Tell us about your mistakes.

This hobby is fun & enjoyable, but it is not tiddlywinks. Be safe!

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still_stirrin
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Re: Tell us about your mistakes.

Post by still_stirrin »

It doesn't hurt anything, so why not just leave it there? You don't have to use it if you don't like the readings. If its too risky to desolder, then don't.
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Re: Tell us about your mistakes.

Post by thecroweater »

If conductivity causes it to be out it will be out consistently and therefore you will soon see how it runs at what temp and can go by that data :thumbup:
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Re: Tell us about your mistakes.

Post by Worm_Drippinz »

"Tell us about your mistakes..."


Life overall: to many to list

Distilling: enough to know better

Business: just enough to get me in trouble

Women: all of the above except more expenses involved
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Re: Tell us about your mistakes.

Post by Massassi »

i took apart my controller to add in voltmeters, and when i put it back together it trips the breaker as soon as i plug it in. even with the on/off switches in the off position.
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Re: Tell us about your mistakes.

Post by Secale »

Yesterday,

I tried using a gallon glass jar fermenter that had a cracked neck where the rubber bung would go.
I didn't notice the break when I bought it. I hoped that the crack was superficial but it wasn't.
I filled it with cooked mash and when I tried forcing the rubber bung in with the airlock. The
whole neck broke and popped off. Luckily it broke high and I didn't spill any mash or cut myself.

So I had to transfer this mash into a plastic gallon bottle and fashion an airlock in the lid real fast.
I used aquarium silicone to seal the airlock tight. Aquarium silicone is safe for fish so I think it will
do for this batch.

I threw out the broken fermenter earlier. :evil:

I'll have to buy a 5 or 6 gallon glass carboy as I really don't like plastic.

Note to self: Don't play with cracked glass ever again.
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pfshine
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Re: Tell us about your mistakes.

Post by pfshine »

To hell with glass. Just get a keg to ferment in if you dislike plastic so much.
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Re: Tell us about your mistakes.

Post by Brutal »

@secale on a scale of 1 to 10 an airlock is about a 2. Throw a rag over it and be done.
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Re: Tell us about your mistakes.

Post by Secale »

pfshine wrote:To hell with glass. Just get a keg to ferment in if you dislike plastic so much.
Keg sounds cool. I bet they are $$$ though.

I'll have to look for one maybe.
Brutal wrote:@secale on a scale of 1 to 10 an airlock is about a 2. Throw a rag over it and be done.
Didn't know about the rag thing.
But a rag lets lots of air pass thru.
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Re: Tell us about your mistakes.

Post by pfshine »

If ya look around the come pretty cheap. I got one for 40 and the other 3 for free.
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Re: Tell us about your mistakes.

Post by yakattack »

A healthy ferment will put off more co2 then needed to form a cap. And since co2 is heavier than air it will keep anything from entering if you have a rag as a stopper. It's not aging. Just fermenting.
HDNB wrote: The trick here is to learn what leads to a stalled mash....and quit doing that.
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Re: Tell us about your mistakes.

Post by HDNB »

Secale wrote:
pfshine wrote:To hell with glass. Just get a keg to ferment in if you dislike plastic so much.
Keg sounds cool. I bet they are $$$ though.

I'll have to look for one maybe.
Brutal wrote:@secale on a scale of 1 to 10 an airlock is about a 2. Throw a rag over it and be done.
Didn't know about the rag thing.
But a rag lets lots of air pass thru.
don't care what you get...just get something bigger than a gallon!!!
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Re: Tell us about your mistakes.

Post by bearriver »

I've fermented in an open top tank.
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Re: Tell us about your mistakes.

Post by jb-texshine »

I just ran out ta gas....Damn it :thumbdown: hate it when that happens.
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Re: Tell us about your mistakes.

Post by Swedish Pride »

jb-texshine wrote:I just ran out ta gas....Damn it :thumbdown: hate it when that happens.
Jb
Time to go electric mate, you wont run out as often :)
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Re: Tell us about your mistakes.

Post by jedneck »

Not really safety related but here is my dumbass of the day moment.
Went to strip an enzyme converted flour mash. Strained enuf for a sample and it read 1.06. Wtf can't be its been fermenting beside the woodstove for a month. Taste good and sour no sweet. Charge the boiler and power up the steamer. After it tarted producing I discovered it was water coming out the pipe. Guess it had a pH crash. Drained the boiler back into fermenter and added good dose of shells when it cools I'll pitch new yeast. If I can't get it to start back up o well its only about $4 of flour. Gotta get pH strips and a refrac.
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Truckinbutch
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Re: Tell us about your mistakes.

