Asking for a little spoon feed here, please help with corn c

[Hillbilly Popstar]

My still does have a 24" tall 2" column. But I doubt that adds any appreciable reflux.

So you're suggesting I just pretty much just collect the water running at the end of my run so that my low wines are 40 proof instead of the usual 70?

That would use a rather significantly larger ammount of resources, (propane, water, time...)

[der wo]

So you're suggesting I just pretty much just collect the water running at the end of my run so that my low wines are 40 proof instead of the usual 70?

Only if the abv of wash is such low. With normal 7-10% I would collect around 1/3 of wash volume, what will result in 25%abv low wines. BTW it's not water what you collect at the end, it's taste.
Yes, more water, time and propane unfortunately. I would recommend you to try this once. Collect further after 10% in the parrot in a different container. Then you can decide next day, if you want to use it. BTW, it's the normal procedure I recommend here, nothing special. Grain low wines for double distilled spirits have 20-25% normally. Triple distilled spirits often even lower (triple distilled Auchentoshan for example has 8% wash, 20% low wines, 55% high wines and 82% new make).

[Hillbilly Popstar]

I am game, ill give it a shot.

Sounds similar to collecting rum oils and adding them up to the point the flavor pours over into the hearts.

I wonder if I could collect late tails of corn washes and add them up to the same effect...

Thanks for the advice.

[Hillbilly Popstar]

Hadn't been around in a while, but I have been busy.

As the saying goes, dead water dont make whiskey...
So I've been working on bringing my water back to life with brewing salts.
I use gypsum, calcium carbonate, and Epsom salts and have noticed a direct correlation between how much of these salts I use and how good of a conversion I get.

My current mash just checked in at 1.046. And with only 25lbs of corn for 16.5-17 gallons of water, that's nearly 78% efficient. That's with 3 tsps calcarb, 6 tsps Epsom salts, and 6 tsps gypsum, plus about 1.5 gallons of backset.

My goal is to get 85-90% efficient conversions.
Still have some room for improvement on pH and keeping temps high enough for geletanization.

Currently I am achieving mash in temps around 192* and using strike water with a pH of around 5.

One thing I have noticed is the calcium carbonate will raise the pH that I had just lowered with backset, but then pH drops back down significantly after the mash in, my theory is that the mash enzymes consume the calcium compounds in the mash, these calcium compounds are the same ones that raised the pH in the first place, so you're kinda chasing your tail.
But if done just right it can work in your favor cause the GL requires a lower pH than the HTL.

Ive been taking lots of notes and learning. Ill update you guys on the progress again, when I hit my 85-90% efficiency goal.