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Well, I made my first run this weekend, and it turned out fairly darn well. Got almost four liters of some quality 90% hooch. When I diluted it to potable strength, I noticed that it has some slight off flavor. These are definitely from the congeners, and I'm thinking I might have heated it a bit too hot.
The run took awhile, to be sure ,I think it must have taken me a good 6 or 7 hours to collect it all,, but I want to make sure I'm not pushing it too hard.
The reasons I ask are:
1, because of the slight flavor and aroma in the distillate
2, because when the heat first reached the stillhead and the distillate started, it started out fairly fast and was still going at about three-four drops per second for the duration of the run. I wasn't really able to control this with the water flow ,directly from my cold sink,, so this led me to believe I was running it too hot.
I'm using one of the 1100W heating elements from the site with its thermostat removed. When I first got it, I installed a rheostat designed for a ceiling fan in it, but of course its maximum power was too low to get a boil, so I had to remove it.
Are there off-the-shelf components I can use to regulate the boiler current? I lost the original thermostat, so I'd need a replacement device.
How can I tell if I'm boiling at the ideal temperature?
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Rank: Guest
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Joined: 2/10/2002(UTC)
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As to ur first reason... did u activated-carbon filter ur diluted distillate? this should definitely help the flavor/aroma problem.
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Rank: Guest
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Yes, I did, and, yes, it did clean up the taste considerably, but I'd just as soon not have to do that. What I want to know is this:
Is the stock 1100W heating element with thermostat bypassed too hot for the essential extractor II to attain 95-96% alcohol production? If so, how can I successfully lower the heat on the unit without installing the old cutoff thermostat?
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Rank: Guest
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if ur main question is about achieving a high %abv and about the extractor II etc, then im afraid im not much help. however, 95-95% abv if im not mistaken will still need to be filtered to get rid of the fusel smell/aroma/taste...
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Rank: Guest
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Joined: 2/10/2002(UTC)
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Yes, that is my main question: am I heating it too hot or not? Can anyone shed some light on this?
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