Preventing Boilover in the Pot

[mrbean]

What, if any, preventive measures do you take to prevent the wash/mash etc. from boiling over in the pot and tainting the column?
Obviously, keeping the heat input properly regulated is the correct answer. But, I'm wondering if there's any additional steps that can be taken to mitigate the issue.
Thanks!

[Prairiepiss]

Don't fill it so much.

[Braz]

A bit of butter or cooking oil can help.

[mrbean]

Don't fill it so much.

How much "head room" would you recommend, as a % of the total pot volume / height?

[toast860]

someone one here mentioned put copper fitting in the boiler. i think not postive. it was in a offtopic debate

[Dnderhead]

"How much "head room" would you recommend, as a % of the total pot volume / height?"
fill 1/2-3/4 depending what the wash is.

[jholmz]

most usually go 2/3 full on washes or mashes that foam boiling chips (pieces of scrap coppercut and flattened and added to the boile) help break the boil and alert you to when the contents start to boil as they move around and hit the side and bottom of the boiler makeing noise when in a boil

[frozenthunderbolt]

I would go 3/5 if rum (unless sitting for months and perfectly cleared with all particulate dropped out, every thing else 3/4 to 4/5 full is fine with mine.

[goose eye]

if it even a wee bit sweet you best start the fire low an be ready to turn the wick back .

so im tole

[myles]

This is information relating to an old cognac still, but it puts a bit of perspective into it.

Boiler capacity: 3000 litres
Separate Headspace: 591 litres
Total volume: 3591 litres

Boiler charge for both wash and spirit runs: 2500 litres

So it is charged to just about 70% total capacity.

Expect to charge to between 60% and 80% dependent on what you are running. Possibly as low as 50% if you have a pure molasses fermentation to run.

[mrbean]

Thanks for the insight
My experience up to this point has been primarily with sugar washes. I've been able to fill the pot 3/4 to 4/5 full with no issues. Recently, I did my first corn mash (off the grain) and is seems to much more prone to boil over. I should have suspected this was the case because it was quite "foamy" when pouring it into the pot. But, hindsight is 20/20.

[lustreking]

My boiler is a 20 qt stock pot, and my lid is an 8 qt mixing bowl. Can I count the 2 gallon capacity of the lid as space for foaming? I mean can I fill my boiler with shy of 5 gallons and still consider it only 3/4 full, or do I want to keep it to only 3/4 of my stock pot?

Also, am I correct in assuming that foaming is only a concern during the stripping run?

[rad14701]

My boiler is a 20 qt stock pot, and my lid is an 8 qt mixing bowl. Can I count the 2 gallon capacity of the lid as space for foaming? I mean can I fill my boiler with shy of 5 gallons and still consider it only 3/4 full, or do I want to keep it to only 3/4 of my stock pot?

Also, am I correct in assuming that foaming is only a concern during the stripping run?

I have had good luck along those lines but your mileage may vary...

And you are correct on foaming only being an issue with stripping runs, and spirit runs without prior stripping...

[lustreking]

I have had good luck along those lines but your mileage may vary...

And you are correct on foaming only being an issue with stripping runs, and spirit runs without prior stripping...

Thanks, Rad! My first run will probably be your All Bran recipe!