maybe haven't tried to hard to rack my brain on this one, but would rather just ask for a shortcut
anyone got any equation for bringing down the proof?
ex. if I have one gallon of 150 proof, how much water would I add to bring it down to 120 proof?
and on and on
proof mathematics
Moderator: Site Moderator
Re: proof mathematics
The parent site has a wealth of useful calculators, including the one you are looking for... We consider it required reading... Diluting the Distillate...
Re: proof mathematics
Hey crackalac,
go to the mother page... http://homedistiller.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow then use the top left drop down box 'Distilling' then go down to 'Diluting the Distilate' then you can use the supplied Dilution Calculators etc.
Hope this is what you are after?
Use good quality water, and nothing too hard if you don't want white precipitate visable.
go to the mother page... http://homedistiller.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow then use the top left drop down box 'Distilling' then go down to 'Diluting the Distilate' then you can use the supplied Dilution Calculators etc.
Hope this is what you are after?
Use good quality water, and nothing too hard if you don't want white precipitate visable.
-
Cackalack
- Novice
- Posts: 34
- Joined: Wed Sep 23, 2009 8:22 am
- Location: sometimes here sometimes there
Re: proof mathematics
I thank you
Re: proof mathematics
Does anyone ever use the "Gauging Manual" or figure the error is negligible and just fudge it?
When I read the pdf open-source published "Artisan Distilling" by Kris Berglund, PhD. (http://www.distillery-yeast.com/ARTISAN ... G1.0.0.pdf) I saw it mentioned:
According to this method, if you have 1 gal of 150 proof and wanted to get 120 proof:
150 proof contains 75 parts alcohol and 28.19 parts water (imagine you had 100 gallons for the sake of calculation)
and 120 proof contains 60 parts alcohol and 43.71 parts water.
75 (strength of alc at 150 proof) divided by 60 (strength of alc at 120 proof) is 1.25
43.71 (water in 120 proof) multiplied by 1.25 is 54.64
54.64 minus 28.19 (water in 150 proof) is 26.45 gallons of water to be added to 100 gallons of 150 proof to reduce it to 120 proof. This means 0.2645 gallons (33.85 fl oz or 1001 mL) of water to be added to 1 gallon of 150 proof to reduce to 120 proof.
If we use the online calculator it says you only need 32 fl oz which would yield a little greater than 121 proof.
Obviously at a small scale this is still decent accuracy (Heck, I have trouble reading the meniscus well enough to resolve 1 degree of proof on my hydrometer). And since we are not selling to consumers and don't have to comply with truth in labeling laws and such, whose going to quibble over a proof or two? Nor are we a big distillery worried about calculating accurate yield to stretch the bottom line and not cheat ourselves out of revenue. I guess mostly these calculations are an interesting exploration into the wiliness of the chemistry involved.
When I read the pdf open-source published "Artisan Distilling" by Kris Berglund, PhD. (http://www.distillery-yeast.com/ARTISAN ... G1.0.0.pdf) I saw it mentioned:
I found the Gauging Manual published by the gub'mint here http://www.ttb.treas.gov/foia/gauging_m ... 25.5.507.6Determination of Blend Water Amount
If alcohol and water are mixed in arbitrary amounts the volume of the mixture is smaller than the sum of the individual volumes. This phenomenon is called contraction* and for this reason the determination of the required blend water amount makes use of tables (Gauging Manual in the US). Calculations would give an inaccurate result...
*The contraction is largest if approximately equal volume portions of alcohol and water are mixed.
According to this method, if you have 1 gal of 150 proof and wanted to get 120 proof:
150 proof contains 75 parts alcohol and 28.19 parts water (imagine you had 100 gallons for the sake of calculation)
and 120 proof contains 60 parts alcohol and 43.71 parts water.
75 (strength of alc at 150 proof) divided by 60 (strength of alc at 120 proof) is 1.25
43.71 (water in 120 proof) multiplied by 1.25 is 54.64
54.64 minus 28.19 (water in 150 proof) is 26.45 gallons of water to be added to 100 gallons of 150 proof to reduce it to 120 proof. This means 0.2645 gallons (33.85 fl oz or 1001 mL) of water to be added to 1 gallon of 150 proof to reduce to 120 proof.
If we use the online calculator it says you only need 32 fl oz which would yield a little greater than 121 proof.
Obviously at a small scale this is still decent accuracy (Heck, I have trouble reading the meniscus well enough to resolve 1 degree of proof on my hydrometer). And since we are not selling to consumers and don't have to comply with truth in labeling laws and such, whose going to quibble over a proof or two? Nor are we a big distillery worried about calculating accurate yield to stretch the bottom line and not cheat ourselves out of revenue. I guess mostly these calculations are an interesting exploration into the wiliness of the chemistry involved.