new to distilling myself..

[nickmthw]

for years my family have been moonshiners... some caught some not...
myself i am a hobbyist..not looking to "carry on the family tradition"
just want to see if i can make it as good as they have in the past..
and a few cousins and uncles..continue to make it...
my first was a pot type still... 4 gallon stainless pot
up into a 1 inch tube for a column then over to the worm
which is 10 feet of half in copper tube in a 5 gallon pail filled with water and ice..
first question...since i don't actually ask about their stills..i just get the shine from them..
how fast do you heat up your boiler?... i hit mine kinda hard..(thermometer apparently failed)
and i kept adding heat(propane turkey cooker) because the temp seemed to be low..
and it boiled over..since the mash was ready..i went ahead and ran it off..whether i had right or not

where do you actually put your thermometer..in the vapor..or in the mash?
i tossed away about 1 cup in hopes to get rid of the methanol..
and since i couldn't monitor the temp... i just wanted to compare it to a gallon i had
of my cousins by smell...to see if mine came close...
now..i don't intend to consume what i ran off..mainly because..i have no idea at what temp it even came off at..
my mash consisted of..about 5lbs of molasses..5lbs of sugar and 5 gallsons of water....small packet of yeast..
i will probably rebuild my still out of a 15 gallon stainless keg i have..mainly to five a 8 gallon mash about 7 gallons of room
for the vapor to rise...

[Dnderhead]

a thermometer in a pot still? you really need to be told where to put it?

[blind drunk]

What Dnderhead means is that you don't really need a thermometer on a potstill Some here use one and some don't. Have a look - http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 46&t=13294

I also noticed that you make no mention of making any cuts, 'cept for the foreshots. Is this true? How'd your stuff compare with your cousin's hooch?

[Ayay]

Yes, pot stills go by ABV instead of temperatures. The ABV tells you what's going on while temps will cause confusion. The ABV depends on the speed of the output which depends on the heat input. Control the heat going into the boiler and you control the output ABV. Temps don't matter much in a pot still.

[rtalbigr]

In addition to the advice already given, the amount of heat input is in many respects, still specific. In other words, ya need to learn your still. I'll run full power for a time that depends on what and how much is in my pot, then I'll turn the heat down to about quarter power. At that point my column is just getting warm but not hot. Once I get distillate out my worm I'll adjust my heat input to get the desired stream, but mostly I run real slow both for strip and spirit runs. I like to have my discharge just above a steady drip.

Big R

[Dnderhead]

a lot of learning to do ,a pot still is very versatile,you can run it several different ways.and when you git into it you will fiend
no one way is right.you mite strip and run slow,strip and run with twist,or run slow once,run once with a twist.this all make a big difference
on the outcome of your product.also no two washes/mash are the same.each time you make a different type wash/mash you
will need to learn all over.but it will be similar to one you did before.each still is also different.the size of the charge.the size/shape of the cap,
and the size of the lyne arm will make a different on the takeoff rate.

[Kifi]

Try this - do your first run, don't worry about the temp too much as long as there is no burned molasses residue on the bottom of your pot, and throw the first cup away (there is no methanol - none - in molasses or sugar washes, btw. Only pectin and cellulose fermentations create meth. But the first cup will get rid of acetone and ethyl acetate - most of the latter anyway - and what's left will add a bit of flavor).

Then empty the stillage and put your distillate in the pot for a second run, and dilute to 40% (get yourself an alcometer or ABV hydrometer) with water or the backset left over from your first run. Run it fairly slow and measure the ABV regularly. It will start out around 85% and drop to 0% over time. Keep from 80% ABV down to 60% as your hearts. Age it on some pineapple, a couple of cloves, some raisins, orange oil, vanilla beans and cinnamon sticks. In a few months it will be in good shape to drink. Add some sugar and ice to the glass when drinking. Good luck!

[nickmthw]

thanks for the replys that were informative and helpful...
ill try again and be in touch..