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johnhopper1957 wrote:

Lunabrille wrote:

ExpatLad wrote:Using a microwave to heat a highly flammable liquid is an extremely BAD idea
There are plenty of hot surfaces close to the magnetron would could easily ignite alcohol vapors.

At BEST.... you're creating a nasty fire.... Worse, you'd be creating and heating a air fuel mixture in a confined space AKA a BOMB

This is a major safety issue, definitely something to avoid.

Sorry, I'm not trying to start anything but this comment brings a question to mind. If a hot surface is all it takes to ignite alcohol vapor, how come the alcohol vapor dosent ignite in or near a column? Certainly a hot surface and a much higher ABV.

Flammable liquids have flash points and boiling points, ethanol has a temperature it needs to reach before ignition can occur.

liquid ethanol does not burn (I think because there is no free O2 in the ethanol, but not sure on this one). What burns is a mixture of ethanol vapor and oxygen, with the right concentrations of ethanol vapors and oxygen.

I 'believe' that flash point is the temperature where ethanol of a specific concentration is producing enough vapor to light. I am pretty sure that flash point does not 'mean' that ignition WILL happen. However, there IS an auto ignition temperature.

The first paragraph of this article explains things well. My initial thoughts (last paragraph) were correct. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_point" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

H.

Husker wrote:

johnhopper1957 wrote:

Lunabrille wrote:

ExpatLad wrote:Using a microwave to heat a highly flammable liquid is an extremely BAD idea
There are plenty of hot surfaces close to the magnetron would could easily ignite alcohol vapors.

At BEST.... you're creating a nasty fire.... Worse, you'd be creating and heating a air fuel mixture in a confined space AKA a BOMB

This is a major safety issue, definitely something to avoid.

Sorry, I'm not trying to start anything but this comment brings a question to mind. If a hot surface is all it takes to ignite alcohol vapor, how come the alcohol vapor dosent ignite in or near a column? Certainly a hot surface and a much higher ABV.

Flammable liquids have flash points and boiling points, ethanol has a temperature it needs to reach before ignition can occur.

liquid ethanol does not burn (I think because there is no free O2 in the ethanol, but not sure on this one). What burns is a mixture of ethanol vapor and oxygen, with the right concentrations of ethanol vapors and oxygen.

I 'believe' that flash point is the temperature where ethanol of a specific concentration is producing enough vapor to light. I am pretty sure that flash point does not 'mean' that ignition WILL happen. However, there IS an auto ignition temperature.

The first paragraph of this article explains things well. My initial thoughts (last paragraph) were correct. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_point" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

H.

Awesome info there, thanks. So looking up the auto ignition temp for ethanol I found this:

Ethyl Alcohol, Ethanol 365 C 689 F

From here:
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/fuels ... d_171.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

So I think we can rule out that microwave has any surface that hot, right? I would have burnt this crap out of myself making pop corn by now if it was that hot.

No actually, you can't rule out heated surfaces inside a microwave; vapor can easily flow into the magnetron duct and come into contact with surfaces which are much hotter than anything you could touch. In addition, there are internal electronics and wiring which could also provide an ignition source....

Failing any of that, it would only take a single moment of carelessness, any sort of conductive metal.... a mason jar lid perhaps.... and you'd have a fire instantly.

I'm sold on the process I have a great tasting product after one week. I started with a SF that had 3 weeks of age time and one week of the nuclear. I used JD chunks that are barrel stave's cut up. I sanded all sides down to fresh wood, toasted and re-charred.



The way I see it this is far less dangerous to me than some of the other aspects of the hobby. IMHO

Well Ive been in front of the microwave for a full day now. Pretty amazing really. I did 3 times of apple chips, cherry chips and white oak staves from a broken down Jack Daniels barrel. All wood was toasted and I did char the staves before I used them. The chips did a lot better than the staves. They may have worked better if they were cut into smaller pieces. The apple and cherry got very red while the oak was still pretty yellow. Im going to keep nuking the oak and see what I get. Im also going to be on a hunt for JD smoking chips for next time. The smell is pretty amazing on all three. Picks go oak to cherry to apple.

Worked great for me, really transformed my sweet feed. I only did a half pint jar and it got to hot and started to boil. Just keep a close eye on your jar and be ready to turn it off if you see any agitation starting in the solution. I am amazed at what I am drinking. Jd chips fyi.

