I started my still up awhile ago and just as the foreshots started to run ,my pump stoped working.
So I shut it down.It was a 10.gall. sugar wash.To late to nite to get another pump.Will it be ok to run it tomorrow.
Thanks for feed back and have a great day.
I had to shut my still down
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runingkind
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I had to shut my still down
bought wisdom don't come cheap,but it is a good teacher
Re: I had to shut my still down
Not a problem, know of a few reflux runs that have been done in stages.
It is the very things that we think we know, that keep us from learning what we should know.
Valved Reflux, 3"x54" Bok 'mini', 2 liebig based pots and the 'Blockhead' 60K btu propane heat
Valved Reflux, 3"x54" Bok 'mini', 2 liebig based pots and the 'Blockhead' 60K btu propane heat
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runingkind
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Re: I had to shut my still down
Thanks Hawk for such a fast reply.I would have cried if I had to dump it.I'll get two pumps so in the future I won't have to stop
bought wisdom don't come cheap,but it is a good teacher
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Barney Fife
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Re: I had to shut my still down
I've stopped often in the middle of runs for various reasons; always starts back up fine, just as Hawke said. You'll be fine. Just remember to toss your foreshots again.
Re: I had to shut my still down
So even though you shut down in the middle of a run (after you tossed the foreshots) you have to toss them again? I figured once you tossed them the first time all the nasties were gone....??
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blanikdog
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Re: I had to shut my still down
I've had to shut down many times and have never discarded foreshots after the first run. Be interested to see the concensus in here.
blanik
blanik
Simple potstiller. Slow, single run.
(50 litre, propane heated pot still. Coil in bucket condenser - No thermometer, No carbon)
The Reading Lounge AND the Rules We Live By should be compulsory reading
Cumudgeon and loving it.
(50 litre, propane heated pot still. Coil in bucket condenser - No thermometer, No carbon)
The Reading Lounge AND the Rules We Live By should be compulsory reading
Cumudgeon and loving it.
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Barney Fife
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- Joined: Wed May 21, 2008 5:20 am
- Location: Mayberry, NC
Re: I had to shut my still down
Everything that comes out before you reach equilibrium temperatures will be foreshots. There'll be much fewer of them the second time 'round, but they're still there.
Re: I had to shut my still down
Guess this needs to be posted again.
Everything prior to the main body is the heads. Of the heads, almost all of it is ethanol. However, there is a larger percentage of other things (such as methanol, acetone, eythl acetate, etc), which are most strongest very early on in the heads, and tapering off later within the heads.
Now, since heads are in large part ethanol, you CAN re-run these on subsequent runs. If you do NOT do this, then all heads are simply discarded and called foreshots. If you DO re-run your heads, run after run, then what happens, is you get 100% of the nasty from your first ferment, and 100% from your second ferment in your second run. Then on the third, you get 300% of the nasties, and so forth. What then takes place, is you have a strong build up of the worst stuff.
However, since there is a higher concentration of these hi-volatiles early on, if you remove this part (say 25% of the heads), and NEVER re-run these, this will allow you to put the other 75% of the heads into the next run, and capture a large amount of the ethanol contained within them.
That is what removal of foreshots is all about. Nothing more, nothing less.
But, on an interrupted stillage run, you WILL have to re-equalize, and the output you get prior to this, should be put into a heads container, and not into your product. The very first few ml it would not hurt to toss, just simply because it IS still the most concentrated, and if there was anything in the still left over from the last run (dirt, dust, or anything), the first tiny bit would flush that out. However, a "full" 100ml foreshot cut (if that is your normal size), certainly would NOT be required when you reheat the still.
H.
Everything prior to the main body is the heads. Of the heads, almost all of it is ethanol. However, there is a larger percentage of other things (such as methanol, acetone, eythl acetate, etc), which are most strongest very early on in the heads, and tapering off later within the heads.
