Please help im very confused.

[djmooney]

Ok i have a small 4 gallon pot still that i bought on eBay. its working great I just don't know much about how hot to run it. Im cooking on my electric burners on my stove. ok so heres the question. I started cooking it on 1/2 heat it took a while it got hot then it started running. I know the thermometer that it comes with is not a good way to keep track of things but it was running at about 200 degrees. I thought I would be steaming allot of water and diluting it. the finished product was good it tasted good but didnt seem overely strong. the hydrometer just sinks to the bottom. so am i cooking it to hot? it doesnt change the taste or smell no matter what temp i boil it. even at like 160 when its barely dripping it taste just about the same. so what am i doing wrong and how hot should i be cooking?


thanks im very new to the hobby but i think once i get the hang of i will have a great time

[Kifi]

Did you take initial and final hydrometer measurements of the fermented wash? What was the ABV of your wash?

[blind drunk]

Sounds like you're making water. What's your wash, what are you making, what's your still. The question is very confusing, but maybe that's just me

[djmooney]

i have a 4 gallon copper pot still that is just like the on in the picture i posted on my only other post. i have a corn mash that i found online. i know im not making water because water doesnt burn blue in a spoon for 30 seconds im just not sure how hot i should be cooking it. how do i know what temperature the alchohal is boiling at and how do i make sure the water isnt boiling

[DarkCornerMtnMan]

I am a neewbie and bought a king kooker propane burner at true value for 45.00
Very good investment. Heats to fore shots in 40 minutes (5gal wash). Good control
and very safe with long arm. I would never do it inside on my stove, poor heat control
and fire risk. good luck!!

[TexasReflux]

Yea, inside is a little dicey.

My thoughts... I know when my still is coming to temp when I get my first drop. The temp in the column is somewhere in the 130's, (i start my condenser very early) it's some nasty stuff, but it tells me I need to drop the temp because from 130 to 180, does not take a lot of time. Once it's going strong, I dial it back some more to get a drip-drip effect from the output, (unless doing a stripping run). We are still only talking 180 to 190 degree's. I really dont get into the 200 degree range until I am pushing into my tails.

I will run it up an until about the 208 degree mark, but the output is cloudy (looks kind of blue) and not worth drinking, I just figure it's better than water to cut the next batch with.

BTW, Temp is a terrible way to make cuts, but when you are learning it can help. Do yourself a favor and buy an alcometer first, you can test ABV as you go. Much better way to make cuts.

I dont have much experience with electric burners, but IMO, go slow, and reduce the heat when you get output. It takes a lot of energy to get something to boil, but not a lot of energy to keep it there.

[Kifi]

BTW, Temp is a terrible way to make cuts, but when you are learning it can help. Do yourself a favor and buy an alcometer first, you can test ABV as you go. Much better way to make cuts.

I dont have much experience with electric burners, but IMO, go slow, and reduce the heat when you get output. It takes a lot of energy to get something to boil, but not a lot of energy to keep it there.

Amen. Go slow, and order yourself a sprit hydrometer (this measures DISTILLATE abv, as opposed to a fermenting hydrometer) and use it to make your cuts. Much better than going by temp alone. Brewhaus.com has good prices on them.

[LWTCS]

Steady, even heat is best. Gonna be more difficult to make good likker with a heat source that cycles.

Stream would typically be about the size of a tooth pic. But you can drip drip if it suits you. Apply input/heat accordingly.

Collect with small jars as transitions come quick with a little outfit.

Stripping first can help you more easily identify your transitions. Spirit run (dilute to 40 or so)will typically require less heat. Once you learn cuts,,then you can step back and apply your skills on the single runs.

Thermo is mostly useless on the pot still. Learn where your good likker is by using your wits. I always remember how goose (likely his friend)recommends that reading an alcometer woulda been difficult by the light of the moon. And even more difficult if ya dropped it on a rock.
Learn about your outfit,and where your good likker is. Allow yourself to be influenced by the numbers after your tastes buds have had a chance to learn how good early tails can be.

[rtalbigr]

I run a pot still on my kitchen stove. For some doing it outside is just not an alternative. Pot stilling is mostly an accumlation of experience, ya really don't need your thermometer but I'd recommend ya get a proof hydrometer cuz it will help you with your cuts along with tasting. You'll find that your tails will start at 60-65%abv. Tasting will let you know how deep into the tails ya want to go to blend in with your hearts. Some times I've gone as deep as 55%, just depends on each wash ya run and your own personal taste.

My stove has a 12" 2700w burner that I use. When I'm heating up I run on high until just before I start to get distillate out my worm. The way to tell is to touch your arm a head of your cooling condenser. When it's hot but you can hold your hand on it it's getting close. When it's too hot to touch start looking for your distillate. At that point I turn my heat down. For stripping runs I'll set my heat between 1/2 - 3/4 power. For spirit runs I'll set my heat at 1/3 - 1/2 power. I adjust the heat just so that my stream is steady. Once you've used your still a few time you'll get used to it's workin's. I run 3-4 gal for stripping runs depending on what I'm running. Some washes (barley, oats, rum) tend to foaming bad so I only charge with 3 gal. For a spirit run I'll charge with 4-5 gal. It always takes right at an hour to get up to temp so I know when to start watchin'.

I've never used a thermometer when distilling so I can't relate much to your temp readings. However, ethanol in solution will boil at about 182-185F depending on how much is in solution. Considering that water boils at 212F you were still getting a lot of ethanol. Your vapor temps will increase the more you get into tails cuz there's less ethanol and more water. I've read where temp points are but didn't pay much attention. I rely on my proof hydrometer and tasting for making my cuts. Since I'm doing this inside I don't much want to be lightin' the stuff on fire.

Big R

Edit: Boilin' chips (marbles, pieces of copper, etc) in the bottom of your still will help. If they are makin' a lot of noise turn the heat down 'till ya can hear them just barely rattle or can't hear them at all.

[djmooney]

thnaks allot guys this is helping me a allot.

[blanikdog]

Just gotta love those boiling chip chips. Simply adjust the gas according to the rattle rate, and Bob's ya uncle. WTG.

[Austin Nichols]

Just gotta love those boiling chip chips. Simply adjust the gas according to the rattle rate, and Bob's ya uncle. WTG.

But my uncles name is Robert