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"Ok..I got my apperatus built (one from Moonshine-Still.com), got it cleaned out and did a couple of water runs with it. I opted to to a all sugar rum run for my first one as I had read that would be the easiest for a first one. I put together 5 gal of water, dark brown sugar, some honey and then the yeast. Got everything in the fermenter and it ran for three days as suggested. Smelled really good!
I started getting everything together at 8 am and had the boiler loaded and heat started by 830am. Turnd the heat on real low as I found with a all water run, the temp jumped up really quick to 216F. By 1030 am the temp was around 145 so I turned the water on. Within about 15 minutes I was getting some output. This being the first one, I collected almost a quart and threw it away. I kept the temp to around 180. I ran the batch with no packing in the column and no reflux. The first quart was cloudy. The second quart was clear and by 700 pm, I had collected the third quart and the temp had increased to around 195F. I tapped on the boiler and thought it was getting close to empty so I shut it all down. What I did collect, did taste and smell like rum. After the boiler cooled down, I measured with a tape measure and had 6 inches of liquid in the boiler yet.
My questions are: 1) Is this a normal time (almost 10 hours) to run 5 gal batch? 2) Is 3 quarts the expected output from a 5 gal batch? 3) How much longer should I have let the batch run?
My next bactch will be a cracked corn mash and am wondering if the time to run that will be the same as this first batch took?"
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Originally Posted by: dasorge  My questions are: 1) Is this a normal time (almost 10 hours) to run 5 gal batch? 2) Is 3 quarts the expected output from a 5 gal batch? 3) How much longer should I have let the batch run? Hi dasorge, First, congratulations! It's hard to answer those questions without some additional information. How much sugar and honey did you use ... or what was was the OG? What was the abv of your fermented wash (or the FG)? Are you using electric or gas? Did you measure the abv of your product? ... what was it? If you can provide more info, we should be able to give you better answers. BTW: Is the 216F temperature you mention a type error? Should that be 206F? Regards, --JB
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Dittos..great showing on that. Sounds like you are getting that fine hooch maker figgered out quick. Ten hours sounds a little long in the tooth on run times..but I just may not be used to a 2" so sure you get better advice on that aspect. Learn all you can about it cuz if the nice plumber ever gets me one built according to the same blue prints..I will be hungering for info on how best to run it. Thanks.
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"The 216F was the temp for the all water run so I wasn't too concerned about separation. I wanted a good steam cleaning anyway.
The rum recipe I used called for 5 gal of water, 10lbs of brown sugar (I used the dark stuff), 8oz honey and yeast. I used the turbo rum yeast. The SG before adding the yeast yas 1.080. I checked the abv before putting the batch in the boiler and it was 0% I don't know what the final abv was as I didn't have a reliable container to use with the alcoholmeter. The tip of the meter barely touched the bottom of the quart jar and stood straight up. I'll be getting a test tube next.
I use a single gas burner for my heat source and can control the temp with the knob on the burner.
A buddy had stopped by while the second jar was collecting, picked up the jar, took a big whiff and said it smelled like rum. I did the flame test a couple of times too. The first time the flame was blue with orange at the top. The second time, I couldn't see any flame at all, which I understand you are looking for.
When I went to empty the boiler, I figure there was about 2 gal of liquid left that I poured out."
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"You will never run a wash until the boiler is empty. As a matter of fact the ratio is about 10/1 or there about. A 5 gallon wash will give you about 3-4 quarts of extract but you wont drink all of that. After you make cuts 2 quarts of keepers is closer to the truth.
Several things determine the length of a run. Some like to run it hard and fast and some (like me) run it slow. It takes me about 6 hours to run five gallons through a pot still steup but thats just me. Might I make a suggestion....just go slow at first until you learn your unit and then you'll figger out what works for you."
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On my refluxer..which isnt the same as your of course but may have some similar traits..the key seems to be column temps. When the column gets into the high 160's low 170's production starts. It seems to hit its sweet spot or maybe stabilizes at some arbitrary temp between those two points and continues on producing rock solid till the run nears the end and the temps rise..which is usually into stinky tails at that point which I take as a sign to quit. Now a person can start messing with the heat as in lowering it and spending a couple of hours collecting the last bit of tails but once it gets to perking on the main run it do not usually require any changes to the heat source during the run. Sounds like the wash you came up with is pretty stout.
