I know this might seem like a stupid question. But her it goes. I have a Valor 3gal potstill and I wanted to make sure that the first few Ounces Are still going to be the methonal. Can anyone help?
Here is a link to the still.
https://vevor.ca/products/3gal-12l-moon ... n8QAvD_BwE
Valor still.
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- Saltbush Bill
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Re: Valor still.
Sounds like you have been reading or listening to people who believe in myths.
You are worrying about nothing really, its very hard/ almost impossible to produce enough methanol in a wash to be of any danger to you.
Sugar washes in particular contain very little if any, washes/ mashes made with fruits grains or other vegetable matter contain more.
To add to that the methanol wont all come off at the beginning of the run.....in will be present in some quantity all through the run.
The link below will lead you to pages and pages of Home Distiller discussion on the subject of methanol.
https://homedistiller.org/forum/app.php ... itesearch=
Re: Valor still.
Hello, some consideration .. that's a "pot-still" configuration so it's good for some products while it is not suitable for others, for example if you want a neutral is not the ideal .. I tell you this because in general the pots still they don't have a very clear separation but anyway you can also make cuts, I advise you to smell and taste out the product coming out to decide what to discard and do not be based on the established quantities (every ferment will be different). Another difficulty I see (and I know a lot Well) is the reduced quantity of the boiler .. essentially a small boiler in Pot Still mode will be difficult to perform the cuts, but not impossible just to learn to conduct your petrolting. I often produce small lots so I know the problem a bit, the first advice I give you is to always run stripping (to concentrate your alcohol), the second is to make a second race very slowly, the third do the cuts using Taste / smell.
Re: Valor still.
Thank you I did run an apply brandy I guess you could call it I did thow a the first really bad smells stuff away and then dubbed it just to be safe. I ended up with about 46% and its been aging on apply wood for about a week now. It is starting to smell good.
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Re: Valor still.
Maxw
Forget all the stuff you have heard about regarding methanol. I would not trust other info from that same source. The stinky stuff you smell at the beginning of a run is mostly foreshots (acetone) and heads (mostly ethyl acetate). Yes, you want to toss most of that.
Check out the “novice guide for pot still cuts” located at the bottom of this page, in the required reading section.
Otis
Forget all the stuff you have heard about regarding methanol. I would not trust other info from that same source. The stinky stuff you smell at the beginning of a run is mostly foreshots (acetone) and heads (mostly ethyl acetate). Yes, you want to toss most of that.
Check out the “novice guide for pot still cuts” located at the bottom of this page, in the required reading section.
Otis
Otis’ Pot and Thumper, Dimroth Condenser: Pot-n-Thumper/Dimroth
Learning to Toast: Toasting Wood
Polishing Spirits with Fruitwood: Fruitwood
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Learning to Toast: Toasting Wood
Polishing Spirits with Fruitwood: Fruitwood
Badmotivator’s Barrels: Badmo Barrels
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Re: Valor still.
Did you first do a vinegar run and sacrificial alcohol run? If not, you don't really want to drink your apple brandy as you probably just used it to clean out machining oil and flux residues from your still. I would absolutely not trust vevor to have adequately cleaned the still before shipping!
"I have a potstill that smears like a fresh plowed coon on the highway" - Jimbo
A little spoon feeding *For New & Novice Distillers
A little spoon feeding *For New & Novice Distillers