Newb With Questions.

[Teddysad]

Re testing those lamps consider using methylated spirits as a fuel. That is your high proof alcohol - but don't even consider drinking it.

[Shyrac]

Update : I did the vinegar run and measured the original sugar wash at 1.012 after 33 days. The birdwatcher's is at 1.014 after 14 days.

Since there are too many undocumented variables with the original wash, I will just use it for a second cleaning run once the gravity settles.

Concerning the birdwatcher's, I was able to maintain it at about 90 degrees until three days ago when a power out while I was away shut down the heating blanket allowing temp to fall to 78. I also did not have time to change to a secondary fermenter or stir the wash after the yeast was first pitched (lots of work away from home lately). Does anyone foresee significant complications in light of these details?

[rad14701]

At 90F you couldn't get the SG below 1.014 after 14 days...??? Mine finish well under 1.000 in 4 - 7 days with or without a carboy cozy...

[Shyrac]

At 90F you couldn't get the SG below 1.014 after 14 days...??? Mine finish well under 1.000 in 4 - 7 days with or without a carboy cozy...

Do you continue to stir yours after pitching the yeast? I left the fermenter alone for the entire time, and suspect this may be relevant.

[rad14701]

At 90F you couldn't get the SG below 1.014 after 14 days...??? Mine finish well under 1.000 in 4 - 7 days with or without a carboy cozy...

Do you continue to stir yours after pitching the yeast? I left the fermenter alone for the entire time, and suspect this may be relevant.

No, it's not my girlfriend so I keep my fingers, and other things, out of it... I'm guessing it's a yeast or pH problem... I can go from 1.086 - 1.092 down to 0.990 or lower in a week or less... Just checked my last Birdwatchers and it went from 1.077 to 0.995 in 5 days using bakers yeast... It dropped a bit further during the clearing process even though the airlock remained quiet...

[Shyrac]

Alright, I am about to run my first keeper batch. That long fermenting birdwatcher's is sitting in the still waiting for flames. I will be preparing another birdwatcher's batch later this evening while the still cools. After that I will go for a second distillation as has been suggested.

Should I be shooting for a pH of 5.9 prior to pitching the yeast? This is what most of my reading has suggested for grain mashes, but I am unsure if it should be the same for a sugar wash... I don't see why it would be, but I feel I should ask.
Hopefully this new batch will ferment more quickly. I will be home for the next week, so I can make sure the temp remains at 90.

EDIT

As I write this, the still is running. I had to take it all the way up to 90C before I started collecting anything. I am not bothering with my thumper on this run, and I think I will keep it on the shelf until I get more comfortable with the basics.

After collection started I reduced the gas and got the operation stabilized at 92C. It has been running for two hours at that rate and I have collected 500ml. The 100ml drawn prior to writing this update tested at 65%.

[HDNB]

if you have a thumper, it makes me think you have a pot still. if you have a pot still it is begging the question...what does the temperature have to do with anything?
turn up the heat until that thing is pproducing 3 or 4L/hr. a nice steady 2mm wide stream. keep the stream that big with more heat as it progresses. when the distillate exiting is around 25%abv and you are getting tired of watching it, consider turning it off.
do that about 3-4 times and then do a spirit run at 2or3L/hr
the thought of running at 500ml/hr makes me want to get a gun and hang myself.

[Shyrac]

I did increase the speed at measured intervals just to get a feel for how the gas level translated into flow rate. It will be interesting to see if these numbers are different with other washes and how.

In the end I ran the still for 5 hours reaching a final temp of 98C and collecting 1.25gal before output dropped to 20%. I saved a bit of the 65% "hearts" to compare against those of the second distillation tomorrow morning.

It also seems that my champagne hodgepodge has finally fermented down to 1.000. Looks like I'll also be testing to see just how much gas I have left in the tank.

[corene1]

Oh my, I totally didn't notice that difference. My condenser does indeed have the connections for constant water flow. I used it to prep the laundry machine with warm water during my last run.

The only plastic in use is the ROPAK fermenter bucket. Everything else is glass or copper.

I just tested the champagne yeast wash, and I was dismayed to record 1.029. It has been 20 days now, and it appears to be only halfway fermented.

What part of it is glass? Sounds like one of those units with a copper pot and a glass thumper. If it is ditch the glass thumper. It is a huge safety hazard.

[Shyrac]

Glass? The only glass involved is my collection vessel (Ball jar).

[Shyrac]

I just completed my second distillation.
I combined the 1.25gal from last night with 2gal of hot water from the tap. I ran the still much more quickly this time and returned 1.25gal in about 2 hours.
I discarded the first 75ml as foreshots. Last night the larger vessel I had collected the first 1000ml in had become cloudy by this morning. Everything I have collected today is perfectly clear.
After the first 75ml, I collected and tested in 150ml units.
1 - 140 proof
2 - 140
3 - 140
4 - 135
5 - 133
6 - 130
I put this into a qt jar and set it aside. A 150ml sample of this jar registers at 135 proof.
1 - 128
2 - 128
3 - 121
4 - 120
5 - 119
6 - 112
This second quart tested at 120.
1 - 110
2 - 104
3 - 100
4 - 98
5 - 92
6 - 87
Third qt was 100 proof.
1 - 81
2 - 78
3 - 70
4 - 60
5 - 60
6 - 60
This guy came out at 62.
I cranked up the heat to 101C, and left another qt jar out until it was full. I am waiting for the still to cool and everything to come out of the worm before checking it.

Concerning cuts. I know the best method is by smell/taste, but until my ignorance on those topics is remedied numbers must prevail. The first qt smells strongly of alcohol and heavy wine. Two and three are almost neutral in aroma. The fourth qt smells strongly of wet cardboard. I am assuming qt2 is entirely hearts. Three may have a small amount of the tails that dominate #4. Where should I have made the cut for heads? I am guessing I should have done the first 600ml as heads. I am also guessing that the last 300ml of #3 should have been tails. That would have left me with about 75ml foreshots, 600ml heads, 1800ml hearts and 2000ml tails.

For efficiency, I am making two batches of birdwatcher side by side now. It seems more reasonable to do 2nd/3rd distillations with two batches of low wines. After I get done with that I may be confident enough to start using this panela... then flaked maize with fawcett optic.

[rad14701]

Numbers mean nothing with regard to cuts... About as effective as pissing into the wind... The way to learn is to learn, not by making frivolous excuses... There are enough topics here explaining how to use taste and smell, and even feel, to make cuts... Randomly mixing small jars into bigger ones is a good way just end up with less than optimal spirits that may need to be diluted and redistilled...

Edited to add: This topic has gone far beyond its Welcome Center intent...