Cuts ranges

[mendozer]

No it's the t500 base. I made my own pot head. It's a 2" triclamp setup. Vertical tube into an elbow then a 45 then my condenser. And by control heat I meant the vapor temps on my thermometer at the neck. That's what I mean by controlling

[NZChris]

Congratulations for building a pot still head, but the Youtubers have given you bad advice for the thermometer placement and for how to run using temperature.

Control output flow using your eye-ometer, not a thermometer . You need to control the power, not the temperature.

Also, for flavored products, you need to strip then spirit run to maximize flavor and yield, and those runs have different heat input requirements, so you need a power controller to cater for the two types of runs.

[Saltbush Bill]

And by control heat I meant the vapor temps on my thermometer at the neck. That's what I mean by controlling

.
You can't control that.

[mendozer]

so whats the purpose of a controller then? if my vessels holds lets say 25L and i do a tiny batch of 4 L, shouldn't i adjust?

[Saltbush Bill]

Yes you will need less power/ energy input, but you are controlling the rate of boil, not the temprature that it boils at
Water boils at 100c regardless of if it's a slow boils or it's jumping out of the pot.
A wash is made of many components, all with different boiling points......what is the boiling point of that mix?
The make up of that mix is constantly changing, therefore so is its boiling point.
The make up of the wash at any given time dicates the temprature of the vapour coming off, not you or the controler.

[mendozer]

so the boiling point should be rising as the run continues because it's becoming less alcoholic then. so then start at lower intensity for the element?

[NZChris]

Yes, and all advice from anyone who tells you otherwise should be deleted from your memory.

[PDBRadley]

When I began the hobby, I experimented using temperature as a guideline. There were a few benefits that should not be dismissed. I learned a great deal about how hard to run different washes and how to operate the equipment more efficiently both in time and energy input. Using temp to develop a product is useless, as is the consensus here, but my palate developed along the way and monitoring temperature has become a helpful tool for me. In short, don't be discouraged from experimenting. It helps you learn your equipment, develop consistency in your process, and find what works for you.

The best experiment I had regarding cuts was an accident. I did small batches with tight cuts (30-50 ml). Early on I had little tolerance for heads and tails. After aerating and blending modest amounts of them into the hearts, I combined the rest in a jug for a future feints run. After several months on the shelf the effects of time were apparent. Most of what was objectionable at first had aged out in just a few months. If I hadn't learned what I did from the temperature experiments, I would not have the consistency of process to determine how to make cuts.

[LWTCS]

When I began the hobby, I experimented using temperature as a guideline. There were a few benefits that should not be dismissed. I learned a great deal about how hard to run different washes and how to operate the equipment more efficiently both in time and energy input. Using temp to develop a product is useless, as is the consensus here, but my palate developed along the way and monitoring temperature has become a helpful tool for me. In short, don't be discouraged from experimenting. It helps you learn your equipment, develop consistency in your process, and find what works for you.

The best experiment I had regarding cuts was an accident. I did small batches with tight cuts (30-50 ml). Early on I had little tolerance for heads and tails. After aerating and blending modest amounts of them into the hearts, I combined the rest in a jug for a future feints run. After several months on the shelf the effects of time were apparent. Most of what was objectionable at first had aged out in just a few months. If I hadn't learned what I did from the temperature experiments, I would not have the consistency of process to determine how to make cuts.

Yeah, to clarify, no one is saying you can't learn from using temps as a learning tool. Many evidently do so with a measure of success.
The lesson is that relying on temps ( particularly at the hobby scale) is that you will never make your best spirits at the hobby level relying on some target temperature.

[shadylane]

Perhaps you should look at making a Pot still head for your boiler.

[Yummyrum]

Perhaps you should look at making a Pot still head for your boiler.

No it's the t500 base. I made my own pot head. It's a 2" triclamp setup. Vertical tube into an elbow then a 45 then my condenser.

Looks like he’s got this bit sorted Shady

[NZChris]

No it's the t500 base. I made my own pot head. It's a 2" triclamp setup. Vertical tube into an elbow then a 45 then my condenser. And by control heat I meant the vapor temps on my thermometer at the neck. That's what I mean by controlling

The vapor temperature can very quite a bit when you fiddle with the power input, giving newbies the impression that they can use temperature for control, or control temperature. I soon realised that mistake and put a thermowell in the charge, where the temperature can be used to calculate the ABV remaining in the charge. You can't control the boiling point, but using your past records you can get a fair idea of where you are in the distillation.