Big Ass Parrot

Fittings, parrots, packing, tooling and so on.

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Stonecutter
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Big Ass Parrot

Post by Stonecutter »

AD25D45A-B2C7-4357-8F51-7FA92D55AFF7.png
Is that a parrot in your pocket or are you just happy to see me... Got this off of Amazon thinking it would be a nice replacement for my old copper one. :shock: Who even thinks of making something like this?
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Re: Big Ass Parrot

Post by Saltbush Bill »

Stonecutter wrote: Wed May 05, 2021 1:47 pm Who even thinks of making something like this?
People who have no understanding of distilling or how it works, the same people who make all of the cheap shit stainless stills that Newbs keep buying.
They dont care that things are wrong for the job ....or that they wont work properly, they will just keep churning them out as long as people keep buying them.
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Re: Big Ass Parrot

Post by Stonecutter »

I was thinking I could keep it on my nightstand at least. It’s a sizable weapon, my best Crocodile Dundee impersonation... that’s not a parrot... THIS is a parrot! Yeah it’s going back to the seller. What a crock
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Re: Big Ass Parrot

Post by Butch27 »

Stonecutter wrote: Wed May 05, 2021 3:48 pm I was thinking I could keep it on my nightstand at least. It’s a sizable weapon,...
And here I thought you were gonna say that you could use it for a chamber pot.
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Re: Big Ass Parrot

Post by Stonecutter »

I’d have to be a lot better shot
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Re: Big Ass Parrot

Post by tiramisu »

Bigger is better right? ;)
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Re: Big Ass Parrot

Post by Stonecutter »

Here’s the link. Steer clear. I’m now sure that the 4 reviews are bogus.

Stainless Steel Distiller's Parrot
Freedom had been hunted round the globe; reason was considered as rebellion; and the slavery of fear had made men afraid to think. But such is the irresistible nature of truth, that all it asks, and all it wants, is the liberty of appearing.
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Re: Big Ass Parrot

Post by bluc »

Make a good pipe.
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Re: Big Ass Parrot

Post by Expat »

Amazon has a easy return policy, get your money back.
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Re: Big Ass Parrot

Post by Tummydoc »

Nice candelabra. Did it belong to Liberace?
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Re: Big Ass Parrot

Post by The Baker »

On the (milk) wagon?

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Re: Big Ass Parrot

Post by Toxxyc »

Is the size all that important, or is it more to do with the volume it'll hold? I'm guessing smearing will be less with a smaller volume inside the parrot, no?
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Re: Big Ass Parrot

Post by Setsumi »

even small parrots can smear... but then i am biased, i like to collect fractions in small volumes on spirit runs.
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Re: Big Ass Parrot

Post by Toxxyc »

Yeah I don't own (nor intend to get) a parrot, I'm just asking because that one is big, but still uses fairly thin tubing.
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Re: Big Ass Parrot

Post by Stonecutter »

Yes, size matters. And has been mentioned before it’s because of smearing. Some smearing is going to take place no matter what, especially in a pot still. A contraption like this would take a shit ton of distillate to float the hydrometer making it very difficult to make worthwhile cuts. MAYBE if it had a dump valve it could work, I guess :lolno: but why even try? I understand the use of a parrot is nothing more than a tool to determine what proof you’re getting out of your run. I’ve used it as a crutch to making my cuts but once I learned to use my senses (taste, smell) it really only became something fun to watch throughout the run. It’s definitely used during my reflux runs as a tool to adjust heating and cooling inputs. Perhaps this event will spur me on to letting go of my training wheels and collecting right off of the Liebig.
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Re: Big Ass Parrot

Post by jonnys_spirit »

If you have a thermometer in the vapor path you can also determine ABV. I used a similar parrot at first as well and stopped because I figured out that it’s not really doing anything useful for me and it’s one more thing to spill - safety hazard in high proof environment and sorta blingy. It one point i made a copper parrot with a dump valve that attached to my liebig and also don’t use it because i wanted to eliminate fidgity bits and pieces.

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Re: Big Ass Parrot

Post by Yummyrum »

Might have a place in a commercial distillery where the larger overall volume of the run will make parrot smearing less of a problem .

I love building things and in all the years I been at this , never needed a parrot . Glass measuring cylinder with a Alc meter in it works fine for me . :ewink:
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Re: Big Ass Parrot

Post by still_stirrin »

Yummyrum wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 3:50 am...I love building things and in all the years I been at this , never needed a parrot . Glass measuring cylinder with a Alc meter in it works fine for me.
+1. :thumbup:
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Re: Big Ass Parrot

Post by stillanoob »

I love my parrot for stripping runs. Not only does it make it easy to see when to cut off but on all grain runs it collects oils that then don't go into my low wines. Honestly, with the small volume of my parrot and my lack of sophisticated taste I doubt I could tell the difference if I used the parrot on a spirit run. But since I don't decide when to cut off a spirit run by ABV the parrot has no benefit so I don't use it.
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Re: Big Ass Parrot

Post by tiramisu »

A parrot is a handy convenience. The idea that parrot smearing is the end of the world seems really overdone unless you have an incredibly tiny boiler.
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Re: Big Ass Parrot

Post by SomethingObscure »

As most do I only use mine on stripping runs. So I strip through my home made copper parrot into a 5l demijohn. And never really look at the alcohometer until I'm about 8 or 9 litres in.