Post by Truckinbutch »

I've not been posting so much since December out of shame . Have even contemplated requesting my status be reduced to rank ammatuer . 2 44 gallon gen 4 UJ ferments and I let ph get away from me . Throwing shells at the problem just compounded the errors and I lost both ferments . I've done some upgrading and set 1 batch of gen 1 today . Will set another tomorrow . I intend to do better .
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pythonshine
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Re: Tell us about your mistakes.

Post by pythonshine »

Well TB I wouldn't go that far. What makes an ammeture is doing something wrong and not learning from it or not knowing what went wrong. You sir know what you did wrong fixed it and are moving forward....the sign of a pro in my book. :thumbup:
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Re: Tell us about your mistakes.

Post by Truckinbutch »

pythonshine wrote:Well TB I wouldn't go that far. What makes an ammeture is doing something wrong and not learning from it or not knowing what went wrong. You sir know what you did wrong fixed it and are moving forward....the sign of a pro in my book. :thumbup:
Thank you , Sir . You are being entirely too generous . I feel that I have failed to help others along when I get that many generations into it and then had catastrophic failure of two batches . Long as I have been learning here I should have recognized the problem before it lead to failure .
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Re: Tell us about your mistakes.

Post by sungazer »

UnSub wrote:I'm relatively new to the hobby, having just finished building a boka column for experimenting... I installed a closed ended thermo well into the column below the top plate.... I don't think that was "proper"; it is conducting the heat from the column and not getting a good vapor reading. I'll try to separate it but I can see leak issues in the future because of it. The length is slightly shorter than the plate and is likely soldiered to the plate itself or I'd just try to drill out the rim. Time will tell what developed from that. I didn't realize it was going to be an issue until I ran my vinegar cleaning- then it was pretty obvious...
If you are using a Thermocouple and I would assume you are as they are the most popular form of electronic digital thermometer this will not matter. What most people don't relize or understand is the way that the thermocouple wire works. The temperature is not actually measured at the point where the two wires meet the voltage is developed continuously along the wire so it will measure the temperature at the end the main voltage generated will be at the point where the wire leaves the copper. However it will measure the temperature of the hottest part of the wire.

In actual fact having a closed well is good as thermocouple wire should always be immersed into the object to be measured at the same length so having a closed end will help this.

i do understand your point however that the thermal mass of the rest of the column will be heat sinking some of the temperature away quickly from the point of measurement this is going to depend on how long and how thick or the mass of copper that you have made for the well. This will create a slightly lower temperature reading however reasonably consistently.
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Re: Tell us about your mistakes.

Post by pythonshine »

A failure I think not, overlooked bit of help sounds more appropriate. You have experienced a failure and made it public...now just elaborate, what do you think caused it to run away? what would have helped? don't know? I'm sure with conversation about it the answer will come to light. You hold a respect amung other members Truck, and the fact you can so readily admit mistake only shows it is well placed.
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Re: Tell us about your mistakes.

Post by BayouShine »

Truckinbutch wrote:I feel that I have failed to help others along when I get that many generations into it and then had catastrophic failure of two batches . Long as I have been learning here I should have recognized the problem before it lead to failure .
Considering we have a 37 page thread on mistakes made, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. Everybody has bad days. It's not like you're going to give up, right?
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Re: Tell us about your mistakes.

Post by thecroweater »

Truckinbutch wrote:I've not been posting so much since December out of shame . Have even contemplated requesting my status be reduced to rank ammatuer . 2 44 gallon gen 4 UJ ferments and I let ph get away from me . Throwing shells at the problem just compounded the errors and I lost both ferments . I've done some upgrading and set 1 batch of gen 1 today . Will set another tomorrow . I intend to do better .
High or low pH butch? Shells are a bit like a 5.shot 32 Saturday night special, sounds great , compact, easy to use and fine til the trouble starts but the second you rely on em ya find they get ya into more trouble than they can get ya out of unless ya damn close to the Mark anyways :thumbup: My take anyways
Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. Benjamin Franklin
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Re: Tell us about your mistakes.

Post by xcvator »

Learning a bit about stillin :cry: is this normal, it's like an itch, or a wart, I just have to keep scratching it, trouble is, it just gets worse, I need more/bigger fermentors, I need a bigger boiler, ( already got a 50 litre), I need more storage ffs, 2 x 26 litre demijohns and 10x5litre carboys are just not enough, where can I invest in an oak forest and a cooperage ffs. Though minister of war said "get a hobby" so I did now she's complaining coz I'm taking to many test samples, though MY friends love coming to visit now.
Have I made a mistake in the choice of hobby, have other people had these problems or is it just me. :angel:















Nah, :D can't be me :angel:
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Re: Tell us about your mistakes.

Post by yakattack »

Alert. Today's psa comes to you from the authority of safe bbqing. Please always be extra caution when running a stripping run and preheating the bbq at the same time. While the still.should not be un attended don't forget to take the few seconds to check the bbq as well.

BBQs every bit as dangerous as a still.


