 Rank: Newbie Groups: Registered
Joined: 5/15/2013(UTC)
Posts: 5
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"Ok so im very new to all this but am also very interested and willing to learn, so i might ask some dumb questions but just bare with me. So ive built a pressure cooker still and have my mash fermenting but i have a couple questions about my still. So...my design: i have a cheap walmart pressure cooker with 1/4"" copper pipe running from the top to a stainless steel 3 gallon pot with about a gallon of water in the bottom. And then i have another copper pipe coming from that stainless steel pot to another stainless steel pot with the snake coming out of the bottom. Ive seen alot of pressure cooker stills with the copper pipe running straight from the pressure cooker to the snake pot so my question is, is the middle pot really necessary? From what ive gathered so far the middle pot is to catch any excess mash (puke) from getting into my catching jar but i may be way off there. Any help is appreciated
thanks,
Bholc91"
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 Rank: Senior Member Groups: Registered
Joined: 1/27/2012(UTC)
Posts: 526
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Hi Bholc91, A picture would really help. If the 1/4" pipe coming off the boiler goes through the lid and down close to the bottom of the SS pot, and the pipe coming out going to the worm starts close to the inside top of the lid, the pot is called a Thumper or Doubler. It is supposed to be filled about an inch above the end of the incoming pipe with some of the mash you are running, not water. It's purpose is to impart more flavor and increase the ABV of your run, and also catch anything that pukes up. But hopefully you won't puke anything up, in a 1/4" pipe that could cause a blockage problem. Rule of thumb is fill the boiler with no more than 75% capacity
A Thumper is not something you have to have to run your still, just another part/toy to play with. Also unless you have a 12 gallon boiler then a three gallon thumper is way to large. Thumpers are usually 25% the size of your boiler and sometime much smaller.
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Rank: Newbie Groups: Registered
Joined: 5/15/2013(UTC)
Posts: 5
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" Originally Posted by: Bushy  Hi Bholc91, A picture would really help. If the 1/4"" pipe coming off the boiler goes through the lid and down close to the bottom of the SS pot, and the pipe coming out going to the worm starts close to the inside top of the lid, the pot is called a Thumper or Doubler. It is supposed to be filled about an inch above the end of the incoming pipe with some of the mash you are running, not water. It's purpose is to impart more flavor and increase the ABV of your run, and also catch anything that pukes up. But hopefully you won't puke anything up, in a 1/4"" pipe that could cause a blockage problem. Rule of thumb is fill the boiler with no more than 75% capacity
A Thumper is not something you have to have to run your still, just another part/toy to play with. Also unless you have a 12 gallon boiler then a three gallon thumper is way to large. Thumpers are usually 25% the size of your boiler and sometime much smaller. Thanks. So do you think i should just bypass the thumper? Also any ideas on how to make a charcoal filter? And can i just ise regular store bought charcoal?"
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Rank: Senior Member Groups: Registered
Joined: 1/27/2012(UTC)
Posts: 526
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Hi, yes you could bypass the thumper. You can use charcoal used for aquarium filters, but it's not the best. You would be better off buying a bag of charcoal from BH or some beer and/or wine shop. Coconut carbon will work but won't last or work as well as stone carbon. If what you mean by "store bought" is BBQ charcoal then no, don't use it.
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Rank: Newbie Groups: Registered
Joined: 5/15/2013(UTC)
Posts: 5
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Ok so i bypassed the thumper and got the carbon filter built and yesterday i was going to test it out bu destilling some water and noticed i got a leak from around the copper pipe going into the boiler. What is a good sealer that i could use to seal arount tge pipe that isnt toxic? The sauder i tried didnt stick to the stainless steel at all
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Rank: Senior Member Groups: Registered
Joined: 1/27/2012(UTC)
Posts: 526
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Hi, the old time sealer that works well is flour and water mixed into a paste. I make a small cup of it when I run my pressure cooker still because sometimes it leaks and sometimes it does'nt. You may have to apply it more than once. The copper pipe can't be moving around though.
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 Rank: Junior Member Groups: Registered
Joined: 2/9/2013(UTC)
Posts: 56
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Hi guys:
I am not sure why you feel you need the carbon filter. You might be surprised on how smooth the likker turns out compared to commercial stuff. I keep surprising myself and everyone who tastes it. The question is usually, You made this?
Just remember, if it isn't quality going in, it is likely to be garbage coming out. GIGO - garbage in, garbage out.
Regards,
G.
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Rank: Newbie Groups: Registered
Joined: 6/22/2013(UTC)
Posts: 7
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I'm new here but can say no need for a Carbon filters if you do your cuts properly...I've never used them and never herd of them till I chatted with some newbie's at work that use them ,I did get one though just to see if there's any difference on my next run...hmmmm...
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Rank: Advanced Member Groups: Registered
Joined: 7/1/2012(UTC)
Posts: 162
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I have never felt the need to filter mine either. My uncle on the other hand swears that he will never go back after trying his wife's wine filter a couple years ago. And he's been shining for 40 years. Each to his own.
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Rank: Senior Member Groups: Registered
Joined: 11/15/2012(UTC)
Posts: 720
Was thanked: 11 time(s) in 11 post(s)
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I think the context here was that if the product has off tastes, filtering may help. Why would something have off tastes - well, yeast stress, contamination, packing materials residue, etc... Lots of reasons.. What I have read here and HD/AD is that there are processes we must use that will avoid most of it, but, should it happen, carbon filter may help. Im lo, almost certainly in cases where water quality was suspect.. If that's the case, a mate would be better off to set up a carbon filter to draw his water thru before a starting...  Oh, and I do recall seein' recipe's that call for filterin' after runnin... My point is that the carbon filtering setup is just another tool in our box for the art... Like a wipe up rag for an artist? (any yes, I do have a cabon filter system, but havent used it yet!) |
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Rank: Advanced Member Groups: Registered
Joined: 7/1/2012(UTC)
Posts: 162
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I agree RCRed. I just have yet to feel a need for filtering.
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