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
Built my apparatus, did my cleaning runs than ran 3.5 gal UJSS and 2 gal sugar wine through it. ABV was near exactly 10%.
My apparatus:
I turned the needle valved down to a slow trickle and unit was producing about a quart in a half hour.
I threw away the first 6 oz (150ml) then started collecting 24 oz in quart jars. Jars one through five were 110 proof, 100, 90, 80, 60 proof respectively. Then I got about 40 oz at 30 proof. The plate thermometer was reading 178 to 184 through most of the collection; I pulled the plug when the temp was reading about 204. I sampled jar 2; I think that it's ready to drink!
But I'm wondering, should I run this again or is it okay to age it for drinking as is?
I would do a few more runs and wait until you have enough to fill your keg about 2/3 full, dilute it al to 35-40% ABV, then do the slow spirit run...I would also recommend that you collect in smaller jars...like pint sized, as a quart is too big at first for you to be able to discern the changes from heads to heart and hearts to tails...keep the quart for when you do your spirit run. Use them then when you get into the hearts, switch from the smaller to larger jars then. Monitor and when you start to slip into the end of hearts beginning of tales, switch back to the small jars.
Finally, is that a plastic juice bottle that you have the output line from the still going into? if so then chuck it...plastic and alcohol don't do well together.
I'm shamed, that is a plastic jug... picture was taken during a cleaning with nothing but water. (The plastic line coming from the cooler is Teflon tubing.) Used nothing but glass jars while running mash.
Okay, I'll consider the first few runs stripping runs... It did seem to me that I needed to turn the heat down; will have to did out my Harbor Freight router speed control.
Folks point out my first run was too low in proof for my still. Made some more mash and made another run, got some pints at 175 to 185 proof... too high! ? I want to make whiskey, not vodka.
I think there's little room to adjust between neutrals and stripping with my (cheap) needle valve. I think that's my problem but here's the rest of the setup: 4 foot 2" column, half of it packed loosely with about 15 pot scrubbers. Also, I am using a 240v 4500 watt low density element at 120v in the boiler without a controller.
I did change the column ( added packing) between the two runs, I tried to get a just little reflux going... I'm thinking that I can't control the reflux that well with the valve, would you recommend removing some of the packing instead?
Thank you!
Last edited by yahoo on Fri Mar 29, 2013 7:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
If you want a whiskey than you should have just made a simple pot still..........what you have is a reflux still.........if it is doing it's job it will make neutral.......ie your vodka, and high proof, near flavorless stuff..........don't fret you can easily make a pot still head and use your boiler and then have both worlds........I think (from all the reading on that style of still) it is a little hard to just do a striping run with that still....
> If you want a whiskey than you should have just made a simple pot still..
Sure, but when I was just lurking a boka write-up said to the effect "you can just detune your column (or use partial or a lower reflux ratio) to get whiskey in one pass. I thought it would be straight forward (and maybe it is with a better build) but I'm having trouble dialing that in. I haven't found any FAQs or instructions for that mode of operation so I'm asking for help.
I think the best way you can "detune" it would be take out any column parts that you can, that give it height. Take out any packing. Run it with the take off valve wide open. Control your take off with your heat. You want a small stream not drips. That should get you as close to pot still as you can get.
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yahoo wrote:> If you want a whiskey than you should have just made a simple pot still..
Sure, but when I was just lurking a boka write-up said to the effect "you can just detune your column (or use partial or a lower reflux ratio) to get whiskey in one pass. I thought it would be straight forward (and maybe it is with a better build) but I'm having trouble dialing that in. I haven't found any FAQs or instructions for that mode of operation so I'm asking for help.
Thank you.
"FAQ".....hahahahahahaaaaa....... Good joke though. They don't make it easy on here. You gotta read a LOT of stuff to pick out the "nuggets" you want. A few months reading....MINIMUM.....
yahoo wrote:> If you want a whiskey than you should have just made a simple pot still..
Sure, but when I was just lurking a boka write-up said to the effect "you can just detune your column (or use partial or a lower reflux ratio) to get whiskey in one pass. I thought it would be straight forward (and maybe it is with a better build) but I'm having trouble dialing that in. I haven't found any FAQs or instructions for that mode of operation so I'm asking for help.
Thank you.
"FAQ".....hahahahahahaaaaa....... Good joke though. They don't make it easy on here. You gotta read a LOT of stuff to pick out the "nuggets" you want. A few months reading....MINIMUM.....
x2
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Richard7 wrote:I think the best way you can "detune" it would be take out any column parts that you can, that give it height. Take out any packing. Run it with the take off valve wide open. Control your take off with your heat. You want a small stream not drips. That should get you as close to pot still as you can get.
i concur i am now stripping with my 3" column with the top sealed and run it as hard and fast as i can with out seeing any vapor anywhere and i can nary tell the difference between the stuff i ran with my ol janky little pot still and my new one ....although im prolly gonna go ahead and build a lil short head to put on there to strip with...well see
