Thumper questions

[boda65]

Hello all,
I am a newer member. Everything about distilling is new to me so I have
read extensively on this site, I am wearing out YouTube watching Still It
and Barley and Hops channels. I have also read two books on the subject. I
do not have equipment yet, I am still in the learning phase (I must say I
am enchanted by the Mile Hi copper milk can still). My first question
concerns thumpers. My goal is to get a pot still as I generally prefer
bourbon and rum and not much into neutral spirits. Can I get a satisfactory
whiskey in a single run with no thumper? Or is stripping runs followed by
spirit run always required without a thumper?
My thoughts are since ageing should be done at around 120 proof and the
final product will be cut to 80-90 proof do I really care if the output is
140, 150, or 160 proof? Does a thumper just give a smaller amount of higher
proof alcohol?
Thanks in advance for straightening out my addled newb mind.
Jim

[still_stirrin]

Can I get a satisfactory whiskey in a single run with no thumper? Or is stripping runs followed by spirit run always required without a thumper?

With a potstill, the single “one & done” run will push a lot of the wash’s flavor through throughout the run. And it’ll also smear the heads & tails in the hearts as well. And starting with a 10%ABV (potential) wash, you’ll probably get the product to start coming off the spout at 110-120 proof maximum. By the time you get to the start of the tails, you’re collected product will be too low to put on wood. And it won’t taste very good with the heads & tails smeared throughout. So, no, you probably won’t get good whiskey from a “one & done” without a thumper.

But, collecting 3 stripping runs as low wines and then running those through as your spirit run will give you a product that you’ll be able to age on oak. Using a thumper with the spirit run will also give you the opportunity to put some wash into the thumper and increase the flavor in the product. And the thumper will give you another plate of distillation, increasing the purity offstill as well.

My thoughts are since ageing should be done at around 120 proof and the final product will be cut to 80-90 proof do I really care if the output is 140, 150, or 160 proof? Does a thumper just give a smaller amount of higher proof alcohol?

Yes, as noted, the thumper gives you another plate of distillation. It’ll boost the purity by 10-20 proof in your run. A thumper will take a little while to come online, so your run will take longer. Also, the amount of propane used will be greater (if you’re not electric, which I highly recommend, especially if buying a boiler). Electric control is so much easier to regulate.

There, my answers probably confirm what you already knew from your reading. But you got your first inquiry out of the way without a “tongue lashing”. Keep reading.

Be safe. Be responsible. And be discrete.
ss

[boda65]

Thanks for the info, SS. That explanation makes sense.

[TDick]

Welcome Sir!
A bit of advice.
Safety (as outlined by Cranky's thread) is MANDATORY!

Everything else is personal choice. And that makes it DAMNED difficult.
Scan through the Recipes for a drop you like.
You will find discussions in that thread about single runs vs multiples with or without a thumper.
I've found even a seemingly simple question like "Thumper or not" isn't that simple.
In the thumper: Water, wash, or backset?
Run it for the stripping run as well, or just spirit run?
Choices...

IMO, do a simple sugar wash to get comfortable with the process. Reinforcing what SS said, ferment enough wash for 3 stripping runs followed by a spirit run. It's no more trouble for the larger wash and it will save you time and money before you tackle your whiskey run. You can experiment with your thumper for flavor infusions as well.
Good Luck!

[Truckinbutch]

A good advice . My thumper stays deployed on all runs . Doubles my strip run capacity (equal boiler/thumper size) and enhances spirit runs .

[StillinCanada]

Though I am still new as well, I look at this a different way. If your after full heavy flavours then a one run pot still will get you there. Though many will not agree with me I consider this to be moonshine. Something a little more refined ( dryer) would be a one run through 3-4 bubble plates. This still allows an amazing amount of flavour but cleans up your spirit in one run. Could also be equal to a couple of runs in a pot still. Since I want my rum to be heavy on flavour but light on the palate and not leave my mouth full of oils I will be hooking up the still to a double thumper.

No one system will do everything you want on a single pass, different setups are better for different spirits and tastes. All of which is personal preference and part of the discovery your starting on.
My simple advice is a bubble plate still in which you can add or reduce the amount of plates to achieve your desired style. A 2-4 plate still will also do rum and many distillery’s use this setup, it also does a fine all grain whiskey and can be run in pot still mode for Moonshine style. The double thumper just suits my desired outcome better.

Also as a note, my description of moonshine is far different from most people. It has nothing to do with the history of the word, I use the term to describe a rough and heavy, oily spirit. This is not a bad thing as many love the heavy flavours, I’m just not one of them. Unless we are talking about Rum!

Mark
STILL’in Canada

[Yonder]

I always run a thumper and it doesn't hurt the flavorin one bit . My last run of UJ started at 80 ABV after the fores and I ran it down to about 35. Round abouts 50 it started to cloud up but don't matter cause thats goin into a later feints run. I gotta say there was a tun of great corn smell and taste in them jars, too. You'll also find a thumper great for adjunct flavorin.

[goose eye]

Might want to see why they recommend agein in the 120s. Why oak? Why not ? What temp char ? Why char? xy an z.
Ain't gotta age if the answers are so.

