Need some direction

Many like to post about a first successful ferment (or first all grain mash), or first still built/bought or first good run of the still. Tell us about all of these great times here.
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Greenbrier1902
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Need some direction

Post by Greenbrier1902 »

Sorry for the newbie question but can someone steer me in the right direction? I have read and read and searched obviously in the wrong places. I understand heat energy and so many post about some use thermometers and others saying learn your still. I built the 12 gal. Pinto still with a thumper and running on LP. I ran my cleaning run last night 2 gallons of water and 2 vinegar. Plan on sacrificial tomorrow. While running the 50/50, it took about an hour to hear the hissing which I found a leak and pasted. I had to crank up the heat to get the thumper hot but at this point everything seemed to be boiling in the still. What is the normsl running process? How do I keep from boiling my water off in a mash run? Total run time was about 2 hours before vapor which I let run about 15 min then turned in the condenser water. I'm confused on how to keep it from reaching the 212 F. Sorry if this sounds ridiculous.
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Saltbush Bill
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Re: Need some direction

Post by Saltbush Bill »

Greenbrier1902 wrote: Tue Apr 27, 2021 9:03 pm I had to crank up the heat to get the thumper hot but at this point everything seemed to be boiling in the still.
It has to boil to work.....no boil= no vapour = nothing leaving the still.
You don't worry about the temp, you watch how fast product is leaving the still, whats coming out the end of the still.
You can not control the temperature , that is a concept that many new distillers have trouble with. You can only control how hard it boils or in other words how much vapor is coming off the wash.
Maybe the following link can help you understand.
http://www.kelleybarts.com/PhotoXfer/Re ... gMyth.html
Greenbrier1902
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Re: Need some direction

Post by Greenbrier1902 »

Saltbush Bill wrote: Wed Apr 28, 2021 1:56 am
Greenbrier1902 wrote: Tue Apr 27, 2021 9:03 pm I had to crank up the heat to get the thumper hot but at this point everything seemed to be boiling in the still.
It has to boil to work.....no boil= no vapour = nothing leaving the still.
You don't worry about the temp, you watch how fast product is leaving the still, whats coming out the end of the still.
You can not control the temperature , that is a concept that many new distillers have trouble with. You can only control how hard it boils or in other words how much vapor is coming off the wash.
Maybe the following link can help you understand.
http://www.kelleybarts.com/PhotoXfer/Re ... gMyth.html
Yes, thank you for the link, I do understand this part but they talk about the amount of energy being put into the still is my confusion. so basically bring everything to a boil, watch the drip rate, and reduce heat based on drip? Is it really that simple or am I over complicating my thinking?
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Saltbush Bill
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Re: Need some direction

Post by Saltbush Bill »

Thats right ...its that simple........your thinking to hard.
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Yummyrum
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Re: Need some direction

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Agree ... what Salty said ... its that simple .
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Windy City
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Re: Need some direction

Post by Windy City »

[/quote]
Yes, thank you for the link, I do understand this part but they talk about the amount of energy being put into the still is my confusion. so basically bring everything to a boil, watch the drip rate, and reduce heat based on drip? Is it really that simple or am I over complicating my thinking?

You are running a pot still with thumper. You are not looking for drips like you would on some reflux stills.
Turn up or down your power so that you are getting a pencil lead stream out of your condenser.
Running a pot real slow will not necessarily give you a better product and could actually give you worse results.
The liver is evil and must be punished
Cranky"s spoon feeding for new and novice distillers
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 15&t=52975
Greenbrier1902
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Re: Need some direction

Post by Greenbrier1902 »

I'm sure there will be more questions in the future. I have deleted the other couple Facebook groups because they either give smart*** answers or have no clue. Some of the things I read are like WOW. So thank you all for the positive feedback.
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Saltbush Bill
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Re: Need some direction

Post by Saltbush Bill »

Never personally looked at the face book groups.....but everything I've read here and on assorted other distilling forums says they a full of BS and bad information.
Most of YouTube isn't much better.
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River Rat
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Re: Need some direction

Post by River Rat »

Greenbrier1902 wrote: Tue Apr 27, 2021 9:03 pm I'm confused on how to keep it from reaching the 212 F.
Just because you hear the pot boiling doesn't mean you have reached 212 and are boiling the water out. The alcohol boils out at a lower temp, and as a result we all get to enjoy this wonderful hobby. You should expect it to make some noise especially just before the output starts to flow.
Plain ole pot rig.
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Saltbush Bill
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Re: Need some direction

Post by Saltbush Bill »

River Rat wrote: Wed Apr 28, 2021 4:25 pm the pot boiling doesn't mean you have reached 212 and are boiling the water out.
There is always some water leaving the still, if that where not the case you would be pulling close to 100% acohol.
Another thing to think about is that water does not need to boil to evaporate..put a shallow bowl of water out in hot weather and see how long it lasts.
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River Rat
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Re: Need some direction

Post by River Rat »

Agreed. I only mean to say that when you hear a boiling noise from the pot, that doesn't necessarily mean you have hit the 212 boiling point of pure water.
Plain ole pot rig.
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Saltbush Bill
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Re: Need some direction

Post by Saltbush Bill »

:thumbup:
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