First attempt at F.E.C.O. and I somehow burned it. What did I do wrong?

[Pinkharts9]

Today was my very first attempt at making FECO. I spent so much time getting everything ready, watching videos, getting advice, etc. I did everything so carefully and I was so proud. I used 600ml of Everclear and I was told by multiple people to stop once you've reclaimed 75-80% of the alcohol. So I figured I'd stop at 75% or 450 ml. Then move it to the coffee warmer to finish it off. I put the distiller on 76 degrees as instructed and when it hit about 350 ml, the machine shut off. I opened it up to look inside and there was nothing but burned dark matter left. No liquid. What on earth did I do wrong? I'm so upset. This is medicine for my sick mother and I worked so hard on it.

 

[OldMedUser]

Today was my very first attempt at making FECO. I spent so much time getting everything ready, watching videos, getting advice, etc. I did everything so carefully and I was so proud. I used 600ml of Everclear and I was told by multiple people to stop once you've reclaimed 75-80% of the alcohol. So I figured I'd stop at 75% or 450 ml. Then move it to the coffee warmer to finish it off. I put the distiller on 76 degrees as instructed and when it hit about 350 ml, the machine shut off. I opened it up to look inside and there was nothing but burned dark matter left. No liquid. What on earth did I do wrong? I'm so upset. This is medicine for my sick mother and I worked so hard on it.

At 76C you shouldn't have destroyed your medicine so I'd put some alcohol back in and turn it on just enough to reheat it. Then try stirring it all up to mix it back up then do the coffee warmer thing. Shouldn't even have distilled as ethanol boils at 78.4C so maybe your heat control is off by a bit. It won't shut off until it hits the temp it's set at and it won't do that until all the solvent is cooked off leaving nothing but the oil. Would have to recover maybe half the volume then take a peek inside to see where it's at.

I assume this is one of those countertop distillers? I recently got one and was hoping to do naphtha with it but the rubber/silicon seal can't handle it. Seems to absorb it then loses seal and starts leaking solvent around the join. Bit of a fire hazard to say the least. I got a different gasket and it did the same. Going to see it I can get a big o-ring from the truck shop/auto store. I'll have to fire up my DIY still and do it the old-fashioned way I guess. It worked fine with ISO so should also work for ethanol but I'll have to watch I don't do the same thing you did. Or use my DIY still as I have 2 glass bottles for it. A 4L and 1.5L one that I can see what's going on inside.

Good luck.