Does size matter?

[Steve Broady]

I searched a little bit and didn’t see anything directly related to my situation, but please feel free to point me in the right direction if I missed something.

I have an 8 gallon pot still which I run on the kitchen stove. Nothing fancy, but it does most of what I want it to do. My question is, can I put a small (say, 1 gallon of 40%abv) gin recipe into this thing and distill it to make gin? Ignoring the recipe, etc, the specific question is, is this still too big to make a small batch? And if so, I would love to learn why.

I understand the logic behind a minimum volume in a still with an internal heating element, but that’s not applicable here. The only other issue I can imagine (admittedly, I have very little experience compared to so many of you here) is that for some reason that much volume for vapor would be a problem, though I don’t understand why that would be the case.

[StillerBoy]

My question is, can I put a small (say, 1 gallon of 40%abv) gin recipe into this thing and distill it to make gin?

Yeah it can be done.. just be mindful that you have a small amount, so as to not go dry during the run.. and during the run be mindful of the amount being extracted..

Mars

[NZChris]

A gallon of charge can produce about 1600 gallons of vapor before you boil the still dry, so I wouldn't worry about it.

Make sure you have cleaned the fusels out of the riser and condenser before a gin run.

[Steve Broady]

Make sure you have cleaned the fusels out of the riser and condenser before a gin run.

Thanks for the reminder. I hadn’t even thought about that. Even if I build a smaller gin still, I’d presumably use the same condenser that I have now, so it’s a good thing to bear in mind regardless. I’ll definitely give it a good clean before and after.

As for running the still dry, my thought is that if I’m using 80% ABV neutral and I cut it 50/50 with water, then when I pull roughly 80% product out of the condenser it should leave me the same water I used to cut it down with in the still once I’m done, right? Minus whatever portion exists as steam, but I can’t see that being more than a few ml of liquid water. Meaning that when I’m done with a 1 gallon run, I should have at least 1/2 gallon of liquid left in the still… assuming I have thought things through correctly.

[StillerBoy]

As for running the still dry, my thought is that if I’m using 80% ABV neutral and I cut it 50/50 with water, then when I pull roughly 80% product out of the condenser it should leave me the same water I used to cut it down with in the still once I’m done, right?

Yeah a gal may product 1600 gal of vapors, but those vapors are also condense back..

Just saying to be mindful, those numbers will not work out as stated, and your 8 gal pot diameter is quite wide for the small amount of liquid (1 gal at start), that is the area of concern I would have..

Example: my pastis pot is 8L with diameter of 8" run on a stove top.. a run of 3L of 30% extracted to an overall average of 55%, with the last jar 150ml at less than 8%, leave just 3/4" in the bottom of the pot.. so you take your pot diameter and determine what will be left..

Mars

[NZChris]

It doesn't take twenty ml of the charge to fill the still with vapor. How is that amount ever going to lead to someone running a still dry?

[GrumbleStill]

Hi Steve,

It’s not exactly a stovetop, but I have no trouble running a 2 litre batch of Odin’s in a 35 litre Digiboil.

1 litre covers the base which is 300mm diameter.

Measure what goes in the pot, measure what you take out.

I put 2 x 1litre jars in, run real slow, collect in the same jar I filled it with, and always shut down before the first one is full.

[Steve Broady]

This question also has me wondering, would there be any advantages or disadvantages to proofing the wash down below 40%? Obviously, that should mean more water left in the still when all is said and done, so therefore less risk of running dry, scorching, etc. But what would it do to the quality of the gin?

[Yummyrum]

This question also has me wondering, would there be any advantages or disadvantages to proofing the wash down below 40%? Obviously, that should mean more water left in the still when all is said and done, so therefore less risk of running dry, scorching, etc. But what would it do to the quality of the gin?

Lower ABV in the Still will result in lower ABV out the spout which will likely result in Louching of the Botanical oils .... IE cloudy Gin . Tastes OK but might not look right .
Adding some higher strength Nuetral will fix ..... at the expense of slightly less flavour .

And just a small point , but we wouldn't call what's going into the boiler in this case a "wash" , it's a maceration .The wash has already been distilled and turned into a Nuetral prior to addition of botanicals

[StillerBoy]

I put 2 x 1litre jars in, run real slow, collect in the same jar I filled it with, and always shut down before the first one is full.

Ever consider that the setup and method is leaving lots of good product behind..

Mars

[Steve Broady]

And just a small point , but we wouldn't call what's going into the boiler in this case a "wash" , it's a maceration .The wash has already been distilled and turned into a Nuetral prior to addition of botanicals

Thank you. In my professional life I am stickler for proper terminology, so I appreciate the chance to learn to communicate more effectively.

[subbrew]

Not sure the diameter of your pot. But for small batches in my 8 gal still I put it in a tamale pot filled with a couple of gallons of oil. Put my burner under the tamale pot. Almost no chance of scorching. It is slow though and very slow to react to temp changes.