■卓上減圧蒸留器使用方法

How to Use Micro Vacuum Distiller

■Setting up the boiler unit

Boiler unit components (from upper left to lower right)

Insert the anti-scratch packing into the glass boiler. Place the heating plate on top of the anti-scratch packing. The packing prevents direct contact between the heating plate and the glass boiler and prevents the glass boiler from being scratched.

For steam distillation, water is poured into the glass boiler in this state. In the case of boiling distillation, the material to be distilled is also added. Note that the maximum volume to be prepared is about 750 ml. If the volume is larger than this, the risk of foam entering the condenser unit during distillation increases.

Screw the steam distillation stage onto the heating plate by turning it clockwise. If screwed in too hard, it may not come off, so moderate force is fine.

When performing steam distillation, place the material on top of the steam distillation stage.

Attach the splash prevention plate to the boiler lid as shown in the figure above.

By attaching the droplet-preventing plate, water droplets generated during distillation are blocked, and only steam flows into the condenser. This improves the purity of the distillate and leads to highly accurate distillation.

Before Bending

After Bending

If the splash blocker comes off the boiler lid after years of use, the notch can be widened by hand as shown in the figure above. This will regain its holding power to the boiler lid.

Place the boiler lid with the splash prevention plate attached on the glass boiler. At this time, be careful not to let the metal part of the boiler lid come in contact with the glass boiler, as the boiler lid may break if the metal part hits the glass boiler too hard.

Cover the glass boiler with the acrylic protective cover.

During decompression distillation, the inside of the glass boiler is depressurized, so there is always a pushing force from the outside to the inside of the glass. Therefore, if the glass boiler were to be scratched, this force could cause the glass to break. The acrylic protective cover prevents shards from flying off if the glass should break.

(Note that glass breakage and scattering due to depressurization has been reported even in rotary evaporators, and a resin coating on the glass is available as a paid option to improve safety.)

A condenser unit is mounted on the boiler lid. As shown in the figure above, the connection is completed simply by matching the condenser piping position with the steam outlet fitting and placing it on the boiler lid.

■Setting up the cooling water piping

Referring to the video above, attach the included faucet fitting to the faucet. The trick is to wet the inner surface of the fitting with water in advance and insert it into the faucet with strong force.

Attach the supplied fitting for the coolant tube to the fitting attached to the faucet (the picture shows a special setup). Insert the supplied tubing into the fitting by hand all the way to the back.

The cooling water supply side tube connected to the faucet goes into the left side fitting of the condenser. Connect the cooling water drain side tube to the right side fitting. Cut the tubing with scissors according to the environment in which it will be used.

After attaching the metal fitting shown in the figure above to the end of the cooling water drain side tube, place it on the bottom of the sink. The metal fitting will act as a weight to stabilize the position of the tube during operation.

■Setting up the distillate piping

Place the distillation unit, which consists of a boiler unit and condenser unit (hereinafter referred to as “distillation unit”), on an induction heater, and place a distillate collection bottle next to it. A vacuum pump is also installed at the desired position and connected with tubing as shown in the figure above.

When operating at a bar counter, it is smart to place the distiller and distillate collection bottle on the counter and the vacuum pump behind the counter so that the pump is not visible from the guests' side.

■Operation of the Micro Vacuum Distiller

With the valve on the distillate collection bottle closed, turn on the vacuum pump.

If the distillate collection bottle and vacuum pump are properly piped, the pressure will be reduced to about -90 kPa as shown in the above figure. (The value indicated by the vacuum gauge is only a guide, and the value may deviate depending on the individual variability of the vacuum gauge. If the pressure drops to -80 kPa or less, there is no problem.)

It is recommended that you first run the vacuum pump with the valve on the distillate collection bottle tightened, and make sure that the piping has been done correctly up to this point before proceeding to the next step.

After confirming that the vacuum is being pulled correctly, open the valve on the distillate collection bottle.

Opening the valve will depressurize the inside of the boiler unit. The depressurization causes the air that was dissolved in the water to escape in the form of bubbles. This process is called degassing. Sufficient degassing before heating prevents rapid boiling from occurring during heating. For this reason, it is recommended that the pressure be left for about one minute after it drops to allow sufficient degassing to occur at startup.

Open the faucet and introduce cooling water into the inside of the condenser unit. The supply flow rate should be sufficient to raise the liquid level 1 cm per second.

The inside of the condenser unit is filled with cooling water.

The condenser unit glows when the supplied LED light is placed on the top of the condenser unit. Pressing and holding the top of the light changes the color in three stages.

The IH heater starts heating. The recommended output power at the start of distillation is 300W. Any higher than this will cause very intense boiling due to the air dissolved inside, increasing the risk of bubbles entering the condenser unit.

Once distillation has stabilized, increasing the output is not a problem.


【Caution】

When distilling, make sure that the liquid level inside the boiler does not fall below the heating plate. If operation is continued while the boiler is completely dry, the temperature of the heating plate will continue to rise, scorching the anti-scratch packing.

■Sampling during vacuum distillation

As decompression distillation proceeds, the liquid level in the distillate collection bottle rises. When the liquid level reaches the cap, the distillate is sucked into the vacuum pump, resulting in a loss. Therefore, it is necessary to transfer the distillate to another container before this point. Transferring the distillate to another container allows tasting of the distillate, which is useful in determining the head, heart, and tail timing.

For sampling, first tighten the valve on the distillate collection bottle. Then, turn off the vacuum pump.

Remove the valve plugged into the distillate collection bottle. This will allow air to enter the recovery bottle and return the bottle to atmospheric pressure.

After returning the pressure inside the bottle to atmospheric pressure, turn the cap to remove it. This allows the distillate inside to be collected in a separate container.

The collected distillate can then be transferred in turn to different glasses and tasted in turn to easily identify trends in flavor over time. Then, based on the tasting, the desired distillates can be blended to produce a high-quality cutting based on the tasting.

■Completion of vacuum distillation and cleaning

After the decompression distillation is finished, turn off the IH heater and vacuum pump. To drain the cooling water from the condenser unit, disconnect the tube on the drain side of the cooling water as shown in the figure above. Remove the fitting on the supply side of the cooling water and bring it to a low position to drain the water inside the condenser unit through the tube.

Pull out the distillate tube from the condenser unit.

Remove the condenser unit, acrylic protective cover, and boiler lid as shown above.

The glass boiler, boiler lid, heating plate, steam distillation stage, and anti-scratch packing are all fully washable, and should be cleaned after use with detergent and a sponge, just like dishes and shakers. They can also be used in a dishwasher.

To clean the inside of the condenser unit through water, piping tubes as shown in the above figure. Note that the valve on the distillate collection bottle is open.

By opening the faucet and allowing water to flow, the inside of the copper cooling coil, the tubing, and the inside of the cap of the distillate collection bottle can be flushed.

When water is drained out, water will remain inside the cooling coil.

Pipe as shown in the diagram above and turn on the vacuum pump. The vacuum pump will suction the water inside the condenser's copper coil and collect it in a distillate collection bottle.

While the vacuum pump is running, block the pipe through which the steam passes with your finger to create a vacuum in the piping. By abruptly releasing the finger from that state, air can rapidly enter the piping, and any remaining water droplets inside can be discharged all at once. Repeating this process removes water from the inside of the coil, allowing it to dry.