Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

Currently boiling my turbo wash through the t500. Freshly assembled and first run. Now me being the impatient bugger I am I just watched the still spirits tutorials on youtube and away I went. 8-}
Whilst I am waiting thought I would read up a bit more on this great forum. First mistake I didnt do a cleaning run :violence-smack: .Secondly while getting the boiler up to temp I thought I would recheck my cooling water flow rate. Temp was up to 42 degrees then dropped down to 24 in no time while I measured my water flow. Got that sorted so turned the water off and before I could stop it the temp flew up to 75 degrees c so got the cooling flow happening and temp under control. So I collected the first 120 ml as chuck out and then another 75ml in a separate container. The difference in smell is amazing. I'll admit I'm doing it the slack by the video way this time round next time will be a TPW and some proper cuts. Does any one else that uses the t500 find the flow control extremely sensitive. I found it hard trying to keep a stable temp. It got as hot as 63 and as low as 54.5I think by me trying to adjust flow as it climbed or dropped but I now seem to be able to keep it reasonably steady by leaving it alone it seems to be fluctuating between 56.8 and 58.4. Is this ok?
I'm about 3 and a half hours in and I have collected 3L so thinking shouldnt be too far from finishing. Haven't measured alco content yet.
Looking forward to doing the next run with a TPW.

congrats on your first run.

I could be wrong (someone chime in if I am) but I don't think cleaning run is too important on a T500, as it would be cleaned after manufacturing (so we hope).

read this http://aussiedistiller.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=2859 its worth its weight in gold. Doing this alone will produce 100 times better spirit compared to the T500 instructions :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Thanks Andy. Yep heaps to learn if I want a quality spirit. Ended up with 3.2 L of 92%. Maybe could have gained another 100ml as it was still slowly dripping. Oh well no matter how this tastes there is only one way to go forward and that is keep trying and learning. :happy-partydance:

hey I also run the t500. did you collect that 3.2l all in one container?

Read up on cuts and trust me this will make a huge difference
viewtopic.php?f=57&t=2859

vb4me wrote:Does any one else that uses the t500 find the flow control extremely sensitive. I found it hard trying to keep a stable temp.

Yeah they are touchy little buggers, a very small adjustment to the water adjustment tap makes a lot of difference. I'm not on town water so don't have water fluctuations as such, but Ive been told even someone flushing a toilet can upset them.

poompy wrote:hey I also run the t500. did you collect that 3.2l all in one container?

Read up on cuts and trust me this will make a huge difference
http://www.aussiedistiller.com.au/viewt ... =57&t=2859

I did collected the first 120ml as foreshots then the next approx 75ml as first cut then the rest was collected all in one container this time. Has a fairly strong smell but not as strong as the first 75ml cut. I had a whiff out of a partially emptied Smirnoff bottle and the smell was similar but a lot stronger.
Next round I will do some more cuts maybe 500mls.
Have a TPW fermenting now .
From what I am reading about the cuts is you are after higher quality (better taste/less taste). So what happens with the cuts towards the beginning and end were more of those aromas/flavours are formed. Do you blend with the purer tasting cuts or keep them and throw them into the next boil up after being watered down of course.

SBB wrote:

vb4me wrote:Does any one else that uses the t500 find the flow control extremely sensitive. I found it hard trying to keep a stable temp.

Yeah they are touchy little buggers, a very small adjustment to the water adjustment tap makes a lot of difference. I'm not on town water so don't have water fluctuations as such, but Ive been told even someone flushing a toilet can upset them.

I found it hard to keep it at a steady temp. Towards the end I had it sitting on about 57.7 for quite a while then I noticed it fluctuated between 54.5 and 61.3 so I just sort of let it do its thing.

For neutrals/vodkas, you will only want the hearts... Keep the heads and foreshots for use as cleaner/fire starter, and throw the tails into the boiler with the next run :)

Cheers Zak
Im interested in seeing how different the TPW turns out. I have filtered this first lot but havent let it air out yet. Had a taste and it is sweet, not unpleasant but sweet all the same. Mixed a little with some coke and you can taste that there is something in there. Not what I was expecting at all. Almost Southern comfort type sweet if you know what I mean. :sad:

Id throw the heads back in the boiler with the next run too, theirs still a lot of good alcohol in them.

vb4me wrote:Next round I will do some more cuts maybe 500mls.

Until you have a better idea of how it all works you might be better off sticking to even smaller cuts, 300ml or less to begin with. it will be easier to pick the good from the bad while your learning.
The Temp isn't all that important in the over all scheme of things with a T500, it really only a guide. I think they put it there so that people who don't understand how reflux stills work can still drive them.
Output speed is what governs purity and strength of the distillate. The slower the better , within reason.
If the still is running faster you have less reflux and less purity.

