Tell us about your mistakes.

[maheel]

while running my Boka the other day i was super confused at why i could only get 85%

re-stablised for a while, checked temps, water flows slowed down and sped up reflux nothing worked or really gave me a change except a little less % at full open on valve.

WTF whats going on ???

about 1 hr in i had resigned myself to shutting it down and figuring it out...... maybe losing the wash....
only then do i notice the scrubbers siting in their container looking lonely
i had forgot to put them in the column ......

so cranked the valve open and just stripped it out, gotta do it over

[Nightforce]

I had yet another water accident. First time was loose ends on the hose, popped off and flooded my garage. This time I guess the hose, 1/4" heavy walled tygon, got to close to the burner while I was getting 8 gallons of water to boil, and burst. I'd gone in the house to answer the phone, talked for a few minutes and walked over to the garage door to check on things and to my bewilderment saw a fountain in my garage. I stood there for a few seconds before it registered what was happening. The water shut off is right by the garage/house entrance door so I shut off the water then I carefully walked out in the garage with about 1/4" of standing water on the floor, water dripping everywhere, and shut off the propane burner which the water had blown out.

Long story short, I spent part of Saturday cleaning up the mess and most of Sunday cleaning up the garage which was in dire need anyway. So once I resume the hobby, I'll be doing so in a nice clean (literally) space with plenty of proper room to work in.

[rad14701]

I'd gone in the house to answer the phone, talked for a few minutes and walked over to the garage door to check on things and to my bewilderment saw a fountain in my garage.

Not sure how many times we need to say to never leave your still unattended before it sinks in...

Glad things turned out alright - these two times...

And to think that there are people who want to set up their stills so they can monitor them remotely or via automation... It's gonna take a lot of automation to determine water problems in addition to everything else... Cheaper and easier to keep your ass close to the still...

[adanac58]

when i dumped some snow into the condenser bucket the out line fell out of the bucket and i didnt notice since i had the smart idea to leave the operation un attended while i went to the washroom all the condenser water went ALL OVER my floor , my mistake . for one i left the still un attended and didnt get someone else to watch it while i was busy and for 2 the in and out lines of my condenser arent attached to the bucket , theyre just hanging there . so if im not carefull that can = a mess

[mash rookie]

Not realy a saftey issue but a screw up just the same!

Finally figuring what I have been doing wrong with my UJSSM. I have been getting good tasting stuff but a pretty low yield when my ferments stalled.

I got advice from the mentors, PM’d Dnder asking questions and worked my ass off.

Even after adjusting backset PH and oxygenating it, I was making two mistakes.

Mistake one,
After finally getting my hands on some cracked corn, I realized that the boiled corn meal I had been using was about a tenth of the raw cracked corn the recipe calls for. A couple of cups boiled up sure looks like a lot but, next to the 14 lbs of cracked corn for my two buckets… My yeast were starving little critters.

Mistake two,
Because of the cornmeal in the wash, I used the parent site calculator to determine sugar volume for maximum SG of 1090. Plugged in 10 gallons for my volume. I did not subtract for the grain space, did not subtract for head space. But here is where the real mistake happened. Because my washes were not finishing to dry there was still a lot of sugar in the backset. I am sure this compounded with each batch. Way too high of total SG for my poor little starving yeast critters to handle.

On the next batch after I had adjusted the PH on the backset and cooled it with oxygen I checked the SG. A little simple math and I used a small amount of sugar to get the correct total SG for my wash.. Then of course I used my cracked corn for the first time.

Well. They took off like rockets. They have been working so hard that one of the buckets actually puked on me last night. I usually have at least 2 inches of head space.

This is day 5. They haven’t slowed down yet. I took the lid off the bucket that puked to clean things up. Still boiling like crazy and almost dry, very little sugar taste.

How come I didn’t just go get some cracked corn and follow the damn recipe to begin with!! Feeling like a knuckle head.

I loved the corn flavor before. How much better is this going to be with all that cracked corn? Hmm…..

[Oxbo Rene]

Ran my Wino's wash this mornin.
Cranked her wide open (propane = several turns of the knob).
After bout twenty minutes column heat came up, I cut propane knob back to marks I had previously put on.
Damned VTH (vent to heaven) (condenser vent) was blowing vapor out uncontrollably.
Couldn't understand what was going on, till I realized, I needed to turn propane knob another 360 deg turn
back down, then everything settled down, etc.......
I was freaking ! ! ! ! !

[wildrover]

Made an electric keg, but used a cheap dimmer switch that couldn't handle the wattage. Left it unattended while it warmed up and the dimmer switch melted. Luckily my wife unplugged it when she smelled the aweful burning plastic smell. Stupid stupid stupid, use the correct electrical equipment and don't leave it unattended.

[TexasReflux]

didn't have anything to add here until tonight...

Don't get too comfortable with this hobby, things change and can change quickly. Like for instance...

