I've done nearly 40 runs on my PSII-HC 8-gallon, with an appreciable amount of mighty fine rum to show for it. Now I'm looking for voices of experience on running a Brewhaus flute with 15-gallon kettle. The flute is on order, and could arrive early October. I've been cruising the usual forums, but haven't got a sense of answers to these:

-- Why does Rick show a valve going to the condenser, when my PSII successfully runs wide open to knock down vapors?
-- What is the effective difference in product between running 2, 3 or 4 plates on a flute?
-- Seeing that I'm happy with a converted natural gas burner on my 8-gallon kettle, would a heater band >significantly< reduce heat-up time for the 15-gallon?
-- I only know about using parrots in theory. I'm accustomed to the traditional "sniff it/taste it tomorrow" method for cuts. What makes using a parrot mo-betta? Any user tips from experienced people appreciated.
-- Being quite comfortable with my PSII, what are some of the fine points that will shorten the learning curve with the flute?

Many thanks in advance,
-- MPowell

Update --
I've now done 4 runs with the flute, and I am so very pleased to have it. First and foremost, it really is fast -- I do a 40l run in less time than a 20l on the PSII-HC. Typical for Rick, the fit-&-finish of the equipment is terrific. Operation is quite straight-forward.

I use a turkey fryer burner converted to NG for heat, and a Port-O-Cool 16" for cooling. Works just fine. I don't use the supplied pump, as I have a heavy duty unit on hand.

After living without a parrot, I've decided to not use the one that came with the system. I collect in small jars, informed by temps and flow rates, plus smell and taste. The parrot I got is well made, and looks very official, but doesn't seem to be essential. Personal call.

My next experiment is to not use all of the 4 plates that I have. I like the rum that get using all 4, but curiosity is lingering.
A question I have is the effect of leaving out a copper plate at the top, but keeping an empty section in the column. Will the product be different than if an entire plate/section is removed? We shall see.

This 4-section flute is a bit fussy to assemble. There are a number of gaskets and clamps, which all must be accurately placed and tightened. Nothing hard or difficult, but I got a drip after not paying full attention on my 2nd run.

Finally -- as Rick says, Bubbles! Not only are they fun to watch, but they help me get a better sense of how things are going. The sight glass also showed me that I was using too much heat when puke came up into the lowest section.

So count me as a Happy Camper -- my flute is certainly worth the investment for me.

-- MPowell

I don't use all the plates in my setup either. Takes too much flavor out of my sweet feed. My setup has six plates, I use 4... 2 was not enough w/o copper packing so, wtf, I went back to 4 plates..

The best thing I can tell you is to experiment with a small 5gal wash and see...

Edited by user Tuesday, January 26, 2016 9:11:36 AM(UTC)  | Reason: I always think of more to say...

Those coolers are cool, and that looks a lot less hillbillae than my cans with pond pumps and flexi pipes.... I use 2.5 gal square ice cubed jugs for cooling...