My first "spirits" run.

[Alabama Rick]

Howdy from Bama,
I have been saving my heads and tails(no foreshots) for about the past 4 months and am ready to try a run of just them.

I use a column with a condenser on a 15Gal. beer keg pot. I usually run between 12 to 13 gals. of mash but I know that alcohol expands more than water with heat, so I was only going to use about 11 to 12 gal. for this run.

What else should I know?
Is there anything I need to do to it before I run it?
Should I run it slower or faster or about the same?
Should I collect a very large foreshot?

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thx,
Rick.
RTR.

[Hound Dog]

If it's all saved heads and tails, its a feints run not a spirit run....
Dilute it down below 40% for safety. Dilute it more fore a cleaner run. Remember this will heat up quickly too since it is more alcohol than in a wash. Since its a feints run, cuts will be different. It all depends on the feints you put in it. My feints runs turned out great neutrals. Have fun.

[Alabama Rick]

OK Hound Dog, that is helpful. Thx.

Anyone else got anything?

[MoonBreath]

This is covered on the Parent Site ...
Charge until you first see alcohol coming out of your condenser ..
Turn back burner for a slow drip through your foreshots. The rule of thumb for foreshots is 8ozs for every 6gal of wash ..Adjust accordingly ..After foreshots, adjust burner to acquire a pencil tip stream for the rest of the run ..Get an alcohol meter and check everything..Start your journey ..
Have Fun, Good Luck.

[Boda Getta]

The guys have covered it well; I run my feints as slow as my propane burner will allow me without it going out. I often dilute my feints runs down to 30% ABV or lower for a cleaner run. Some of my all time best results were from feints runs. Most don't save the feints after making a feint run because they feel the undesirables are concentrated too much.
Good luck.
Where in Alabama are you; I'm in the Auburn area.

Boda Getta

[Alabama Rick]

If I need to cut it down to about 30% or 40% anyway......
Could I cut it with mash for added flavor? Good idea or bad idea?

I wash asked where in Bama I am..........
Near Anniston.

[MoonBreath]

That'll be ok ..Sure, you can do that.