Something Wrong???

[Walshie]

My first mash was 13 gallons of UJ in a 20 gallons food grade garbage can with 18 lbs cracked corn and 18 lbs white sugar. Unknown original SG, final was 1.00.

Note all distillate is being collected for a stripping run. I will be combining all collected so far to do a second distillation so errors are not a big deal right now but obviously I would like to get some product right off the still eventually. My setup is in Pic 2

The first run of about 7.5 gallons yielded about 0.8 gallons of 86P. You can see from pic 1 its kind of cloudy. I f**d up the beginning of the run and made a real rook mistake leading to a cloudy first quart but the remaining came out nice and clear.

The second run of the original mash was about 4 gallons. It yielded 3 - 18 oz jars of 97 proof average (120, 96,76) and is very clear (pic3)

I reuse about 3.5 gallons of the back set with 5 gallons of water and dump in my fermenter. 5 kg of white sugar and and 3 tbsp of DADY. SG 1.045 ferments down to 0.994 in 3-1/2 days. The bubbling had stopped. By the computer, this is 6.7% ABV.

I charge my 8 gall still this morning with about 7 gallons of mash and get a whole bunch of cloudy distillate. The first litre is 97 proof, but as time grinds on it rises to 110 and gets a little clearer, but still very cloudy IMO. Yield today is 4 litres of 97, 110, 102 and 92 (Pic 4) . The end was 16 oz of 80P tails and I can recognize tails now (yuck).

This is where I ask why this run came out so cloudy. Is still charged to full? Did I distill too soon?

And another question. My still has a vapour thermometer on it. I crossed checked its accuracy and its not too bad. I'm running my still at 200-205 vapour temp. Should I run hotter or cooler or what? The more I try the more questions I have.

Batch 3 is back in the fermenter with 2.5 gallons back set, 5 gallons water, new cracked corn and 5 kg white sugar.

[jonnys_spirit]

Cloudy low-wines are fine and expected. For a UJ style you should strip until you get to somewhere between 35-40%ABV total. Sounds like you could run your strip a little longer. You don't want to use plastics in the product path. How is your boiler lid sealed?

Your vapor path out of the boiler looks a bit small too. COuld be prone to blockage which is dangerous.

Cheers!
-jonny

EDIT:
You can't run your still by temp - Rather, you can't control the vapor temp. The vapor temp in a pot still is determined by the ABV (and hence the boiling point) of the liquid in the boiler. Run it for a pencil lead stream coming out on a spirit run and as fast as your product condenser can handle on a strip run.

[Deplorable]

You seem to have very hairy toes in the top of the 2nd picture. Are you stillin' in middle earth?

[HomerD]

You seem to have very hairy toes in the top of the 2nd picture. Are you stillin' in middle earth?

Are you saying that your advice is to get a pedicure?

Homer

[Hambone]

The low wines look fine. More copper would help. And those are lovely flowers. The toes are debatable ....

[jonnys_spirit]

It looks like you’re using plastics on the output of your worm and maybe on your boiler and thumper seals. This leaches into your high abv distillate. You should wrap your seals in teflon tape and get rid of the plastic tubing though.

Cheers!
-jonny

[Walshie]

You're all a riot. I'll let my buddy know about his phalanges. Flowers are fake.

I've run at temp until the dripping stops. Its usually around 38% or so. My cook temp is correct then as the output sputters between a pencil lead and very fast drips.

Boiler lid and washers under the flex tubing nuts are all silicone. The outlet is connected with a short piece of silicone tubing as well.

Flex tubing is 1/2" ID. I have seen the boiler lid flex a bit during a cook as the pressure builds and burps. To change it out means a winter project as I need to convert to 3/4 copper, which means all new fitting and drilling bigger holes. But it would be beneficial as more copper is better and I would get rid of the silicone washers. I'm not happy with the condenser the kit came with and one of my winter projects is to make a new one.

The washers are silicone, so I'll dump them for the teflon. It may not work as the seating nut will be hard pressed onto the receiving nut. They are not flare fittings.

Thanks for the opinions.

[StillerBoy]

Flex tubing is 1/2" ID. I have seen the boiler lid flex a bit during a cook as the pressure builds and burps.