Azure... I just finished a Rad style cornflake wash... and decided to nuke age it.... now without ageing it was just corn likker with a little hint of cornflake/sweet corn taste... I really like it that way

I put a 1.3 liter jar of it with JD chips and processed it through 3 heat/vacuum cycles and it went from clear to golden amber .... after it cooled and i cut it to 40' ish abv my first taste was .... hmmm, second taste was damn, third taste was.... don't give a damn... and now i really am enjoying it... Keep playing with the method and i think you will be really pleased with the overall results.

thanks for posting and add some photo's of your finished work when you get a chance,

Happy Stillin

FS

The color looks amazing you guys....

heres my results.did 1:10 in micro and 30 minutes in freezer x 4...looks good already had SIGNIFICANT color change after 1 cycle in micro
1L 90% proofed to 2L of 60%, then took 1L and split into 2 pints
heres after 1 turn of 1:10 in micro


ran four cycles of micro and freezer, i will say i might have over zapped one bottle (playing with cook times trying for exactly 150f it started to boil but i immediately removed it from micro. the bottle i over zapped has a little sharper taste than the other. but over all im pleasantly surprised..

my ol lady loves jack and we go thru a bottle bout every 2 weeks so maybe shell drink this..

i usually age on home made sticks and wait but i can see my self doing this more often just to keep the ol lady in "jack"

i did have quite a butt pucker while doing this admittedly, but no problems..stood with one hand on extinguisher and one hand on micro door button...

Cut the freezer out and let it air cool sure it takes a bit longer. But this lets the wood gradually release its good stuff into the ethanol at a progressive rate... then when its fully cool and you release the vacuum it sucks the high abv product deep into its cell structure... so please try it without the freezer ...

and if your woman likes JD add more chips and one drop of the best vanilla extract you can get... a very small amount of glycerine really makes the JD flavor taste/feel come into play... and yes i have probably messed with this way more than i should have...

Keep Having fun

Happy Stillin

FS

sounds good next time no freezer....

Navy vet wrote:I have a vacuumed sealer purchased at Sam's club. I have a vac attachment for canning jars. Wonder if the same results are achievable without the microwave?

+1 I have not found any food that I like better in the micro, Maybe I'm to quick to judge.

I've just followed this whole post guys and like what I'm reading.

The glass jars you use, are they what you would normally get a product in from the store? Like jelly for example?

I have been using canning jars mostly... however i have used the kind of glass jar your talking about apple sauce, pasta sauce jars, apple juice jars ect... The temperatures for me are running about 150f but i to have also boiled the liquid once or twice.. it would be 174 degrees or so at that point...

Be careful handling the heated jars use gloves or a towel to protect yourself from the heat while you screw the lid on the jar...

Happy Stillin

FS

Richard7 wrote:

Navy vet wrote:I have a vacuumed sealer purchased at Sam's club. I have a vac attachment for canning jars. Wonder if the same results are achievable without the microwave?

+1 I have not found any food that I like better in the micro, Maybe I'm to quick to judge.

I have come to LOVE my microwave for cooking. Chicken, mashed potatoes, steaks (rare or medium rare)... I cook more in my microwave than on the grill now. The secret? Lower your power to 30%, cook slower and longer. Contrary to popular belief, MW ovens do not cook from the inside out. If you think that, try defrosting some frozen ground beef and see where the brown meat happens first.

My son, who is reluctant to eat meats, once told me the best steak I ever cooked was in the microwave... and instead of eating a bite or two, he finished his own steak and ate part of mine.

I was pretty nervous about the "boil" as well. But if you look closley, I think you'll see the it is actually bubbles (air?) Comming out of the wood. It was in my case anyway. This is confirmed to work great with dwwg.

It works.

Odin.

Odin wrote:It works.

Odin.

So drunk you can't put together more than two words aye?

No, but I was so freakishly tired I felt I couldn't push out more than just that LWTCS.

Testing that new sh*te till too late at night. Hobby turned passion long time ago. If I look at the hours I put in, "obsession" might be a better word.

But your comment is correct. A longer answer is what this deservers.

I have used this technique to force age my genever. A genever that was already aged by means of bubbles and ultrasonic treatments. But was too hot to the palate. Hot due to Liquorice and a large rye bread whiskey at the basis.

