i cant belive its done!!!

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.
Pics are VERY welcome, we drool over pretty copper 8)

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billy,hill
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i cant belive its done!!!

Post by billy,hill »

here it is my valved reflux still
my first run hopefuly will be soon!!! cant wait!!!!
i would love to here what yall think :D :lol: :D
p.s. theres a pic of home also
takin from the front porch
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82 and burnin blue....a slave to the drip
Hawke
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Re: i cant belive its done!!!

Post by Hawke »

Why is there a cap on the condenser shell? THAT NEEDS TO BE OPEN TO ATMOSPHERE
It is the very things that we think we know, that keep us from learning what we should know.
Valved Reflux, 3"x54" Bok 'mini', 2 liebig based pots and the 'Blockhead' 60K btu propane heat
CletusDwight
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Re: i cant belive its done!!!

Post by CletusDwight »

Better be...or that thermometer's gonna go through the roof. Literally. :twisted:
MuleKicker
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Re: i cant belive its done!!!

Post by MuleKicker »

That is a spot on match to my first rig. (minus the cap on top! :lol: ) A little advice, take those cooling lines off the side of the collumn and insulate it. I dont know how many feet of tubing you managed to get into the top for your condenser, i only got about 6-8 if i remember right, which you will find is on the small side. stuff a few scrubbers in there, it will help. hope that top cap aint soldered!!! :? In the words of Kiwistiller, "what you made there is a bomb"
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junkyard dawg
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Re: i cant belive its done!!!

Post by junkyard dawg »

nice chainsaw...
this is the internet
billy,hill
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Re: i cant belive its done!!!

Post by billy,hill »

i'll try to get to all your concern's
no my caps are not soldered on they fit hella loose
if i need to ill put a hole in it... a hole it'll get
on to the condenser
7 feet is what i got wraped up in the coil(you think thats gonna work???)
if not ill put a 3"coupler and another coil on top and have two!!! :evil:
and j dawg a good saw is like a good woman you gotta with a little work thay take of there self :twisted: :lol: :twisted:
82 and burnin blue....a slave to the drip
Hawke
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Re: i cant belive its done!!!

Post by Hawke »

As long as the cap on the condenser is loose, just remove it while running, throw it on for storage. The column cap will need flour paste or PTFE tape to seal it during use. Depending on how loose it is, you could loose 1/2 your output from an invisible leak.
A couple of scrubbers stuffed in the condenser will definately improve performance.
It is the very things that we think we know, that keep us from learning what we should know.
Valved Reflux, 3"x54" Bok 'mini', 2 liebig based pots and the 'Blockhead' 60K btu propane heat
billy,hill
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Re: i cant belive its done!!!

Post by billy,hill »

thanks hawk scrubbers it'll get
when i do my first run im gonna wrap the whole thing in canned biskets cept the condenser cap it'll be off for shure
then when it's done i'll throw the whole in da oven :lol: :lol: :lol:
82 and burnin blue....a slave to the drip
winowillie
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Re: i cant belive its done!!!

Post by winowillie »

Looks alot like mine. Its posted in this forum dated 11/14/2009. Everything looks great except for the cap.
A cajun can eat anything, provided you put enough salt on it.
billy,hill
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Re: i cant belive its done!!!

Post by billy,hill »

SO THE CAP IS GONE!!! sold it for scrap

here is some first run pics (no cap!!!)
just vinegar and water mix
it was cold as hell out so i got condensate without the water hooked up as long as i kept the temp down
this thing ran good as hell
i hope the next run goes this good!!!

the wood in the background aint as close as it looks


now proceed to tell me what i did wrong :cry: :cry: :cry:
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rad14701
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Re: i cant belive its done!!!

Post by rad14701 »

billy,hill, you didn't do anything wrong other than not playing with coolant flow to determine how much it takes to knock down 100% of the escaping vapor... That would have given you a base point to work from with an alcohol laden boiler charge... Producing steam is one thing - figuring out how to knock it down and manage reflux and product is yet another...

Looking good...
Hawke
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Re: i cant belive its done!!!

Post by Hawke »

Yes, trying to knock down a water/vinegar mix would give you a good idea of condenser efficiency. (It's about 3 times as difficult to do w/v, as it is alcohol)
It is the very things that we think we know, that keep us from learning what we should know.
Valved Reflux, 3"x54" Bok 'mini', 2 liebig based pots and the 'Blockhead' 60K btu propane heat
WalkingWolf
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Re: i cant belive its done!!!

Post by WalkingWolf »

BH,
Nice start you got there. That's a good looking rig. Get a couple runs under your belt and you'll start to get a feel for how your rig will operate. Good Luck

WW
Grayson_Stewart
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Re: i cant belive its done!!!

Post by Grayson_Stewart »

If you have some more column pipe you will eventually want to extend the column and make it taller. And there is nothing wrong with a column cap AS LONG AS THERE IS A VENT HOLE. Look at a tea kettle design, it has a hole in the cap right?

I like to put a small piece of paper torn from the corner of a larger sheet over the hole in my cap...I then adjust the water flow to the point the paper JUST quits fluttering over the hole...this tells me I am not wasting any water flow through the condenser and getting the condenser's best efficiency.
Light travels faster than sound. That is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
billy,hill
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Re: i cant belive its done!!!

