Whiskey column

[shine_]

I've only worked with pot still for now. I've developed my recipes and it normally involves triple distillation. Since it's very time consuming, I wanna give column a go.

I got 30l commercial pot still with 1/2inch hole for my condenser. I can go up to 3kw heat for my cooking. I'm wondering what kind of column should I get (or build it my self) to get out my product in low 80's off a 10% wash.

There are so many different ones on the market - with plates, with filling, with deflagmators ... you name it. So I'm a little bit confused which direction to go. Preferably I'm looking for something adjustable, but anything for whiskey like drinks should do.

[Yummyrum]

You’ll need to increase the 1/2” hole size. Put a 4” tri-clamp ferrule on it . Then build /buy a 4” plated still . About 3 or 4 plates should do it for Whiskey . Some say 2 is enough . More plates you use , lighter flavour you get but seeing as you triple distill , you probably will prefer 4 plates . All plated stills need reflux . The majority use a Deflagmator .( Coolant Management still) .

[OtisT]

Just some general thoughts for you on this.

With 3000 Watts available to you, a 3” column would be a good diameter size. 3000w is near max power for fractioning on a 3” column.

Since you will be stilling ferment that is prone to foam up, a sight glass at the base of the column will be helpful.

Most of the folks I know who make brown liquor on a column think plates are the way to go. I personally have only used a packed column. You can get the target ABV you are looking for with any of the styles, by adjustIng the height of packing or the number of plates.

Probably a VM or CM head for whiskey. The reading I have done seems to conclude that LM is best suited for making neutral spirits.

Go modular, so you can change the height of your column for various needs.


Otis

[Tummydoc]

I think your boiler is too small for a 4 inch column. I run a 3 inch four bubble plate column, but take out one plate for whiskey. It runs 160 proof the whole run. The column is 3 inch, but has 2 inch triclamps to a keg sanke boiler, and topped with 2 inch triclamp to a CCVM reflux condenser. You'll need more than just the column, but a reflux condenser also. CCVM is the cheapest and simplest build.

[Chauncey]

I think your boiler is too small for a 4 inch column. I run a 3 inch four bubble plate column, but take out one plate for whiskey. It runs 160 proof the whole run. The column is 3 inch, but has 2 inch triclamps to a keg sanke boiler, and topped with 2 inch triclamp to a CCVM reflux condenser. You'll need more than just the column, but a reflux condenser also. CCVM is the cheapest and simplest build.

+1 to this

[NZChris]

Just because whiskey can be made with a plater, doesn't mean it's a better tool for the job than a pot. Your existing still is very capable of producing good volumes of fine whiskey and I doubt that there is any advantage in going to a plater unless you have a good reason to want to do single ferments and runs, (which is a hard way to build up aging stock.)

[Saltbush Bill]

thinking the same ...30 L boiler on a 4 incher is going to get frustrating fast.
Is 30 the capacity filled to the brim or the working capacity.?

[shine_]

Just because whiskey can be made with a plater, doesn't mean it's a better tool for the job than a pot. Your existing still is very capable of producing good volumes of fine whiskey and I doubt that there is any advantage in going to a plater unless you have a good reason to want to do single ferments and runs, (which is a hard way to build up aging stock.)

Mainly I'm trying to save time. I know it flows much slower through the column, but still should be faster than doing triple runs ? Also I wanna get some new hardware to keep this hobby interesting. It's much less exciting to routinely cook as it was when I just started. Something new might bring it back

[shine_]

thinking the same ...30 L boiler on a 4 incher is going to get frustrating fast.
Is 30 the capacity filled to the brim or the working capacity.?

It's 30l total capacity, normally I'm working with 25l

[Saltbush Bill]

25 L of wash on a 4 inch 4 plater wont go anywhere much..just get warmed up n ya be shutting down.

[NZChris]

Mainly I'm trying to save time. I know it flows much slower through the column, but still should be faster than doing triple runs ? Also I wanna get some new hardware to keep this hobby interesting. It's much less exciting to routinely cook as it was when I just started. Something new might bring it back

Triple? I have done triple distilled whiskey, but only very rarely for experiments. I normally do three or four strips then a spirit run, so for my spirit runs I"m doing my cuts on three or four times the volume that I would be if I had a plater.
I wanted faster, so I built a preheater. Old school technology, simple to build, infinite number of stripping runs, heatup time and energy is only required for the first strip.

[shine_]

Yeah, I did some digging on the internet and concluded it's better to get whole new setup if I want a column. I got to make too many modifications to my still to fit any column, so it's easier to fit on a beer keg or something.

Any thoughts on this column ? At least it looks cool.

[Tummydoc]

That will work fine, i have the 4 plate version from aliexpress and had to take out a plate for whiskey. The gaskets are silicone (as are all the similar commercial columns I've seen). The don't say if they were platinum cured which are the only ones rated for high ABV, so i wrap them in teflon tape.

Amazing that shipping prices have tripled since Covid.

[Hectorlandaeta]

Just because whiskey can be made with a plater, doesn't mean it's a better tool for the job than a pot.

