First stripping run... questions!!

[guysmiley54]

Heyo,

I did my first stripping run today on a 30L still spirits CM reflux still that I detuned into pot still mode. It took 70 minutes to heat up a 20 litre charge and I ended up getting 6.5L of low wines at about a rate of 2L per hour.

My wash was Odin's cornflake whiskey which I made to 8% ABV and was very careful with fermentation. I made a 3L starter of US05 on a stirplate and fermented it over 3 weeks in a temperature controlled fridge.

I was tasting periodically as the run progressed (out of curiosity more than anything else) and couldn't really distinguish much of a flavour difference between the heads hearts and tails. The main differential was of course the strength which started medium and ended up very low (Didn't have an alcometer today as mine broke before the run even started )

Question time:

Is it common to have less flavor variance throughout the product out on a stripping run? (Less pronounced heads, hearts and tails)

My output was not as steady as I would have liked. It seemed to drip a few times and then surge forward into a stream then back in to dripping etc... What would have caused this?

I am making a power controller for my spirit run, is 2L a minute too high? What should I be aiming for here?

I used a 55L sink with a pond pump for my cooling loop. When the temperature of the water got above 45C (every half hour or so) I dumped half the water and topped up with fresh (20C) tap water. Would this adversely affect the quality of the end product? How hot can I let it run to before it becomes an issue?

Thanks guys

[googe]

Stripping is just getting all the alc out to do a spirit run later, it will smear fractions, so heads, hearts, tails will blend some what. The surging is probably your condenser not handling the heat input well. Etenough. Dumping cold water into your sink will be causing shock cooling, when the water warms, its not knocking down enough vapour, and when you add cold water it will go bam and knock down alot, probably contributing to your surging too. Never tried Odins cornflakes stuff, keen to though!. Good luck with the spirit run.

[guysmiley54]

Thanks Googe.

I measured the water coming out of the condenser before returning to the sink and it was in the low-mid thirties most of the time. Does that indicate that my cooling water isn't cold enough? I suppose the method I used today is fine enough for a stripping run but I will need to lower the temperature with a controller before running my spirit run to try and avoid the surging.

I was only shock cooling every 30-45 minutes whereas the surging was there right from the start... I guess I should try to avoid shock cooling in the future and get a bigger reservoir. I am aware that using a CM reflux still even in pot mode is not ideal... Is there anyone out there who is getting good results using their still in this way? I'm considering building (or purchasing) a pot head that will fit on my boiler and lid but wanted to at least try to work with what I have now...

How fast (litres per minute) should I be aiming for on my spirit run?

Thanks so much for you help

[bellybuster]

With the surging, are you running stove top?

[guysmiley54]

Nope, internal exposed element heating source. There was something unusual about the power source though... I did the run in my laundry and the old owners of the house had a surge protector plugged into the power socket next to the washing machine http://www.appliancesonline.com.au/cres ... rotection/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Kind of ironic... surge protection!! I don't suppose it could be responsible for any fluctuation in power?

[superdaveva]

You said your building a power controller. What are you using now. Most surging is cooling related, cold in at bottom, water at the top should be warm. You have to adjust your flow rate of water , faster during striping,just a trickel during a spirit. If your controller is a on off type, that's a big problem, chuck it in the shitcan. Sd

[guysmiley54]

I'm using a CM reflux (essencia, still spirits etc type thing) but I have disconnected the water that goes to the reflux jacket. Water goes in at the bottom and comes out at the other side (not at the top, at the same height but on the other side) hot. I have read that for distilling whisky it is better to run the cooling this way, as the reflux cooling will remove flavour.

Is it possible I have disconnected the wrong water pipes when modifying?

I have an electrician friend building my controller kit. It is a variable voltage controller, designed for a still not an off and on controller.

[superdaveva]

Worm condenser I assume, cold in at bottom, should be warm at the top leaving

[guysmiley54]

I'm wondering if I have re-jigged the cooling hoses on my still head unit properly for best pot still usage...

Here is a pic of how I have configured it:



As you can see the cold water enters on the left travels through the "worm" up and then back down before exiting at the bottom on the opposite side much warmer than when it entered. The loose end of piping was previously used to connect to the side I currently collect the warm waste water from, it would then reroute the cooling water into what I thought was the reflux cooling jacket before coming out at the very top as warm waste water.

Have I set this still up correctly for pot operation or could this explain my surging problem?