Was stripping and squeezing my whiskey mash. Turned on bbq to cook up a piece of chicken as I often do while stilling. Didn't set timer to check and walked it my sunroom where my bbq is to see it engulfed in flames. Thankfully I keep a few fire extinguishers around for the oh shit moments such as these.

Not sure if it was mechanical failure of a gas line or left over grease or the oak I was toasting that started the fire but lesson learned. Now need a new bbq damnit. And the land lord is supposed to come fix the stove today cause that died a few days ago.

I'm still hungry

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HDNB wrote: The trick here is to learn what leads to a stalled mash....and quit doing that.
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Re: Tell us about your mistakes.

Post by Truckinbutch »

thecroweater wrote:
Truckinbutch wrote:I've not been posting so much since December out of shame . Have even contemplated requesting my status be reduced to rank ammatuer . 2 44 gallon gen 4 UJ ferments and I let ph get away from me . Throwing shells at the problem just compounded the errors and I lost both ferments . I've done some upgrading and set 1 batch of gen 1 today . Will set another tomorrow . I intend to do better .
High or low pH butch? Shells are a bit like a 5.shot 32 Saturday night special, sounds great , compact, easy to use and fine til the trouble starts but the second you rely on em ya find they get ya into more trouble than they can get ya out of unless ya damn close to the Mark anyways :thumbup: My take anyways
You pretty much nailed it , my friend . Been struggling with ph issues for the last 3 years with sourmash multiple generations . Had unreliable test strips until last gen 4 . Liquid test medium seems to be much more accurate . I kept throwing crushed shells in to try to catch a runaway ph problem . 65 days in and I had porridge in both barrels that was just thick stinkin uck . Nothin to see here ,folks , just move along . Shut down for time to rethink and regroup . Read a hell of a lot more .
>I have done better and I will do better in the future . Total failure , for me , is not an option .
>While I was rethinking all this I finished some neglected detail work in my still house . Entire place (uhh , most of it) is cleaned up . Even mopped the floor .(That should please MCH) Insulated the mash barrels with Reflectix as well as the still cap and thumper . Wrapped all the copper lines between the 2 with foam insulation .
>Set second barrel of UJ gen1 yesterday to try again . Failure is not an option .
>Side note here . Met a youngster , compared to me , that visited and helped yesterday . I have encouraged him to join here . You only know your craft as well as you can explain to a novice why and how you do your craft . I was able to do that for him . I answered every how and why question he posed and he left solid in his knowledge that he now knew the basics of how and why to persue our craft the right way .
>Pay it forward by helping another ..........
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Re: Tell us about your mistakes.

Post by Kegg_jam »

Them steam pipes is hot.

I'm just saying...
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Re: Tell us about your mistakes.

Post by skow69 »

Aloe vera, Kegg.
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Re: Tell us about your mistakes.

Post by Danespirit »

Truckinbutch wrote: >Side note here . Met a youngster , compared to me , that visited and helped yesterday . I have encouraged him to join here . You only know your craft as well as you can explain to a novice why and how you do your craft . I was able to do that for him . I answered every how and why question he posed and he left solid in his knowledge that he now knew the basics of how and why to persue our craft the right way .
>Pay it forward by helping another ..........
Nice you do care to pass along your knowledge, he will have a good mentor TB...
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Re: Tell us about your mistakes.

Post by sltm1 »

TB, when I have trouble with my ph , going either up or down, I always add some DAP to kick start the fix. Fresh started yeast and a crushed B complex vitamin or two on other occasions have works well also.
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Re: Tell us about your mistakes.

Post by MichiganCornhusker »

Truckinbutch wrote:Even mopped the floor .(That should please MCH)
Funny I should bump into you here, TB, just stopped by to confess my latest.
First of all, GAFlatwoods has presented a great new method for straining AG ferments. Take some of that geofabric, line a bucket with it, tie it to a pipe.... all very secure.
Wanting to get more slop into my process than a 5 gallon pail would hold, I came up with an improvised technique.

I draped the fabric over a 40 gallon Brute trash can and ran some rope around the outside, just under the lip, to hold it all in place.
Then I started pouring my ferment into the fabric with a sauce pan. When I got up to about 15 gallons into the process a piece of the fabric started to slip out from under the rope.
I caught it and pulled it down, but it started to move around the top of the trash can.
I was able to tie some more knots, and bunch up some of the fabric, and hold it with my hands and legs to get it all secured again.

I went back to filling it, got about another 5 gallons into the mesh, and suddenly the other side of the trash can let loose all at once, rope coming right up over the lip.
Everything that was in the filter mesh dropped down into the already filtered juice and splashed up a geyser over my head and back down into the trash can.

Most everything ended up back in the trash can, but about a gallon or two wound up on me, the walls, table, refridgerator and floor.
So I'm starting the whole filtering process over again, and a moping I will go.
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