Home Distiller

Not sure if this idea is a good one or not - looking for
some thoughts.

My 15 gal brewing setup is a direct fired, continuous mash recirculation
system. Temp is controlled by a Blichmann "Tower of Power" control module
which sends a spark to ignite the burner and keep my mash at a constant
temperature. The mash is continuously recirculated by a pump with the
Blichmann temp probe constantly sending the current temps to the control
module. I'm able to set my temp to whatever I want and the module keeps the
whole mash going at +/- 1 degree as long as the recirc is going. I can
change temps on the module during the recirculation process on the fly.

Now - does anybody see any issues with doing this same thing, except
recirculating wash during a distillation run? Advantages I see is that I
can use my brew setup to heat and don't have to purchase an electric
controller setup. Also would eliminate any chance of me scorching the wash
as might be done easier using an electric setup. Is there any reason this
isn't a good idea?
thanks for any input guys.

There are a few reasons...Firstly, is the heating done in the recirculating path (RIMS)?

And are you suggesting you will control the temperature of the wash during distillation?

Recirculating the mash/wash is a good idea for agitation to prevent scorching in the boiler.

Heating in the recirc system, outside the boiler, would induce scorching in the recirc system. The electric element in that system, ala RIMS, would still be in contact with the mash/wash, in smaller quantities, hotter and probably be more likely to scorch.

My system is heated directly from a burner. It is not a RIMS setup. And yes, I can control the temperature of the wash during distillation, just like I control the temp of the mash tun for brewing.
To be a little more specific here's how this is working on my brew rig:
- wort travels from the mash tun out the bottom. There is a false bottom on my mash tun.
- The wort goes past a T-connector in the piping where my digital thermometer is. The thermometer picks up the wort temp and feeds it to the Blichmann controller.
- If the wort is colder than my desired temp, the controller sends a spark to the burner under the mash tun. The burner comes on for a second or two, while simultaneously the controller is receiving temp inputs from the in-line temp probe.
- after the T-connector, next in line is the pump which pushes the wort to a sparge arm back on top of the mash tun.

I think this setup would work just fine unless this has been tried before without success. Thoughts?

http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... =3&t=26528
Read this then think about what you wanna do.

You are not understanding what is being said to you.

You can not control the temps of the wash in the still. As in that is not how you run a still. And you cam not run a still that way.

There are some threads in the must read new distiller reading lounge. That will explain this better.

Prairiepiss wrote:You are not understanding what is being said to you.

You can not control the temps of the wash in the still. As in that is not how you run a still. And you can not run a still that way.

There are some threads in the must read new distiller reading lounge. That will explain this better.

Yeah, that's what I was alluding to, thanks PP...just thought I'd check first for benefit of the doubt

Itrmoore, while agitating washes in the boiler is a beneficial method for washes with solids or thicker consistencies, I would consider it at the more advanced end of distilling to deal with those washes.

Aside from the main point, which is the mentioned fact that you can't control distillation by temperature, I would also be concerned about the heating of wash away from the boiler/column in the recirculating system. This is only a hunch, but i'm thinking there may be some swing/instability in temperature gradient with the small portion heated at a time and recirculated into the boiler which does not have any active heating applied...I guess it could be the same as an internal element in the boiler where the liquid around the element is heated and dispersed throughout...but something about it just rings alarm bells for me that it may present further issues (assuming you were applying constant heating in the recirc path, not on/off temp control).

Thanks for all the posts here guys. I really appreciate the input. My own fault here, but I'm still probably not explaining the setup accurately for you though. Brendan: I'm talking about applying direct heat to the boiler, not heating wash away from the boiler/column. Prairiepiss: I think I understand what you're saying - how you balance refraction/condensing is the important part, not trying to control boiler temps.

What I'm trying to explain is exactly the same thing as putting a gas burner underneath the boiler to bring the wash to temp. Only difference is this case is that I'd be slowly sucking some of the wash out of one port, measuring the temp, then pumping the wash back into the boiler through another port. Thats the easiest way I can think to explain it. The gas burner in this case is not on (fired) continuously, because it would be controlled by the PID (computer in the controller) and I can adjust that temp by pushing a up arrow on the PID to make the burner ignite or turn off.

This whole idea is just based on me trying to utilize the thousands of $$ I've spend on my brewing rig and automating it and then thinking of how I can apply that to heating the boiler without using an electric heating element. If it's not worth the hassle, and just applying continuous fire to the boiler is the way to go, then so be it.

Thanks for all the comments again! I do appreciate it.

I understand what you are talking about.

But to put it blunt. It won't work.

You can not control a still by boiler temp. No mater how you measure it. The ABV of the wash controls the boiling point. And as the alcohol is removed. That boiling point goes up. Since the boiler charge is a mix of alcohol and water. The boiling point will be somewhere between their boiling points.

What you need to control is. The heat input. Or how fast it boils off.

Again there are some good threads in the must read new distiller reading lounge.
Find my thread about what kind of controller needed for an electric setup. I know yours is not electric. But that thread would cover why your setup is not ideal or recommended.

And the only thing a temp probe in the boiler will tell you is. What temp the boiling point of that liquid is. Which you could take and figure out the ABV of the liquid from that temp reading.

And a circulating pump really isn't needed. Unless you are wanting to run maybe a dirty wash. It might help keep it from scorching. Depending on how it flows. And in which directing that flow moves. If the flow isn't going across the bottom of the boiler. It's not gona help that much at all.

Ah. Got what you're talking about now Prairiepiss. Well, at least I'll still be able to make a good wash with the brew setup. I'm going to shift my efforts to looking at going electric after the info posted here, plus it's just much safer. Sounds like this theory just isn't worth the headache and won't work well anyhow.

Thanks again for the advice.

Light bulb. LOL

Now I know you can probably work that brew sculpture good. And yes it would help make a nice AG whiskey.

But I would highly recommend starting off with a tried and true recipe. Like UJSSM. A corn sugarhead wash.

You already know how to brew. And ferment. But you will need to learn how to distill. And drive that still. Make cuts. And get it all down. Mistakes will be made. And they would be better made on a cheap easy wash.

The tried and true recipes. Are good producers. That are very consistent. So they make the learning curve. That much easier. Not to mention their threads cover all kinds of ways to run them in a still. And what to expect. So you aren't guessing at it.

Oh and I would keep the potential ABV below 10%. I won't go over 8% ABV for a sugarhead.