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How long does a run take?

Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2011 4:44 pm
by stewartaubrey
I ran a 9 gal peach/sugar batch in my rig and it's still going. It's been running for 8 hours now. It started out making 140 proof and is now down to 60 proof. I want to get down to about 40 proof to run with the next batch but this seems like a really long time.

I didn't want to run it too fast so its making about 4 drops per second and then breaks into a broken stream and then back to 4 drops/sec.

I've got a Brewhaus 30" column but I'm only running the top half in pot mode.

Is this a normal length of time or should I crank up the heat?

Thanks

Re: How long does a run take?

Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2011 8:45 pm
by Horse_Shoe
It sounds about right. I do lots of chores while my still's going. :crazy: What I recommend is that you familiarize yourself more with your rig by crankin' up the heat. If it get's too hot, it will puke. If not, it will just run faster. However, faster often means a less thorough stripping of alcohol from the wash. Thus, you may have to double distill your product to get a good spirit. The smell of your wash should indicate where you should stop collecting. If its' too stinky to drinky, then thinky about cutting the tails out and saving them for another day.

Re: How long does a run take?

Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2011 2:52 am
by rtalbigr
Runnin in pot mode you're not really gainin anything by just drippin. I'd turn the heat up just a little to where ya got a steady stream but just enough to where ya ain't just gettin drips.

Ya do have to allow big blocks of time for this hobby. A 4-5 gal spirit run usually take me 7-8 hrs.

Big R

Re: How long does a run take?

Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2011 2:59 am
by scotty
i run my 7.5 gallon rig as slow as i can. i have remote sensing thermometers so i can do other things while i'm monitoring the temperatures. 10 hours is pretty routene for me. i was thinking of a tripple the size still but this is all the time i want to allow for distilling. i'm retired and can distill any day i choose, so doing more batches isnt so bad.

yours sounds fine to me. dont push the rate up unless you want to re distill. i think the mut speed when im running the fractional tower produces fine vodka. As for pot stilling whiskey i really thing that a faster first run is normal and then a second slower run is the way. irish whisky usually means tripple pot distilling :D

A really experienced person can run whiskey through a fractioning rig. i cant.

I,m jealouse of folks who have and use a carbon filtering system. the pipe or that magnificent thing that butch made.
i tried the jar method---yuck lol

Re: How long does a run take?

Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2011 5:58 am
by Bushman
Each rig and heat source runs a bit differently, I think you are in the ballpark time wise. You need to just keep at it and as you sample your cuts you will make adjustments along the way and fine tune your method of production. It's all about time well invested. My last run on my VM took 17 hours for a 10.5 gallon run, before, I was finished in around 12 hours but I can say the extra time was worth it in the final production.

Re: How long does a run take?

Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2011 9:41 am
by stewartaubrey
Thanks for the input guys! Seems like I just under estimated the time it took.
I think rtalbigr nailed it. I ran the stripping run like a reflux run; real slow. Should have run that faster since I'm re-running it as a spirit run this morning anyway.