Amount of Liquid/Flavor in 1/3rd Keg Thumper?

[Shine_Dad]

Afternoon!

I tried doing some basic searching so I apologize if this is the 12th-teen time this has been asked:

I purchased the Olympic Distillers Thumper/Double kit to clamp on to my 1/3rd keg ( 5 gallon beer keg )

First question: Am I the only person that can't get into contact with this company? We purchased this about... 2 weeks ago? The website says 2-3 weeks shipping time, but they haven't ever responded to an email Or answered my trying to call them on the phone. I'm not trying to be impatient, I've just been trying to confirm they received my order and are working on it and I can't get ahold of anyone.

Second question: With a 5 gallon capacity on that thumper, how much 'flavor/spirit' do you want to run thru that? I hear you only want the steam to run thru a few inches of stuff in the bottom of a thumper, but I don't know how to gauge that. Would I be safe to run a gallon of flavor/spirit liquid in that 5 gallon thumper or is that still too much? A half gallon?

I was thinking of adding some cinnamon and vanilla to a cheap $20 bottle of whiskey for flavor to run 'basic @$$ beginners sugar/corn' uncle jesse mash recipe thru and wanted some feedback on that please?

Also: I was NOT planning to run any heat thru my thumper... from the 15 gallon keg still to the thumper then to the condenser... this should be okay? I'm trying to setup my first still as 'old school' as I can in regards to a classic still with a thumper and a coiled condenser. ( Wish I could afford an all copper setup, but thats not in the budget this year. )

Thanks everyone !!

[psf]

Afternoon!

I tried doing some basic searching so I apologize if this is the 12th-teen time this has been asked:

I purchased the Olympic Distillers Thumper/Double kit to clamp on to my 1/3rd keg ( 5 gallon beer keg )

First question: Am I the only person that can't get into contact with this company? We purchased this about... 2 weeks ago? The website says 2-3 weeks shipping time, but they haven't ever responded to an email Or answered my trying to call them on the phone. I'm not trying to be impatient, I've just been trying to confirm they received my order and are working on it and I can't get ahold of anyone. I bought a 8 gallon and 15 gallon boilers from them with no issues last year. Can't speak for them know but I had no issue

Second question: With a 5 gallon capacity on that thumper, how much 'flavor/spirit' do you want to run thru that? I hear you only want the steam to run thru a few inches of stuff in the bottom of a thumper, but I don't know how to gauge that. Would I be safe to run a gallon of flavor/spirit liquid in that 5 gallon thumper or is that still too much? A half gallon? thumper should hold at least 30% of boiler charge. you have a 1/2 keg for a boiler? so 15 gl but you need head space. so 12-13 gallon. I thought the small 1/3 kegs you have are 6 gallons. not sure. either way you are within the 30% minimum. you only "need" enough thumper charge to cover the downtube outlet. how you run the still and what you charge the thumper with is going to dictate how full it gets by then end of the run. Start small and work your way up. your setup is popular so you shouldn't have a hard time finding a answer.

I was thinking of adding some cinnamon and vanilla to a cheap $20 bottle of whiskey for flavor to run 'basic @$$ beginners sugar/corn' uncle jesse mash recipe thru and wanted some feedback on that please? pick recipe from the tried and true. follow it exactly and then master the mashing and then the distillation of it. don't try to run vertical beads when you don't know how to spot weld

Also: I was NOT planning to run any heat thru my thumper... from the 15 gallon keg still to the thumper then to the condenser... this should be okay? I'm trying to setup my first still as 'old school' as I can in regards to a classic still with a thumper and a coiled condenser. ( Wish I could afford an all copper setup, but thats not in the budget this year. ). your main boiler will power your thumper. insulation the thumper and piping to make it more effecient

Thanks everyone !!

Read until your eyes bleed.

[MiddleOfTheWorld]

I looked that piece up. because I had no idea what it was.

And to be honest I like the design. However i would not spend 200 on that.

I personally do not have a thumper, but i like the idea of it . In my opinion you're better off with some sort of gin basket to add botanicals directly and not rely in the liquid carry over or deal with the closed system that a keg creates.

[Ben]

5 gallon keg is a sixtel, or a 1/6th. A 15.5 is a half.

Agree with others, that's a pretty spendy solution. Take the spear out of your sixtel and you will see you have 90% of what you need to make that thing included with the keg.

[Bobbydigital84]

I like the idea of using the keg spear for the thumper