is a simple approach I used based on Robert Warren’s suggestions:
  • I had an extra 42” of 3” copper pipe after building my Charles 803, so I stuffed the inside of this piece of pipe with “structured copper mesh”
    (available from www.amphora-society.com.) and connected it to the top of my boiler by soldering it to a 3” threaded fitting.
  • I capped the top of this pipe and added an adjustable relief valve, which is set at 3 psi.
  • I plumbed a connection from the top of this 3” copper pipe to the inlet on my Charles 803.
    • At first this plumbing was a simple ¾” heater hose.
    • Later I used 1 ¼” copper pipe for this connection in order to increase
      vapor flow.
  • In essence what I created was a pot still on the top of my boiler which concentrates the ethanol vapors prior to them entering the
    Charles 803.
  • This means that the Charles 803 doesn’t have to reflux as hard and makes it more efficient.
• ***I have had production rates average as high as 4 gallons an hour and as low as 2 gallons an hour, depending on the proof of the beer.
• From talking and listening to other Charles 803 users, this appears to be significant.
• Remember what Robert Warren wrote “distillation begins with the boiler and the plumbing from the boiler…”
  • Creating reflux prior to the vapor reaching the still, concentrates the vapor and requires less work for the still, which increases production.
  • The problem is that if you create too much reflux, pressure will build up in the boiler.
  • If vapor leaks develop near an open flame, fire and or explosions can happen, therefore extreme caution needs to be observed.
  • My boiler is outside, open to the atmosphere.
  • The Charles 803 is inside a steel pole building, with a wall between the boiler and the still, for safety sake.
• I have used this system for approximately 8 months now with good results, but have been hesitant to share this idea, until I was reasonably sure it worked and could be done safely.
• I cannot emphasize enough the need for a vapor tight system, adequate relief valves and proceeding cautiously when you develop your boiler system.
• While this concept may be developed to create greater reflux and vapor concentration by using taller or larger pipes with more packing, this must be done very cautiously, because it is well known the propensity
  pot stills have of exploding. This concept is essentially a pot still feeding a Charles 803.

I have consulted Gilles prior to posting this concept for the forum, because I am very concerned about safety. He is working on some ideas for homebuilt relief valves. He will also post a schematic of my system and some pictures on his feedsite.

• Your feedback is appreciated.
  
  Owen

_________________________________

OWEN WILLIAMS ON BOILER TEMPERATURE

• Because ethanol and water are completely miscible (they mix completely) you should have exactly the same amount of ethanol in the top of your  drum as you do in the bottom.
• The solids in the solution may cause some variation, but you should have very close to the same amount throughout the container.
• When boiler temp reaches 212F at sea level, the ethanol is boiled out.
• Here's the theory
  •  Pure ethanol boils at 173F at sea level
  •  Pure water at 212F=a differential of 39 degrees.
  • A 50% mixture of ethanol and water will boil at 192.5F (halfway between 173F and 212F)
  • A solution containing 90% water, 10% ethanol will boil at 208.1F
  • While 95% water, 5% ethanol will boil at 210F at sea level.
  • Theoretically we can tell the proof (percentage of ethanol) in a beer by it's boiling point. (Of course, it's a lot easier to use a hydrometer, which measures density or "specific gravity.")
  • The importance of this theory is that it let's us know that once a boiler temperature reaches 212F, that there is no longer any ethanol
    left in the beer, only water and solids.
• My experience is that these temperatures vary, because the process of boiling is dynamic.
• Small amounts of vapor began to rise at around 175F, but a consistent vapor flow doesn't start until several degrees below the theoretical boiling point.
• 6-7% beer in my system usually sends consistent vapor to the still at about 203F in the boiler, as measured by my thermometer at 880 feet above sea level.
• I then back off on the heat so as not to overwhelm
  the still.
• Once the still reaches equilibrium (consistent vapor and
  consistent cooling water flow) I then slowly turn up the heat until the boiler temperature rises slowly to 210F (in my system, with my thermometer, experience has taught me that the ethanol is all boiled out at 210F).
• As the ethanol boils off, the theoretical boiling point rises, therefore more heat needs to be applied to raise the beer to it's new boiling point, until it finally reaches 212F.
• This is a dynamic process, which can be monitored by watching the flow rate of the vapor into the still, as well as the temperature of the boiler.
• I've described how I use my boiler thermometer in a couple of previous posts. If this doesn't make
  sense, please let me know. Robert Warren also covers this theory on his website.

• Distillation is all about controlling the temperatures in both the boiler and the still to take advantage of the difference in boiling points of ethanol and water.
• Understanding and then applying these
  theoretical boiling points are key to good and consistent results.
• I had a difficult time, until I learned to monitor the temperatures of my boiler and still.
• I hope this is helpful. Let us know how things go from
  here.
  • Good luck.
    Owen