Parot

[Godstilla]

Hello All!

I haven't been able to find much on a parot. I understand they are used to monitor ABV, but I want to know how they work. Does anyone have a link to more information for me? Also, are they worth buying or building?

Thanks!

[Dnderhead]

I use mine on every run, it monitors the abv as it comes out of the still. I guess you'd call it a in line hydrometer

[eternalfrost]

basically to build one you just need a section of tube big enough to hold your alcoholmeter. then put an inlet on the bottom and an outlet on the top (or vice versa i suppose) and basically your tube with the alcohol meter gets filled up with distillate then spouts it off to be collected. the meter sitting in the distillate will constantly tell you the current %abv as you go along.

just make sure the in and out spouts are at opposite ends of the tube so that it will continuously flush out the tube with new stuff to give an accurate 'live' reading

[Godstilla]

What do you guys think of one like this?

[Godstilla]

I like the one you are running Dnder! Damn nice! Thanks for posting it!

[Dnderhead]

I tend to keep things simple .I have made things that are complicated but found most as not worth the trouble and time.

engineers are people that git big bucks, to try to improve on a already perfect design

[Hawke]

Here is the one I built. I shortened the input slightly since taking this pic.
The horizontal arm fits in an adjustable cradle on my still rack.

[Rudi]

What do you guys think of one like this?

grrrrr yeah baby

[Godstilla]

Damn nice Hawke! Thanks for posting the pics!!!!

[Usge]

What do you guys think of one like this?

That's the Colonels work.

The only thing I didn't like about it was the distillate would overflow the top of the tube into that open trough, as opposed to overflowing the tube into a small container/cup that then runs off via a collection tube (such as his master parot design and others above) might cause more distillate vapor to be kicked up in the immediate area. That may or may not be an issue depending on where you are and the conditions you are distilling under.

The other issue is..although its hard to tell from that image how its meant to be used....I think you should never "inline" your connection to a parrot to your stills output. I believe its supposed to be open (ie..drip/flow into a receiver cup or funnel ...not be connected with a tube or coupling and closed to atmosphere. Hard to tell from the image how its meant to be used in that regard since it has no receiver cup or funnel, but appears to just be a connection tube waiting to be coupled to your stills output. The Colonel does good work. I wasn't a big fan of this particular design.

[Dnderhead]

Usge why cant you couple to the condenser? I do.

[Hawke]

After reading Dndr's post on the other parrot thread, I would say the colonel's is meant for direct connect with the vent tube on top.
I prefer to have mine loose so I can collect the foreshots without it, then swing it into place for the real collection.

[Dnderhead]

mine holds 100 ml with out hydrometer . so I let it fill and then dump it. the tube is swagged so it just slips on

[Usge]

Usge why cant you couple to the condenser? I do.

If it's not open to atmosphere in some way, it will build up back pressure. I see that's normally solved by a "vent tube" but It wasn't clear from other picture if it had one.

[Godstilla]

I am going to build one using a combo of dnder's and hawke's. My question now is how do you clean it up after soldering?

[violentblue]

boil it in water and vinegar, then boil again in just water

[Piter]

basically to build one you just need a section of tube big enough to hold your alcoholmeter. then put an inlet on the bottom and an outlet on the top (or vice versa i suppose) and basically your tube with the alcohol meter gets filled up with distillate then spouts it off to be collected. the meter sitting in the distillate will constantly tell you the current %abv as you go along.

just make sure the in and out spouts are at opposite ends of the tube so that it will continuously flush out the tube with new stuff to give an accurate 'live' reading

That's what I did.

[Redeye]

Here is the one I built. I shortened the input slightly since taking this pic.
The horizontal arm fits in an adjustable cradle on my still rack.

Hello hawke or anyone else that can answer this question. That valve on the end of your parrot is that one of the lead-free ones you get from hd or lowes? Thank you can't find any copper valves.

[Usge]

They don't make copper valves that I know of either..but they do stainless..although I'm not sure that's even needed or warranted here. You could also pickle the brass ones to remove the surface lead...which is what I think Hawke did. I would think using lead-free from lowes or homedepot would be fine though...given that valve is only to dump fores from. After that..it's closed and not used so it's not constantly passing distillate through it. And the distillate that "does" travel through it..is being discarded anyway.

[Redeye]

Thank you usge that is what i was going to use it for dumping the foreshot and early heads. I have mine build now i just want to make a stand for it and polish it up.