KL04640 Gen2 - Alcoengine - Copper reflux Still | Important Safeguards
KL04640 Gen2 - Alcoengine - Copper reflux Still | User Guide
For enthusiasts wanting to make clean pure neutral spirit.
This flow management (FM) design of reflux still has been designed to create high percentage pure neutral spirit.
The FM technology used in this design makes this process robust and easy to use. No need to worry about water pressures and fine tuning of water flow speeds. The FM design gives you direct control of the reflux ratio and therefore the purity of your end product. It’s never been so easy to enjoy the craft of distillation.
Features
Lead free brass
Lead free silver soldering
High quality manufacture
Super easy to use and will yield results as high as 96% alcohol
Australian Design
KL04640 Gen2 - Alcoengine - Copper reflux Still | Cleaning & Assembly
It is highly recommended to clean the AlcoEngine Reflux Still before first use and after every run or as needed.
The best way to clean a still after use is with a vinegar wash. This is also recommended before first use.
After flushing, complete assembly of the still. Fill the boiler to around 20% full (the exact amount is not important as long as it is sufficient to ensure the elements do not boil dry). Us e a 50/50 mixture of plain vinegar (acetic acid) and water. Other acids can be used, although the dilution rates will be different. For example, 1 Tbsp Citric acid to 1L water.
Connect the coolant lines but do not run any water yet.
Bring the acid wash up to a boil and maintain a boil with the minimum power required for at least 10-15 minutes. After this time turn on the coolant and run the still for a further 10 minutes. This will condense the vapour and help flush out the still
Turn off the water and the boiler and allow the still to cool completely. Do not attempt to handle any part of the still or boiler until at a safe temperature.
Once the still and boiler is cool enough to handle, empty the boiler, rinse it out and fill the boiler to around 20% full (the exact amount is not important as long as it is sufficient to ensure the elements do not boil dry) with clean water. Bring this up to a boil and maintain a boil with the minimum power required for at least 10-15 minutes. After this time turn on the coolant and run the still for a further 10 minutes. This will condense the vapour and help flush out the still
Turn off the water and the boiler and allow the still to cool completely. Do not attempt to handle any part of the still or boiler until at a safe temperature.
Your still is now clean and ready to use!
This process should be completed as needed to maintain your still in good order.
This reflux still should include all the components shown in the image above.
The Alcoengine Still must be assembled before use. It's important that you assemble these components carefully. We recommend using Teflon tape on the threaded fittings to ensure a seal. NOTE: Both the 0.6mm and the 1mm Outlets will be attached to the Collection Tube and the Ball Valve as in this image.
The AlcoEngine Reflux Still is a Liquid Management Still. This is a much easier to use design than many other stills on the market. The main requirement for operation is sufficient water flow through the condenser.
It is recommended to have a flow rate of ~8L/m through the condenser coils of the still.
Mains pressure water in most metro areas will be around 100psi is is suffiecient for this.
If the still can be used in conjunction with another water source such as a rainwater tank then a fairly powerful pump is required. Most pumps provide head, lift and/or flow specifications. However, the only important metric in this case is pressure, as a high pump pressure is required in order to overcome the restriction in the coils.
Generally a constant pressure pump (such as those available for rainwater tanks from most hardware stores) are suitable for this purpose. Magnetic drive and submersible pumps generally cannot provide sufficient pressure for use with an AlcoEngine Reflux Still.
If using a Distillation Lid with a 2" TC flange, you will also need a 2" TC Clamp. Remove the brass nut completely - it will not be used. Use the 2" TC Clamp to secure the Reflux Still to the lid. Use the flat seal that is included with the Reflux Still.
Use Teflon tape to cover the thread of the ball valve, then screw it into the side of the still body so that the valve handle is facing up. No need to use a spanner - finger tight is appropriate. Over-tightening may damage the thread.
Next, get some Teflon tape and attach the Teflon tape to the thread of the flow control device. Then screw this into the ball valve as shown above
As shown below, there are two Outlets included with the AlcoEngine Reflux Still. These operate as Flow Control devices for the still.
