My first run

[toadskin]

I've just done my first still run. I used Alcotec 24 Turbo Yeast, 20 litres with 6kg sugar and Turbo Clear. I wasn't quite sure how to go about this but have been brewing beer for some time, so once the ferment had ended and it had settled a bit, I racked it into another fermenter and added the Turbo Clear. The next day it looked good and clear so I racked it into the boiler and got her fired up.

Once it hit about 45C it started to climb quite rapidly so I started the cooling and it settled a tad above 80C. I took the first 200ml and put it in a bottle marked HEADS and then took another 2 litres in another container. After another 750ml the temp had climbed to about 87C so I called it quits and put that in with the HEADS too. So I guess I have 2 litres of fairly neutral spirit and a litre of "other". It tastes pretty neutral but had a sort of initial sweetness. Would there be any more spirit still in the wash and should I have kept collecting until a higher temperature?

I have no idea what ABV I achieved. I need to get something to read this I guess as my beer hydrometer drops like a rock in it and yet my refractometer gives a reading of 1.072 sg ?????

What sort of yield should I get from this wash? It says about 14% so that would be about 2.8 litres?

So, where to from here? What is the best way to test the ABV? Do I put the HEADS back into the boiler with my next batch? Do I need to further process the 2 litres I collected before I break it down to 40% or should it be okay as it is?

Any suggestions/help would be appreciated.

[Kimbo]

Hi Toadskin, its a little hard to tell.
The following info would help: :handgestures-thumbupleft:
-what still do you have?
-what was the abv
-take off rate
-product temp

[crow]

Hi TS yeah ya can't get every last bit of ethanol out and what ya do get won't all be the same ABV so its a little tricky to work out. I never bothered to work it out myself anyway, what I got I got :D but as kimbo said some more imfo would help. Perhaps wonder over to the welcome centre and introduce yourself and let us know what sort of still you have ;-)

[toadskin]

I have a home made 2" x 36" column reflux still made from plans that were readily available online. I've since been told that it is a pretty ordinary type of still and I could have found better plans. Never the less, I'm stuck with this one for a while.

My first distillate started coming out around 80C I think and then it seemed to settle around there and over the next hour and a half it crept slowly up to about 87C when I shut it down. It was initially producing about 200ml every 8 minutes and later maybe 250 - 300ml in 8 minutes. I don't know what temp the product was but it was pretty cool.

I only have two stainless steel scrubbers in the top portion of the column at the moment. Should I put more in?

I have no idea of the ABV at this time. I guess I need a Hydrometer for distilling or something.

[crow]

yes on getting the hydrometer(alcometer) running on temp is not to flash. more scrubbers may well help :think: whats the chance of ya posting a photo of her, would give members a much better idea of what ya dealing with bud , pretty hard to say how well its running without any ABV data either ;-)

[dillsandwitch]

since no one has answered it yet. dont chuck the "heads" jar you collected back into the next wash. it will contain your foreshots and you dont want that going back in there. keep it for cleaning things. or you could burn things or even throw it into the eyes of your enemies :laughing-rolling:

but yeah dont put it back in the next wash.

[crow]

Yes ya right DS good spotting as dill said you've marked fores as heads, it aint . Please take he time to read this link as it will be one of the most important threads you will read viewtopic.php?f=41&t=874#p9951

[toadskin]

Thanks Croweater, that explains a lot.

With my first run I have a litre of what would be foreshots and tails. Can I put this into my next run if I make sure that I take off about double the foreshots? I see dillsandwich says not to, but what if I diluted it about 1:5 with water, could I recover the best parts of it and discard the foreshots out of this run?

I now have a spirit hydrometer on its' way to me and the next run I will use the method of multiple 500ml collecting jars and then do the testing and tasting.

My still small .jpg

[crow]

yes you can and under the circumstances that probably not a bad idea. but for then on discard/repurpose all fore shots. take a look at the tried and proven section and wean yourself of the turbo gear as it was designed for fuel production , very good for getting high ABV in a fast time frame but not so great for creating drinks, do this and that will be the end of clearing agents and carbon filtering. Just one more favour to do yourself now: piss that PVC hose off and attach a copper outlet line, ethanol is a strong solvent and would most definitely be leaching all sorts of chemicals into ya spirits ( I would advise you to do this before your next run)
Edit yes more scrubbers will for sure help with getting a more neutral spirit, packing the whole column would be good but it might be hard with that design without jamming them in to tight. The packing will need to go below the top condenser of cause so below there that top cooling line intercepts :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[toadskin]

Great! Thanks Croweater. I'm pretty sure I can get another three or four scrubbers in there but I will look at raschig beads next time I get down to Perth.

