Curious about Moonshiners TV show

[Birdman85]

Hey guys, so I was flicking through fox and thought I'd check out Moonshiners for a laugh as I am aware it's mostly fake but it still interests me.

My inquiry is in regards to:
1- The still type they use. It would be classed as a pot still yeah? But with the use of the thumper jars/kegs would they act similarly to the plates on a bubble/column still? Otherwise they wouldn't be able to do single run passes?

2- I have had some flavoured moonshine (apple cinnamon from memory) that he bought. Is the method they do with using fruits/spices/anything actually a way to infuse flavours in a spirit.

3- can you use a thumper the way they do with fruit like a botanical gin basket?

Sorry... I know it's fake but intriguing. And none of the recipes or mashs on here refer to shit they do.

[bluc]

Yes you can flavour by a thumper dont use mason jars as thumpers :naughty:

One you get experience first hand and research you will pick up the nuggets of info they drop, but lots bs in between, you would not want to learn the hobby by copying them.

[Birdman85]

you would not want to learn the hobby by copying them.

Yeah I already have the gist of it. Just would love to experiment with flavour "brandys" as they call it.

[bluc]

Also know a thumper is a closed system not an open one. Tread carefully...

[jonsey]

A few of them can certainly make liquor though. 2000 gallons in a season is roughly 7,500 litres.

[Birdman85]

Also know a thumper is a closed system not an open one. Tread carefully...

Can get hold of a 50L and a 10, 20 or 30L keg cheap. Would be a great vessel to try. Chuck a ball valve tap on it to release pressure in an emergency. Make some real hillbilly moonshine

[Sam.]

Also know a thumper is a closed system not an open one. Tread carefully...

Can get hold of a 50L and a 10, 20 or 30L keg cheap. Would be a great vessel to try. Chuck a ball valve tap on it to release pressure in an emergency. Make some real hillbilly moonshine

How will you tell if it’s an emergency?

Not familiar with the exact set up your talking about but running a closed system is completely fucking stupid and should never be done.

[bluc]

Just make a pot still and distill twice. You will get a better spirit anyway. Forget the thumper..

[Yonder]

Just make a pot still and distill twice. You will get a better spirit anyway. Forget the thumper..

I gotta disagree bluc,, but to each his own. I run a thumper on all my flavored runs and love the simplicity of it. The thumper performs that second distillation for you. It is not a closed system at all, any more than your boiler is a closed system. Your thumper is half full (or less) and never, ever is more than one atmosphere as it vents to your worm.

In answer to the question that started this thread, you load your flavors into the thumper to flavor the final product. Some of the easiest and most tasty ‘apple jack’ i made was run by adding 50% feints and 50% raw apple cider into the thumper. The product was about 75 abv, full of well developed apple flavor, a few months on oak and proofed down to 46 abv it was superb.

[RuddyCrazy]

I'll also vouch for the thump on a pot still, with my minime I put a SS scrubber at the top of the thumper and I find after every run even after several strip run whats left in the thumper smells worse than a mangy wet day on a 40C day. I do reckon the scrubber gives a small bit of reflux where the lighter fraction pass easily but the heavier fractions which we don't want just fall back in the thumper.

Now when I do a spirit run and yes I do mainly apple I water down the low wines to 40% and cut up a fresh apple, now the night before the run I put some fresh apple in some 40% neutral in the thumper so it can macerate overnight. Now after the spirit run all what is left in the thumper is that putrid stuff so my theory to me does pan out.

If I can ever find a 30 litre keg it go well as thumper for when I configure my bubbler into a 4" pot.

Cheers Bryan

[bluc]

Its closed system between pot and thumper. From thumper to atmosphere is open I needs to blow through what ever depth of liquid you have in thumper which creates back pressure. There is a real potential for blockage and unless you have safety measures on boiler prv(you also have to manage what happens to the ethanol steam it vents) then there is a potential for explosion. Its different on a bubbler because there is such a small amount of liquid. Works in reverse also if you dont break the seal between boiler and thumper while hot as it cools it will create a vacuum and potentially crush the boiler...i encourage you to do more research on the facts :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Yonder]

Bluc, i can only reply “yes, dear. As you say dear.” Like my wife! You always have to “be right” and have the last word. :teasing-tease:

[Birdman85]

I'm really glad this topic has created a healthy discussion. It's doesn't hurt to have input and everyone spreading knowledge and opinions.

