Home Distiller

Just curious How many others get everything set up the night before?

got the pot filled....
got the lid on....
got the flour paste set....
got the reservoir water filled.....
Ready to just start the heat and get er goin'?
Wake up in the mornin and turn the heat on before your first cup of coffee...

Strippin runs am done before coffee break.
Spirit runs done right about lunch time... LIFE IS GOOD !!!

Yessir, any time I plan on starting early. Stripping runs happen one day, then I set it up for reflux and leave it out for the next. There's no point in taking everything down just to set it right back up again in the morning.

Reflux spirit runs that run too long into the night get the same treatment Just pull the plug and leave everything out. Waking up to a pre-heated boiler on top of everything already being set up is very, very nice.

I run outdoors so I can't set up night before. I do get everything ready though. Anything I need is set out together. About the only thing in this hobby I don't care for is making paste. So when I do, I make enough to hold me through several runs, and just keep it in the fridge in a Tupperware container with no lid and a tea towel over top. Leaving the lid on makes it slimy.

Soon I'll have my electric rig. And you can bet I'll set up the night before. Wake up, pour my coffee, and start the day off perfect...Doing a run.

Out of bed at ten past seven this morning, heat on twelve minutes later. I only have to cover the bottom element before putting the heat on. Assembling the top can be done later. This is quite normal, especially if I have a long day of stripping runs ahead, or am going fishing in the afternoon.

For spirit runs I set up the night before, because my Boka takes a good long day to run through 10 gallons of low wines.

If it is a strip run or a pot stilled liquor I don't bother setting up early.

Sometimes I set up the night before but usually just do it at the time I'm about to start, stills always setup so just have to fill the boiler and away I go, no strip runs here thanks very much! Lol. Done in 2-3hrs single run.

I do some stuff the night before. I don't have running water in the basement, so I fill six, or so, 1 gallon milk jugs and carry them down the night before. And, just generally do any needed cleaning and what not.

My 5 gallon pot still running 120V takes about 1 hour to heat up, so the morning of a session, I pull out the boiler and controller, charge it with wash/low wines, plug it in, and do the rest of the setup while it heats up. I usually have time to spare.

With my older 2" column I had too as the runs took so long, with my 4" CM the runs are usually 3-1/2 to 5 hours max. I don't so much anymore especially if I am running multiple generations as it takes over night for my backset to cool down enough to re-pitch as it is.

I have to get everything set up completly ready to go the night before so as soon as I get back from taking my kids to school in the morning all I have to do is plug in and flip the switch. Then while heating up I get collection jars out and condeser water ready to go. If Im not ready to go immediately upon returning home, the run has to be cut off when it comes time to go pick the kids up from school, so then of course it would have to wait until the next day to be finished, I only get two days a week off from work, so tying up the majority of both days stillin is not an option with the wife and kids.

I setup in the atrium the night before because it gets friggin hot during the day. Flame on a 0600 or so and cleaned up by around lunchtime.

I gotta tell "The Rest of the Story" Now.....
When I posted this I had everything set up for a spirit run today....
40% in the pot.......
dough paste around the rim and column........
Metal clips all positioned......
reservoir filled with cooling water......
Out this morning and turned on fire at 0710......
Oooooooops I got Greedy and filled my pot Tooooo full....
had liquid coming out around the column seal on the lid at about the 30 minute mark.....
Had to break the lid seal and take out 2 qts and then reseal everything......
Whew I feel better now...... I have been honest with my friends...

I usually assemble my column ahead of time and make sure the ptfe is ready on the pot and bowl lips. Tonight I came home and decided out of the blue to strip 5 gallons of birdwatchers. took me less than 15 minutes to
fill the boiler, connect the lid and column, and get the controller hooked up and turned on. Exactly 2 hrs from setup to break down.

I will sometimes rack the night before if it's not already done. But as far as set up my still is pretty simple so there is no need to set up the day before.
My CCVM runs at a pretty good clip so I can't relate to these marathon runs that you guys speak of.

I may sometimes rig up the night before, but I always rack right before running ..
I've always preferred a 'suspended' charge over a 'settled' charge ..Eliminates any scorching due to any solids that may have settled..I'd suggest stirring any wash left to settle overnight.
Fresh, suspended wash best imo.

I rack the first time from a 44 gallon fermenter into 5 gallon buckets , let stand for 3 days , and rerack at point of distillation time for strip runs . 18 to 20 gallon strips get fired with leftover yeasts in suspension . 5 1/2 hour strip runs and then it's school bus duty and family time for the evening . Everything has cooled by the next morning and I wash a lot of sediment (suspended yeast) from my boiler and thumper before I recharge for the next run . Had I loaded the night before ; that settled yeast would have been scorched on the bottom of my boiler
>I only load the day before if it a charge of clean low wines for a spirit run .

I setup the night before. After the typical morning routine my still is running by 7am. Distilling can get boring, and I get sleepy when im the afternoon. That's why I run early and setup the night before.

Coffee...