My First Run.....A+ Effort C+ Taste

[ErickPanther_1]

Well I have now made 2 runs in my 5 gal pot still with the first being just short of a train wreck!
Mash seemed good, set-up seemed and everything was running correctly untill my condesor got tooo hot and was just pumping steam.....Up untill that point I was getting 110 out of it which I have read was pretty good. Would have liked to gotten more out of it.

Now the second run went a lot better, I upgraded my pump and placed in cooler with ice and that helped incredibly! I ran for about 5 hours playing with the heat and not worrying to much about the cuts and more on practicing. I got 3 good qts of good tasting spirits but cut short due to lack of sleep and running it by myself...

Well thought I would share!

Cheers

[jollyroger]

Congrats on the second run, but you might wanna do some more reading on here. There is a wealth of info being shared. Take a look at what ice can do to your runs, study up on cuts, etc. It really will help you improve on your product and learning to drive your rig. This site is amazing if you take the time and read up. You will surprise yourself at what you can end up making!

[W Pappy]

Yes I concur with Jolly you need more research.What are you using for a condenser worm or liebig if worm how big a flake stand you using?Ice is a a no no you don't need it look up shock cooling.

[Mud Mechanik]

Sounds like a good second run to me....i have used ice also with good results.

[W Pappy]

Ice is just a band aid on top of the problem plain and simple Eric do some reading.

[ErickPanther_1]

Yes I concur with Jolly you need more research.What are you using for a condenser worm or liebig if worm how big a flake stand you using?Ice is a a no no you don't need it look up shock cooling.

Its a condenser worm and I am guessing 2 or 2 1/2 gallon sand with pond pump pushing the water. I got creative with the pump but the push is tooo much so back to the drawing board. Was thinking of 10 gallon bucket and redesigning a worm for it. Its 1/4 inch tubing now and I would say its pretty short maybe 2-3ft. I am running a 5gal pot still and have been reading that the condeser needs to be twice the size. Any suggestions or pictures I can mirror?

[Tokoroa_Shiner]

1/4 inch tubing is way too small for a worm. Any puking and or blocking and you would have a very flammable bomb. Need to run at least 1/2 inch

[cranky]

Sorry, I have to chime in. 1/4 tubing is way too small for a pot condenser. Make a liebig 3/4" over 1/2 and get a bigger bucket for the water, you already have a pump and a liebig costs about the same as a proper sized worm and is easier to clean and deal with and you should be able to run a bit faster too.

[W Pappy]

Sorry, I have to chime in. 1/4 tubing is way too small for a pot condenser. Make a liebig 3/4" over 1/2 and get a bigger bucket for the water, you already have a pump and a liebig costs about the same as a proper sized worm and is easier to clean and deal with and you should be able to run a bit faster too.

Cranky is spot on way too small I used a worm for quite some time and even put one on my new build. I got to looking at it sitting there and looking at liebigs and got to thinking what a liebig would look like on it.And wow what a waste of space a worm was and how easy it would be to tuck a liebig away.I built a liebig the next day.Look around I picked up 2 30 gal plastic barrels for 6 bucks a piece.Or just hook it up to your sink if your in the kitchen then you don't need a pump at all.

[ErickPanther_1]

Thank you Everyone!! I will check out the main forum and google designs to make it more efficient

W Pappy did you get design from the forum or google?

[rad14701]

Everything you need to know is here in these very forums and/or on the parent site... There's virtually no reason to look elsewhere for the knowledge you need... Doing so may be why you ended up with too small of a worm... You need a minimum of 10 - 20 feet of 1/2" for a worm... Compare the cooling capacity to your several feet of 1/4" and it should be obvious where your problem lies... Either a right-sized worm or a liebig will resolve your issues...