Distillation and still controllers

Power controller or automatic controller?

The term “distillation controller” covers two different devices. It is worth knowing which one you need before you spend any money.

A simple power controller is enough if you only want to limit the heating element power and you watch the process in person. An automatic controller makes sense when you want a repeatable result without standing by the column, from switching on to the end of the take-off.

How do you set up a still controller?

With the EQUINOX-RK.10, the first start comes down to connecting it and pressing START - the factory settings let you get going without configuration:

1. Connect the four probes: to the boiler, buffer, 10th plate and condenser.
2. Connect the water, LM and OLM solenoid valves - cables with plugs are included.
3. Connect the heating elements to the power module (two, 2000-3500 W each).
4. Connect the controller to WiFi and install the app - from then on you see the process on your phone.
5. Choose a mode: automatic (the controller runs the whole thing) or manual (you set the power, take-off rate and valves yourself).

We can help by email with connecting it and later on, once you are using it.

What temperature should a distillation column run at?

Ethanol boils at about 78.3 °C at a pressure of 1013 hPa. At the top of the column, during a stable take-off of the hearts, the temperature stays close to this value, but it depends on the atmospheric pressure that day, which is why the controller sets its own reference temperature (a limit based on the 10th-plate temperature at the start of the hearts take-off) instead of a fixed number. When the temperature at the top of the column starts to rise, the hearts end and the tails begin - the controller detects and signals this. A rise in condenser temperature above a safe threshold stops the run.

What temperature during distillation?

There is no single number for the whole process: the temperature rises with whatever is evaporating at the time. Ethanol boils at about 78.3 °C, water at 100 °C, and the volatile components of the foreshots evaporate below the temperature of ethanol. So at the start of the take-off the temperature at the top of the column is slightly lower, during the hearts it holds steady close to the reference temperature, and a rise means the tails are starting. In the boiler the temperature climbs throughout the process as the alcohol runs out. The EQUINOX-RK.10 controller watches four points at once (boiler, buffer, 10th plate, condenser) and switches stages on that basis - instead of watching one fixed value on a thermometer.

What does a pool (settling pot) do in a still?

The pool is a small vessel in the column circuit where condensed liquid gathers before it is returned to the column or taken off. This lets you drain off the first portion with its impurities instead of mixing it with the rest of the distillate, and take off from a set level rather than straight from a tap. In the EQUINOX-RK.10 the LM and OLM pools are operated by solenoid valves: the automatic cycle starts by flushing them, and after stabilisation the controller drains the pool or takes off the foreshots by itself, without opening valves by hand.

What the EQUINOX-RK.10 reflux column controller does

• Measures temperature with four probes: boiler, buffer, 10th plate and condenser. You can expand it to six probes.
• Controls two heating elements and three solenoid valves: water, LM and OLM.
• Runs the whole process automatically: heat-up, flushing, stabilisation, taking off the foreshots and hearts, detecting the tails, finishing and recovering the rest of the distillate.
• Sends notifications and alarms, shows temperature charts and run statistics.
• Stops on faulty probe readings and protects the condenser from overheating.

230 V or 3-phase version

The EQUINOX-RK.10 230 V handles two heating elements of 2000-3500 W and suits a single- or two-phase installation. The EQUINOX-RK.10 3-phase is for those who have a three-phase supply at the column.

Already have a thermometer? Upgrade it

An add-on module turns the EQUINOX WiFi thermometer into a column controller, and the thermometer keeps working in the new set: the 230 V add-on or the 3-phase add-on. The add-ons do not include a thermometer.

Only need heating element power control? Choose the WiFi thermometer with a power control module - the heating elements switch off by themselves when the temperature exceeds the alarm threshold.

Subscription and server

The controller comes with 6 months of server access included, after which the subscription is 50 zł (≈ €11)/year. Without a subscription, the controller keeps working locally, but without the WiFi functions and the app.

Not sure which version to choose? Email us: sklep@termometrwifi.pl. Made by a Polish manufacturer.