I was running a spirit run of some heads and tails and a wash that puked. All in all it was4 gallons of 60% abv in a 10 gallon rig, no biggie. Ran it slow down to 100 proof and figured, hey what the hell, crank up the heat a little (I mean a little) and collect down to 40 proof or so in a large 1/2 gallon container. BTW, the condenser water had heated up a good bit... So got going with that, figured I would grab another container in the house just in case (mistake #1!). Left the bitch for a minute, then back to the garage. Opened the door, stepped in and before I knew it, the cap blew off and boiled over...

Thank god I was not sitting in my normal seat, would have been a hot seat to say the least.

Three things learned here...

1) dont leave your rig...
2) dont sit too close either...
3) and run that thing slow, no need to adjust heat mid stream and keep that condenser water cold...

And trust me, I know how serious this could have been, and I am thankful someone up there must like me... for now.

[ogrethetop]

well my first real mistake. was transferring my wash to my keg and dropped my hose into the keg. my fermenting buck sits up on a table to make it easy to use the spigot, it fell off the spigot and into the keg. it wouldn't have been so bad if there wasn't 10 gallon in there already . bring out the carboys and drain the keg, just to get this 8 inch hose back.. also i drained like an ass. picked the keg up and was pouring it into the carboys. remember dont put anything in a keg you want back, unless it's backset . backset is pretty easy to get back.

i wanna hear someone's bad siphon attempt with hot backset

[Prairiepiss]

I would be looking into installing a drain valve in the keg.

[ogrethetop]

I would be looking into installing a drain valve in the keg.

as soon as i posted , i thought siphon it out next time. not hold a keg. drains sound nice, but i dont want to drill and tap it. im no keg doctor.

[hackware]

as a noob whoz done nut'n, i ain't made no friggin mistakes...

yet...

[adanac58]

i was using an electric hotplate ... and there was numerous other electronic devices near and a power bar on the floor ... so the water mess near that scared me just a little bit

[The Baker]

Hang the power-board thingy on the wall. Please.

[yankeeclear]

Hang the power-board thingy on the wall. Please.

...and plug into a GFCI (Ground Fault Interupt Circuit) if it all possible. If not possible, plan for one in the near future.

[Beerlover88]

Was writing a post in another forum, which reminded me of this. Don't dump the waste of a run in your front yard unless you want to reseed the grass. It didn't outright kill it, but it turned it yellow for several weeks!

[Husker]

i wanna hear someone's bad siphon attempt with hot backset

Weld on a dump tube and ball valve. It will save you having to post in this thread later about the burns you got trying to get boiling backset out of the keg! With the ball valve, you crack it open, let'r drain, and you are done. If you need some for the next run (sour mashing), then grab it. Otherwise, you do not have to come into contact with that dangerous fluid at all.

H.

[scotty]

I was mashing some barley to make a poteen for the first time. I decided to try usung flaked barley from the feed store and enzymes instead of malt because of the cost of petrol and shipping.. WEEEL When i calculated the amount of enzymes needed, i became confused and replaced the word ounces with grams.
I mashed andthe grain swelled up to fill the tun but wasn't reacting to the enzymes. After i realized my error, i added the correct amount of enzymes and proceeded to mash for another 90 minutes. The grain had absorbed so much water that i had to scoop it out of the tun and squeeze it by hand.
I have some more grain and will try again soon. Boy what a ton of goop lol

LET ME ADD TO THIS by saying that i purchased a small wine press figuring that it could be used to press grain for some sneakey pete. I wanted to use a grain bag in the press but this little guy has the main shaft screwed into The base instead of an overhead cross beam. So the grain bag needs a hole in its bottom to allow the shaft to pass through.

ENOUGH MISTAKES FOR NOW yikes.

[staggerlee]

I pump my condenser water into a utility sink that is in another room in the house. Today I decided to fill up the washing machine for the wife to conserve a little water. Two and a half hours later, I practically had to do the backstroke across the floor when I finally remembered to change it back to the sink.

Me -
The wife -

Thank God for shop vacs...

[jeepkidd]

I was siphoning out of my fermenter into my carboys and as I got the 75l fermenter down to where I could lift it I got it nice and high to speed things up... finished siphoning and was organizing the full carboys without thinking to put the fermenter back on the floor first... it spilled sludge all over when I bumped it off it's stand and took a while to clean up the floor, walls, bottles and equipment it had covered.

[whiskymonster]

the mrs robbed my siphon tube for reasons probably best left unexplored.

all i had was this little fish tank tube to syphon with.

ho hum.

took ages, and the long and the short was i forgot.

25l fermenter into a 10l fermenter. you do the math.

first i knew was when the guy in the flat below knocked on my door and asked if the shower was leaking.

3gal econowash straight through the flat floor and his roof.

i went a bit red.

told him i had knocked over a full mop bucket.

[BFC]

Not distilling but.........when I was in early days of home brewing a 50 bottle batch that was bottled prematurely,packed in a cupboard,a warm day............one near marriage wrecking mess.(marriage didn't last much longer anyway.)

[Acrolein]

I was finally going to fire up my new still (converted Cornie keg, wasn't that bad to make really, we will see if it works!). I had the malt but no yeast and the store was closed so I decided to just harvest some yeast from a bottle conditioned beer. I grabbed the cheapest single with lots of yeast sediment on the bottom. Got home, harvested it and put it into some wort. Which beer did I grab? A Cooper's Vintage, bottled 2008. If those yeast could survive 3 years bottled they'll make some killer mash but I won't hold my breath.

