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2 Litre Q.C.  Still - Standard

£925 + VAT

     

Perfect apparatus for producing small quantities of essential oils

 

Special design allows accurate assays of both lighter and heavier than water essential oils

 

Kit comprises complete laboratory control Still

 

Quick and easy assembly of British custom-made glassware

 

Pyrex borosilicate glass - all hand blown in England

 

All electrical components EC approved to assure complete safety.

 

110v systems available on request.

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Glass Quality Control Still – Standard

 

This apparatus has been designed exclusively for small-scale hydro-distillation, so is perfect for determining the perfect time to harvest your crop and ensure optimised essential oil yields. 

 

It can also be used for simple testing of potential plant materials to see if there is a worthwhile yield of essential oil - and if the oil has characteristics that would enable it to be used in your next fragranced product! 

 

Our clever design means that the oil separation system can also cope with those ‘awkward’ essential oils that are heavier than water - or become heavier as the distillation progresses.

 

We have taken the cleaning process into account too – the 100mm flanged glassware allows perfect access to ensure the flask remains in a perfectly clean and ready for your next distillation.

 

An additional side-socket future-proofs the kit too, allowing for additional components (e.g. stirrer paddle, separating flask, powder funnel etc.) to be added in the future, should the need arise.

 

 

Apparatus: The Q.C. kit comprises the following items:

 

  1. High quality CE Approved 2000 ml Heating Mantle with integral control panel

  2. Pyrex 2000ml round bottom flask with 100mm flange opening. 

  3. Pyrex flange lid 100mm with central socket and angled side arm socket.

  4. Pyrex stopper to seal off additional lid socket.

  5. Pyrex custom-made Dean & Stark apparatus for essential oil separation and removal.

  6. Pyrex custom-made ‘Graham’ condenser to fit the Dean & Stark apparatus.

  7. Stainless steel clip to secure the two flanges together.

  8. Heavy duty laboratory stand 10mm diameter.

  9. Customised clamp with integral adjustable boss

  10. Silicone grease for the ground glass joints.

  11. Flexible tubing 6mm internal diameter for the condenser

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Assembly and operating instructions:

 

Full details are provided with every order. The only utility requirements are

  1. A 230V standard power supply.

  2. A cold running water supply and a suitable drainage point.

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What is it?

 

This Still comprises a boiling vessel with 6 elements at the base and a basket inside. A tall steam collection cone is fitted on top of the boiling vessel that carries a bend at its top that then joins onto an open horizontal 4” tube. This tube ends in a 90° bend that points downwards and this then joins on to the condenser with a 4” screw fitting.

 

​The condenser is a beautiful piece of kit with 36 narrow (8mm) thin-wall tubes fitted equidistantly within a 4” diameter stainless outer tube: there are 3 sets of baffles fixed at set intervals to make the water ‘chicane’ and maximise agitation and therefore improve its cooling capability. There is a cone at the base of the condenser to direct the distillate into the glass Florentine fitted directly underneath.​

 

How it Works:

 

The water boils, the dry steam goes through the plants in the basket collecting a bit of essential oil on the way and continues up the cone: at the top it turns 90°, goes through the top pipe and then heads down through the 36 pipes in the condenser. Since these pipes are surrounded by cold water, the steam then condenses into liquid and drops into the glass Florentine that is placed underneath. Here any oil present will separate and float to the surface, while the condensed water then trickles back to the boiling vessel via the S trap mounted a few inches up from its base.

 

​How to Operate:

 

Lift off cone/condenser unit and slide to one side and remove basket. Fill vessel with 40 - 50 litres of water, enough to cover the elements with say, an inch of water on top. Line basket with muslin and fill it with the material you want to distil e.g. lavender - and place it back inside the boiling vessel. Some form of lifting apparatus will be required e.g. simple sliding block and tackle. ​Slide cone/condenser unit back and lower onto boiling vessel, lock the clamps so that it all becomes one unit and turn on the heat. The Still has a wrap-around fabric insulation jacket made in two sections and one goes over the cone whilst the other goes around the boiling vessel. As the Still heats up, you can turn off some of the elements until a nice rolling boil is achieved. Make sure water is gently flowing through the condenser to keep it cold and the distillation continues until the oil layer in the Florentine stops growing. Then turn off heat and water and remove oil.

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