METHANOL!!!!

[shiner2011]

I have a 13 gallon stainless steel milk can distiller, i have not distilled anything yet because im unsure about methanol....
i have read many different things about how much of the foreshots to throw out, and im kind of confused....
i dont want to be greedy with my cuts and leave some methanol in my likker but i also dont want to lose any good stuff that i can rerun, etc.
what do yall suggest me, throw out for the foreshots?
thanks,

[Richard7]

Absolutely throw out the foreshots. Even if you don't have much foreshots in what you collect the stuff directly behind it will be very strong heads. Give this a read http://homedistiller.org/distill/dtw/toss" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow . Now to keep from getting greedy on your heads and tails cut, just save them in a feints jar to run again and make your cuts again when your done. You'll get the good stuff that way!

[Prairiepiss]

Why would you post this question? When everywhere it says to throw the foreshots out. And to not drink them. There are a ton of threads about methanol.

[shiner2011]

I know that i am suppose to throw out the foreshots, im not stupid!!!!
i know enough about distilling to know this!!!!!
all i am wanting to know is, is what percentage of fores to throw out
for example if i had a gallon of mash... what percent of the product should i throw out to make sure i get all of the fores out?
i have seen this percentage somewhere but i cant find it again...
i was just wanting some suggestions from other people, about how much i should throw out of a 13 gallon still
thats all...
thanks

[shiner2011]

And thanks richard7 that was the link i was looking for....

[DHS]

Calm down. This is what I Tell myself. I make cuts by bubbles first, smell second, and taste third.

[Andy Capp]

after much reading on this subject when starting out, i have stuck to a rule of collecting 1% of the volume of the wash as foreshots on every run i do.
eg. 25lt wash = 250ml foreshots

[oliver90owner]

Not quite sure why the OP did not ask the question of 'how much?' in the thread starter. However, while Andy Cap has a working system that works, others may vary it a little. I am new to this lark but as I see it, the foreshots are a relatively small amount of the distillate and may vary in volume dependent on the wash ABV (if calculating as per AC), but given foreshots are discarded from each run that can contain them (washes and heads), then they will be gone by the time the hearts and tailings are collected.

So the amount may be different depending on the distillation system used. A good reflux column operated carefully, might concentrate all the methanol in the first dl of a large run, whereas a pot still might not be so selective and need more discarded and/or more distillations. Experience with your system counts, but getting a serious hangover is unecessary, if a conservative approach is followed. Discard more than enough initially and refine the method/reduce the amount as experience dictates. KISS principle in operation.

RAB

[rad14701]

The simple answer is that there is no percentage of foreshots to collect... Every recipe and every ferment will contain a different amount... That is why we make cuts... If we said 1% or 3%, or whatever, we would be giving bad information... Or we could say 1oz/30ml or 2oz/60ml per gallon, but that would be wrong as well...

Now, to reiterate for what seems like the billionth time, and would have been discovered during the course of ample research, there is nothing in the distilled spirits that isn't in the wash/wine/beer itself... It is the concentration that is harmful... By that I mean that if you drank the foreshots cut you might be in trouble...

However, if you didn't even make cuts you wouldn't be in trouble because everything would still be mixed together and just concentrated... So you would have the foreshots (blindness), and heads (headache), hearts (the good stuff), and the tails (smells, flavors, and oils), all combined... It would taste bad, give you a headache, and perhaps make you have blurry vision or burning eyes...

And, lest we forget, Ethanol is the antidote for Methanol poisoning - if administered soon enough... So drinking spirits distilled without cuts won't make you blind, but the effects won't be pleasant... If you can choke it down at all, that is...

[Braz]

However, if you didn't even make cuts you wouldn't be in trouble because everything would still be mixed together and just concentrated... So you would have the foreshots (blindness), and heads (headache), hearts (the good stuff), and the tails (smells, flavors, and oils), all combined... It would taste bad, give you a headache, and perhaps make you have blurry vision or burning eyes...

Then you'd be just like the giant commercial distillers who run continuous feed stills and don't bother with cuts of any kind.

[Andy Capp]

The simple answer is that there is no percentage of foreshots to collect... Every recipe and every ferment will contain a different amount... That is why we make cuts... If we said 1% or 3%, or whatever, we would be giving bad information... Or we could say 1oz/30ml or 2oz/60ml per gallon, but that would be wrong as well...

If a qty is wrong why does the parent site offer a qty for foreshot collection?

"Be ruthless about tossing the first 50 mL (off a 20L wash) that you collect, as this contains any methanol (causer of hangovers - small quantities, or blindness - larger quantities). Even though I'm pretty sure I only collect less than 10mL at the methanol stage, I still discard 50mL, just to make sure. No need for penny-pinching when you're making 3L of the stuff, for less than $5. If you're using a potstill, you may need to increase this amount you toss up to 100-200 mL."

I agree that recipe's differ and so will the amount of foreshots needed to be removed. Thats why i take more than needed.I use the 1% rule as a guide to volume amount for removing foreshots then collect everything else in jars for making cuts after airing. I'm nowhere near experienced enough to make the cuts straight off the still. I don't see anything wrong with the method i use as other members have posted they throw out less foreshots qty than i do.

[Fastill]

Still got to sort through the parent site, as some info is outdated, but I think that a JUST IN CASE to discard first 50ml as fores is justified... If you are stilling by taste and smell then you will be cutting much more to eliminate bad tasting heads anyway.

[Prairiepiss]

Still got to sort through the parent site, as some info is outdated, but I think that a JUST IN CASE to discard first 50ml as fores is justified... If you are stilling by taste and smell then you will be cutting much more to eliminate bad tasting heads anyway.

+1 Who wants to drink the nasty crap early heads anyway. I toss 400 ml from a 10 gallon wash. Sometimes 600 ml. Depends on how I feel that day. If I'm running a 10 gal boiler charge. I always toss at least 400ml no mater if its a stripping run it a spirit run. Automatic 400 ml down the drain.

If you make good cuts. You will be producing a better product then most commercial distillerys. So there really isn't Amy reason to worry about it. As long as you make some cuts. And as Rad said if you didn't make any cuts. It would still be drinkable. Would be like drinking a whole bunch of wine or beer. They don't remove the foreshots on them. By drinkable I don't mean taste wise. I don't know how people cam collect everything and drink it. It has to taste and smell like crap. Kinda like a bunch of the store bought crap.

[Ayay]

The speed of the stilling has an effect. Slower and gentler stilling will deliver pure foreshots in the first drippings and more distinct heads/hearts/tails. The faster the stilling the more mixed up they will be and your foreshots will be spread deeper into the heads.

[rad14701]

The simple answer is that there is no percentage of foreshots to collect... Every recipe and every ferment will contain a different amount... That is why we make cuts... If we said 1% or 3%, or whatever, we would be giving bad information... Or we could say 1oz/30ml or 2oz/60ml per gallon, but that would be wrong as well...

If a qty is wrong why does the parent site offer a qty for foreshot collection?

Everything on the parent site shouldn't be taken as gospel and much of it is outdated and in need of updating - but that takes time and effort that is hard to come by these days... That is why we recommend reading it along with what is here in these forums...

You tell me how you think you can advise an accurate percentage because I, for one, want to know... As I have stated more than once, there are just too many variables to consider... Either you get that or you don't...