luckytriple6 wrote:I'm told I won't get a proper reading unless I attach the vessel/container from which the distillate comes from to the condenser.
LOL!!
who told you this?! whoever told you this is obviously just bs'ing theory, and hasn't applied it..
as you mentioned, you can check the vacuum of the line (once the system has been evacuated, the pressure will be fairly constant throughout); swim did this in the thread "has anyone done a melting point"
he also checks his temp of the heated vessel with an IR therm. this method is rather consistent
whether you're doing sublimation or vacuum distillation, the issue is determining how much vac is needed, and adjusting the heat accordingly
"Nothing is true, everything is permitted." ~ hassan i sabbah
"Experiments are the only means of attaining knowledge at our disposal. The rest is poetry, imagination." -Max Planck