I have read many of the intro threads and I have just finished the first run on my still and have a few questions about heating rates since I couldn't find anyone ever calling it out specificly.
Between what I remember from school and what I have read on the forum, here is my knowledge dump: (Please correct/excuse my jargon and any statements)
1) Start with LOW heating rate up to the begining of boiling to allow good seperation of foreshots.
2) Watch out, a HIGH heating rate can burn any lees (solids) that make their way into the charge of the still, giving a bad burnt flavor (not learned from experience... yet)
3) The temp of the boiling charge in the still is (mainly) dependent on the ABV% in the liquid
Side Note: Boiler temp is also dependent on a few other things like atmospheric pressure and other compounds in the charge, but monitoring boiler temp is not advocated on this forum (use your senses, smell, taste, and sight to monitor your distillation)
4) Increasing the heating rate to the still will not increase the temp of the liquid charge in the still.
5) The increased vapor flow will cause less internal reflux (condensing inside the still/column/head vs condensor and flows back into the pot) causing a lower ABV% in the distillate
6) As long as your condensor can handle the heat load from condensing the vapor, you can increase your heat load to the still, ultimately increasing your stills output (dripping vs streaming out of the coil)
If everything above is correct, my question is for a wiskey or rum run would I want to have a lower or higher heating rate?
Pot Still Heating Rate
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