Now, since heads are in large part ethanol, you CAN re-run these on subsequent runs. If you do NOT do this, then all heads are simply discarded and called foreshots. If you DO re-run your heads, run after run, then what happens, is you get 100% of the nasty from your first ferment, and 100% from your second ferment in your second run. Then on the third, you get 300% of the nasties, and so forth. What then takes place, is you have a strong build up of the worst stuff.
However, since there is a higher concentration of these hi-volatiles early on, if you remove this part (say 25% of the heads), and NEVER re-run these, this will allow you to put the other 75% of the heads into the next run, and capture a large amount of the ethanol contained within them.
That is what removal of foreshots is all about. Nothing more, nothing less.
But, on an interrupted stillage run, you WILL have to re-equalize, and the output you get prior to this, should be put into a heads container, and not into your product. The very first few ml it would not hurt to toss, just simply because it IS still the most concentrated, and if there was anything in the still left over from the last run (dirt, dust, or anything), the first tiny bit would flush that out. However, a "full" 100ml foreshot cut (if that is your normal size), certainly would NOT be required when you reheat the still.
H.
Hillbilly Rebel: Unless you are one of the people on this site who are legalling distilling, keep a low profile, don't tell, don't sell.
Re: I had to shut my still down
On the last run I did with my old potstill, (had a thermo in the top) I collected down to about 20%. Two days later, I fired it back up, just to get the backset heated. Even though I had most of the alcohol removed, I still got about 15ml. of liquid out of it before it got up to 78*C. For me, this confirms that not all fractions are removed in sequence. I think you should pull some 'fores' every time you heat a wash.
It is the very things that we think we know, that keep us from learning what we should know.
Valved Reflux, 3"x54" Bok 'mini', 2 liebig based pots and the 'Blockhead' 60K btu propane heat
Valved Reflux, 3"x54" Bok 'mini', 2 liebig based pots and the 'Blockhead' 60K btu propane heat
Re: I had to shut my still down
I also read that if you cannot run a wash immediately and you need to put it off for a few days or weeks, then you can heat it up to around 150*, to kill off all the yeasties and stop the fermentation. You could consider your first try at this run a sterilization, nothing lost....but it should be sterilized now!
My job has me traveling a lot and for long periods of time, so in order preserve washes that i can't get to, I thought about heating up washes I can't run before i leave to around 150-160 for a few minutes, allow them to cool and them toss them into the freezer. If I do this, then I'll be able to run a wash or two when i get home, while my new mashes are fermenting.
On a similar note...if this procedure is combined with catching the liquid as the mash thaws from the freezer, then you can reduce the mash quantity so that you end up with a higher abv product---similar to jacking. This could be done even if it isn't a normal practice for you if you have a schedule like me-b/c why not utilize the freezer and what if can do for you while you are gone!
OMP
My job has me traveling a lot and for long periods of time, so in order preserve washes that i can't get to, I thought about heating up washes I can't run before i leave to around 150-160 for a few minutes, allow them to cool and them toss them into the freezer. If I do this, then I'll be able to run a wash or two when i get home, while my new mashes are fermenting.
On a similar note...if this procedure is combined with catching the liquid as the mash thaws from the freezer, then you can reduce the mash quantity so that you end up with a higher abv product---similar to jacking. This could be done even if it isn't a normal practice for you if you have a schedule like me-b/c why not utilize the freezer and what if can do for you while you are gone!
OMP
Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.
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blanikdog
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Re: I had to shut my still down
Well, there you go. Thanks Husker. I guess I was wrong. Toss after stopping a run. Strange that I didn't smell the fores on the second run.
blanik
blanik
Simple potstiller. Slow, single run.
(50 litre, propane heated pot still. Coil in bucket condenser - No thermometer, No carbon)
The Reading Lounge AND the Rules We Live By should be compulsory reading
Cumudgeon and loving it.
(50 litre, propane heated pot still. Coil in bucket condenser - No thermometer, No carbon)
The Reading Lounge AND the Rules We Live By should be compulsory reading
Cumudgeon and loving it.