This is a major issue with the setup in its present state.. and changing to 3/4" will not provide much of an improvement, certainly not in the manner that it is attached to the lip..

Mars

[HomerD]

If you’re going to be building, why not just try to find a keg to use for a boiler. It would be able to hold more and probably be safer too, if properly done.

Homer

[jonnys_spirit]

I'm reading that you're using about 30% backset which is pretty high and after some generations can contribute to low pH issues and stalled ferments without pH control.

Might want to check and confirm that all your brass in contact with vapor / distillate is lead free and make sure to pickle it if you insist on using it. Teflon is an approved seal material here and silicone isn't. Would be best to eliminate brass and silicone. Cardboard seals wrapped in teflon are easy to make as is a rye / flour paste and they're safe.

You should ensure that your still is open enough to the atmosphere to not ever be under pressure. The thumper will contribute to pressure in the boiler so larger diameter plumbing contributes to lower vapor velocity through the system and less back pressure with a thumper setup. Please remember that a still under pressure can (and normally should) be full of hot high ABV ethanol. A blockage turns the still into an ethanol bomb especially when heated by flame like you have. Hot high ABV ethanol released under pressure mixes with O2 and becomes very volatile and flammable/explosive very quickly.

We're big on promoting home distilling around here so safety is always a requirement.

Some folks will strip down to total ABV of around 30% for flavored spirits and maybe higher for a neutral (diluting back to 40% with water). In any case you'll want to keep the low-wines ABV under 40% for your spirit run - also for safety.

While a thumper does add a number of options it also adds some complexity. There are lots of ways to run and charge a simple pot still with flexibility and options. Not suggesting that a thumper is bad or undesirable by any means...

I'm a big fan of KISS so I'd specifically like to ask why you're using a thumper?

Good luck!
-jonny

[Walshie]

I'm reading that you're using about 30% backset which is pretty high and after some generations can contribute to low pH issues and stalled ferments without pH control.

I'm a big fan of KISS so I'd specifically like to ask why you're using a thumper?

Good luck!
-jonny

Jonny UJSSM says anywhere from 25-50%. I'm at 37% with 3 gallons. My second set back used about 31%

The thumper came with the kit and I've read it adds an extra layer of distillation. I would also like to use it for flavouring once I get my methods down pat.

[jonnys_spirit]

Sounds good Walshie! Just hoping to encourage some thoughtful intent on why you're using the thumper and amount of backset - not discouraging the use and experimentation.

Cheers!
-jonny

[Walshie]

Update - My last two runs of UJSSM have been without a thumper; distillate is coming out crystal clear with a great flavour.

[wpkluck]

Update - My last two runs of UJSSM have been without a thumper; distillate is coming out crystal clear with a great flavour.

I've also just cut out my thumper, for stripping runs. I always had crystal clear product, but it took an extra hour to get to temp/first drops. Much happier without it (I'll put it back in for spirit runs - that will add some time!!).

[Justinthunder]

I've also just cut out my thumper, for stripping runs. I always had crystal clear product, but it took an extra hour to get to temp/first drops. Much happier without it (I'll put it back in for spirit runs - that will add some time!!).

Why does it take you an extra hour to get your thumper going? Are you not pre heating your thumper contents? Are you throwing them in cold? If you are using heads or tails I would suggest warming them in a pot first. If you’re using wash or mash from your ferment I would suggest warming it in your boiler then transfer it to your thump.

[wpkluck]

I've also just cut out my thumper, for stripping runs. I always had crystal clear product, but it took an extra hour to get to temp/first drops. Much happier without it (I'll put it back in for spirit runs - that will add some time!!).

Why does it take you an extra hour to get your thumper going? Are you not pre heating your thumper contents? Are you throwing them in cold? If you are using heads or tails I would suggest warming them in a pot first. If you’re using wash or mash from your ferment I would suggest warming it in your boiler then transfer it to your thump.

Yeah, that makes sense. I never thought about it before, and you really get slammed here if you bring up anything outside the norm. But I’ve been thinking about how to dump the excess heat from my burner to the thumper, and other innovative thoughts. Thanks for bringing it up.