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The "Stillspirits" super reflux I have seems to work ok, but the pack of "ceramic saddles" is more than will fit in the column.

It didn't actually come with any instructions so I got them off their website.

I filled the column up to the lower level of the outlet so that the bung/thermometer protruded the 20mm suggested in the d/l instructions.

Would that be about right or should I have filled the column right up to the top and then given it a good shake to make room for the thermometer ?

Also, during the run I had to run a hose from the garden tap for the condenser - I couldn't get it down as low as the suggested 500ml per minute (I managed to achieve about 1000ml per minute), when the kit started flowing the distillate, I binned the first 100ml (the 'structions said 50ml's but I forget and the jug had 100 so I just dumped that instead) the thermometer showed between 80 and 82 degrees C during the run and I collected the suggested 3 liters. Looking at various writings here, should I have increased the coolant water flow to keep it below 80 C or is the 80/82 C ok ?

TVM for any info you may have.

I have exactly the same still as yours.

Forget about focusing on the temperature so much and you will learn a great deal.

I ran my still today and pretty well ignored the temp all together.

Once I've poured the wash into the still and turned it all on it seems to establish its own preferred temperature. I only adjust the water flow through the condenser and reflux column at the very beginning. I would guess that I actually have more than 1000ml per minute flowing through which probably increases the reflux but this isn't really a bad thing; it just makes the process longer.

As for the ceramic saddles, the package I was supplied with contained more than is required as well. Just fill the column as you have described, it sounds ok to me. Try and get your thermometer in line with the outlet - the bulb should be measuring the temperature at the exact point your outlet is placed.

I usually dump at least 100ml of the foreshots so i think you are doing the right thing.

I hope you enjoy your new hobby. You will find lots of information in these forums to help you along the way and you will learn some great tips.

I'm part of the SS Super Reflux clan as well. Although now that I've started I'm more of a perfectionist and I want to get that 95% so at some stage I'm going to look at building my own with a larger column. My ceramic saddles pack had more than enough for the column too.

My still takes around 1h30m - 1h40m to heat up. Then I run the water quite fast to keep the temp down as much as possible until all the heads have come off. Then the temperature is normally stable around 79C and I can cut the water back to about 1L/m. I collect the water for using on the garden later so I'm not too fussed about the total amount used as I would be using that much out of the hose anyway. Once the temp gets to 80C I drop the water flow right back and collect the tails for a later run. I find the whole process takes around 6 hours.

The first couple of runs I did I followed the instructions exactly and found the temp sat at around 82C (with the water @ 400ml/min). The ethanol came off at 80%, 3L in 3 hours (slight solventy smell probably due to getting a bit of the tails in there). Now with the increased water flow I get probably 2.5L in 4 hours @88% with no noticable smell\taste.

I'm just doing my first tomato wash which I'm going to put through a stripping run first then some baking soda before distilling to see if I can get any improvement.

Don't worry so much about your packing. Worry about your process. You can "detune" the still by putting in less packing and it will still work just fine. Or you can put in huge amounts to get higher proof alcohol. Or you can switch to mesh (preferably copper) and really get some high proof alcohol.

Thanks to Froggy and frynturn for confirming that I wasn't actually doing anything wrong much appreciated.

Uncle Jesse wrote:Don't worry so much about your packing. Worry about your process. You can "detune" the still by putting in less packing and it will still work just fine. Or you can put in huge amounts to get higher proof alcohol. Or you can switch to mesh (preferably copper) and really get some high proof alcohol.

The only downside might be cleaning it, at the moment I can tip the "ceramic saddles" out and rinse them. Would it actually matter if I was only able to rinse the column through but having to leave the copper in place ??? as it'd be a bugger to get out, the only real accessible opening being the hole where the plug/thermometer fit in, the rest of it is either welded/soldered or "pressed" into place.

TVM

fatbloke

Its actually pretty easy to get the copper mesh out if you have to. I don't worry about taking the mesh out, I just pour boiling water down the column after each cook. Every now and then I block the bottom of the column and fill it with vinegar and leave it sit for for a while and then rinse with boiling water.

Froggy wrote: I just pour boiling water down the column after each cook. Every now and then I block the bottom of the column and fill it with vinegar and leave it sit for for a while and then rinse with boiling water.

I concur, this is exactly what I've done and it works fine. It IS easy to get the mesh out (o hokked piece of fencing wire has never let me down) but it ain't necessary.

Ho ho! it looks like I'm in the market for the "copper pan scrubber" type mesh then !

Thanks for the advice everyone - mucho appreciado (that's vvv bad "spanglish" by the way )

fatbloke

I have a SS reflux also.

After my first sugar wash with turbo yeast (how I got into this) I located this forum..

since then I've been using the SS Super Reflux still "detuned" with only 4 ceramic saddles as I have been doing mainly UJSM washes with barrels.

However, lately, I have been thinking about whether or not ANY saddles are a good idea, and if for high % sugar washes, if they're actually any good...

belialNZ wrote:I have a SS reflux also.

After my first sugar wash with turbo yeast (how I got into this) I located this forum..

since then I've been using the SS Super Reflux still "detuned" with only 4 ceramic saddles as I have been doing mainly UJSM washes with barrels.

However, lately, I have been thinking about whether or not ANY saddles are a good idea, and if for high % sugar washes, if they're actually any good...

What sort of %abv have you been getting doing that ?

As I'm curious to know, because anything that gives me increased control over the still has got to be worth knowing.

I'd actually guess that if it's run without any saddles or other refluxing material it's effectively working as a pot still - handy for when I decide to run some cider or apple wine.

Cheers

fatbloke

I just did a wash I made using 5kg's of apples and 3kg's sugar that way.

Started coming off at 65%, I collected to 55% then kept rest for running in another wash.

And yes, the reason I did that is reading here about using it effectively as a pot still, but you can get higher percentages without multiple runs. I use about 8 saddles when doing UJSM because it starts coming off between 75 and 80% and has great flavour down to 60-65%.

You can also get a pot still attachment for your SS Super Reflux that screws on the top in place of the reflux column for a small additional fee (I got mine free after a lengthy chat with the store owner and a few taste samples of product). I still havn't tried mine yet, but once again, the general theme of the experienced posters here ( they're awesome , I just read pretty much every thread, you learn a lot ) is that it would be the way to go for maximum flavour from fruit washes.

http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page.as ... 51555&ap=2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

I'm collecting part for my reflux and got a 100' pak of the copper mesh handy... Nice stuff.

dr_gribb wrote:http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page.as ... 51555&ap=2

I'm collecting part for my reflux and got a 100' pak of the copper mesh handy... Nice stuff.

Yes, very.

Shame I haven't managed to track any of this down locally. If I got a 100' roll any that wasn't used for packing could easily be used round our raised growing bed (the bloody slugs and snails keep getting the brasica that's closest to our garden hedge - despite shotgunning it with slug pellets).

Ah well, if I can't get any locally I can always order from them. I wonder what it would cost for shipping ? I'll have to do a dummy order and see.

TVM

fatbloke

i just did my first run from one of these stills

went pretty well but had to fiddle a little bit to get the water flow right. got a fairly low yield compared to the specs of the turbo yeast/turbo sugar specs... about 2.9L @ 76.5%AbV

i put it down to it being really warm in my part of the world over the period of the ferment.

learnt alot and will give it another try next week

Flash Clampet wrote:i just did my first run from one of these stills

went pretty well but had to fiddle a little bit to get the water flow right. got a fairly low yield compared to the specs of the turbo yeast/turbo sugar specs... about 2.9L @ 76.5%AbV

i put it down to it being really warm in my part of the world over the period of the ferment.

learnt alot and will give it another try next week

What are the details of your wash? How much sugar/water? What was the SG when you tossed it in the still.

Froggy wrote:
What are the details of your wash? How much sugar/water? What was the SG when you tossed it in the still.

21L water
5kg turbo sugar, as advised by brew shop for first wash (i cant remember the reasoning, i was like a kid at christmas)
SG was around 996, which isnt quite right i know

i should have waited until we had some cooler weather i think, it was very hot here, around 36C+

How long did it take you to get the 2.9L? 76% is a little low even for the still spirits still in my opinion.
Next time increase the water flow to try and slow down your take off.

Froggy wrote:How long did it take you to get the 2.9L? 76% is a little low even for the still spirits still in my opinion.
Next time increase the water flow to try and slow down your take off.

around 170 minutes
in hindsight i did rush it a little, but being the first run i didnt really know what to expect.
anyways, will see what we end up with and next time i will try some of the suggestions i'm reading on here... great site

Flash Clampet wrote:

Froggy wrote:How long did it take you to get the 2.9L? 76% is a little low even for the still spirits still in my opinion.
Next time increase the water flow to try and slow down your take off.

around 170 minutes
in hindsight i did rush it a little, but being the first run i didnt really know what to expect.
anyways, will see what we end up with and next time i will try some of the suggestions i'm reading on here... great site

Hum? that gives me some "food for thought". My first batch came out at similar numbers - though it was my intention to mix it with the 5 or so litres of 58% spirit I had from my previous table top still.

After mixing the 2, I got about 8 litres at 65% which I then ran through my Z filter 3 times (2 X at gravity speed and the last time with it just dripping at about 1 drip per second).

Once I've managed to get enough copper mesh/pot scrubbers etc to pack the column instead of the ceramic saddles, I'll run it again and see what I get. Though the current batch of wash thats fermenting has been made with pure dextrose (no sucrose/table sugar at all) and it took about 12 kg of that to give me an SG of 1.35 (ish). The aim is to see if I can achieve the stated 20% abv in the wash.

I'm still finding my feet with the device, before I move on to try the bigger/better suggestions that have been posted here abouts.

regards

fatbloke

p.s. Oh and on the first batch of wash, I binned 100ml of heads, instead of the suggested 50 ml's, and then got 3 litres of distillate. it all took about 4 hours total, so that might have been a bit fast - I might up the speed of condenser water next time.

