basic help

[girafick]

I have been reading and studying distilling for a few days now but im not entirely sure of a few things. I am planning on making my own reflux still but i have yet to read any decent description of the cycle. Is the vapour returning in a cyclical direction when a valve is closed? Is it possible to have an open reflux system in which no valves or cycle is necessary, one that is essentially a pot still with a fractioning tower. I saw there are two types of reflux systems but I wasnt sure if they varied more then condensing methods. Is there any part of this web page or any other that gives a good description of not only how it works but how to run one? I think i read most of the website.

I also would like to know where I can find a tutorial on Heads and Tails. I have read heads and tails multiple times, and i read something short of removing heads and methanol, but there was no clear description of tails or the percentages needed to be removed. This website is a great help and i really appreciate it but i think it could use some more basic information.

All i really need is a simple still that will be efficient with energy and water. I think refractioning is best but if it requires extremely precise mechanisms i might opt for a pot still with a fractioning style neck and a thumper, if that is possible and desirable. I know little and would appreciate the help. Thankyou

[Jetzon]

Might wanna pick up a few Books to read. Ian Smileys book "Making pure corn whiskey" I think is a Must Have. Best advice is spend a Good month reading here. Read as much as you can and try making a simple sugar wash or two.. Hands on helps A Lot.. After a month of reading you'll have some basic knowledge of whats what. Then you can decide what Still is right for you..

[jdonly1]

Ian Smileys book "Making pure corn whiskey"

Where is the best pace to buy this from(on the net)

[As-Ol-Joe]

girafick, welcome to the forum. What type of spirit are you trying to make? That is what determines what type of still you will need. Neutrals spirits, you need a reflux. Flavored spirits, you need a pot still.

[trthskr4]

Not gonna put a link here for every thing under the sun, but there is enough info on this site to get your mind made up and get the still built and the first run. You're still gonna have questions though it's inevitable. Go to Novice Distillers and read the mini FAQ, follow the links.

Build a Potstill, if you want it neutral run it thrice or something. If you want no flavor, drink water.

These links for reflux still
Try this link for running a reflux:
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5107

Try this link for calculating volumes of heads hearts and tails:
http://homedistiller.org/reflux_calc.htm

Here's an explanation of the Boka Mini:
http://homedistiller.org/image/mini_explained.jpg

[Oaty]

Ian Smiley's book can be bought virtually anywhere- amphora soceity, even amazon.com. It is highly recommended. The Home Site is required reading. Also, information can be gleaned from the 'Stickies' in the various forums. These are the discussion threads labeled with light bulbs. They contain basic information or questions asked many times. For instance, in this forum 'Novice Distillers' there are several Stickies. 'Distilling Advice' by Tater and ' Basic Distillation 101' by GingerBreadMan are only two. And will answer many of your questions.You'll find several threads that can give you step by step instructions on how to run several different kinds of rigs. Heads and tails can be removed as a percentage of the output. Some use thermometers to guide them. Some use the basic method of taste and feel.

Each Forum has Stickies which will give step by step instructions on our craft. I. E. in Related Equiptment there is a thread 'Winding A Coil'. Which if read allows the most incompetent craftsman of our ilk to produce an attractive well made coil without kinks and of superior design.

The best advice I can give you is to continue reading at the home site and here in the forums. We're always glad to help, but I'm sure all of your questions have been asked and answered here in the Forums several times already. For the most part if you ask us a question the best answer we can give is directions to the appropriate post.

[GingerBreadMan]

I have been reading and studying distilling for a few days now but im not entirely sure of a few things. I am planning on making my own reflux still but i have yet to read any decent description of the cycle. Is the vapour returning in a cyclical direction when a valve is closed?

For a complete and in depth look at the different types of reflux stills I would recommend "The Compleat Distiller". That's of course if you want to get a very detailed right down to the last molecule look at what is happening.

Is it possible to have an open reflux system in which no valves or cycle is necessary, one that is essentially a pot still with a fractioning tower.

