Dan's Flute x2, 4" x 5 plate 42" column

[Prairiepiss]

Empty. Could you give us some specific examples of how to do that as I'm getting ready for my second build and it's going to be a flute.

Maybe you could start a thread about this? As not to hijack Dan's build thread. And so others could find the info better.

[Dan Call]

I'd be happy to except I can't really converse authoritatively about perforated plate stills until I build and use one. I detest the term "flute" because it's nowhere else used but here and it throws everyone off. I looked for two months for "plated collumn" and the like before I just happened to open the "flute" still thread and bingo....that's what I've been looking for. But that doesn't matter. What does matter is getting some folks to speak intelligently about "tuning a perforated plate still,' which I guess I could start a thread on that.

[Prairiepiss]

There is one. It's called flute talk.

[bentstick]

Intelligence or experience? Need to build one to tune it and understand it as it is built not just Theory!
Dan please continue with your build thread sorry for another off topic post,also to you PP!!!

[Dan Call]

The flute talk thread is not intended to be a linear information thread, it's experiential, and it is not detailed in specific areas, so no, the flute talk thread is not it, and I think we were all aware of it before, and that is why it was suggested in addition to me in the first place. That's why I jumped on Dan's thread, and build, because it has tons more pictures and is a little more chronologically laid out. Besides, that thread has big interupts of arguments and what not and now the man has spun off a company from all that and he doesn't seem to be forthcoming with putting much more into the thread.

I'm talking about specific metrics and things to do and look for in getting taste, flow, and the mechanics of operating a compound fractioning perforated plate still (CFPP) still. I don't think it should be called "flute" either as that is the most casual and superficial of descriptions. He does call it that on his site but he calls it a "flute collumn" which is better. But that's a product name anyway.

I'll start a thread once I get rolling and up on these things.

[effyeah]

great build Dan...loving the triclamp sightglasses. i was going to buy SS ferrules for the sight glasses but your 2 inch copper flanges look amazing. cheers

[dan]

Hey Guys,

Thank you for all of the input on my perforated plate 4" flute looking column build. I guess I can answer a few of Dan Calls questions first. Dude this is a hobby not a vocation at least for me so I guess I do not see the need to ramp up my boiler size to 100 gallons from 15.5.... I was able to get 16 x 750ml bottles of Birdwatchers vodka from a 80 liter wash which I ran in two 10 gallon batches in my still. I don't even drink a bottle a month of vodka and have given most of it away. I guess I am more interested in the art of craft distilling than I am in the volume. I want to keep my costs in line as well and the $$spent on raw materials for my washes. If I ran an 80 gallon wash in a 100 gallon boiler I would end up with over 5 cases of vodka. It doesn't matter if you can do it for $3-4.00 per bottle all in if you don't need it. If you start giving that much product away you will really draw attention to yourself and if you try to sell it you are on the wrong web site.

The only thing I would do differently on my entire build would be to change my temperature controller.
You do not want to chase temp and 5500 watts is to much for a 15.5 gal keg to run full bore for the whole run. You want to bring your wash up to temp as quickly as you want and then throttle back for steady reflux. My controller is set up to hold temp by blasting on and off and this causes surging in the parrot even with a vent in my final product condenser. I had this fancy idea in my head and did not listen to much more experienced people on this forum..... I also learned from doing it my way but it would work much better with an MK5500 style controller (MuleKicker is on this web forum). Lesson learned time to move on.

The other column I built went up to Alaska NOT Canada, eh! My fault for not clarifying that but I wanted to be a bit vague. It is illegal to distill your own spirits in North America period and many other countries of this world. As much as we may want to believe it is okay to do what we are doing Johnny Law does not and you can get arrested if you are not very careful.

I do not have any construction plans for the perforated plate 4" column that I build. I would be more than happy to answer any specific questions about how I constructed portions of my distillation column but I think it is well documented in pictures on this thread. I had a great time with the creative process of building my column and I do need to give credit where credit is due. I was surfing thru you tube and saw a video of Mike from Hillbilly Stills cranking out some white dog to a rocking song and was hooked.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8u2WEdux0Q8

Like it or not the guy has done a great job for himself. After that I started doing my own web research and came upon this Home Distiller website and saw what olddog (another Mike) was doing with copper pipe in Australia and I knew it was possible for me to build my own version. That is what I did by modifying what other people had done and to make it my own..... I OWN THAT BITCH! Just take a look at what Mash Rookie has been able to create without any plans and just a seed of information.

Stay safe and Have fun with it - Dan

[Prairiepiss]

Fine job Dan.
For the love of the hobby.

[dan]

Fine job Dan.
For the love of the hobby.

Cheers Prairiepiss !!

Forgot to mention that I make a kick ass bourbon whiskey that is made with Mike's Sweet Feed Whiskey (Wet COB) recipe and has only been aged for 30 days on re-toasted Jim Beam white oak barrel stave's. If you make your cuts right and force age it with the right amount of heavy toasted oak it is very smooth...

Good Stuff!! - Dan

[wendellbaker]

Dan,

Thanks for taking us on that trip. What an awesome job. Setting the bar high. Enjoy!

[rad14701]

@ DAN


I was merely speculating on the flavor relative to cut size. These things have the capacity, and are clearly suited for larger batches. Larger batches give you, I'm thinking, TWO THINGS. 1) A longer flavor curve because the size of your cuts, the middle of the middle, is, as I speculate, hopefully going to have a better/more complex flavor profile by virtue of it's size. There's another one too. You'll have a chance to get your "flavor oils". Capture and keep separate what comes off between 40% abv and 20% abv and add them back to subsequent runs and they will eventually make it into the middle run and bump up your flavor. They will also do well with oaking. Pugi, in his "Pugirum" recipe talks about the "rum oils" that are where your flavor really is. You add those low abv isobutyls that come out in the tails, and eventually that strong flavor shows up in the middle run. You can of course get these in any size batch, but you get more with a bigger run.

<SNIP>

(April Fool)

[emptyglass]

@ DAN


That's all I was talking about. I don't understand the big deal about making 100 gallons vs. 15.

1. Its a hobby
2. start your own thread, you might get a more diverse response.