Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

pH is off & is wrong... either your pH meter isn't doing what its designed to do or its just not acidic enough.

You should be aiming for around mid to low 5.

First I'd test the pH meter - check water then your FVs again just to be sure its working correctly. Then add some citric acid (or lemon juice) and test again... until you get towards the pH5...

It's funny as mine have never been of a neutral pH (7), always too acidic (below 5)!

Ph7 is high. 4 to 5 would be much better. Maybe try 1/4 teaspoon of citric acid and stir then see how it goes

Hey guys quick question if i am going to do a 60l wash do i double the yeast to 160grams? Cheers

No need to double the yeast :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Thanks mate. Put 60l of this down last night. Definitely didnt take off violently like expected.. its fizzing away and a little bit of foam on top. Not pushing any gas through my airlocks yet but suspect i have a leak somewhere. I dont think my molasses is the best quality..

What temp is it at? You can run them hot and some say it’s better if you do, up to 40deg. The hotter she is the more it foams and fizzes. Not all my ferments carry on some just tick away bit still work ok, I've put it down to heat but not 100% sure.

I pitched my yeast at 36 degrees last night then wrapped my fermenter in a doona. Was still sitting at 36 this morning. Fizzing hard but just not foaming

How much low wine should i pull from a 60l wash?

How longs a peice of string? It will depend on what % your still gets and how well it ferments.

Try this calculator, it can help you work out how much alc you can get from a wash

http://aussiedistiller.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=2864

Most people end up with 12L (+/- 4L) from a 60L run, however this depends on the still and the %ABV it can produce running flatout.
Most just stop collecting once it reads 20%ABV in the parrot and what ever they have collected is what they get.

It all has to be watered back to 40%ABV or less for the spirit run anyway so you will probably increase the volume of what you have collected by atleast a third.

Hey guys, running this " hard" through a pot still, im going to run it through my 2" boka without packing. Would i just run it with output valve fully open? Cheers

If your stripping with a boka I would say yes have the valve wide open :handgestures-thumbupleft: Run it as hard as it will go without pushing past the condencer and coming out the top, you don't want that.

if you have a pot still I would leave the bokka out of the equation all together

Hey guys im down to one blob every 3 mins through my air lock. Am i ok to run this? Cheers..

Nathan02 wrote:Hey guys im down to one blob every 3 mins through my air lock. Am i ok to run this? Cheers..

Nope. Can you check the gravity? It needs to be finished completely. Preferably for 2 or 3 days.

Whats ideal SG? Will get a hydrometer this arvo and check. Cheers mate

Anyone tried using silicon antifoam to stop the puking?

Nathan02 wrote:Whats ideal SG? Will get a hydrometer this arvo and check. Cheers mate

You won't get an accurate SG reading from a rum wash so an ideal SG is a bit difficult to specify but what you're looking for is the same consecutive reading taken at least a day apart which indicates that fermentation has ceased.

Cheers,
Prof. Green.

nuddy wrote:Anyone tried using silicon antifoam to stop the puking?

I bought some after cracking the shits with puking but when I went to fill my boiler there was only 15l wash so I added my 25l low wines to it. So I still don't know if it works or not. I have all grain up next on the agenda which apparently is bad for foaming also. Will try it then and report back :-B

bluc wrote:

nuddy wrote:Anyone tried using silicon antifoam to stop the puking?

I bought some after cracking the shits with puking but when I went to fill my boiler there was only 15l wash so I added my 25l low wines to it. So I still don't know if it works or not. I have all grain up next on the agenda which apparently is bad for foaming also. Will try it then and report back :-B

wow, didn't even know you can buy this stuff... I bought a 500g of butter and heated it up in the Nucomatic and set it on a slant. The milk fats (solids) separated from the now clarified butter. Used the clarified butter and no more puking ... cost me $2.56 :?

but thats every time you need to use it...