My first semi homemade still

[Bsjapost]

Well, my crack at it. Actually found a site to sell me a 2.5 gallon keg with sankey. Ran 1 run through, after cleaning, and it worked.
Flavor is a little hotter, feels like sugar burn, then when ran without the thumper.
Maybe an 8 gallon pot the cuts are harder with a thumper.

But knowing I built this and it works just reinforces the hobby.

[still_stirrin]

Your product condenser looks too short, especially when using a thumper, when you’ll be pushing the boiler harder than without. Double, or triple the water jacket length for safety’s sake and operational flexibility. It shouldn’t be a problem for you as you obviously knowhow to work with (solder) copper.
ss

[Bsjapost]

Good point, I went with a 1 inch jacket over a half inch pipe hoping the added volume of cold water would make up for the shorter length.

[still_stirrin]

Good point, I went with a 1 inch jacket over a half inch pipe hoping the added volume of cold water would make up for the shorter length.

But the heat capacity of water is sufficiently high that you won’t need a large volume of water...rather you’ll need a greater surface area between the vapor and water jacket to conduct the heat through. Also, dwell time...the time the vapor contacts the conducting surface...matters too for a condenser. So, a longer vapor tube in the water jacket is beneficial for efficient heat transfer.
ss

[Bsjapost]

Advice taken. Reply was trying to justify my design. I see the error in it.
But a question, is that why the distillate taste, or rather feels, hotter than when ran minus the thumper?

[still_stirrin]

Smearing. The “hot mouth” sensation is heads in your product. You’re running the still too fast to get adequate separation of the fractions. And, your recipe and ferment can contribute to increased volatiles in the product as well.
ss