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Ahhhhh I see. OK that was what my logic was also. I probably throw away a little more forshots than needed because I throw away on both stripping run and spirit run. The thought was its better to be safe and get rid of any bad stuff. As for the tails I try to cut them out of both the stripping run a...

Am just hoping for a little clarification on stripping runs and when to pull the forshots. I use a five foot reflux column still with packing to do the stripping run and spirit runs. What is the best way to do this. Do you pull the forshots off the stripping run and not any on the spirit run or do y...

Thanks wacabi1 that clears things up a lot for me. As I had added 7tsp to my diluted low wines several day ago I am not too far off. Will run it and see what happens. Thanks again for your help.

Thanks for the advice. I had such a hard time finding clear instructions on how to use the Sodium Carbonate as well as baking Soda. I chose to use the Sodium Carbonate because it took less time. So do I understand correct the amount of the orginal wash determines how much Sodium Carbonate or Baking ...

I just made a couple of stripping runs combined the two stripping runs together That gave me 7 Liters of 85%. I then diluted it to 30%. and added 7 tsp sodium carbonate. This is where I have a question. If I understand right I was supposed to add this before diluting not after diluting. Will this wo...

Now that brings up a good question how do you know if it gets infection? What do I look for?

Thanks Dunderhead for the info. I just hope I was able to get the temp down before too much was caused. I don't want any bad tasting Vodka. I had enough of the when I was thinking turbo yeast was the way to go. It plugging now along with a fan cooling at 28c. I check the sg every day and its doing a...

I just got done with putting together a batch 60L of Birdwatchers wash and just for the heck of it 30 min after putting it together I checked the temp. It had gone from the starting temp of 32c to 45. I put wet towels and ice around it plus a fan trying to cool it down. It topped out at 47c before I...

I just got done putting together a 60L wash of Birdwatchers recipe. I did everything by the numbers. SG 1.07, ending temp was 33C. All looked good. The only thing was that I put in more Epson Salts than I should of. An hour after 'adding the Yeast I checked the temprature and it was up to 45C. I put...

Yes the fermentation went by the numbers. Temprature was spot on, finished after about a week right on the numbers. In the past doing the single distlation my still always ran stable and predictable, 176- f all the way through then a sharp rise signaled the end. I cut it off at 180-f. I did notice t...

Boy did I screw something up. I need some advice on my latest batch of birdwatchers recipe. I have made a couple of batches using this recipe before and they turned out great. However this time I got a bad taste. I know that I made a mistake when I was mixing things up. I forgot to add Epson salts. ...

Just checked it out at Rubermaid and they say it is not food grade so looks like i will have to go hunting for another container or some liners. Thank you all again. Its so nice to have you out there to give us good advice.

Good stuff guys thanks. This container is a Rubbermaid Roughneck. I will check on-line to see what they say about it. The liners are a good thought though. As I am living in Panama and not sure where I could find them it looks like a good challenge.

I have a question about fermentation container. I have read some of the posts and it looks like food grade containers is the only thing the can be used. However I have this large, strong, green, Rubbermaid storage container the would work perfect for what I want to do. Nice smooth inside for sanitiz...

Thanks, Thats what I will do then.

Hi Guys As my normal state is one of confusion silly questions in also normal for me. So here it goes. I have a 50 mm 1- 1/2 meter fractionating column still (Nixon-Stone) packed with SS scrubbers. I like the idea of double distilling. To do stripping runs do I need to remove the SS scrubbers when I...

Hello all I have been working to improve my Vodka. I started out several years ago by building a 1.5 meter, 50 mm refractory still from designs I got off the home pages. I did a little modification for better cooling and ended up with a nice efficient little still. As I said it was several years ago...

I do have a bunch of Turbo left. Living in Panama and thinking Turbo was the way to go I brought a bunch back from the states. I have been so disappointed in the taste for so long that I do not think I want to risk another less than best batch first I will try some of the recipes given here. I will ...

Yes you got that right it wont happen again with me that is for sure.

You guys are great! Thanks for the sugestions. I will hold off with the BB-Q for a while.

Thanks for the reply. I hate to dump the stuff but I have been to Turkey and had some Raki. I am not too fond of it. Will it work for paint remover?

Ya I know I scrwed up. I fell for the turbo yeast hype. I kept thinking I was screwing up the fermentation some how. Anyway I came back to this site and found that my problem all along was turbo Yeast. Now I got a fresh batch of 95% sitting in jars made with turbo yeast. So do I use it for starting ...

Hello all! I have been playing around with this for several years now. Not to regular but when I have some time and get the itch. I have a five foot reflux colum still. Using a eight gallon SS keg and a electric heating element. Its a thing of beauty. I learned how to do this ten years ago from this...