There's obviously something to running a thumper as it seems to be more common practice in the US, I guess it's the same as any method or means of distillation with its safety precautions and health implications.

Let's keep it going though My friendly distiller community brothers and sisters.

[bluc]

I'll just leave this here from HD. Let you all make up your own minds.

Size is arbitrary to how you want to use it. The bigger the thumper the more energy applied to the pot, because the thumper will bleed off some of this energy.

Here's a few different ways people use thumpers.
As a steamer setup. Put another way the boiler is filled with water or clear liquid from fermentation but the "thumper" is loaded with the grains, sludge and clear liquid. Nothing in the thumper will burn or scorch as no direct heat is applied and the highest temp ever introduced will be water vapor and at 212 F/100 C temp. This type of setup is great if you ferment on the grain and just want to load it all right into the still. A near 1 to 1 boiler to thumper setup is great for this.

The traditional method of using a thumper that is roughly 1/3 the size of the boiler. Ideally you load the thumper with low wines of around 40% or so and the boiler with your 8% or so ferment. This is similar to a double distillation as the average of what leaves the boiler is 40% or so which is feeding the thumper which then leaves as "high wines" or roughly 70% or so.

A thumper can be filled with nothing but water and used as a filter to get a bit more pure product but not any higher ABV.

A thumper (even small) can be used to make Gin/Jenever. You can load all the macerated vodka/spirit and botanicals directly into the thumper without worry of scorching of the botanicals regardless of how the boiler is fired. Doesn't matter is a heating element or direct fired as no botanicals are present in the boiler. The thumper only gets heated by the water vapor.

You can also use a double thumper setup. Many Rums use a system like this but they typically call the thumpers retorts. The typical load/setup in this setup is the 8% or so in the boiler, 40%ish low wines in the first retort and high wines or 70%ish in the second retort. This would allow a triple distillation in one pass. While Irish whiskey isn't traditionaly made this way, it could be done like this with great success for triple distillation with increasing "boiler" charges AND nothing higher than 8% to typical low wines in the boiler.

Even if you don't specifically load the thumpers/retorts with said % it will work out that way itself due to the ABV output from each section. This would allow you to load both retorts with only low wines for safety reasons while still getting the advantage of the 2nd thumper. Some rum producers do exactly this.

When ever you add a thumper you need to understand what happens with the pressure in each "boiler". You no longer have an open system but a closed system which requires a whole other level of safety especially when you reduce power or kill the heat to the boiler. The "suck back" that happens when power is reduced is enough to collapse the boiler if not robust enough. This is especially common in thin copper "moonshine" stills.

For that reason you really want a way to manually vent the piping between the boiler and the thumper. This way when you turn off the power you can open the vent between the "pots" and make the system open again. This can be as simple as a T fitting in the piping between the boiler and the thumper with a ball valve on the 3rd side of the T. This way you can easily open the ball valve which reduces any pressures.

This is the one reason I do like to have a thermometer on the pot itself. You can keep an eye on the temp to make sure they don't drop when you don't expect it (ie ran out of propane and lost heat). Many digital thermometers allow you to set a temp that fires off an alarm. This is an excellent use for that feature. An alarm at 190 to 200 F or so depending on still would give you a warning the pot is starting to cool off and needs venting.

Depending on the amounts you fill the boiler and thumpers you can get some minimal reflux as well using the head space of the pot. This reflux action is minimal compared to a reflux still but can get you a bit which helps with cuts.

Watch this video from George at Barley and Hops Brewing which is valuable info on thumper safety.

[Birdman85]

I'll just leave this here from HD. Let you all make up your own minds.

Yeah I read this last week. Handy tidbit

[bluc]

Bluc, i can only reply “yes, dear. As you say dear.” Like my wife! You always have to “be right” and have the last word. :teasing-tease:

What I dont have the last word you can post whatever you like I am just putting my opinion accross :laughing-rolling:

[Sam.]

Bluc, i can only reply “yes, dear. As you say dear.” Like my wife! You always have to “be right” and have the last word. :teasing-tease:

What I dont have the last word you can post whatever you like I am just putting my opinion accross :laughing-rolling:

If he want's to be a smart arse I will have the last word :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[The Stig]

I was thinking the same thing Sam, 1.2.3 :teasing-neener:

[Radnelac]

Came across this vid on YouTube after reading this thread & thought it was pretty interesting.

https://youtu.be/iQnG2FvGHgI