SBB wrote:Id throw the heads back in the boiler with the next run too, theirs still a lot of good alcohol in them.

vb4me wrote:Next round I will do some more cuts maybe 500mls.

Until you have a better idea of how it all works you might be better off sticking to even smaller cuts, 300ml or less to begin with. it will be easier to pick the good from the bad while your learning.
The Temp isn't all that important in the over all scheme of things with a T500, it really only a guide. I think they put it there so that people who don't understand how reflux stills work can still drive them.
Output speed is what governs purity and strength of the distillate. The slower the better , within reason.
If the still is running faster you have less reflux and less purity.

Ok smaller cuts and keep the better heads and the tails in another container until I boil up again. Can you keep doing that with the heads and tails as a continual process?
Might be a bit early but had the other half do a taste test for me homebrew against smirnoff. Yep picked it straight away but the comment was it tasted like a stronger mix but drinkable, so being my first run it should only improve from here.
Cheers for the advice SBB

It won't be long until you realise that you should be aiming a lot higher than Smirnoff :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Zak Griffin wrote:It won't be long until you realise that you should be aiming a lot higher than Smirnoff :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Lol. That is her standard drink. Im more a bourbon man. But we did grab some of Grey Goose duty free a few months ago. Unfortunately I only got to sample 1 glass but did think that was rather nice.

vb4me wrote:Can you keep doing that with the heads and tails as a continual process?

Its pretty much your choice, some recycle for ever, some don't. Some don't like putting heads or tails back in the boiler at all, others swear by feints runs.
At the end of the day its personal choice.

No worries. Im sure I'll find a system that works for me :D

I bought one of the table top ethanol fireplaces, works great (only ambiance not heat :romance-kisscheek: ). Missus love it, when the faints run low I'm actually encouraged to fire up the boiler :)

Cheers

C2H6O wrote:I bought one of the table top ethanol fireplaces, works great (only ambiance not heat :romance-kisscheek: ). Missus love it, when the faints run low I'm actually encouraged to fire up the boiler :)

Cheers

Lol. Top idea

Hey guys I've just recently bought a t500 also and just done my first run, I got 2.5l @ 89% then diluted it down and put it through again and got it up to91%
SBB you mentioned (Output speed is what governs purity and strength of the distillate. The slower the better , within reason.
If the still is running faster you have less reflux and less purity.) Is there a particular way to govern the output speed? Or is it just running a higher/lower temp? Like with the still spirits guidelines they say keep the temp between 55-65C would you get better purity at the higher or lower end? Or smack in the middle?

Cheers

Ganooblies wrote:Hey guys I've just recently bought a t500 also and just done my first run, I got 2.5l @ 89% then diluted it down and put it through again and got it up to91%
SBB you mentioned (Output speed is what governs purity and strength of the distillate. The slower the better , within reason.
If the still is running faster you have less reflux and less purity.) Is there a particular way to govern the output speed? Or is it just running a higher/lower temp? Like with the still spirits guidelines they say keep the temp between 55-65C would you get better purity at the higher or lower end? Or smack in the middle?

Cheers

Howdy mate how about dropping by the welcome centre and introducing yourself so we know what your about :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Also forget the instructions you have the slower your output the better the purity will be ;-)

sam_and_liv wrote:

Ganooblies wrote:Hey guys I've just recently bought a t500 also and just done my first run, I got 2.5l @ 89% then diluted it down and put it through again and got it up to91%
SBB you mentioned (Output speed is what governs purity and strength of the distillate. The slower the better , within reason.
If the still is running faster you have less reflux and less purity.) Is there a particular way to govern the output speed? Or is it just running a higher/lower temp? Like with the still spirits guidelines they say keep the temp between 55-65C would you get better purity at the higher or lower end? Or smack in the middle?

Cheers

Howdy mate how about dropping by the welcome centre and introducing yourself so we know what your about :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Also forget the instructions you have the slower your output the better the purity will be ;-)

Cheers Sam yeah ill stick my head in to the welcome Centre and say hi

Ganooblies wrote:Is there a particular way to govern the output speed? Or is it just running a higher/lower temp?

With a T500 the amount of water flowing through the system is what dictates take off speed. They are a CM still (Cooling Management Still)
Less water = less reflux= faster output speed = less abv/purity
more water creates the opposite effect
Hands on fiddling and experimentation is the best way to learn the ins and outs of what makes your still work in my opinion.
Run a wash, play around with different water flows, Run it real slow, run it fast, check the abv of the product taken at the different speeds.
Playing around like that will teach you more than hours of typing questions.
You wont be wasting anything by doing this, when your finished you can rerun the spirits you have collected and start again. Be sure to water them down to below 40%abv with water or wash before re distilling though.