Home Distiller

I made my first run with a thumper. The shine burns true blue in the spoon, no yellow at all. Smells like a caramel vodka I had once. The weird thing is I fill a teaspoon to taste it, slurp it in with some air and it melts away. Spoon's empty, no liquid in my mouth and I can feel the heat, but its not bad. I tried to spit it out cuz I'm trying to learn to make cuts. Nothing spits out. Anyone else have this happen?

well, yeah...

don't get carried away experiencing that tho....

it'll hurt a lot a little later...

Ha, if you remember it... if your running 14% mash, in a 15 gallon keg, and taste a teaspoon each jar you can be one snockered fool at the end of the run if you making 180+ proof product...

Still spitting out as much as I can. Drinking plenty of water. Really trying to learn this to make some good tasting recipe. It'll get you high quick, but the older I get the more its about the ride. Not so much the destination.

Thx guys.

High proof ethanol will take the white off your teeth... Just saying

DuckofDeath wrote:High proof ethanol will take the white off your teeth... Just saying

And the skin off your throat

I thought this was a m & m commercial. You better be mixing those tasters with water about equal parts would be good especially if you are refluxing

Using a SS pot, two pieces of copper, a 1/2 gal glass pickle jar as a thumper and a cat litter bucket as a water cooler. The wash is a second run of corn, sugar and raisin mash. I've gotten rot gut bathtub type crap before. My last run was decent, but this one caught me by surprise. I'm just tasting for cuts only. Spitting out what goes in like a two dollar whore. This stuff absorbs, or what I'm calling "melts", quickly. I won't temper this run for a few weeks at least. Let alone drink it yet. I wad just wondering if others have had this phenomenon while doing cuts.

Tell me you didn't say GLASS THUMPER, loose the glass. More reading and less distilling needs to be done before you proceed at this hobbie. Safety first and no short cuts.

It just means that it is very high proof. I would not advise even tasting it, it is not good for you and your palletwill be so burned (and you will be so intoxicated), that your ability to make and understand cuts will be massively compromised.
Better, collect in small increments, and come back to it when the run is done. Mix samples with water.

"Melt in the mouth" should mean the purest of hearts with no bite, along with great mouth-feel. This happens below 60%ABV and after the real cuts and ageing are done...achievable at great co$t in bottleshops, or right here in your own hobbyfarm. Only a few of these will pass the hangover test and they'r priceless.

Tasting high proof is not making cuts. You miss out on those subtle differences that only appear after a day or two of airing, and diluting to 20-30%ABV for tasting. Tasting high proof in the 90's% involves inhaling as much as drinking and sure it melts and disappears same as meths and rubbing alc...just don't do it on your tongue.

Yes, I use a glass thumper. It's just a pickle jar with two holes cut in the lid and towels wrapped around it to keep the heat in and make it work better. I charged it with the runs I previously made. I read this on the parent website as I read alot of information on this subject. I also watch a lot of videos too, so I did miss the part about airing out the recipe before mixing with water and making cuts. It's a hobby. I'll get better.

Cutt wrote:Yes, I use a glass thumper. It's just a pickle jar

You want some information.. go ahead and google this..

Thermal Downshock

Then come back and tell us why it's not ok to use a glass pickle jar as your thumper

Sorry, I already made two runs with no problems. You should instruct the parent site to revise their information as well.

Cutt wrote:Sorry, I already made two runs with no problems.

head down to walmart, get yourself a cheap stainless 8 or 12 qt stockpot, don't tell me it's to expensive, and cut some holes in the lid.. same thing as your pickle jar.. only now it's SAFE.

Thanks, I had planned on doing that already. Just had the jar handy and put it to use. I'm not trying to get complicated with this.

Glass is not a good idea because the shrinking and swelling from the heat and, cold will break the glass, causing it to spill hot FLAMABLE alcohol everywhere, not to mention the glass, and mess it will make

Cutt wrote:Sorry, I already made two runs with no problems. You should instruct the parent site to revise their information as well.

Already did mate. Good to see a reference to what I ment though
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 33&t=40439

With a system that goes from hot to cold breakage can occur. Scratches, cracks, etc, can also cause breakage. I guess I didn't see a problem cause I've also done pressure canning at temps well above what I run my pot still at. I can, in glass jars, at over 212 under 15lbs of pressure. My pot still never got that hot.

In the end Cutt.. it comes down to the contents IN the glass in the event of a glass failure, Strawberry jam isn't flammable, your shine run is.

So how many glass thumpers have busted and burned the kitchen up?

You can lead a Horse to water , but you can't make him drink.

These guys have given you good advice about not using glass.

I also would advise not using it, so when that day comes and "Murphy"

pays a visit you will know what we were talking about.

Oh then you can post in the "tell us about your mistakes" sticky.

Cutt wrote:Sorry, I already made two runs with no problems. You should instruct the parent site to revise their information as well.

The parent site is not under our control, like the forum is.

The parent site started decades ago as a simple project to pull together any and all info about distillation. The good and the bad also.

This forum is much more selective. We are trying to pull all the GOOD info together and share info. Using a glass pickle jar as a thumper is a BAD idea. And is not something that should be treated as ok... we try hard to weed out dangerous practices. Newbs have a hard enough time getting up to speed without being encouraged to do dangerous practices.

No, glass isn't a good idea. I'll cutt my chances, third times the charm right, and retire it. I'm not about causing a stir. I just used what I had on hand. It worked like champ both times. No excuse for using it other than novice enthusiasm.

There was some guy on here, a Medical Student , was using a glass carboy as a boiler.

A load of people screamed at him not to use glass, but this guy new better.

The end of the story is......One shattered carboy and one badly burned Med Student.....ironic isn't it.

I'm not advocating using glass. So don't blow me up. Thermal shock is the down fall of the med student's case. Why he was spraying water on the tubing I have no idea. If you take a hot glass casserole, which is made for high temps, and put it in cold water it will crack.

note to self:

next time a doctor walks in and has burn scars ask him how he /she got them before letting him /her work on me

I have to listen to doctors and follow their orders. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

It could be as simple as your coolent line springing a leak for some unforsean season and splashing on the glass, simple small accident with a bad outcome.