let me start by saying hello to all you out there and introduce my self ,my name is catfish and I am just getting started in this whole new exciting hobby .I am starting out with my first wash and I put 30 lbs . of sugar in 15 gal. of water and added 2 packs of yeast . I just bought a turbo monster still (15 gal.) can someone please help me on where I go next with this ,I am only looking to make some basic sugar shine nothing more , is there a step by step process to follow .I tried a search on here but got lost a bit .thanks for any help and merry xmas .

"Welcome Catfish,

First did you add some nutrients and yeast energizers to your wash. You need to if not. Justme posted a great MUM wash recipe about a week ago. Many rave its one of the cleanest and very best. Just scale it to your size ferment. Very cheap also."

"Catfish. You are good to go. Well as far as nutrients. It is really not a stackable yeast, because it works so fast, it can build up too much heat. so watch your heat for a bit. Cool or add ice if necessary. Other than that, it should work fine for you.

I am not familiar with your still. Did it not come with a manual?"

i haven't used that yeast. make sure you allow enough time to clear. i know you are anxious to do your first run. the first thing you should do is a water run to check for leaks. i have made just about every mistake you can. the biggest mistake was not learning how to make the proper cuts. i would advise you to buy some cheap gallon jugs of wine and run it through your still. run the wine with no packing in the column. collect everything. you can use the jugs for collecting your stripping run. add 1 tsp per gallon of baking soda(not baking powder)to your stripped product. when you have enough product to do a spirit run get back to us.i went on stilldrinking.com but i didn't see the turbo monster. your temp doesnt matter on the stripping run. you want to collect around 78c depending on your altitude. read up on clearing and how to make cuts. enjoy your new still and welcome to the hobby.

just me
Alcohol doesn't solve any problems, but then
again, neither does milk.

here is a link that will answer most of your questions. http://homedistiller.org/ . i am not trying to discourage you from posting questions here. try looking thru the archives here also.

"Thats it. MW2 is spot on.

Strippping is merely a way of shedding the bulk amount of water from your wash.

When doing so, your next run (after diluting) will be a crisper, cleaner run that will be much easier to evaluate your cuts.

""Stripping runs"" are usually full power runs and your ""spirit runs"" are slower to get better separation for a fuller ""heart"" section.

Don't forget to toss your fores."

"Oh for heavans sake catfish, be careful with that glass thumper.

Can you bi-pass that thing while doing your test run?

Do not use that if you are heating with propane.

Please keep a fire extinguisher handy and wear safety glasses.

Do not let the kiddiewinkles near that unit while running with glass.

Good luck and please be careful."

morning catfish, turbos always take longer to run than what the label says. it can also be the co2 being released. have you checked your sg? do you have a hydrometer and a alcoholmeter? sometimes the ferment time varies by the amount of sugar? check the label. remember that you need to let it settle. i know you are anxious to play. do you have a racking cane?use the search feature and type in just_me and check my posts. there are few that might be of help. Mtnwalker2 knows a lot more than me. so does Wade. i have been real impressed with Robpur posts.i wish i had his understanding of the technical side and his easygoing ways. i have left out a lot of people sorry.you can get free fermenters at restaurants or bakeries. keep away from any that have contained pickle. when i first started i collected wine bottles from bars and friends. you don't want to store your stripped product in plastic. nothing over 50% should be in plastic. i use sterilite storage containers as fermenters. You are were i was a few years ago. thats all i can think of now.

just me
Your talk talks and your walk talks, but your walk talks
louder than your talk talks." --John Maxwell

turkey frier for heat ,I am gonna try it with water and see what happens to the glass ,I will let ya know if she breaks .if she does I will make something to replace it .thanks for the help guys

"Surging is common with liebigs.

Cooling water inlet at the bottom.Cooling water outlet at the top.

And the secondary tub to rest your primary collection vessel in is kind of a safety requisite.



That thumper is too small for your boiler also.

Thumpers are typically sized 1/2 to 1/3 the size of the primary boiler.

That thumper will likely flood quickly and create too much back pressure."