"[COLOR=""Sienna""]how long should it take to cook 5.5 gallons of a yeast/sugar wash?[/COLOR]
[COLOR=""Black""]That depends on your heating capacity and the ABV of yer wash. As well as the desired ABV of your product,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,does you see where this is going?[/COLOR]
[COLOR=""Sienna""]How much end product should I end up with? What should my proof be?[/COLOR]
[COLOR=""Black""]Largely predicated on the abv of yer wash and how fast you run.........Seems we are developing a pattern.
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[COLOR=""Sienna""]
What is a good cooking temperature?[/COLOR]
You do not control boiler temps. The composition of the wash does that for you. If alcohol boils at 174 and water at 212,,,then the boiling point will be somewhere in between those two temps. And as the alcohol gets liberated from the bulk amount of water within the boiler,,,,the boiler temps will rise as the alcohol content continues to be reduced. Your boiler temp will never ever exceed 212 unless you run the boiler dry.
A boiler charge of 14% abv will have a lower starting boiling temp than a wash that is 8%
Steady input (no cycling) is best for good fractioning.
Often gents will bring to temp pretty rapidly then back off on the heat during the run......
You need to ask more questions,,,,,,,,,,and you need to ask better questions.. Don't run that rig till you understand........IMHO"