Yes, this is the last still I built, previously I had a simple pot still which worked very well. I just wanted with some more versatility. Here is what I built -

http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... =17&t=6900

I also would like to know where I can find a tutorial on Heads and Tails. I have read heads and tails multiple times, and i read something short of removing heads and methanol, but there was no clear description of tails or the percentages needed to be removed. This website is a great help and i really appreciate it but i think it could use some more basic information.

After only few days of reading, I'm sure it seems like that.

Build a still, make a wash. Collect in small containers throughout the run. The next day sample each one. You'll have a better idea of what the heads, hearts and tails are.

For simplicity build a pot still first. Even if you are going to make vodka (neutral spirits) you'll probably want to run the wash through a pot still first (stripping run) to concentrate the distillate before running it again through a reflux still. I believe that would be the most energy/water efficient way of making vodka.

[girafick]

i already make wine very often. I dumpster fruit in hundred pound quantities from markets and turn it into wine. I usually have to buy my sugar though. Right now i have more then enouph strawberry wine to make some cognac. I have read the entire site. or if i missed a part it was a small one. My main question was weather a reflux still is a direct flow of vapour (minus the refluxing in the shaft) to the condensor and then the collector. Or weather any of the vapour is turned back over to the tube in a cycle. If not, a reflux still is little more then a pot still with a fractioning shaft. Or am i misunderstanding something. I also read the site about building reflux stills. Its a rather small question but somehow i cant seem to get direct information solving it.

As far as the head and tails i will just do more research. I think that is in order. thanks

[Jetzon]

Ive only been doing this for a few months now girafick, Wish I could answer your questions better. I'm using a Pot still setup and thats all I ever used.. So far Ive made a couple batches of Welches 100% concentrate to run off for Brandy. Waiting for the fresh fruits round here to start coming in.. Never been a Brandy drinker But I'm All over it now! Good sippin stuff...

[Oaty]

A reflux column is packed with various materials:raschig rings, marbles, copper mesh, etc.. As the vapor rises through this packing it tends to collect as a liquid on this packing and drip down the column. The liquid meeting more vapour causes more gas also to condense. This concentrates the alc-alcohol- abv-alcohol by volume %. It is in effect multiplying the distillation process as it rises and falls through the column. As the vapour finally rises into the condenser it completely liquifies at a much higher abv than would occur without the packing. Then, this liquid is fed back to the column to begin the process again. This is the reflux process. After this reflux process becomes balanced in equilibrium output from the condensor can be taken slowly. Thus, refluxing and obtaining output at the same time. You are trying to obtain a pure neutral alc such as vodka.

In the Potstill the vapour simply rises, hits the condensor, becomes a liquid and is collected. The abv is lower and other impurities are mixed. The impurities are what gives flavoured spirits such as whiskey their taste. With the potstill multiple distillations are required to raise the abv and acquire the desired taste. Others, could explain Pot distillation better than I as I only reflux.

[Dnderhead]

oaty you about covered it but with pot still you about double abv of what you put in ( as 12% wash ---24-30 out) then then there's hybrid
("short column " 16"? )that will triple the abv if you want brandy (that is distilled wine) then you either want a pot still or a hybrid a reflux will remove all or most of flavor

[trthskr4]

Here's my hybrid. I get @75% abv every time with one SS scrubber in the column with 5 gallons of 10% wash and 3/4 gallon or so of tails. My sweet run of the first UJSM I did started at 80%, that's the foreshots and the second picture, was the first of the keeper juice.





That's as good as my abilities to post pictures gets right now.

I could pack the column and probably get alot more abv out.

[girafick]

I think i am interested in the hybrid. I am not as interested in tasteless alcohol and the hybrid seems to both make flavored alcohol, but also only run one time for a high alcohol output. From what i see, it appears that the alcohol runs direct through the packing column, into the condenser with running water, and finally out to the container. In that picture there, what is the double pipe setup after the condensor, does it serve a purpose or is it simply a stand.

review: The head is thrown out because it is nasty and possibly unhealthy, the Tails are recycled because the ratio of water to alcohol is poor, keeping the product high abv and making the next batch of mash(correct word?) a higher starting abv.

Thanks everyone for helping and being patient. Im glad i asked on the forum because both of the still examples i see here are more interesting and helpful then the traditional ones i have been seeing.

[Hawke]

That double pipe is called a parrot's beak. It runs distillate to the bottom of the second pipe (which has a proof hydrometer floating in it) before going into the collection jar.
There are FORESHOTS= methanol, HEADS= acitone, benzine, acetic-ethyl esters and a few more nasties, HEARTS= The good stuff, and TAILS= Fusel oils and other high alcohols (Usually smell and taste like wet cardboard)
The stuff left in the boiler after a run is BACKSET, you use some of this to recharge your mash. Usually 25% of the liquid volume.

[trthskr4]

She's not a pretty thing at all but I love her. The parrot was the first thing I ever made out of copper, that's why the nasty look. I had the bright idea to shine my keg and quickly lost interest in that exploit. The vertical tee with the 3/4" pipe on the end was a last minute brain child of mine that I thought would act as an expansion valve of sorts as in an air conditioner so when the vapor (if any gets past that condensor) hits a larger and cooler area it will condense a bit and fall into the path with the rest. Oh and I have since cleaned it up, but it looks just like that again after the first run or 2.

[Oaty]

Trthskr,
Now, you got me interested. Sorry to sound ignorant, but from what I see you've got a standard column with or without packing, leading to a leibig condensor. The liquid comes out to what looks like the biggest thumper in the world? And it's on the wrong side of the condensor. What does it do? I'm confused. Sorry, but I don't know Pots at all.

What I have is the biggest re-hab in history. I with the complete knowledge of a knat decided to build an internal reflux. That lasted about one run. Then, I converted it over to a Bokakob reflux with a side of leibig pot combination. Haven't run the pot side yet, so always willing to learn.

[Dnderhead]

where's the thump-er? I dont see one I see a hybrid still - condenser and parrots beak sitting on a bucket

[trthskr4]

It's an 18"X 2" column I usually keep one SS scrubber in the bottom just to help with solids if it pukes, I don't usually distill on the grain but just in case. I put the little piece of 3/4" on the end vertically like that thinking it may act as an expansion valve in an air conditioner if any vapor escapes through the condenser. It actually seems to work unless I really screw up and don't turn the cooling water high enough. I don't have a thumper at all.? According to some of the old hands comments here and since it has a column that is longer than 6" I just call it a hybrid to keep them off my arse. Gotta go back and look at the picture again to see what was misconstrued as a thumper.

[Oaty]

Well, I just called it a thumper. I didn't know what it's function was. The bucket . I thought it was leading into the bucket for some reason. That's why I asked. didn't realise it was a shelf.

So, the distillate enters the first small vertical tube then drips into the second with the hydrometer? I can see why you need the tube with the hydrometer. What's the function of the first tube?

[trthskr4]

The distillate drips into the first tube, goes to the bottom and up the second to the hydrometer. the top of the second tube has a 1"X 3/4" reducer driven down onto it to make a catch pan of sorts for the distillate when it overflows the main center tube. the reducer has a hole drilled and the 3/8" "beak" inserted and brazed to it for the distillate to escape to the collection jar. That way you get a constant flow through the apperatus and thus a constant almost instantaneous reading of the abv of the distillate you are collecting. It has to be either a seperate device or you have to have some air space between. In all actuality I could take the cap off of the little vertical tube there and attack the parrot directly to the output of the still and not need a stand for the parrot. That would be a little more difficult to keep from knocking it off though. I'll try to find a pic of one and show it. Somebody here made a beautiful one not too long ago.

[trthskr4]

Here's a picture of a more elaborate parrot with a thermometer tube for corrections on the fly.