This is My Stock Pot Still setup

[cannonman]

cannonman, when are you planning on getting rid of the plastic ball valve...???

Ok Rad14701, What should I use then? A needle valve, like for the ice maker?
I ran my first batch of sweet feed today. Was to be three gallons but, the feed sucked so much water that it ended up being about 2 1/2 gals. Took exactly one hour to get steam through the coils and head. I took about six ounces of heads and then 18 ounces of hearts before it slowed down. All in all it took about 2 1/2 hours. What a difference than my pot still. I used the left over wash to start another wash of sweet feed. I took out four cups of feed of the old stuff and added four cups of sweet feed to the new sugar and wash. It took off bubbling in about an hour. WOW. Smells good too. The burning test for the sweet feed looks just like my Gerber pics. above. What do you think of them Rad???

[rad14701]

cannonman, when are you planning on getting rid of the plastic ball valve...???

Ok Rad14701, What should I use then? A needle valve, like for the ice maker?

<SNIP>

The burning test for the sweet feed looks just like my Gerber pics. above. What do you think of them Rad???

You could use a needle valve but if this is going to be run as a pot still I'd go with a ball valve if you want to be able to equalize and/or run some reflux... A 1/4" needle valve will not flow fast enough to eliminate all of the reflux... However, a 3/8" needle valve might get you there...

I always like pictures of flaming spirits... Yours look fairly typical and not bad at all for your hybrid rig running in pot still mode... I like being able to compress foreshots and heads before pulling my hearts... The valve and open condenser head allows you to do that easily...

[cannonman]

Thanks Rad. What temp should I be running at? It runs pretty good at 200. I know that water boils at about 212. from what I have read in other posts. I know that is close to what I am running at but this rig seams to slow at any thing lower that 200. I am useing a bbq thermometer on the lid of the pot. You can see it in my pictures. I really appreciate your advice.

[rad14701]

If you are running this as a hybrid then the thermometer in the boiler won't give nearly as much information as one in the short section between the boiler and the condenser head... If you sample the vapor temperature in that lower section you will have a fairly accurate reading of the proof of your spirits when based on the Temperature & ABV Relationship Charts posted here in the forums... They give values for both boiler liquid and vapor temperatures...

[cannonman]

If you are running this as a hybrid then the thermometer in the boiler won't give nearly as much information as one in the short section between the boiler and the condenser head... If you sample the vapor temperature in that lower section you will have a fairly accurate reading of the proof of your spirits when based on the Temperature & ABV Relationship Charts posted here in the forums... They give values for both boiler liquid and vapor temperatures...

Rad: the thermometer is only one inch below the lid. It does not go into the liquid at all. What kind of thermometer should I use for this section you are talking about? I have seen pictures of how to solder it in place. almost like the take off point.

[cannonman]

Rad: Can you tell me a little about these charts and how to read them to how to run my still based on the charts. I want to know how hot to run this thing properly. I know that it run pretty good at 200. This is based on the thermometer on the lid. Should the wash boil above 200. I know that water boils at 212, you told me before. I will try to move the thermometer to the neck like you said. Just need a little help fine tunning my technique. Thanks for all you do here...

[Dnderhead]

your mash/wash will fiend its own boiling point witch will be somewhere between 173F (alcohol) and water 212F.
this will depend on the amount of alcohol/water.this will go up as the alcohol is removed.until it hits 212f all water.
the only way to change this is either by pressure or vacuum.

[rad14701]

That 200F vapor reading indicates that you are collecting spirits in the 50% - 55% ABV range...

There are directions on how to use the charts both on the parent site and somewhere here in the forums...

[TK Spirits]

I've noticed these binder clips on several boilers and I've been wondering, does that really work as a sealer or is there something unseen that seals the lid?

[rad14701]

I've noticed these binder clips on several boilers and I've been wondering, does that really work as a sealer or is there something unseen that seals the lid?

Flour paste...

[TK Spirits]

That was my guess, and the clamps just keep the lid tight.. Thanks Rad

[cannonman]

your mash/wash will fiend its own boiling point witch will be somewhere between 173F (alcohol) and water 212F.
this will depend on the amount of alcohol/water.this will go up as the alcohol is removed.until it hits 212f all water.
the only way to change this is either by pressure or vacuum.

Ok. I have run a couple of runs since I have been on here. I have started out at 173 and nothing. I let it run there at that temp for a while and nothing.. I bumped it up a little higher and very little action at 180. i got it up to 200 and it was running with fast drips... I was able to collect about 6 OZ. of heads until the taste changed. Then i collected about 20 OZ. of hearts. At this point it slowed dripping. So I stopped collecting. I started off with a 3 gal. wash. From my guess on the math for ABV was about 6%. This was a 2nd generation wash of sweet feed. I know I didn't add enough sugar. After re-reading the recipe I noticed that I added only 4 Lbs. of sugar instead of 7 Lbs. If I had put more sugar my abv would have been higher... Is there anything you see that I am doing wrong that you may help me to get on track with making a better product??? Thanks.