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How should I best make sure I have an accurate reading of the wash temperature, will the thermometer need to be grounded in the wash itself or just in the interior of the pot?

Also on two side notes?
Is plumbers putty safe for use as a seal?

Is the recommended dumping of the first 50 ml of distillate per 20l proportional; or should i throw away the first 50ml even if I have only 10l of wash?

Wohzah wrote:How should I best make sure I have an accurate reading of the wash temperature, will the thermometer need to be grounded in the wash itself or just in the interior of the pot?

You only measure vapor temperature, NOT liquid temperature... Liquid temperature means nothing as far as distillation is concerned...

Also on two side notes?
Is plumbers putty safe for use as a seal?

There is no guarantee that plumbers putty will be safe with virtually pure alcohol... Best advice is "Don't use it!"... Use flour paste...

Is the recommended dumping of the first 50 ml of distillate per 20l proportional; or should i throw away the first 50ml even if I have only 10l of wash?

Several thoughts on this... Some folks don't make cuts till the final spirit run while others make cuts on all striiping runs as well as the final spirit run... Your choice, based on experience - which you'll need at acquire on your own...


Welcome to the forums, Wohzah... Make sure you read the parent site as it has answers to these as well as most other questions...

[quote="Wohzah"]How should I best make sure I have an accurate reading of the wash temperature, will the thermometer need to be grounded in the wash itself or just in the interior of the pot?
quote]
To keep track fo fermenting temps I use an aquarium stick on strip stuck to the outside of fermenter.Seems to be on the mark with my cheap Radio Shack IR themometer.
http://www.brewhaus.com/Thermometer_Sti ... 005510.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
I keep notes start to finish to learn all varibles untill I can "fly" on my own.