So I'm tole

[ibfestus]

I have been running my pot still for several years and wasted a lot of alcohol. I've been considering adding a thumper. My boiler is a 15.5 gal keg with a 2" column and a liebig arm. I have a 12.5 gal keg I could use for the thumper but I read where 30 - 40% is the correct size. I can see it would take longer to get the heat up on a 12+ gal keg than it would on a 5 or 6 gal thumper. Is that an issue or am I OK with the bigger thumper?

[Truckinbutch]

I have been running my pot still for several years and wasted a lot of alcohol. I've been considering adding a thumper. My boiler is a 15.5 gal keg with a 2" column and a liebig arm. I have a 12.5 gal keg I could use for the thumper but I read where 30 - 40% is the correct size. I can see it would take longer to get the heat up on a 12+ gal keg than it would on a 5 or 6 gal thumper. Is that an issue or am I OK with the bigger thumper?

Equal sizes will be just fine . Disparate size recommendations are suggested minimums to prevent overrunning your thumper with too large a boiler .
Your heatup time will be dependent on charge sizes .
12.5 gallons in boiler and thumper work for stripping runs and run hard and dirty .
6 Gallons of low wines in the boiler and a couple gallons of water or whatever in the thumper works fine for a spirit run .

[Smokee]

Hi Jim, welcome!

I built my own still a few years ago. It's a 10 gallon stainless pot with and elbow in the center of the lid and a 1/2" copper arm. I initially went straight to the condenser but, without any reflux, my runs were low in alcohol so I tried adding a thumper... It helped considerably. I went from a peak abv during the run of 35-40% to 55-60%. I don't use sugar, am straight all-grain, I usually end up around 8-9% abv. In the thumper I run about a gallon of filtered water. I do two stripping runs of 6 gallons of my all-grain and get about 5/6 of a gallon of each, about 40%. I then do a spirit run, again with filtered water in the thumper, of both strips and the left overs from the last spirit run. When it's all said and done I end up with about a gallon of 75% from my spirit run. The thumper did well for me. I'm considering a new rig, something a little less effort-intensive. I like a 16 gallon milk can with a tower and a liebig, I can either use with or without reflux. If you're going to stay with your pot still I'd def add in a thumper. You can run mash in it or anything for that matter. I like water, it gives me a nice clean spirit after the spirit run with just the right amount of flavor to age on Oak or, my favorite, cherry.

Good 'still'n!
Smokee

[OtisT]

A good advice . My thumper stays deployed on all runs . Doubles my strip run capacity (equal boiler/thumper size) and enhances spirit runs .

Hey truckinbutch. When and how do you pull foreshots? Do you collect them from the thumper output on the spirit run?

I have been pulling foreshots from my pot only, then shutting down and adding the thumper for the remainder of the run.

If you pull from the thumper, how do you run the heat during the first part of the run?

Otis

[Truckinbutch]

On a 25 gallon strip run I pull the first quart as fore shots and run the rest into a carboy down to 20% .
I pull a pint of fore shots from the spirit run and then collect the rest of the run in half pints down to 20% . Air that for 24-36 hrs and then cut and blend .

[OtisT]

On a 25 gallon strip run I pull the first quart as fore shots and run the rest into a carboy down to 20% .
I pull a pint of fore shots from the spirit run and then collect the rest of the run in half pints down to 20% . Air that for 24-36 hrs and then cut and blend .

Thanks for that info on your process. I’ll have to try that quad distilled run some time, a few strips with my pot/thumper then a pot/thumper spirit run. Otis.

[Truckinbutch]

On a 25 gallon strip run I pull the first quart as fore shots and run the rest into a carboy down to 20% .
I pull a pint of fore shots from the spirit run and then collect the rest of the run in half pints down to 20% . Air that for 24-36 hrs and then cut and blend .

Thanks for that info on your process. I’ll have to try that quad distilled run some time, a few strips with my pot/thumper then a pot/thumper spirit run. Otis.

Don't mistake me on runs . I do that 25 gallon strip and then cut to below 40% for a boiler charge and use a couple of gallons of water or leftover mash in the thumper for a spirit run .
I don't combine multiple strip runs for a spirit run with the size of my boiler and thumper .

[OtisT]

On a 25 gallon strip run I pull the first quart as fore shots and run the rest into a carboy down to 20% .
I pull a pint of fore shots from the spirit run and then collect the rest of the run in half pints down to 20% . Air that for 24-36 hrs and then cut and blend .

Thanks for that info on your process. I’ll have to try that quad distilled run some time, a few strips with my pot/thumper then a pot/thumper spirit run. Otis.

Don't mistake me on runs . I do that 25 gallon strip and then cut to below 40% for a boiler charge and use a couple of gallons of water or leftover mash in the thumper for a spirit run .
I don't combine multiple strip runs for a spirit run with the size of my boiler and thumper .

Thanks for being specific. It matters here. Unfortunately, I’m not blessed with such a large boiler (with a small minimum volume) and one strip (diluted) won’t cover my element so in my reply text I translated your process in to what I would need to do to replicate your process. Sorry for the confusion. I did get what I was asking about from your original post, that you collect fores out of your thumper on both passes and that you do four distillations (pot/thumper x 2) per batch. Thanks again. Otis