I’m at this point.

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Ace21
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I’m at this point.

Post by Ace21 »

Good morning,
I am coming to ask of ideas on what I can do to improve my process. Some back ground is that I have a pot still 13g with copper column and liebig condenser, I also work at a sugar mill, and instrumentation. Well I opted to heat this thing with a 3500w heating element 240v with a cheap controller watching temp on top the column with a rtd. I have read that you can’t run the still auto because of some chemistry/physics with mixed liquids it’s been awhile since I took chem class. I use the controller though because I like take it slow to see what I get in stages especially since I am new to this. I wanted to get into distilling one because I work at perfect place with plenty of supply, and second because ever since I distilled artificial cherry flavoring and other things it’s kinda stuck with me. It’s funny how you think you’ll be in a lab then your out playing with computers and field work. Anyhow sorry for the ramble. It is sugar cane grinding season, so for my first wash used 10ths of B magma(sugar and molasses liquid sand peanut butter color), to that added 2g distilled and 3g tap water, then used WhiteStar Caribbean yeast 1tbsp at around 72-74defrees f, and nutrient 2tbsp. I will admit I did not check ph. It was not bubbling when I left work, but could tell it has moved somewhat. Next shift I came on I had bubbles. Consistent but non vigorous. It fermented for 2-1/2 weeks. Doing that bubble action. Did get down to 68 and as high as 76ish. Hydrometer stood tall in the beginning and fell when check before bringing home, but don’t think It fell enough to read a abv. Was not able to finish distilling it was time to work but got rid of the foreshots and starting collecting my heads and whatever else. I don’t think I made deep into my tails as the distillate did not get hazy and tbh I think I was getting to hearts as the temp was around 196-203 as it fluctuated. Started at 170 set point and raised it by 5 to increase flow. Finished and toss the rest out the boiler, I’m sorry in a rush. I added water to the distillate 35-40z pint and it turned cloudy and I thought it wouldn’t do that as I thought I was in the hearts. I read that is because of tails and if so I’m sad. Added water to my 5jar which is 20-25oz and still cloudy. So I am not sure what I did wrong. But I keep on moving made a second batch with syrup 3 gallon of syrup with about gallon filtered tap water to about 20brix and added the same amount of yeast and nutrient close to around 80degrees. It’s been bubbling kinda like the first batch for 2-1/2 weeks a day. Going to try to distill this when I get home today. I made a third batch as well with 4lb raw sugar and 7.5lbs of our final molasses also added the yeast around 80 degrees. It has more bubble action though it seems faster. Things I believe I need to get/do is a refractometer, more jars, and complete this 2nd run to learn more of the still. Any tips and ideas are very appreciated. Hope this wasn’t too long of a read I also plan on tracking temp better and jars with ounces.
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EricTheRed
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Re: I’m at this point.

Post by EricTheRed »

sjoe dude - a paragraph break here and there would make that an easier read :)

But anyway, it sounds like you are distilling at work? Is this all day while you are working or between shifts?

Sounds like you need to read up on Stripping and Spirit Runs, Novice guide to cuts, and general reading up on doing a run.

Enjoy the reading

ps: break up that ramble above and you'll get more answers
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Boozewaves
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Re: I’m at this point.

Post by Boozewaves »

+1 on paragraph breaks

its important to get a good ferment . if garbage goes in the still then you just get distilled garbage out (to paraphrase what's often said on this forum) . you did not say whether you were following a recipe from this forum + I have not read that much into rum recipes so I'm not sure if you are or not but I definitely recommend sticking to tried and true recipes listed here before you try to create your own hybrid recipe . By all means take advantage of being able to get sugar or sugar products for free or cheap from your workplace , thats a big advantage that many here would enjoy

in my experience things that help to get a good ferment are :-
temp control of the ferment (keeping it to the middle of your yeasts favourite temperature range) , making sure all sugar added is dissolved , some oyster shells in a mesh bag on a string helps with ph control , in my experience thats all that is needed for ph control . keep records of the temp , the gravity and anything else you do/add so you can replicate a good result ,

make sure you have time to do a run before you start . stopping and starting just muddies the water and will make it harder to understand what's happening . you will want to do 3 stripping runs without making cuts except for removing foreshots and then combine the results for a final run where you run slower and keep it all in lots of small jars for blending

and make sure you have read the link below in my signature
Become a distiller : start here viewtopic.php?t=52975
Ace21
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Re: I’m at this point.

Post by Ace21 »

Thank you both for the replies. Yea I typed this up at work and copy and pasted. I work at night and made my batches at night but will distill during the day. I definitely need to do stripping run I believe from what I read with the coudiness and then a spirit run.

English was not my strong suite lol, I will follow a recipe on here for my next batch as well. Idk why I was getting creative on the first one. Thank you again and will be updating as well. I don’t see the signature but I think I disabled them. I’ll re enable. Thank you both again!!
GrumbleStill
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Re: I’m at this point.

Post by GrumbleStill »

Hi Ace,

+1 on the hard to read, and comments on good fermentation, making good cuts and giving yourself enough time to do it right.

If I read right, you’re using an on/off temp controller for your pot still, and if that’s the case, then that’s where the trouble starts. Distilling just doesn’t work that way. This is a good article on why http://www.kelleybarts.com/PhotoXfer/Re ... gMyth.html so step one would be to ditch the temp controller, it’s just the wrong tool for the job.

Second point is that it looks like you’re doing a “one and done” run in a pot with a molasses based wash. That’s going to be very hard to get a decent quality product. You’ll need to double or even triple distill to get something 1/2 decent, and even then you’ll probably need to put some oak / age on it to make it nice. As others have said, strip a few runs fast, then put the low wines together and do a slow spirit run.

To do the slow spirit run you will need a power controller for your element. That way you can wind down the heat going into your boiler, and get a nice steady boil happening.

Good luck a stay safe.
Ace21
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Re: I’m at this point.

Post by Ace21 »

GrumbleStill wrote: Wed Nov 30, 2022 4:49 am Hi Ace,

+1 on the hard to read, and comments on good fermentation, making good cuts and giving yourself enough time to do it right.

If I read right, you’re using an on/off temp controller for your pot still, and if that’s the case, then that’s where the trouble starts. Distilling just doesn’t work that way. This is a good article on why http://www.kelleybarts.com/PhotoXfer/Re ... gMyth.html so step one would be to ditch the temp controller, it’s just the wrong tool for the job.

Second point is that it looks like you’re doing a “one and done” run in a pot with a molasses based wash. That’s going to be very hard to get a decent quality product. You’ll need to double or even triple distill to get something 1/2 decent, and even then you’ll probably need to put some oak / age on it to make it nice. As others have said, strip a few runs fast, then put the low wines together and do a slow spirit run.

To do the slow spirit run you will need a power controller for your element. That way you can wind down the heat going into your boiler, and get a nice steady boil happening.

Good luck a stay safe.
Would you mind recommending something or what I need for that steady boil?
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EricTheRed
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Re: I’m at this point.

Post by EricTheRed »

[/quote]
Would you mind recommending something or what I need for that steady boil?
[/quote]

Do a search on here (in the box that says google search) for "SCR Controller"
We'll see you in a couple of weeks when you're done reading all of that!

:D :D
My fekking eyes are bleeding! Installed BS Filters - better! :D
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Ace21
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Re: I’m at this point.

Post by Ace21 »

Thank you for the help. I will be working on getting one soon. I ran my second batch and syrup was pitafull abv lol. I made it puke though on purpose and that was interesting to hear the noise before it came kinda like someone puking. I saved what I collected for my third batch I got fermenting now with sugar and molasses.
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