There is a 1mm Outlet and a 0.6mm Outlet
The hole size dictates the speed at which the spirit flows out of the still. The faster the flow, the quicker the run but the lower the purity. The 0.6mm Outlet is recommended for highest purity, but the run will take longer. The 1mm Outlet will give lower purity but will be faster. The 1mm Outlet is also commonly used for stripping runs
The different flow control outlets are marked discretely with a small punch on the side of the device but if you have good eyesight you can probably see the difference in hole size with your naked eyes.
Lastly, attach the collection tube with the olive fitting. Tighten up this fitting onto the Flow Control Outlet and tighten carefully with a spanner/shifter. Do not over-tighten as it is easy to damage the soft brass fittings.
Please note it is important that the breather hole is unobstructed and is also facing UPWARD.
The breather hole is so unwanted sulphide smells escape to the atmosphere.
Insert the thermometer into the thermowell. There may be some resistance - it is OK to use a small amount of pressure to push past this. The probe will go approximately 50mm deep
KL04640 Gen2 - Alcoengine - Copper reflux Still | Making & Distilling A Wash
Most ‘Turbo style Yeast’ has proper directions printed on the packet — follow these. If it does not, then the procedure below will work.
First, you need to clean and sterilise a 23L fermenter (5 gallon). Use a cleaner such as KegLand StellarClean Powdered Brewing Wash (KL05494) and then sterilise the fermenter with a steriliser such as StellarSan (KL05357). These can be purchased from your local KegLand Distributor.
Dissolve 8Kg of plain white sugar or dextrose into the bucket and stir until fully dissolved in 15 litres of room temperature to warm water. Make sure that the spoon you use to stir it with has been sanitised the same way as your fermenter. Add a pack of ‘Turbo Yeast’ and stir for about a minute. Lalvin EC-1118 Yeast (KL12782) would be a suitable ‘Turbo Yeast’ to use for fast fermentation.
It is suggested that 5g of yeast nutrient (KL14724) be added at the start of fermentation to ensure the yeast have enough micronutrients to have a healthy fermentation. Once you have added your yeast to the fermenter, attach the lid to your fermenter and put a suitable airlock in the lid (KL01595). Leave the fermenter for about a week at room temperature (around 25°C) and it should be ready. Check with a hydrometer to make sure that it is about 0.980. If the wash does not go below 0.990, then you will not get the full amount of alcohol out of it. Leave it for a few extra days. If it does not change, then please contact your KegLand distributor for advice. If you are fermenting in a cold climate, you may need to keep the wash warm by keeping it somewhere warmer or adding a heating belt and temperature controller (KL01953 and KL01946). Your home brew shop can give more advice on fermenting washes, as well as other recipes.
The volume of product expected to be collected from the distillation is able to be calculated. It is important to measure the amount of ethanol in your wash so that you can get a rough idea of how much distillate you expect to recover from distillation.
To calculate this expected volume of distillate you will need a hydrometer (KL04312). You will need to take two gravity readings with the hydrometer: once prior to fermentation and once after fermentation has finished. Then input these two numbers into an Alcohol by Volume ABV calculator to give an ABV. The amount of ethanol in the wash can be calculated using this ABV. For example, if your ABV is 12% and you have a 20L wash, then use the following calculation to determine the volume of ethanol in the wash.
Volume Ethanol in wash = 20L x 0.12 = 2.4L
You can then multiply this volume of ethanol by the purity of the distillate to determine how much ethanol you would expect to be collected from the distilling process. For example, if you are recovering 95% ethanol, measured using an alcometer (KL04305), then the expected final concentration of distillate can be calculated via the following:
Volume Ethanol Collected = 2.4L x 0.95 = 2.28L
Pour the wash into the boiler. Be careful not to get yeast from the bottom of the fermenter into the boiler, as this can produce off flavours. The more yeast you can separate from the liquid wash the better your results will be. Some customers use finings such as gelatine to assist this process.
DO NOT OVER FILL THE BOILER
It’s recommended to use ‘Distilling Conditioner’ from a home brew shop. This will stop the wash from foaming and gurgling in the condenser, otherwise known as “puking”. This is sometimes necessary and greatly depends on the yeast strain that you have used and what raw ingredients you have made your wash with. If you have issues with the wash foaming up the still then you will notice the liquid you collect will start to look cloudy and not clear.
IF YOU DON’T DO THIS, IT WILL NOT WORK!