I've always said that the best tool for a job is the one you have at hand and actually know how to use.
I don't know if you're referring to what was historically used to make whiskey but most times than less that was dictated by reasons other than what was the optimal distilling tech available at the time. In my personal purview whatever makes my work less and enables me to have it done faster is actually better. IMO you can turn around that phrase of yours as to why would anyone use a pot to make whiskey when you can have it done cleaner and faster in a plate still?
I don't know if you've ever used a plate still but I began distilling, as most do, with a pot. Recently got a 4 plate flute from China and can assure you there's very little I can't do with it way faster and better than with any pot. Kirschwasser or some other delicate eau-de-vie's come to mind as no-go's for plates, but you can always take them out, one by one or as a lot, so you actually have the best of both in a compact unit.
Yes, you can chip away for months with a mallet and a chisel and make the Michelangelo. But you can achieve the same thing with a pneumatic tool in hours.

[jonnys_spirit]

Horses for courses and all that...

Gadgets are certainly fun to play with however a tool does not a master make.

I'm personally not of the opinion that a Michaelangel can be created by any other than himself regardless of the tool.

Cheers,
jonny

[NZChris]

Just because whiskey can be made with a plater, doesn't mean it's a better tool for the job than a pot.

I've always said that the best tool for a job is the one you have at hand and actually know how to use.
I don't know if you're referring to what was historically used to make whiskey but most times than less that was dictated by reasons other than what was the optimal distilling tech available at the time. In my personal purview whatever makes my work less and enables me to have it done faster is actually better. IMO you can turn around that phrase of yours as to why would anyone use a pot to make whiskey when you can have it done cleaner and faster in a plate still?
I don't know if you've ever used a plate still but I began distilling, as most do, with a pot. Recently got a 4 plate flute from China and can assure you there's very little I can't do with it way faster and better than with any pot. Kirschwasser or some other delicate eau-de-vie's come to mind as no-go's for plates, but you can always take them out, one by one or as a lot, so you actually have the best of both in a compact unit.
Yes, you can chip away for months with a mallet and a chisel and make the Michelangelo. But you can achieve the same thing with a pneumatic tool in hours.

How long would it take you to do four plater runs compared to doing four strips and one spirit run?

[Hectorlandaeta]

Let me see. I take about 45 to 60 minutes to heat up the 15-gallon keg boiler to plate charging temp, and get pretty close to azeo (92~95 ABV) within 2:45 to 3:45 more from there. That's it. One run, less than 5 hours start to clean still finish. I don't do tails. But I gather that if I change the pesky breaker that keeps tripping every time I try and give the 4 kW element some more juice it should be a tad faster. Basically what makes production times vary is the amount of reflux you cause through the dephlegmator, but once you get the knack of what is needed for the taste profile you're looking for it goes very fast, typically sub 3 hours to +90 ABV.
Have yet to try taking out all of the plates at full (about 12 gallon) boiler. I did a pot style plum brandy run once but it was 5 gallons only so it would be pears to apples.

[NZChris]

So, about 20 hours for four runs with clean up and recharging time and you have 92~95 ABV whiskey to water down and barrel?

1) My pot still produces whiskey that doesn't need diluting with water to get down to my desired barrel strength from such a high ABV. As long as you are happy with your results, that's fine by me, but it's not something that commercial distillers of products that I like to drink do. I base my methods on the assumption that they are not stupid and have developed their distilling protocols from decades of tweaking.

2) Even when I didn't have a preheater, I could strip and spirit run three or four charges worth of ferment through a pot still in a weekend. I doubt that I could have put that volume through quicker with a plater, plus, I only have to choose the heart cut once, not three or four times. That's why I asked if you had compared those two methods.

[Hectorlandaeta]

Sorry for the late reply!
"it's not something that commercial distillers of products that I like to drink do. I base my methods on the assumption that they are not stupid and have developed their distilling protocols from decades of tweaking."

Well. Let me tell you something from experience with industrial distillers of whiskey, specially the Scotch ones. I don't know if you know about the proverbial tightfistedness of the Scott but historian say that their whisky industry is a result of gin's decline by the market favouring Caribbean and US made rum. So they got all of those large pots real cheap from British gin distilleries gone under, not because that was the state of the art or a desired distilling tech feature for their product. They were just widely available, large and cheap. Ask anyone with deep scientific knowldge about spirits (thats not me, for the record, I just remember some exchanges a long time ago on the subject) and they will tell you there's no real reason why whiskies are done with pots, by now, other than "tradition".

Regardless of what their hyped marketing machine says, mainstream industrial Scotch is a mediocre spirirt. Full of heads, tails and whatnot. I, for one don't aim for low, as there are very few industrial whiskey offerings I consider a real benchmark. As a hobbyst I always want to try to force the envelope of possibility and reach a level I know no corner cutting, large-volume compromised industrial product can match. No, they're not stupid, but have to make live with stupid choices to acommodate the gargantuan volumes at which they have to operate and for the sake of uniformity, product consistency, and sometimes, yes, tradition. Show me a whiskey that always has the same color, just to mention an example, and I can tell from a distance it must be sub-par. Industrial is simply not good.