controlling heat on with keg element on pot still ?

[bundyftw]

sorry for the essay, first time using the homemade set up and wanted advice, it's the usual 2inch pot column set up, 500mm high 90 degree bend 2" copper, long homemade reducer with bend to 1/2 into a liebig condenser 800mm long, 3/4 over 1/2 inch with a 50L keg, 2200w element.

I did my first run of UJSM (990 FG) yesterday and found once on the boil it came out super quick, and lower abv than i expected. I tried putting wet sheets round the column which helped but still only came out around 60% and mostly off smelling. I used 220L drum with pond pump, got pretty warm at the end.

I assume this poor result is due to having too much heat, I have built the famous BD 747 and plan on using this next run for a bit more adj heat, to those who use this burner, how effective is it to regulate the heat level? I know it'll get it boiling quick... damn..

I had the idea of putting some scrubbers in the column? with some wet sheets outside to get a little reflux and up the abv? good idea or would it mess with the flavour?

I got around 3L of 55% out of the run, and about 4L low wines how does that compare to your runs?.

thanks for the feedback. cheers!

[MacStill]

1st up!

What wash were you running & what were you trying to achieve?

2nd

You dont control temps while pot stilling, you control heat input to get the desired output.

;-)

[bundyftw]

thanks for your response.
I ran 50L UJSM 990 FG 3rd gen wash. using the above equipment, a constant power 2200w element. 220L tank cool water on a pond pump.

I am concerned that the ABV i achieved is too low and speed of take off too fast, as in, i did a stripping run. I'm on 3rd gen wash and it's a nice smelling sour mash, I wanna get a bunch of spirit to bottle and oak, I took the spirit by the stubbie, from my taste and smell kept 3L of 55% , thought i'd get better result from it, I wanted to know if this is common result to what others achieve from this equipment. I believe this rig is pretty popular here.

My next 50L Keg of UJSM will be heated with the BD-747, getting it to the boil fast and then attempting to pull the heat back, I wanted to know how well the BD747 works for this, when turned down or if it will get even hotter than the 2200w element, giving worse results.

Also, what cuts of ABV do you generally take using this equipment, and how much hearts do you keep, the UJSM recipe calls for 80-70% as a rough guide, but the best i'm pulling is 60%..

Thanks for your insight.

[MacStill]

Most who use a simple pot still do stripping runs then do a spirit run with the low wines, they do this once they've stripped a few generations of UJ's.

Your ABV% sounds about right for a strip run, and your ABV% will increase a lot if you run low wines.

Cuts are done by taste & smell, relying on ABV & temps is not really the way to go.... let your senses tell you what's right after airing your distillate for 24hrs.

Once you know your recipe and your still proper it gets easier to repeat everything, then you can decide what ABV's work for your cuts as a guide.

[R-sole]

Yes, as mac says to achieve those figures and a good result from your potstil on ujsm you'll have to first strip keeping all collectted down to 20% and then combine all the strip to do a slow spirit run. You'll need a more controllable burner than that jet engine i suspect as a low flame is needed once boil is reached. 3 ring camping burner on a standard regulator is pretty standard and quite controllable. Think 1 ring off and the other two down to candle height.