Brand new hobbyist saying hello from CA

[Hooch1987]

Hello everyone. I just wanted to express my gratitude to this forum. What a wonderful way to provide an organized way to gather all the scattered info I've been researching these last few weeks.

I just got my 2.5 gallon pot still a few days ago for Christmas and I can't wait to get started. I've already done my Vinegar run and sacrificial run (although I treated it as much like a real run as I possibly could). Got about another week until my mash is fermented and I'm doing my best to take note and be ready for the real deal. many thanks to all the wonderful posts about running a small still! I was concerned that I was doing something wrong considering that my still wouldn't produce till 80 degrees C. But I'm fairly sure now that smaller stills won't be as precise temperature wise as some of the larger ones.

Looking forward to reading on and keep learning as much as I can. Thank you all for having me.

[MoonBreath]

Welcome to HD!
Yea, you want to run that lil thing by touch and take-off.
You can use the thermo as a reference, just not an accurate reference.
Pictures when possible ...
Good luck, be safe.

[bronctoad]

welcome to HD!! as you've seen for yourself this is a great forum, with more to learn than you can absorb fist time through with that said, Thermo's are a good indicator of your still ... after several runs. No two therms or stills run the same. don't trust numbers trust your senses. have a blast(metaforicly) stay safe.

sorry bout the spelling spell check wouldn't help

[Spritshere]

Welcome. Lots of great info here. Keep reading.

[Bigbob]

Welcome Hooch1987, I also run a 21/2 gal still and like what I make! In my byline below is a post on how I run it. Make sure to read a little spoon feeding for new distillers by cranky in novices. This will help you immensely. Welcome again from a fellow Californian and enjoy the forums!

[ukmoon]

Hello everyone. I just wanted to express my gratitude to this forum. What a wonderful way to provide an organized way to gather all the scattered info I've been researching these last few weeks.

I just got my 2.5 gallon pot still a few days ago for Christmas and I can't wait to get started. I've already done my Vinegar run and sacrificial run (although I treated it as much like a real run as I possibly could). Got about another week until my mash is fermented and I'm doing my best to take note and be ready for the real deal. many thanks to all the wonderful posts about running a small still! I was concerned that I was doing something wrong considering that my still wouldn't produce till 80 degrees C. But I'm fairly sure now that smaller stills won't be as precise temperature wise as some of the larger ones.

Looking forward to reading on and keep learning as much as I can. Thank you all for having me.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ukmoon]

Yea , Moonbreath is right , run it by touch , I started out on a 3 gal pot , I can say I got pretty good at , if you need any help just holler , some one here is sure to get u in the right direction


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[Truckinbutch]

Welcome Hooch1987, I also run a 21/2 gal still and like what I make! In my byline below is a post on how I run it. Make sure to read a little spoon feeding for new distillers by cranky in novices. This will help you immensely. Welcome again from a fellow Californian and enjoy the forums!

And if you can match what Bigbob makes with his still you can jump to the head of the class .

[Hooch1987]

Welcome Hooch1987, I also run a 21/2 gal still and like what I make! In my byline below is a post on how I run it. Make sure to read a little spoon feeding for new distillers by cranky in novices. This will help you immensely. Welcome again from a fellow Californian and enjoy the forums!

Thanks Bigbob! I did my very first full fun today and had some moderate success. From my basic cornmeal/sugar/water/yeast mash I ended up with about a litter of 70 proof. Pretty satisfied for my first go. And I want to thank you again for your post about small stills, it was IMMENSELY helpful. Gonna try and finish off the rest of my mash tomorrow.

[Hooch1987]

Welcome Hooch1987, I also run a 21/2 gal still and like what I make! In my byline below is a post on how I run it. Make sure to read a little spoon feeding for new distillers by cranky in novices. This will help you immensely. Welcome again from a fellow Californian and enjoy the forums!

And if you can match what Bigbob makes with his still you can jump to the head of the class .

hahahaha. Looking forward to trying a sweet feed mash! Can confidently say it won't be as good as Bigbob's, but a man can dream right?

[Hooch1987]

Welcome to HD!
Yea, you want to run that lil thing by touch and take-off.
You can use the thermo as a reference, just not an accurate reference.
Pictures when possible ...
Good luck, be safe.

Hey MoonBreath, Thar she blows!.. my lil still. Quick question, What do you mean by take-off?