[the pure drop]

This is embarrassing because I should have known better...should have thought this one through just a bit, but...some time ago I got me a nice 5 gallon stainless pot with a tight fitting clamp down lid. Had a small copper cap from a 3.5 gallon still. Just cut a hole in the lid to fit the cap. Sealed the edges with paste and fired her up. The cap pot fit was not very tight. Coiled worm was too small, I was running it too hard...everything was exactly what you shouldn't do. Bout half way through the run it started spring semi-wet vapor leaks and began to whistle like giant tea kettle and then the cap flew off and hell-fire hot mash sprayed everywhere. Lucky I cut the heat and ducked out...only got a bit of the hot mash on my arm which blistered up a bit. Could have been sssssooooo much worse. Will NEVER half ass another still or run too fast. And lads, if you hear her scream like a kettle, it's too late to save, the cap will be blowing in a second or two...just get the hell away from it.

[Texas Jim]

I was dumping my ferment into the boiler when I felt something wet on my foot. Looked down to see that I had left the drain valve open and my hard work was running all over the garage floor. Live and learn.

[astronomical]

I was periodically refilling a 6G bucket with cooling water in my freezer. I was using a hise with the sprayer attachment. I pushed down the latch to keep it filling and forgot about it. I was never more than 20 feet away but I didnt hear it filling over the fan and the whole chest freezer filled up. On the bright side i had the outlet pump all hooked up so i flipped the switch and pumped just a couple gallons out. I didnt have to switch anymore water for the rest of the run since i had an empty freezer full to the top.. Time for a solenoid and a float valve and a timer on the outlet pump.. Or a radiator and a fan and no need to refill... decisions decisions... definately need a better cooling system,,, BTW, I read every post in this whole thread and while some was repetitive, and some sounded like outright lies (just a few "dumb" ones), I think the whole post was worth the read and I think everyone will mess something up at some point. I think the biggest lessons I learned ar to pay attention to the most dangerous things above all else and that you'll be wasting your time and your precious product if you arent organized with your storage.. Only one person mentioned carbon monoxide and it seems like aryone using burners indoors oughtta have detectors. Bad labeling scares me due to the fact that there are compunds in heads and tails which are very bad for you (espescially in heads that had foreshots of methanol and what not). Ive carried hot liquids with gloves and poured it and seeing the possible consequences is a grim reminder... nuff said.. I'm going to implement some new safety rules upon myself.

[DamianRyan]

Hi guys Damian here. Well! I'm sure this doesn't count as a distilling mistake but it's related as I do grow the carrots for distilling. 12 weeks ago I was rotovating the ground where I plant carrots with my walk behind tractor it got jammed and so I changed gears from fifth down to first, and must have jumped the gap between forward and reverse into reverse, let the clutch out and low and behold the next thing I was on the ground with my lower left leg being chopped to pieces by the blades of the rotovator.

I have never experienced pain as intense in my life and still do not understand how the hell I didn't pass out. I just lay there watching the blades chew the sh1t out of me leg. The machine ran out of petrol, it was on it's side and only had what petrol was left in the carburetor, and I was able to drag my leg out and lay there and wait for the ambulance.

I was rushed to the local hospital where the doctor gave me 30mlg of morphine and proceeded to wash the wounds. It is beyond belief that anyone can go through pain as intense as that and not pass out even with the morphine. From there I was taken 235Km or 141Miles to a major hospital where the surgeon spent 3 hours putting my foot back together. I spent 10 weeks in hospital, had 2 more operations including a skin graft to my left leg and my left foot.Oh he tells me that 2 bones from the foot have gone walkabout and he couldn't find them, which 2 I have no idea.

I have one hell of a recovery ahead of me and as one can imagine it has cramped my style somewhat. It does appear that I will be able get on my bicycle and ride again some time in the future, so in the meantime I'm going to be playing plenty of ROCK 'N ROLL while I recover. If you all want photographs I have them but they are gruesome, the surgeon took them before he began repairing.

Moral of the story guys is SAFETY SAFETY SAFETY it comes before all else.

[rad14701]

DamianRyan, that is one big BIG ouch...!!! Sorry to hear about the accident and hope that the worst is behind you and that you will achieve as close to a 100% recovery as possible under the circumstances...

Accidents do happen in a hurry and sometimes quicker than we can think... Some years ago, when doing work for a local municipality, a guy got snagged by a post hole auger and torn to pieces so fast that nobody had even a chance to react and it was all over in the blink of an eye... It was just days before Christmas which made it even worse for the family and everyone who was on or responded to the scene...

Consider yourself lucky and get well soon...

[LWTCS]

Oh for heavens sake Damien. I do hope you'll recover as good as one can........

I would consider the pics a dern good learning tool...Is that bad manners on my part?

Feel better and thank the good lord that you are still with us.

[Prairiepiss]

I hate to hear of you misfortune. And hope for your speedy recovery. Or at least as speedy as it can be.

But I have to ask. Carrots? You are using carrots to make alcohol?