If you have collected the alcohol as per the instructions above, then you will have a quantity of alcohol at approximately 92%. This must be diluted to 40% or below before flavouring or drinking. For each litre of 92% alcohol, add 1.3L of clean water. You will then end up with 2.3L of 40% alcohol. For 50% alcohol, add 800ml of water to each litre of 92% alcohol. For 30% alcohol, add 2L of water to each litre of 92% alcohol. You should check the final strength with an alcometer (available at home brew stores) to measure the alcohol strength. There are also helpful dilution calculators that can be found on homebrewing forums or homedistilling websites.
To flavour your pure spirit and turn it into a flavoured spirit like run or whiskey, you need to add an essence.
Essences are available from home brew stores in pretty much any flavour you can think of. They all have individual instructions painted on the bottle, but you often add the contents to a bottle of 40% alcohol, give it a shake and you have the spirit you are after.
KegLand sell a wide range of essences -
It is ready to drink straight away, but does improve over the next few weeks.
Liqueurs often need some additional sugar or milk added - this will be specified on the essence.
Remove the brass nut from the thread on the bottom of the reflux still.
Insert the thread of the reflux still through the 47mm hole in the distillation lid, ensuring that the silicone gasket is on the outside of the lid. Secure the reflux still to the distillation lid by tightening the brass nut onto the thread on the underside of the lid.
If using a distillation lid with a 2" TC flange, remove the brass nut completely and use a 2" TC clamp to secure the still to the lid.
Clamp the distillation lid to the top of the boiler.
Screw on the appropriate Flow Control Outlet (0.6mm or 1mm) for your purpose. For the highest purity, we recommend the 0.6mm insert. Note that the smaller the insert, the slower the run.
Make sure the outlet ball valve is closed.
Turn on the boiler and set its temperature to the highest setting (100°C or HH, or Boil Mode on a Gen 4 BrewZilla). All elements (100% power) can be used to bring the temperature up to boil. However when distilling a spirit run it is best to use the minimum amount of power to keep the liquid in the boiler gently boiling.
Turn on the thermometer.
Place a clean cup or other collection vessel under the copper pipe at the side of the still. Preferably use glass, as it will not smell or taste like some plastics may after extended exposure.
When the thermometer reads about 50°C, turn on the cooling water flow (this will take approx. 10mins on a 5L boiler or 45mins on a 25L boiler). This is based on your boiler being 2000watts. If you have a lower powered boiler it might take a bit longer. If you are using a pump for recirculating water, it is OK to turn on the cooling water BEFORE the boiling starts and before you get to 50°C. The only reason we do not say turn the water on before 50°C is that we want you to save water.
The water flow at the still head is very easy to set up. The only real requirement is that you reach a minimum water flow speed of about 8 liters per minute through the condenser. There is no maximum water flow speed with this still design, so you can run the water as fast as you like as long as you are meeting the minimum flow required. If your flow of coolant to the still head is not great enough you will start to get vapour evaporating from the still head and you will lose your valuable spirit to atmosphere. This can be dangerous around open flames, so it’s always better to use a bit more flow rather than a bit less.
It should also be noted that your coolant water must stay below 35°C to get good results. If your cooling water gets too hot you will also start to lose vapour out of the top of the still head and this will also result in poor yield for the same reason.
After the liquid starts boiling, you will notice that the thermometer temperature will rapidly go up. Within a few minutes it should slowly come down again to a stable temperature between 77°C and 80°C. If it doesn’t drop below 80°C within 10 minutes, see the troubleshooting guide. NOTE: The exact temperature is not important - this is a guide only as to the stage of distillation.
10 minutes after it starts boiling, put on some heatproof gloves and open up the valve completely.
Open your ball valve and collect ditillate until it stops smelling like nail polish remover (acetone). This will be approximately 80ml on a small (~5L) wash, and approximately 150ml on a standard (~25L) wash. This is the foreshots and should be discarded.
WARNING — NEVER DRINK THIS LIQUID AS IT COULD BE POISONOUS (particularly if you have fermented fruit instead of sugar).
Swap the collection jar to a clean one. The alcohol collected at this stage is your main run and is good to drink, it should be at about 92% alcohol, or up to 95% pure if you are using the smaller 0.6mm outlet.
Make a note of the thermometer reading at this point. NOTE: The displayed temperature will be stable during the run. However, this temperature can vary from run to run - this is normal.
