COOLING-TEMP OF DISTILLATE

[onewildturkey]

Hey Everybody!
Working on my second ferment, second run. Kept my burner too high during first run and corn whiskey was coming out fast. 4+ drops per second. Thought I was a moonshine genius! Why you guys all wait, I did not know. (not really, I was just so overwhelmed with info and variables that it didn't occur to me to turn down the heat) 5G pot still,24"copper riser, stovetop.
I have about a 24 inch cooling downtube with water circulating. (copper 3/4 sleeve,1/2 inner). The temp at the top of the column was 185 deg during most of run. The water reservoir is a 5 gallon bucket. I kept changing the water to keep it cool during several hours of distilling. My tap water is from a well at about 50 degrees.
My question:
Do I need to keep cool water in that reservoir, or is it ok if it is warm bath water, 80-90 degrees during the whole run?
Does quality of distillate increase with "super cooling"?
Distillate collects slowly, but should I take its temp as I go along? I tasted, touched it as it came out and it seemed cool, at least not hot. I'll pay more attention during this run.
Read some great posts tonight about cooling, and don't want to elaborate or spend more money than is necessary.
Peace, Love, and Understanding to all my Moderators out there! You are doing God's work.
That's just the Turkey talkin'.

[Centimeter]

Actually, it’s better to have the distillate a little warm as it comes out. This helps it get rid of any low boiling point impurities that can come over with it. However, I never do this as I would rather just have cold distillate and not have to worry about it.

I used a circulation cooling system for a while and then gave up on it. It is most definitely necessary to keep the water cool. It’ll heat up quickly and your condenser will start putting out vapor.

Some people have had success with a radiant cooler in line with the circulation system. Essentially think of a car radiator in your line with a fan blowing on it. I tried this with limited success. It did reduce the number of times I had to replace the water though. Keep in mind I have a nine foot long leibig condenser too, so your set up will most likely be much harder to pull off circulation cooling.

I think that air cooling your condenser would be your best bet. I know that initially it seems like water would be easier to cool radiantly, however the high specific heat of water coupled with the difficulty of making it have a large surface area makes it rather hard, in my opinion.

[Hack]

Sounds like you are running a pot still. If so, don't worry so much about what your thermometer says. Instead pay attention to your collection rate. On a pot still a steady stream is about where you want to be for a spirit run. On a stripping run, run it as hard as you dare without overwhelming your condenser.

It doesn't matter what temp your distillate comes out or how warm the water in your resevoir is as long as you are able to knock down all of the vapor. Otherwise you are losing precious hooch.

[goinbroke2]

Well, lots of opinions, here's mine.
I like it to come out cold, period. I use a coil in a 20L pail and have garden hoses attached with a valve so I can turn it down to a trickle. The bottom is cold and the top is warm enough you don't stick your hand in it. (fed from the bottom, exits the top) I can run wide open with a propane rim burner and get tails all through the run and it still comes out cold.(don't ask how I know this)

[rad14701]

Take off temperature may not matter all that much in most instances, within reason... However, when using a parrots beak and alcometer the take off temperature comes into play... Unless you use correction table readings the spirits need to be within a narrow range in order to get accurate ABV readings...

I think it would be worth discussing how members accomplish accurate readings... Do you use correction tables or adjust the spirit temperatures...??? Personally, I've never used a parrots beak so I always tried to get the samples to the correct temperature unless the temperature was already really close to 68F...

[onewildturkey]

Thanks for the input! It sounds like I should take some measures to keep it cooler, and make it remain so throughout the run.
Air cooled? Got a picture? (how do you attach pics, by the way? Could see mine, if I can see yours)
Before I posted, I saw a guy with a furnace filter and a fan. It has to be cheap or I can't do it.
Will get a bigger reservoir, try the fan, and maybe start filling a bucket with ice cubes before the next run.
Have a nice evening, everybody!

[dropping_planets]

this had been a concern of mine as well on my first couple runs.. i decided i like my output around 60F, this is what my alcohol meter is calibrated at..
i have a large plastic storage container i got at wal-mart for 6 bucks.. i leave 4 or 5 inches in this thing all the time, it stays in the shack.. i have 12 or so plastic gallon jugs filled with water, these hang out in windows (which are boarded up so there no visuals).. this time of year the temp drops to mid 30's and 40's at night.. when i set up i fire up the fire place, my shack is stone and its freezing... an hour or two and its nice n cozy, but all the water is still ice cold, around 40..during my run the temp slowly rises, when it stars breaking 60 i start dumping the cold gallons in, several at a time to keep it around 60... if im gonna keep going (two stripping runs and a spirit run), that water doesnt cut it.. i fill the bottles from hose that returns to the reservoir and set them outside.. it takes about 40 min for them to be cold again and back in they go, 2, 3, or however many i need to stay around 60... if things are getting too hot i keep a couple ice bombs (frozen gallon jugs) in the freezer, they work faster if i open the top before tossin' em in...
this all may seem like alot of work but im kinda obsessive and i like to stay busy, takes me a bit of time to get things cozy n get set up so i like to run for around 12 hours.. this gives me somethin to run around and do every once in a while,been cooling with the same water for weeks so im not wasting water (we get usage restrictions here during summer)...

probably seems a little crazy but this is what i do n it works for me..... good luck n be safe.

[Tatt2d]

I have a nine foot long leibig condenser

HOLY CRAP !
Actually I'm a little jealous You got a picture of it posted somewhere?

I am useing a reflux still and only a 3 foot liebig and use about the same methods that Dropping Planets uses, except, I will let it get a little warmer. I can definitely see the difference on the parrots beak when i toss in a frozen milk jug.