As stillanoob says also keeps oils out of the distillate.

It also give me the convenience of swapping the demijohns on the fly by simply removing the alcohometer giving space in the parrot for a relaxed spill free swap. Not sure size or smearing really matters when your stripping.

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Re: Big Ass Parrot

Post by Stonecutter »

I haven’t used a parrot since this thread. No regrets. After not using one I’ve realized that I never needed it for my reflux runs either. It’s been mentioned above that a graduated glass cylinder will do the same thing. There are some noted advantages of using a parrot in certain situations though.
SomethingObscure wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 8:37 am As most do I only use mine on stripping runs. So I strip through my home made copper parrot into a 5l demijohn. And never really look at the alcohometer until I'm about 8 or 9 litres in.

As stillanoob says also keeps oils out of the distillate.

It also give me the convenience of swapping the demijohns on the fly by simply removing the alcohometer giving space in the parrot for a relaxed spill free swap. Not sure size or smearing really matters when your stripping.

Cheers SomethingObscure
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Re: Big Ass Parrot

Post by NZChris »

Every time I've nearly gotten around to building a parrot, (I've had all of the copper needed for years), I've realised that I already have indicators that serve the same purpose, but don't smear. After thirty odd years of distilling, I still haven't found a need for a parrot at hobby scale.

If I was commercial and making the same product every day, I would use a parrot or a digital inline process refractometer so that an unskilled operator or a computer could make my cuts for me, but I'm not, so that will never happen in my shed.
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Re: Big Ass Parrot

Post by Saltbush Bill »

Built 3 of them over the years .....rarely if ever use any of them.....handy when stripping sometimes.
Knowing what the parrot is reading every minute of the run doesn't help make the booze taste better.
Parrots where pretty much unheard of 10 years ago in hobby distilling circles, Like temp gauges on pot stills they seem to have burst onto the scene along with commercially made stainless hobby stills.......a nice bit of bling to help the sales figures along , but of no real relevance to the overall running of the still.
Even if you do use one, the Alcometer does everything in its power to turn its back to you when you want to read it anyway.
Punkin tried to solve that problem at one stage by getting Alcometers with three faces made, dunno if they are still sold or not today.
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Re: Big Ass Parrot

Post by Demy »

I built my little parrot in a similar way, if I understand you discuss it's too small? For me it is an advantage, it is also an advantage that is separated from the output of the product because I can taste and smell the distillate before you enter the parrot, this means zero smears! Correct me if I understand badly.
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Re: Big Ass Parrot

Post by Stonecutter »

Saltbush Bill wrote: Tue Jul 06, 2021 12:16 am Even if you do use one, the Alcometer does everything in its power to turn its back to you when you want to read it anyway.
Haha! I thought I was the only one that happened to!
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Re: Big Ass Parrot

Post by LWTCS »

Notwithstanding the fact that it's ugly, its just not a hobby sized device.
Nothing in the description would help the buyer. No measurements at all.

A 300 gallon (professional) charge would mitigate any appreciable smearing issues. Except the through put diameters look too small to keep up with pro collection demands. That and the seller probably couldn't answer any technical, practical application questions.
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Re: Big Ass Parrot

Post by Hambone »

I’ve built 3 parrots of varying design. They all worked perfectly. And they haven’t been used for years…
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Re: Big Ass Parrot

Post by stillanoob »

Stonecutter wrote: Tue Jul 06, 2021 2:00 am
Saltbush Bill wrote: Tue Jul 06, 2021 12:16 am Even if you do use one, the Alcometer does everything in its power to turn its back to you when you want to read it anyway.
Haha! I thought I was the only one that happened to!
I use a 0 to 40% alcometer. So it stays submerged until near the end of my run. I can see at a glance where it is at within a percent or two. Having the parrot running into a large low wines container I can keep an eye on the run while doing other stuff. I strip a whisky to 30%.

My parrot is as small as I could make it. The one in this thread is absurd. I think it is around 60 or 70mL. Maybe it is less, I'll have to measure it again sometime. And then there is the volume displaced by the alcometer so the net volume of liquid is quite a bit less. How much smearing can really take place? I only use mine during stripping runs so the smearing is a non-issue. Although I must say I would love to see a blind taste test done because I doubt that especially with a small parrot that many if any could detect the difference. With the way a pot still smears will the parrot really make a noticeable difference? I don't think so. Just my WAG. I don't use the parrot on a spirit run because ABV is irrelevant.

Also as I mentioned above I like the way it traps oils on my whisky runs. Why not keep that stuff out of the low wines?
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Re: Big Ass Parrot

Post by jonnys_spirit »

I've got a stainless parrot that I bought with my still and I made a copper one with a dump valve - I never use either anymore and the copper one can go in my parts bin but I'd happily sell the stainless or even donate it for cost of shipping if anyone wants it... I do use a thermometer at the top of my pot still riser to approximate vapor ABV (the closer it gets to 212*F the closer I am to water vapor)... I run it till it's about 0%ABV out of the spout and maybe a bit longer than that some days - not too scientific....
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