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Quote:The 216F was the temp for the all water run so I wasn't too concerned about separation. I wanted a good steam cleaning anyway. That's a bit high for boiling water ... which is why I asked. You might want to check your thermometer against a small pot of boiling water to see if it's accurate. Or did you add something to the water that would raise the boiling point? Quote:The SG before adding the yeast yas 1.080. I checked the abv before putting the batch in the boiler and it was 0% This would be an FG of 1.000. So your wash would be in the neighborhood of 10% abv (about two quarts of 100% ethanol). So this can help you answer question #2. Since you were shooting for rum (and didn't have any packing) I probably would expect to collect somewhere closer to 4 quarts total ... which would get you near 20% abv on your last sample ... and would get you well into the tails for your rum. Quote:I don't know what the final abv was as I didn't have a reliable container to use with the alcoholmeter. Having a decent proofing hydrometer is very handy. You might want to invest in a good pyrex test cylinder ... it can take a lot of abuse and won't shatter/splinter if you do manage to break it. Quote:When I went to empty the boiler, I figure there was about 2 gal of liquid left that I poured out. It can be hard to eyeball what's left. But unless you have leaks it should have been about 17 quarts. The 20 quarts you started with minus the three quarts you collected. As for your run time (question #1). Just under 10 hours isn't out of the park for a spirit run. Maybe a bit longer than I would expect when using gas. But as heeler suggests, this is a matter of personal preference and depends on what you're trying to accomplish ... you'll have to discover what gives you the results you want. And question #3 (how long to run) ... that's where the proofing hydrometer can be helpful. You can use it to help you decide when to shut down. I'm not a rum guy, so I really don't know how far down to take it. But for my stripping runs (for neutrals), I usually shut down right around 20%. --JB
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Thanks for all the info. It definately will help in the future. I did start off slow and tried to keep things simple this first time. Can I expect the same type of results using an all corn mash?
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Depends how good you are at stirring hot corn for extended periods and adding the proper amount of alchemy type stuff..malt..enzymes etc. to make the corn cough up its sugar. If you can make it come up with the same exact amount of sugar as the comparison batch..it should be real close to similar. I aint never met anybody who knows how much it can be converted with much amount of certainty. Now sure the big boys have it figgered out. Just seems like a lot of trouble. Now if you could sprout the corn that should be as close to a hundred percent conversion as a duffer can get..I would think. Just guessing on some of this of course:) I am way to lazy to actually do it..lol.
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"Dasorge,
John Barleycorn has helped me as was asking similar questions as you. I think 10 hours is a quick run on anything. I run stuff through 2 distillations with second much faster than first. 3 quarts is about right for a 5 gallon batch. I let my batches run until I am not getting much of anything at just under 200 degrees.
That's my two cents worth and that may be just about how much it is worth."
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Well glad JBC is proving useful. Ten hours? I think 30 mins is quick. We must be coming from different perspectives here. Now two hours on a 12 gallon wash is slow. What kinda hooch maker you got? Thanks.
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I don't claim to be an expert, I learn constantly; however by my experience, BW is too fast and JB is way too long. However, we need to know the system before we can give an accurate answer. I've got close to 45 runs on my insulated BH PSII 2" 8 gal Premium kettle; propane fired on a Blichmann burner; 20 ft 1/2" copper worm when refluxing; 10 ft 3/8" copper worm for pot distillation; cooling water is from an exposed 5000 gal steel water tank connected to a 400ft 6" well. I run separate water to condenser and when necessary for reflux to the column; meaning the water is not shared so its the same temp. Been here for 28 yrs and never took the temp outta the tap, but even during the hottest summers water fresh outta the system will give goose bumps and be uncomfortably cold.
My point is now you know my( or your) conditions and relative experience when distilling and give a beneficial answer. So, with my experience that has been consistent is 3 hr for pot distillation and 6 hr for reflux and I stop always at 205 degrees F. YMMV
Re-reading, this sounds arrogant and I didn't intend that. I meant that we need to know asker's system so we know his conditions relative to our own. Apologies
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"Hi Bigwheel, Wow, we must be coming from different perspectives. I run a brewhaus stainless pot still and a 6 gallons wash runs me 8-10 hours. I keep the temperature, with a single gas burner, running between 170 - 190 degrees. When the output gets dwon to a few drops per minute I figure I am done. Having read an earlier post by JB, I will now shut down when proof drops to 20%. Hopefully that will speed me up. If you hav any thoughts on how to tighten this up further, by all means let me know. I am still very new at it. To date I have run a simple sugar wash followed by a peach brandy run. I have a bunch of applejack fermenting as we speak. So 3 is my total experience. As always, thanks for the oversight. Originally Posted by: bigwheel Well glad JBC is proving useful. Ten hours? I think 30 mins is quick. We must be coming from different perspectives here. Now two hours on a 12 gallon wash is slow. What kinda hooch maker you got? Thanks. "
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Originally Posted by: bigwheel Now two hours on a 12 gallon wash is slow. Are you saying that you run a 12 gallon wash in two hours through a reflux column? ... on a slow day?
