Patent ID: 7258765

Claim:
In a distillation system, a distillation pot, comprising: walls, including a heated wall, and a cover that collectively define an interior space in which a liquid is contained as the liquid is being heated in the pot for a distillation purpose, the walls and cover having respective inside surfaces; a plate configured and situated in the interior space so as to divide the space into an upper portion and a lower portion; an upper fluid passageway and a lower fluid passageway defined by the plate in the interior space; and a thermally conductive member extending from a location on an inside surface of a wall into the lower fluid passageway so as to be contacted by the liquid in the lower fluid passageway whenever the pot contains liquid being heated for distillation, the thermally conductive member being a direct thermal connection from the liquid to a corresponding location outside the wall, adjacent the location on the inside surface, at which the temperature of the liquid in the pot can be sensed, the plate, the upper portion, the upper fluid passageway, the lower portion, and the lower fluid passageway defining a circulation path for the liquid being heated in the pot, the circulation path being configured such that the liquid circulates from the lower portion through the upper fluid passageway to the upper portion, and from the upper portion through the lower fluid passageway past the thermally conductive member to the lower portion.