first big wash with a couple Q's

[lawdog]

ive run a few small single distillations thru my pot still with good results. ive decided to just do a larger run so i can put the still away for a while. its a keg with 18" 1 1/4 dia column and 24" long 1" inside diameter jacketed condenser. i started my 40 gallon wash yesterday.

20lb sweet feed (for nutrients and a little flavor)
25lb brown sugar
25lb white sugar
champagne yeast
filtered well water to 40+ gallons

ill add the another 25lb white sugar in 3 days if the ferment is coming along. when this stalls, my plan is to do 3 strip runs, taking off 4 gallons of strip per run, then running the strip off till im satisfied with the result. probably 4 gallons, maybe 5, leaving tails for next time.(i have about a gallon of single run that ill put in as well to run again)
i plan on putting salt in each strip run, and leaving the 12gal strip sit overnight (maybe 2 days) with a box of arm&hammer in it. i dont have a thermometer in my still, nor do i have a hydrometer. ive always gone by smell/feel/burn.

how much salt? and how much baking soda? and anything else you could suggest? should i take foreshots from strips or final? and how much foreshots should i throw? a pint? i appreciate the help. not just here, but in all the threads. really changed my sloppy ways

[trthskr4]

Wow man, that seems like alot of feedstock for a 40 gallon wash. What kind of yeast are you using? I'm guessing that should get to around 15% potential. Are you trying to make a neutral? If so, why the sweet feed and brown sugar? If you're not wanting neutral, why the salt and bicarb? And "stalls" around here is a bad word, you want it to finish otherwise you're going to be distilling sugar in the wash and it will possibly foam and puke. I would hold out on the extra 25 lbs of white sugar if you're going for a flavored drink from the sweet feed and brown sugar, or hold out on the sweet feed and brown sugar if you're going for a neutral. Matter of fact, if you're going for a neutral then may I suggest the Wineo's Plain ol Sugar Wash (WPOSW) or the Birdwatcher's reicpes?


Sometimes the answer contains more questions than the original question...

[lawdog]

ya i am shooting for 14%. when i say stall, i guess i meant finish. wrong wording. i dont check the gravity or anything. when its dry and bitter, and the yeast is done bubbling, i let it sit another couple days and run it. i didnt want to put all 75lbs in to begin with because ive had good luck with starting weak/double feedings with this yeast. it is the high alcohol yeast from a local winery for making champagne. i keep it going from wash to wash.

im making it with sweet feed and brown sugar to get a little more flavor and to help the yeast make it into the mid-teens. i dont want neutral at all. i planned on using the salt and bicarb because its supposed to help separate out the deeper tails that i dont want, as well as some of the sharper heads, right? it should still have good flavor after 2 trips thru the still shouldn't it? im not after full flavor either, just a decent shine with some flavor, and less nasties. about a 150 proof or so. nothing fancy, just some fun stuff for the bike rallys and truck pulls i made a neutral run a few weeks ago, and its sitting with a pint of marachine cherries in it now. plenty of libation for the girls

would adding more brown instead of white be better then? my smaller washes have all finished well with 2lbs sugar per gallon water, so i didnt think this would be any different, just a larger scale. without the extra feeding, i wont get above 9 or 10% will i? im here to learn, and i really appreciate any advise you guys have.

[rad14701]

Your 75 lbs of sugar has a potential ABV of about 13.2% with 40 gallons of water... The sweet feed might edge you up to or just over 14% so you're on target... More brown sugar will just push further into the rum flavor and provide even more nutrients, as well as increasing the final SG of your wash...

[trthskr4]

Just my personal opinion, I would skip the salt and you can add in a little bicarb after the strip. I'd try 1 tsp. per gallon of strip, maybe 2 tsps. That'll compress the heads a little and make the cuts more defined. You should still have some flavor after that. Don't discard all the tails though, save them up.

[lawdog]

i like rum brown sugar it is! caribbean shine

ill skip the salt then. never tried it, but read about it on the parent site. maybe ill try a couple tablespoons (non iodized) in the second batch of strip run to see if it makes any noticable difference. just for the sake of science

in the sweet feed, there were a few big chunks of molassas in the bag, looked like the bottom of the mix barrel. im hoping for some goodness from that as a bonus

it was foamin up well today so i think tuesday or wednesday will be the day for second feeding. the warmer days over the next week should help it along.

i need to make a deflector in my leibig. if i run full throttle on my burner, steam makes it out the end of the condenser. its a 1" copper inside 1 1/4" copper jacket for 24 inches. dont matter how hard i run the cooling water, it still steams. if i cut the heat back, i can run at a decent little stream of juice, but id like to run faster for stripping runs. is there a way to put fins or something in there to up the efficiency of the condenser?

[rad14701]

lawdog, you could pack scrubbers in your liebig to gain efficiency... Another option is a twisted strip of copper slid up inside... Or perhaps a combination of the two...

[lawdog]

on the way to the dollar store now ill try the copper scrubbers. i bet that works.

[trthskr4]

Check them dollar store scrubbers to make sure they are real solid copper. I bet they're copper coated zinc. Drop them in a little vinegar water for a while and see if the plating comes off.

[lawdog]

will do thanks

[Husker]

The ones I got early on from the dollar store (yea, I thought I had a good deal too), were steel, copper plated.

Simple magnet test showed it up quickly. Now, any time you plan on buying copper scrubbers, drop a strong magnet in your pocket, and use it at the store. YOu will quickly find what is good vs what is bad. Well, copper coated zinc might not show up, but I am not sure I have seen that.

H.

[trthskr4]

I think the ones I saw at Wal-Mart were copper plated zinc from China.

[lawdog]

no go at the dolla sto... where do you guys get the "good stuff" at? ill be at walmart thisafter so ill look there, and take a magnet with me.

lookin forward to runnin the big batch. ill pretend its 1930's

[IdahoMole]

I get my copper scrubbies from the grocery store. Look for "chore boy" brand. Box says something like all copper, won't rust etc.

Mole