The wonderfully simple device called the parrot allows us to monitor ABV throughout the entire run. They seem to be very popular and almost a personal signature to individual stills. They are very cool!! My question to the experienced, what methods do you use to prevent the inevitable smearing one would get from holding so much product back and mixing it with new? I've read so much on the build threads about painstaking measures taken to eliminate any pooling or mixing of product in the still itself then it's all dumped into the parrot to have free love.
Do you wait until your into hearts to use the parrot?
I don't have a parrot...yet But, my understanding of them is to start using the parrot once foreshots are gone. Then while collecting heads the volume of the parrot is less than most folks use for collection jars so smearing is not an issue. Liquid comes in the bottom out the top what little mixing there might be is moot, especially when cuts are made. If jar 9 for example is your cutoff from heads to hearts, it still would be parrot or not and any mixing in the parrot would have gone straight to the jar without a parrot
Thanks for the insight. So for my own underrstanding let me state what I think this means. Since the volume of the parrot is smaller than the volume of the collection vessel any smearing that would happen in the parrot would happen in the collection vessel anyway. By the time the vessel would fill and be changed the parrot should be purged of undesireable stuff. I just was not clear on how long it actually takes for the parrot to be purged. In my mind I would think although the volume of the parrot would constantly be diluting, theoretically there would always be some bad stuff in there unless totally dumped and started new.
WIski wrote:Thanks for the insight. So for my own underrstanding let me state what I think this means. Since the volume of the parrot is smaller than the volume of the collection vessel any smearing that would happen in the parrot would happen in the collection vessel anyway. By the time the vessel would fill and be changed the parrot should be purged of undesireable stuff. I just was not clear on how long it actually takes for the parrot to be purged. In my mind I would think although the volume of the parrot would constantly be diluting, theoretically there would always be some bad stuff in there unless totally dumped and started new.
Thoughts
Thanks
I actually put my parrot in early and don't think enough is left if any to make a difference. I always do my taste, feel, and smell using my finger at the take-off of the parrot not the product condenser into the parrot.
This is something I have also been pondering. I would love to switch to a parrot but have feared smearing that may occur because of the constant flow in the parrot. Do the heads actually "layer" in the parrot and come out in order? I would assume that some come out in order but also dilution occurs making the harshness a little less as the heads are smeared into the hearts.
I was thinking of three product routes from the condenser. One through the parrot as normal, one out the bottom of the parrot as a drain, and yet another as a parrot bypass directly to the collection vessel. These options would allow segregation and real time ABV checks. I didn’t know if all of this would be overthinking and just a plain waste of time as I'm also a firm believer in KISS. Bushman and Belly added their thoughts on that. Thanks for the guidance.......
The parrot drain works very well, I have a 1/2 inch valve in mine and can purge it at any time, I usually let it run right out the valve while collecting foreshots then dump the last of the hearts out the bottom when the tails start..
If you use 355ml beer bottles as collection jars, the ABV can be measured directly in the bottle. I have rubber tipped tweezers to lift the alcometer out of the bottle if the top in not poking out. But smearing in the 355ml bottle is more than the parrot. My parrot contains 100ml with the alcometer floating at 50%.
I'm sure the alc does not layer in the parrot, but the bottom input and top outlet kinda keeps it honest.
My question to the experienced, what methods do you use to prevent the inevitable smearing one would get from holding so much product back and mixing it with new? I've read so much on the build threads about painstaking measures taken to eliminate any pooling or mixing of product in the still itself then it's all dumped into the parrot to have free love. 
