Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

Ok, I've ran 2 washes now and I'm struggling to get a good yield from the wash. First was a TPW had 5day ferment and a 7day settle before run, power and temp control wasnt the best but got just over 6lts of drinking quality. I was happy for a first run even tho it took most of the weekend.
Second wash, 8kg brown sugar with turbo classic 8 25lt wash, ferment for 3days (No activity after that) and sat for 5days to settle. Vision of a better run i brought a power controller and copper packing 500gm to fill the column (1000mm length ×2"). I had much better temp control at the top of the column for collection into the condenser, ran for most of the day to only collect about 3.5lt at 40%. I'm using,
35lt Digiboil 2400w total power, 1000mm reflux column (homemade)fully packed with copper and a power controller. Any tips or tricks to running this set up would be extremely helpful.
TIA
Roy

Hi Roy
We will need a bit more info about the still to help you, a pic will help us - reflux describes almost every still
Were you using cut jars? If not, Please have a cruise through the newbie corner, in particular the guide to cuts

To end up with 3.5l of 40% means something sure was admiss, that is the result of a stripping run with a pot still of a very low % wash at that size, especially considering the use of turbo :puke-huge: and 8kg of sugar (it's ok, 99% of us have run at least one)

Do you know what your collection rate was?

Ps a partydace emoticon isn't really an introduction, this is a great community and the more you put in, the more people will be inclined to help you

500g of copper mesh isn’t enough to fill a 1m tall 2” column, would need twice that and more

That liebig doesn't look like it has much cooling power.

+1 on avoiding the turbo yeast products.

Hi Roybee
Can’t see a reflux condenser at all. With what I can see in the photo you have presented, you have a pot still. If there is more to show us on top of the orange cap, please add that so we can see what’s going on.

I'll post alot of pics as soon as I can work out how to reduce the size below 2mb, wont allow me to load any up.

Hi Roybee

Download this free Graphics Viewer program which will allow you to easily change the size of your pics

https://www.irfanview.com/

Or just email them to yourself if on the iphone

Finally worked out how to upload :-) SCREENSHOTS

Ok, so you dont have a reflux condenser. You are going to have to have one to produce a neutral, otherwise you need to treat this as a pot still and use it to make flavored washes like rum n bourbon.

Leave the roll of copper in though, it will remove sulphites from the vapor

The existing unit could be converted to a cm or ccvm reflux, but you have a fair bit of homework for that, see what you come up with and we can give you some pointers from there.

RC Al, thanks mate really appreciate the help! I have order some more packing today 500g's.
For me to run this ill need to use it as a Pot still? for the basic temperature what is best to run at?
If I was to convert to a reflux would it maybe as simple to cut the condensing tube and rotate to have the water lines running through the column and weld back in place?
WOW shit that sounds dodgy lol.

Hi Roybee,
I’d just run it as a pot still and have some fun making bourbon and rum. I wouldn’t bother playing with this rig to convert it. If you plan to run it as a pot still, run it flat out until you get a few drops of foreshots starting to come through. You can then start dialling back the power until you get 2 or three drops per second coming off the still. Collect foreshots at this rate (I normally take off 150 ml) and then dial up the power until you get the output that you need for the type of run you are performing (flat out for a stripping run or a much slower for a spirit run)

:text-+1: on what les said, leave it alone and use that one to get some more runs up as a pot, gaining yourself some valuable experience running a still.

In ithe mean time start doing some reading on the different types of stills and how they will work for your goals, you may stay with what you have, you might decide to build something different, you might decide to drop 2k into a proven unit

Without a condenser, the extra copper mesh will not help

Just a little more advise please guys, I've diluted my spirit down to 40% from my last run and let sit for 24hrs and it has now got like a milky haze. I haven't ran it through the carbon filter as yet. Water supply is through a RV carbon filter to remove the chlorine and other nasties from town water. Pic supplied

Lots of tails maybe

Hey mate

What your seeing there is called louching, its the tails oils combining with the water causing the haze, have a search for ways to fix that, usually just by changing the abv its mixed to

So you havent said if you did cuts? ill assume no... you could put what you have there through a carbon filter and clean it up somewhat, but i would be more inclined to throw it all in to your next wash and do cuts properly as outlined here http://aussiedistiller.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=2859

The carbon can take some of the nasties and off tastes out for sure, but its very hit and miss with which carbon to use to target specific nasties, the different carbons have different micro-pore sizes that trap different components, you would loose a lot of good product with multiple filterings

As your the proud owner of a pot still, doing the cuts by the above method is mandatory, when your making brown spirits there is a small level of smearing that the blender will have to include in the finished product. A few big producers do use carbon, but they are battling the tax man and production costs, not looking for a premium drop. As you get used to doing it, it becomes less daunting and more of an art than a concern. Indeed once you start working out your cuts you will find there's some commercial spirits that become too headsy or tailsy for your tastes (warning your going to start looking at the top shelf and even then you will be going "what the...")

No doubt your in a hurry to drink your first efforts, but some patience will be rewarding :)

Awesome and thanks heaps RC, my first run was a TPW and i got some good spirit from that just this last run, easier i throw it back with my next boil and start again. Thanks again :-)

Is it neutral or gin.? Gloudy gin=good cloudy neutral= not so good..