I have some 12mm silicon tubing that is designed for handling boiling beer wort. Do you think that would be okay? Barring that I'll check out some 3/8 copper tubing or similar.

I'm planning on trying one of the rum washes next. I'll check out the stockfeed places around Gero and source some molasses. That should satisfy my needs so then I'll need to find a wash to make a good brandy for my wife.

[crow]

Great! Thanks Croweater. I'm pretty sure I can get another three or four scrubbers in there but I will look at raschig beads next time I get down to Perth.
Scubbers are possibly better and definitely cheaper
I have some 12mm silicon tubing that is designed for handling boiling beer wort. Do you think that would be okay? Barring that I'll check out some 3/8 copper tubing or similar.
No mate I wouldn't trust it go with the copper
I'm planning on trying one of the rum washes next. I'll check out the stockfeed places around Gero and source some molasses. That should satisfy my needs so then I'll need to find a wash to make a good brandy for my wife.

Right well fruit season is almost on us so if you were looking at doing a fruit brandy start looking around for orchards now that you could get cheap or reject fruit from for "jam" ;-)

[rustee]

I will look at raschig beads next time .

I wouldnt bother with rasching rings - ordinary stainless steel pot scrubbers work fine and are much cheaper. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Sorry Crow has already mentioned this :text-+1:

[toadskin]

Okay....I guess I'll stay with the stainless pot scrubbers. They're easy to get too. Thanks to all you guys who have read my postings and given advice. I will probably have a few more questions yet, although searching through this forum there are answers to most questions you could ask. I'm relieved that no one has said "throw that thing in the bin and build/buy a watch ya call it".

[Urrazeb]

Whats your copper polishing method TS? That still sure is shiny!

[Sam.]

Mate, my main still not all that long ago was the same design but a double column.

Problem with them is they are truly a "fractioning still" they are not really a reflux still, unless you are pumping some super cold water into it you will never be able to make full reflux.

They are sort of between a pot and a reflux, they are a pot in the sense that when you cook off the temp will just keep increasing slowly until your done, but a reflux in the fact that I could get close to azeo for most of the run with it packed with marbles. (might be something to look into).

Hope when you do spirit runs your running it on the slow side and taking cuts :handgestures-thumbupleft:

No need to throw anything in the bin, it will serve you well until you find something else you like, I drank the booze out of mine for 3 or 4 years until I found something better :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[toadskin]

Urrazeb, I just used a cloth buff on a six inch bench grinder with some buffing polish, and a Supercheap car buff and aluminium bullbar polish for the harder to get at bits. Once polished I wiped it down all over with mineral turps and gave it two coats of Dulux clear lacquer (out of a spray can). Don't get any spirit on the lacquer though!

Thanks Sam and Liv, I'll stick with this until I get more of a handle on it and then might go for a pot still type.

[toadskin]

My hydrometer turned up and I checked what I had distilled. The first 250ml and the last 750ml went into one bottle and it came out at 71% after temperature correction. The first litre, after the foreshot was taken, went 81% and the second litre went 79%. I think there was a bit to go in the wash but that's on the lawn now.
Anyway, it was an interesting exercise and I am learning a heap really quickly. I think I may build a parrot before I get too much further.

Question. The first litre (81%) tastes very clean and has very little nose. Would this be suitable to cut to 40% to make some rum using the syrups you get from the HBS?

8-)

[crow]

Yep or anything else you'd like to flavour it with ;-)

[Sam.]

The first bit will be the heads (as long as you threw the foreshots away).

It should smell a bit sweeter than the rest if anything.

You can try it if you want but you will probably give yourself a cranking hangover from it :handgestures-thumbdown:

Have a squizz at this

viewtopic.php?f=41&t=874

[crow]

The first bit will be the heads (as long as you threw the foreshots away).
It should smell a bit sweeter than the rest if anything.
You can try it if you want but you will probably give yourself a cranking hangover from it :handgestures-thumbdown:
Have a squizz at this
http://www.aussiedistiller.com.au/viewt ... f=41&t=874

Kinda hoping he did all that but just failed to mention it as I already sent this member that imfo , Tell me ya didn't ignore that advise bud :pray: