Stopping Your SmartStill Superheating
Jimmy | April 1, 2008
After our recent article about preventing the top popping loose on your SmartStill/EasyStill, I’ve received some more detailed information about the issue. It seems that all stills now come with a set of Raschig rings, as I recommended earlier. If you have one of the older models, then my advice to purchase some for yourself is still valid.
Superheating is when a liquid is heated to higher than the normal boiling temperature, without actually boiling. This can typically occur when the heating takes place in a very smooth vessel, such as a laboratory glass jar or similar. In this state, the liquid is metastable – i.e. it will not boil as long as nothing disturbs it. However, if you add any object or cause the liquid to move, it is likely to break the metastable state and start to boil which will then happen violently.
An example of this would be when someone heats a cup of water in a microwave oven (one without a rotating dish). It sometimes “explodes” in violent outbursts of boiling when you take it out, when you put in a spoon to stir it, or when you add a lump of sugar.
The reason that this sometimes happens with the SmartStill is that some of them are smoother inside than others, due to the manufacturing tolerances. The smoothest ones can sometimes have this issue, for the reasons outlined above. When the first bubbles form, the liquid is above its normal boiling point and there will be an explosive outburst of boiling as the bubbles break the metastable state. This can also happen if you move the SmartStill at this stage, or even worse (NEVER DO THIS!), remove the lid to see if it is boiling.
The solution is simple – add something non-smooth, to prevent superheating taking place.
The perfect thing to add would be inert, easy to clean, and heavy so that it stays at the bottom. A good example would be “SmartRings” which are simply Raschig rings, as used in distillation columns. Simply add them to the SmartStill before you start distilling and the problem will most likely go away. They are now included with each still, but were not there originally when the problem wasn’t apparent. They can be re-used forever, just rinse them between distilling runs.
WARNING!
NEVER add these rings to an already heated liquid. If you do, you could trigger boiling which could make boiling liquid explode out of the still, most likely onto your face and hands.
ALWAYS add them at the start, then add liquid, close the still and distill as usual. Don’t open the still until it has completely cooled down, as per the manufacturers instructions.
As long as you follow these simple guidelines, you will have no problems with your SmartStill – happy distilling!
This "over boiling", apparently, can also occur if your wash/mash
Fatbloke | June 1, 2008This “over boiling”, apparently, can also occur if your wash/mash isn’t as clear as absolutely possible.
It seems that it’s to do with the surface tension of the bubbles that are produced by the boiling process i.e. normally, individual bubbles will rise to the top of the liquid in the still, bursting individually.
Now I don’t recall if it’s a reduction or increase of surface tension, but the bubbles can join up, and when they rise up to the top of the heated liquid surface, they obviously burst, but that can sometimes cause enough of a pressure build up to lift the lid and “burp” the still.
I’ve had this twice, on the first occassion I’d distilled a “turbo sugar” wash in my reflux still, but because of the presence of either sugar that hadn’t fermented or yeast nutrient that hadn’t been eaten up by the yeast, the distillate was a little cloudy.
I managed to remove some of this cloudiness by running the distillate through a “Z filter”, but not all. So when it was heating up again, this time in my “smart” still, it got to a point where it “told” my partner that it wasn’t happy with a little burp, I went to the kitchen and as I leaned across to cut the power it burped again, except this time it showered me and the kitchen in about 3 litres of 85% alcohol.
Luckily, hot alcohol cools very rapidly i.e. a small amount flung from a cup will be cool in the distance of a couple of metres. The net result of this was that I experienced a “sunburn scald” across my arm and down the side of my chest. Just red skin and a little soreness (and the added bonus that alcohol of that purity is one hell of a good cleaning liquid).
On the second occasion, knowing that it normally takes about an hour and a half to heat to the point, where I see some distillate condensing out of the still, I was “running” 4 litres of cider (hard cider for those in the US), but it didn’t like the fact that the cider had only partially cleared (naturally) at the end of the ferment. That didn’t hit me, it just blew the top off the still and showered the kitchen – which stank of cider for about 3 days after.
I’ve since found out that one of the ways of curing this problem is as per the article (the “cider accident” actually had some broken glass in the bottom of the still to act as the rings/boiling chips).
Also, the inclusion of a substance called “Distillers Conditioner” to the batch before it’s distilled can also (help) prevent this problem – it should be available through your distillation supplies provider.
Thanks for that, all good advice!
Jimmy | June 1, 2008Thanks for that, all good advice!
Hi! I mentioned on the "foaming over" thread that I
Canyon Cat | June 6, 2008Hi! I mentioned on the “foaming over” thread that I had placed a new brass water faucet handle in the bottom of my new EasyStill. Despite the unclear Tubo 48 wash I put into the still, I got a very quiet and steady run with no surprises.
As I surmised before, I think the modifications made to the EasyStill have alleviated this overheating problem.
Call me a sap for spending $265 USD on the EasyStill but I’m very happy with it (so far). I got exactly what I wanted: cheap ($1.60 USD/750ml) and drinkable ethanol from a discreet tabletop appliance. I see a ROI (Return On Investment) within the year. Color me contented, Mates!
I guess the Universe smacked me down for being so
Canyon Cat | September 29, 2008I guess the Universe smacked me down for being so smug. My last 3-4 runs, I have experienced mild to severe overboiling. I stopped using my faucet handle as the brass was wearing off and I wasn’t sure that the Chinese-made (I’m assuming here since I bought it at Home Depot!) handle wasn’t lead-based. So . . . I found three glass marbles and threw them into the EasyStill. I could hear them rattling around in there and figured all was well. Oh no.