Gave it three 2 minute micro treatments. On a 750 mls amount. Cleaned up much better than it got in.

Odin.

I just did this last night with UJ and JD chips, amazed with the results.

Just teasing Odin. Your posts are historically very well articulated.

That's why this very short post was surprising, I guess!

This micro ageing may have more potential than air & bubbles. I will have to try that out. And I promissed Bushman and the OP that I would. I will try to find time tomorrow. Mss is out ... hmmm ... like when did that become something good? I guess "we are not in our twenties anymore!" (shout it, like: "We are not in Kansas anymore!").

Ah guys, of to dinner with some old friends. I mean they are 75 years old. Greek restaurant. Ouzo (barf), wine, lamb, tzatziki ...

Odin out (for now).

I am laughing my ass off. Pleased, but laughing.

A couple of years ago I introduced many to JD chips and was treated like it was heresy. http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... =4&t=25276

They are now excepted by many and being used in further experiments.

Now your microwave experiment is heresy! Lol
Ultra sonic? Microwave? My god men! you will fall off the edge of the world if you sail too far! Man will never fly!

I have not been hanging around much here much and never visit other sites.
Bushman called me the other day and told me about this thread and the research that he and others are doing.

Although I have never microwaved booze with oak, I have microwaved neutral very successfully to remove remaining heads. That is a pretty easy test for non believers. Pour two glasses of your neutral. Microwave one three times for 30 seconds allowing it to cool a couple of minutes in between heats. Leave out or refrigerate until both samples are at the same temp and taste.

Then join the crazy gang that thinks outside the whiskey barrel. Careful of the edge.

Greatesr.post.ever.

if some one dont blow themselves up..

Dear Mash Rookie,

BTW thank you for finding the JD chips thing, I didn't know who first used them but ultimately this thread would not have been possible without your prior test regarding them... so when you first posted you ran into a few don't doit-er's and naysayers?

I am still fairly new at this game 8 months or so... guess i am dumb as a box of rock for not knowing that I couldn't microwave a high abv product, chips and or other items...

But I did and was pleased with what i initially found, its still a work in progress and the more people try the process the more we can refine it for versatility and duplicity. (my head hurts big words)

Have you tried the process IF not, and have the time I look forward to your post, photo's and thoughts at some point.

I keep looking for a few more forward thinkers, i know your out there somewhere's

Until then, KEEP STILLIN

FS

I would assume most are using 1 quart mason jars? as per your instructions in OP it has a 1.3 liter jar which is bigger then 1 quart correct?
What is the measurements for a 1 quart jar if you could please?

i picked up some JD chips and want to get this rolling this weekend but want to make sure im accurate on measurements as far as amount of chips and amount of 75% poured over them in a quart jar.

Thanks again FS!!

most are using qt jars i used a 8 fluid oz cup filled with chips in mine some have used more some less

more give you greater JD taste if your using new chips... after the first use that fades and just the oak comes out... do not toast your chips ... use em as they come out of the bag, like mash rookie suggests in his old thread...

i have doubled the chips on a few runs to see what happens .... and i have used the chips up to 3 or 4 runs but it takes more cycles as the chips get older to get the same results... chips are cheap .. use em to bbq when your done with em here....

some guys are having good response using staves, or JD chunks... and numerous using cherry wood splits or chips really nice red color with the cherry... taste as well

try it and find whats right for you... at least you won't have to wait 6 months to 2 years to find out

Happy Stillin

FS

Dnderhead wrote:if some one dont blow themselves up..

You may be spot on. I can not speak to microwave safety with high ABV.. It may be truly dangerous. I dont really know.

With all due respect, and I mean that with absolute sincerity Dunder, I have found that very few have your experience or knowledge. In those that can carry your dirty laundry, very few make the effort to help rookies, novices, journeymen and self appointed professionals with the fair even handed manor in which you offer.

You have my respect Sir. I hope you have many more years to enrich the HD forum.

Mask Rookie

I'm not saying not,just use extra perceptions,not in kitchen,apartment .
iv seen those things produce "lightning" witch mite not be good if there was vapors from the alcohol inclosed in the microwave.all it takes is dirt,grease a bit of rust from band or other conducive material.