Some Observations and Questions After First Stripping Runs

[irish69]

So I've done three stripping runs already, two ujssm and one rum. I've noticed a few things that seem out of the ordinary and I was wondering about them. First, I know that the distillate coming out of the condenser is supposed to drip or flow at a constant pace. Mine doesn't. It will flow for a bit, then start coming out in spurts, then flow again, etc. I have a 15gal ss keg pot still and am heating it with propane. I didn't adjust the heat at all, so it should be heated evenly. What might cause this? Next question- I've taken readings every do often, and the highest percentage of alcohol that comes out of the still is 60%. I've read on here that a cut for whiskey would be from 80 down to 70. Why is my still not putting out that high? Will it be better in my spirit run? Finally, how much distillate should I gather before doing a spirit run? Right now I have 2.5 gals of distillate. I collected from the beginning down to about 20%. Thats from two 10gal batches. Is that a normal amount of alcohol from that much wash? Thanks!

[Tater]

So I've done three stripping runs already, two ujssm and one rum. I've noticed a few things that seem out of the ordinary and I was wondering about them. First, I know that the distillate coming out of the condenser is supposed to drip or flow at a constant pace. Mine doesn't. It will flow for a bit, then start coming out in spurts, then flow again, etc. I have a 15gal ss keg pot still and am heating it with propane. I didn't adjust the heat at all, so it should be heated evenly. What might cause this? Next question- I've taken readings every do often, and the highest percentage of alcohol that comes out of the still is 60%. I've read on here that a cut for whiskey would be from 80 down to 70. Why is my still not putting out that high? Will it be better in my spirit run? Finally, how much distillate should I gather before doing a spirit run? Right now I have 2.5 gals of distillate. I collected from the beginning down to about 20%. Thats from two 10gal batches. Is that a normal amount of alcohol from that much wash? Thanks!

-----If your worm is trapping liquid cause it aint level can cause that. As to what your getting in product how can you expect an answer with info given?What was the starting proof of wash and how much wash? ?Seems your getting ahead of yourself by distilling before you have read enough to really understand what you are doing.

[grunger]

60% on a stripping run is good. When you do your spirit run your still will be charged with ~30-50% avb and you will get higher %'s.
The purpose of the strip run is to increase the concentration of alcohol to make it easier to do your cuts on the final run.

[rubber duck]

are you running a worm condeser? If so the spurting problem could be from not haveing it quite lvl.
Also if your running a 3/8 or 1/4 line that tends to spurt a little, a 1/2 line seems to work smoother for me.
3/8 and 1/4 in line spurts a lot in the tails run but, its not realy that big a deal im shure your product will turn out
just fine.

[big worm]

looking at the pics of the worm i would say thats the sputter bug. remember.... waterslide not rollercaoster, corkscrew not spring.