In fact, I’ve had to use several strips of electrical tape to keep the top from flying off and I’ve gotten the kitchen area showered with liquid. [Wifey was not a happy camper!]
My recent fix: I grabbed an old military belt with the brass buckle and wrapped the entire EasyStill with the belt. That keeps the lid from flying off, but I still got liquid coming out as it hissed, burped and threatened a melt-down. Looks like I’ll be ordering a set of Raschig rings for my still.
My wash is clearer than ever, too, as I’m less eager and tend to give the wash at least a week to ten days to clear, but the overboiling problem has arrived and the only cure is probably the rings.
Hmmm, maybe. You should blow through your pipes too, if
Jimmy | October 1, 2008Hmmm, maybe. You should blow through your pipes too, if you were running non-cleared stuff before then you may have a blockage (or at least some crud in there!) – let us know how you get on!
I have run about 20 gals so far through the
colin | January 31, 2009I have run about 20 gals so far through the still and not experienced any problems until today!
The still got upto pressure and temp and my missus noticed the lid with bubbles and liquid escaping…i went in to look and WHOOOSSSS!!! LID EXPLODED OFF!!! jeeez what a mess…
The only thing that was different is i have lost a few of the ceramic rings that came with it over the last 2 mths….i have since replaced them but yet to do another run..
Shouldnt thsi still have some sort of fixable lid on…even if used for water distillation as its advertised!! this should not happen….the seal used to make the thing airtight is THE ONLY thing holding the lid on!!!!
Its a shame because the overall design is fine (if a little expensive!)….
If guys here are using tape and belts! to keep the lid on that suggests a design fault to me.
As for the basic operation its fine…it does the job…..maybe a mark TWO version could implement some added features to alleviate the exploding lid problem!
The lid definitely needs to stay UNFIXED, this is a
Jimmy | January 31, 2009The lid definitely needs to stay UNFIXED, this is a safety feature to stop the whole thing blowing up! Check the forums for more about this topic, everyone has been posting their experiences.
I understand......what would be good for th efuture is if
colin | February 6, 2009I understand……what would be good for th efuture is if Stillsmart make a BIGGER version…say 5 galls…this would save a lot of waiting and re-filling and waiting and re-filling etc…5 times! every time i do a brew..
Is it something for the future Jimmy?
I think my prob was due to lack of magic rings ..my latest effort i put a handful of ceramic rings from my old fish pump/ filter and it worked ok again…
Thanks for this help tips and tricks page by the way….very grateful.
I'm still sat here waiting for my still. which is
Randal | May 16, 2009I’m still sat here waiting for my still. which is supposed to be re-delivered today …… Th bloody postmen tried to deliver it yesterday when I was at work and didn’t leave it at th Sorting Office OR with a neighbour as I’d requested…….
Humm looks like I can expect to have th kitchen power washed with spirits at some point……
Hi Guys, Does anyone know if the manufactures sorted a
mark | July 12, 2009Hi Guys,
Does anyone know if the manufactures sorted a fix out for this or do i have to worry about scalding once I invest in the product. And Colin – you are bang on – we need a bigger boat!
I purcased an easy still from you about 6 weeks
Scott | December 21, 2010I purcased an easy still from you about 6 weeks ago and have been using it with great success until this week. For the last 4 runs it has boiled over.
Abour 5 to 10 minutes after it starts dripping, just about the time the methanol cooks off, I hear loud “blurp” noises that I found to be large air bubbles coming to the surface inside the wash. The top pops up and steam pours and and some of the wash runs downt the side. Clearly this is a safety feature to prevent cook-offs but certainly something is wrong with my unit?
I’m overseas in a VERY remote 3rd world country without access to a post office, so if your fix is “mail it back to us,” we will need to war-game past that solution.
I am suspecting that the thermostat has broken? Is there any other reason why this may be happening?
After it boiled over the 3rd time, I slowly lifted the lid after I unplugged it. There was no steam as it had just boiled over. But, even with the power unplugged, large boil bubbles would come up from the bottom every 8-10 seconds. The air bubbles were about 1 1/2″ to 2″ around and were quite loud.
Hey Scott, sorry to hear you're having trouble - however,
Jimmy | December 21, 2010Hey Scott, sorry to hear you’re having trouble – however, you didn’t buy your still from me – we don’t sell or manufacture anything, this is just a site for people who use the SmartStill. However, it sounds like your wash might not have cleared properly or you need some rings or other material to break up the boil as detailed above. Stop by the forums and I’m sure someone will be able to help out!
Um, I just got my EasyStill Distiller in the mail
Lee | March 6, 2011Um, I just got my EasyStill Distiller in the mail and it came with 2 feet of PVC pipe a hose clamp and a bag of charcoal powder. I do not know what to do with these to “convert” my water distiller. Any help would be greatly appreciated
Where did you get it from? Have to admit I've
Jimmy | March 6, 2011Where did you get it from? Have to admit I’ve not heard of anyone shipping with those accessories but sounds like those are for filtering purposes – you shouldn’t need to convert your still as it should already work. If you run 4 litres of water through it you can tell if it has been converted – modified versions will take around 6 hours to distill the water as they have lower powered elements. Unmodified stills take around 3 so it’s easy to see the difference. Hope this helps, stop by the forums with any more questions!
PVC - clamp filter on the end. Fill with Charcoal.
kyle | June 22, 2011PVC – clamp filter on the end. Fill with Charcoal. Run spirits from easystill directly into the same. If yours came with a 4 l jug – the pvc fits nicely.
link to the calculator is greatly appreciated!!
kyle | June 22, 2011link to the calculator is greatly appreciated!!