Trying to "get 20%" because the people pushing that yeast "say" it can survive to that level, is a very bad rookie mistake. What you will end up with is 80% water and 20% of something else. It will NOT be good tasting booze. It will be heavily contaminated with foul flavored volatiles. Also, the length of time you will have to wait to get to this ABV is a great amount of time.

You are MUCH better off shooting for an ABV in the 12% range (+-2% from there is a pretty good range). When you push yeast too hard, the ethanol will poison it, and cause it to do bad things (or to stick). Also, if you try to do this "20%" wash, by simply dumping in that much sugar (or dextrose), it will have a severe osmotic stress on the yeast, from such a strong sugar content.

About the only thing I push above 10-11% myself, is my rum washes. When I do them, I feed them sugar and molasses enough to get to about 10% to start with. Then 2 days later, I add more sugar/molasses (and some water), then 2 days later, I add more sugar (and some water). In the end, I target 13%. I can get to 13% and have a pretty clean result, without having the wash stick, or having it generate off flavors.

Again, you should really LISTEN to what many here discuss. Do not try to be "greedy" and build a overly strong wash. You will ONLY produce very sub par end results. If you worried about the strength, well, that is what your still is for! It will convert the wash into whatever strength you want (usually much stronger, and you will have to water it down anyway). What you are really after is either that "ultra" neutral, tasteless odorless product, or the really fine flavored flavorful drink (rum/whiskey/brandy), which does NOT give a hang over, which has nothing (or very very little) of any volatiles which you do NOT want in there. Trying to build too strong of a ABV wash will NOT get you to that point.

Just my $0.02 worth. Please ignore it if you want. H.

Yeah. What H said.

thanks Husker
yeh i agree... i'm not in this for getting super high yields at the moment. its all just "getting the hang" and i am certainly learning lots from reading on here. theres just so much info and i'm very time poor with work at the moment so hopefully in a few runs i will be able to really keep my finger on the pulse and start perfecting things a bit better.

i'm just doing one turbo a week and getting a stockpile of flavoured booze and then when our weather cools down (the temp are really high for fermenting at the moment, above 40C day, around 30C night) i will start some birdwatchers sugar wash and maybe try get a UJSM going.

i'm just stoked with the results of that first run, very drinkable irish cream and Tennessee whiskey (both store bought flavourings). i know its nowhere near the level of the high quality stuff some of you blokes produce but its good for a city slicker aussie boy who grinds the corporate cogs by day hehehe

Yairrrrs, The weather has been crook, but so far no fires in central Vic.

I've had to rig up a coolgardie safe thingy by wrapping a towel around the fermenter and pouring water in the top to keep my ferments cool. Seems to be working well.

blanik

blanikdog wrote:Yairrrrs, The weather has been crook, but so far no fires in central Vic.

I've had to rig up a coolgardie safe thingy by wrapping a towel around the fermenter and pouring water in the top to keep my ferments cool. Seems to be working well.

blanik

No danger of fires up here right now, rain everywhere, I am currently living in a swamp. But there is cyclones threatening all over the place, from Mackay through to Broome.

Gave up on trubo's , use temperature tolerant Willards yeast

8 kg sugar in my fermentor filled to 25 litres

ferment at 20°C in my fridgemate controlled fridge

I hook the water up to the laundry tap using a rubber hose with one of those dog wash heads on the end , remove the fitting from the head and use it to hook up to the condenser < also use it with the head when adding water to the fermenter . aids in aerating the water , run the outlet to top up the pool

Going to double distill my next batch , run thru once and dilute to 40% or less add bicarb and distill again , check level of water used to dilute will more than cover cover the heating element

Are the copper mesh thingos the ones used as a pot scrubber , from Woolies I assume

[quote=blanikdog]Yairrrrs, The weather has been crook, but so far no fires in central Vic.

I've had to rig up a coolgardie safe thingy by wrapping a towel around the fermenter and pouring water in the top to keep my ferments cool. Seems to be working well.

blanik[/quote]

*nod*
thats what i am doing for my current wash (SS Triple Distilled). got a small desk fan blowing on it and a thermo to monitor things. yeh its just some towels wrapped around the fermenter, lying in 5 cms of water in a tray.

PS: i'm in the swan valley near perth and its cooler today but still higher than ideal.

Rod wrote:Are the copper mesh thingos the ones used as a pot scrubber , from Woolies I assume

Chances are the ones at Woolies (or Coles, etc) are only copper plated. You can get the genuine article (and copper mesh too) at

http://www.mikesbrew.com.au/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

and no doubt some other distilling shops.

45C+ in the shed is not an ideal place for a fermenter but we must do what we must do.
I have had to re-start 3 lots so far this summer, killed the yeast.

Phew, you guys down south surely are copping the heat.
Here, I'm growing web feet. I sympathise with the heat problems though. I use a Coolgardie set up myself. It's limited though in real extremes but I have found that it will remove 8 to 10 degrees C ( can't remember the smart way to do a degrees symbol) pretty well, probably do better with lower humidity than mine.

tracker0945 wrote:45C+ in the shed is not an ideal place for a fermenter but we must do what we must do. I have had to re-start 3 lots so far this summer, killed the yeast.

Me too tracker. I have two trying to ferment. Gives one the shits


blanik