Hello from the midwest USA
Posted: Sat May 14, 2011 10:37 am
I built a reflux still a couple of years ago and have ran a dozen batches through it. All seems to be working well except....every batch has smelled bad. I have tried everything from corn, strawberries, sweet feed and malted barley. I have tried several different yeasts. My boiler is a stainless steel keg and my colum and condenser are copper. I am a pipe fitter so i know the joints are good. I use a propane burner from a turkey fryer. After building it i was anxious to run something through it. All my time had been dedicated to building the still and i didn't get anything fermenting. So I ran a few cases of old beer through it, which, after reading on here, i discovered was a no-no. I have cleaned the still by boiling a gallon of veniger through it and I always boil some water before dumping in my mash. I have a tendency to run my flame too high i think, after reading here. And i have been useing a 15 gallon tank for condenser water, having to change it a few times per 5 gallon run. I am upgrading to a 45 gallon water tank. Any tips? I will attempt to upload a pic of my still.
The info around here will get you cornfused at first then you will get that aha! Moment and know where your problem lies. From there on out it will start making more and more since. If that don't help these guys around here will help you through it. 