Stilling in a BrewZilla 35l?

[howie]

i use the BZ 3.1 for mashing and distilling, making beer (ie mashing also)
you can set a solid temp for mashing, using the recirculating arm, malt tun etc, with excellent results.
the temp sensor is on the bottom of the chamber, so when you're mashing, the element turning off & on are not a problem.
you should only use the 500w element for mashing anyway.(RTFM)
IMHO using an Inkbird 308 (i have 2 x wi-fi 308's for my fermenting fridges) is doing the exact same as the BZ's temp sensor/element combination, which is useless for most aspects of distilling.
you need some way of controlling the power input, which in turn controls the boil, which in turn controls the output.
temp has nothing to do with most aspects of distilling, especially spirit runs.

[mendozer]

Hi Lordl,

FWIW, I consider the so called “pro” lid as one of my most expensive mistakes. There’s insufficient clearances between the 2” and 3” ferrules and handles. The seal is an unapproved material, and a nightmare to seat. The sight and sound of a lid seal leaking mid run is not exactly fun. The sight glass is plastic, and needs to be changed out for ss when distilling.

On the other hand, I’m really happy with the way my 240V Digiboil works with a cheap voltage controller. Just turn the dial to get the power/ off take I want. There’s plenty of options there, but it’s super important to have a good idea of what you’re going to make, and what kind of rig is best suited to it. Otherwise you’ll just be wasting your hard earned.

It's going to take alot of distillers biquits to manage the lid, for sure!
Just liked the idea of a "larger" still, making it possible for me to fill up a 5l oak barrel on a couple of strips + spirit. Power regulation feels like a must if spending money on a brew machine like this. I brew beer as well, so it wouldn't hurt stepping up from my ~30l biab, even though it works fine.

I know its an expensive option, but I bought the Alcoengine alembic dome for my Brewzilla, it runs about $100. There is also a SS lid that isn't as tall, and doesn't have the sight glass that is about $40. Both are less expensive than the Pro Lid, and both have a silicone seal, but I wrapped mine really well with PTFE tape, and I've never had a problem with it not sealing.

Does the Alembic dome shape truly affect the vapor that much if you already have copper packing in the column? I'm just imagining that there's so much more surface area interaction with packing vs the sides of the dome as vapors travel up.

[wscywabbit]

Hi Lordl,

FWIW, I consider the so called “pro” lid as one of my most expensive mistakes. There’s insufficient clearances between the 2” and 3” ferrules and handles. The seal is an unapproved material, and a nightmare to seat. The sight and sound of a lid seal leaking mid run is not exactly fun. The sight glass is plastic, and needs to be changed out for ss when distilling.

On the other hand, I’m really happy with the way my 240V Digiboil works with a cheap voltage controller. Just turn the dial to get the power/ off take I want. There’s plenty of options there, but it’s super important to have a good idea of what you’re going to make, and what kind of rig is best suited to it. Otherwise you’ll just be wasting your hard earned.

It's going to take alot of distillers biquits to manage the lid, for sure!
Just liked the idea of a "larger" still, making it possible for me to fill up a 5l oak barrel on a couple of strips + spirit. Power regulation feels like a must if spending money on a brew machine like this. I brew beer as well, so it wouldn't hurt stepping up from my ~30l biab, even though it works fine.

I know its an expensive option, but I bought the Alcoengine alembic dome for my Brewzilla, it runs about $100. There is also a SS lid that isn't as tall, and doesn't have the sight glass that is about $40. Both are less expensive than the Pro Lid, and both have a silicone seal, but I wrapped mine really well with PTFE tape, and I've never had a problem with it not sealing.

Does the Alembic dome shape truly affect the vapor that much if you already have copper packing in the column? I'm just imagining that there's so much more surface area interaction with packing vs the sides of the dome as vapors travel up.

I have the alembic dome for my brewzilla and I love it. I don't know if it makes a difference on such a small setup, but I run the pot still head on it for whiskey and the column still attachment for vodka. They are definitely different beasts, and I use the alembic as the base. I've heard that old distilleries will re-create their copper domes when a still needs replaced just so that they get the same flavor profile. Here is an interesting read on the topic: https://scotchwhisky.com/magazine/ask-t ... pe-matter/ Hope that helps!

[mendozer]

I've heard that especially about scotch and irish whiskies. What I'd like to see, much like how it's done in the wine industry is....is it true? Can we apply science to this? analyze the compounds in the whiskey to see if it truly does matter. Or even somewhat acceptable, double blind RCT taste testing.

[Yummyrum]

I've heard that especially about scotch and irish whiskies. What I'd like to see, much like how it's done in the wine industry is....is it true? Can we apply science to this? analyze the compounds in the whiskey to see if it truly does matter. Or even somewhat acceptable, double blind RCT taste testing.

There is a chart floating around here somewhere that shows flavour profiles of using copper verses ss.
It may be in one of the Ethyl carbamate or SS verses Copper topics .

EDIT : I think I was thinking of this . https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf ... .tb00450.x

[mendozer]

That's a cool study. I'm a healthcare provider so when I see evidence that something works my next question is...how much is needed?
Full copper constructed with alembic shape vs steel tube with copper packing vs whatever else. What if a 4 inch copper pipe suspended in the vapor column has the same effect? Stuff like that is what I think of

[Maddogbrewing]

I use my Brewzilla for distilling, I added another 1500w water heater element on the side. I keep the 500w Brewzilla element on and control the 1500w with a SCR. Heat up times are also a lot faster with 3000w total power.

[howie]

I use my Brewzilla for distilling, I added another 1500w water heater element on the side. I keep the 500w Brewzilla element on and control the 1500w with a SCR. Heat up times are also a lot faster with 3000w total power.

500w + 1900w + 1500w ?
how fast are we talking?
i'd have to have a tri-clamp element fitted so i could remove the element for mashing.
i've thought about adding an element, but by the time i've got my shit together, it's usually ready to start the run.

[GrumbleStill]

I use my Brewzilla for distilling, I added another 1500w water heater element on the side. I keep the 500w Brewzilla element on and control the 1500w with a SCR. Heat up times are also a lot faster with 3000w total power.

500w + 1900w + 1500w ?
how fast are we talking?
i'd have to have a tri-clamp element fitted so i could remove the element for mashing.
i've thought about adding an element, but by the time i've got my shit together, it's usually ready to start the run.

Could be wrong howie, but I’ll take a punt that it’s the 110V 1500W model, rather than the 240V 2400W version we use. I’ve also considered putting another element in, but figured if I was going to do that, I’d be better off putting the effort into a rig that was big enough to take the power.

[Maddogbrewing]

Yes it’s a 110v I run the Brewzilla and 1500w element on two 15a circuits. The heating element sits in the dead space so I can still use the grain basket for making beer. I use it more for the ability to run a SCR.