Post by billy,hill »

im going to do a alchol run next weekend i got 5gal of cheep wine and a half gal of bad tequlia
i was gonna run them togeher as a cleaner
then do an all wine run while my sugar wash is gettin reddy
all for practice
82 and burnin blue....a slave to the drip
billy,hill
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Re: i cant belive its done!!!

Post by billy,hill »

Does any body have any tips or links on how to run this thing???
And I'm gonna run some wine this weekend should I keep the end product or toss it???
Thanks for the help guys
82 and burnin blue....a slave to the drip
Hawke
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Re: i cant belive its done!!!

Post by Hawke »

Toss it, or keep it seperate for your next cleaning run. There will be a lot of oils from the pipe manufacturing and chemicals from the flux left in there.
It is the very things that we think we know, that keep us from learning what we should know.
Valved Reflux, 3"x54" Bok 'mini', 2 liebig based pots and the 'Blockhead' 60K btu propane heat
billy,hill
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Re: i cant belive its done!!!

Post by billy,hill »

So I planed on two wine cleaning runs
is that enough to get it clean???
Should I run more than 2 5gal runs???
82 and burnin blue....a slave to the drip
rad14701
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Re: i cant belive its done!!!

Post by rad14701 »

billy,hill wrote:So I planed on two wine cleaning runs
is that enough to get it clean???
Should I run more than 2 5gal runs???
You only need to run a few gallons, not 10 gallons... Just enough for a 30 - 60 minute run should be plenty if you've already done a water or water and vinegar run...
blanikdog
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Re: i cant belive its done!!!

Post by blanikdog »

Go for it, bill. It's all about learning how to drive your still. Coming from a place where bush fire is a hellova threat, may I suggest that you really clear up all the area around the still - preferably down to mineral earth - for about ten foot around the still. Bush fires are nasty and during summer can get away very, very quickly.

blanik
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(50 litre, propane heated pot still. Coil in bucket condenser - No thermometer, No carbon)
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billy,hill
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Re: i cant belive its done!!!

Post by billy,hill »

Got a wine run done this weekend I think it went good!!!
I ran 4gal of 12% and 1/2gal of 40% gross tequila mixed together as a cleaning run
ran about 4 hrs and called it quits I got about 1250ml or so
I ran in full reflux at 80c for 30 min then took off the first 100ml or so
and changed vessel kept the next 1000ml from 82c to 89c
then changed back to the first vessel and got bout another 150 ml from 89 to 92
shut her down and cleaned up
I got a 750ml bottle in the freezer I need to test for abv to see what I got
tell me what you think!!!
82 and burnin blue....a slave to the drip
billy,hill
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Re: i cant belive its done!!!

Post by billy,hill »

And b-dawg in oregon right now it's very wet like wet wet
and about 40f outside in the summer I will be much more careful
safety is a priority of mine for sure and thank you for your concerns
any safety tips are well noted!!!
Again thank you,
Billy,hill
82 and burnin blue....a slave to the drip
billy,hill
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Re: i cant belive its done!!!

Post by billy,hill »

so my wash is almost done i started before i found the tried&true thred
here it is
20lbs c&h white suger
10 gal water
10gr beerking fermaid k
2 packets lalvin ec-1118 yeast

heated water and disolved sugar
added cool water then yeast
stired like hell and got reddy to set for 14 days @75deg f
now almost done

what am i to expect???
ive read and read and read :egeek: but this is my first spirt run so im scared :?
how much hooch should i get???
when do i make my cuts???
how long will my run take???

any info will be greatly valued
thanks,
billy,hill :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:
82 and burnin blue....a slave to the drip
Dnderhead
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Re: i cant belive its done!!!

Post by Dnderhead »

about 5 qt. of 95% you had a wash of 7%, could have been a litle higher but you will catch on.
run it off in pint jars , sort them latter.
billy,hill
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Re: i cant belive its done!!!

Post by billy,hill »

so the hydrometer reads 14%
does that mean ill get more???
does anybody have a guess on how much of...
the foreshots/heads
the hearts
the tails to colect
82 and burnin blue....a slave to the drip
Dnderhead
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Re: i cant belive its done!!!

Post by Dnderhead »

as a guide only will verry by wash/mash and your taste---- fore shots 3% ,,heads --17%,,harts---57%,,,tales--22%
billy,hill
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Re: i cant belive its done!!!

Post by billy,hill »

dnderhead thank you im going to run now :D :D :D
thank you for your help ill let you know how it goes :arrow:
thanks again,
billy,hill
82 and burnin blue....a slave to the drip
W.S.C.beachman
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Re: i cant belive its done!!!

Post by W.S.C.beachman »

Very nice,
I got a question about this Valved Reflux. I was going to build a Bokakob for doing Vodkas and neutrals, but now I see this Valved Reflux. What would be the differnce? Its more about taste for me. Dont they both do the same thing???
Go DUCKS!!!!
billy,hill
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Re: i cant belive its done!!!

Post by billy,hill »

i dont know what went wrong!!!!
ran it twice with no results like three cups of liquid ot of ten galons of wash
somethings going on i dont know what but it sux big time
82 and burnin blue....a slave to the drip
Dnderhead
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Re: i cant belive its done!!!

Post by Dnderhead »

billy refress my memeray as I have CRS :? but I thank you running pot still? if so run heat up untill you git product,
don't cair about % the stripping is gust to git alcohol out and in smaller more manabul size.
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