When the temperature rises 1°C from the reading you recorded at step 14, it is time to stop collecting the main run or you will start to collect tails and lower percentage alcohol. You should have approximately 800ml from a 5L wash, or about 3.8L from a 25L wash. NOTE: The amount of pure distillate collected is dependent on the ABV and size of your wash, and whether you lost any distillate to 'puking' - often caused by insufficient coolant flow. This will take approximately 40 minutes on a 5L boiler, or 3-5 hours on a 25L boiler. If it seems to be taking a lot longer than this, then please see the troubleshooting instructions in the other manual. If using the smaller 0.6mm outlet (recommended to get higher purity) the the run will take approximately 50% longer
Turn off boiler.
Turn off the cooling water.
Dispose of the liquid remaining in the boiler. It has nothing usable remaining in it.
RINSE THE INSIDE OF THE STILL THOROUGHLY AS SOON AS IT IS COOL ENOUGH TO DO SO. See the other instruction manual on how to do this.
KL04640 Gen2 - Alcoengine - Copper reflux Still | Troubleshooting
Please see below for a list of the most common distillation issues
NEVER REMOVE THE MESH FROM THE COLUMN!
'Puking' is the term used in distillation when vapour or liquid escapes from the still, typically from the top of the still. NOTE: The AlcoEngine Stills are not sealed so it is normal for liquid to escape when cleaning etc. However, there should be no loss of product through vapour or liquid during a distillation run. The possible causes of puking and the solutions are listed below.
The AlcoEngine Still range are Liquid Management Stills. This means the distillate is controlled by the speed at which the actual liquid distillate is allowed to exit. Thus, the AlcoEngine range is extremely easy to setup and run as there is no real need for management (such as controlling coolant flow or temperature etc) during a run. However, it is important to have a minimum flow rate through the condenser.
The recommended minimum flow rate through the coils is 8L/minute. This generally requires mains pressure water or a constant pressure pump with sufficient pressure
The water temperature is not as critical as the flow rate. However, a water temperature of over 30°C may not suffice
Insufficient coolant flow is the main reason for puking issues. Mains pressure water or a powerful pump are required to provide enough pressure to provide adequate flow.
The temperature at which the wash boils cannot be changed as the boiling point of a wash is determined by the ABV and other factors. However, the rate of the boil can be controlled by changing the power input (where possible).
Enough power to maintain a boil but not so much power that the condenser cannot overcome it is required. A boiler with switchable elements (such as a or ) or using a is recommended. For example, when using a 35L Digiboil, it is quite common to bring the wash to a boil with both elements but switch off the 500W element once the boil has started.
The stills are packed correctly from the factory. However, on rare occasions or if the packing has been removed and re-inserted, it may be too tight which will affect the operation of the still. Remove and repack carefully.
If the wash is not 'clean' or has a lot of matter or protein, this can cause boilovers into the column which can cause puking. Try to only transfer clear wash to the boiler. Use of a or fining agents can also help if the wash is foaming up too much in the boiler.
Sufficient headspace must be left in the boilover to prevent boilovers into the column. 25L in a 35L boiler is generally a good volume that will allow adequate headspace. Use of a can help diagnose this
If the still has not been cleaned or if there has been a boilover etc, the packing may not be clean. This can lead to puking or blockages. Clean the inside of the still thoroughly, or remove and soak the packing in a cleaner such as
The packing may not be evenly distributed in the column. Remove the packing and make sure it’s distributed evenly in the column.
Running through this troubleshooting checklist will assist us with troubleshooting any issues if lodging a warranty claim. Please ensure you have thoroughly checked through this list prior to lodging a claim.
What pump or water source are you using?
What is the coolant water temperature before and after running through the condenser coil in the still?
What is the cooling water flow rate after running through the condenser coil in the still?
What temperature is the still set to and how much power is the boiler set to?
Which Flow Control Outlet is being used and is it clear from blockages?
What was the recipe used to make the wash?
What was the ABV of the wash as determined by hydrometer readings before and after fermentation?
What is the purity of your distillate?
Has the still been cleaned recently?
Is the copper packing evenly distributed throughout the still, packed not too tight and with no blockages?
How much wash is in the boiler and has distilling conditioner been used?