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"JB, That statement by Bigwheel caught my eye as well. Guess I've been slow with everything in life. I couldn't get a run done that quick doing 1/2 the wash in 3 times the time. Gryph Originally Posted by: John Barleycorn Are you saying that you run a 12 gallon wash in two hours through a reflux column? ... on a slow day? "
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I run 12 qt washes and besides the hour or so warm up time it takes me about 4-5 hours to do my fullrun including a few jars of tails.. I keep my flame about a medium low once it starts dripping. If your drip is less than 1 drip or so a second not enough heat or your finished. I collect mine at no more than 2 maybe 3 drips a second and my hearts are pretty tasty. I'd think any run less than a few hours is riding it to hard and would have smeared cuts.
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Hey Gryph, Quote:To date I have run a simple sugar wash followed by a peach brandy run. You need to start a thread in the recipe section on this peach brandy of yours. It sounds like something very tasty! --JB
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Hey Gryphon. I got the BH big Mama combo reflux/pot but decided pot stilling aint my cup o tea so I'm a dedicated reflux enthusiast. I like electricity for BTU inputting. I try to keep the heat source constant and fight excess heat with the column water. Stabilization and peak production usually happens at temps between the low 160s to low 170's. Somewhere in that range it finds the sweet spot and stabilizes. When over the course of the run the column temp climbs into the high 170's..always prior to 180 and additional water can't make the temps go back down..its into tails tails and time to quit. Now I have tried lowering the heat source to prolong the agony but found myself donating an extra hour or time of time to collect maybe another half cup of tails. Which never struck me as being real productive. Just as an example my last run was about a 12 gallon wash which took 2.5 hrs from start to finish including a 50 min preheat time. They dont call me Speedy Gonzales for nussing..lol. Keeps us posted on your exploits. Originally Posted by: gryphon Hi Bigwheel,
Wow, we must be coming from different perspectives. I run a brewhaus stainless pot still and a 6 gallons wash runs me 8-10 hours. I keep the temperature, with a single gas burner, running between 170 - 190 degrees. When the output gets dwon to a few drops per minute I figure I am done. Having read an earlier post by JB, I will now shut down when proof drops to 20%. Hopefully that will speed me up. If you hav any thoughts on how to tighten this up further, by all means let me know. I am still very new at it. To date I have run a simple sugar wash followed by a peach brandy run. I have a bunch of applejack fermenting as we speak. So 3 is my total experience.
As always, thanks for the oversight.
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"BW,
WOW, I can't imagine running something that quick. I assume 'Cowtown' is in Texas? Must be the air !!!!!!!!!!!! Air here in the Old Dominion is a little thicker than that. Even my temps don't compare. Must be potstill versus reflux as I just have nothing that could stack up to those times.
According to the Internet Gods there are 11520 drops in a quart. If you obtain 3 quarts (6 gallon wash) of product that would be 34,560 drops. At 3 drops per second it would be 180 drops per minute. 34,560 drops divided by 180 = 192 minutes or 3.2 hours. My runs take 8 hours anyway.
Looks like I have room for improvement
Gryph"
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Goodness..we spout arithemetic here..lol. My real potstill run..not counting trying to pretend the water hose menagerie..was a potstill at the behest of some folks...Highly Superior to Internet gods might I add. That took about the same amount of time as the way I do it now...but was not near as strong. Texicans dont like weak hooch. Flavor is secondary. Like I try to tell the Aussies..Real Men drink for the buzz. We drink shots of rot gut out of a dirty germ laden communal jug for breakfast chased with hot Lonestar. It was good enough for John Wayne..its good enough for we'uns. We do not engage in sissified stuff. Cowtown is short for Foat Wuth. Dont make me come up there..thanks. :)
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