Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

Hey my name is matt im from brisbane recently bought a 2nd hand still (turbo 500) and have been browsing the forum i made an account so i could see the pictures on some of the posts i've been reading and no doubt i'll be posting in the future

put together my first wash (TPW) 2 days ago using macstills TPW wash in Tried and Proven after watching a few videos on youtube i assumed citric acid was off of a lemon or something it wasnt until i watched a few more that i realised it was something you could buy in a bottle so instead of the 1/4 tablespoon of citric acid i used a small size lemon (assuming it does the same job as ive seen other recipe's use a lemon instead of acid

im reading more and more and i think i've got the basics down and have everything sorted to run this wash through when it finishes bubbling

i think im going to clean the condenser out before i run this wash and clean the saddles i havent seen any posts about doing that the guy at the homebrew shop told me to get some citric acid and vinegar is it as simple as just cleaning the saddles in the pipe in hot water and putting them back in afterwards

also at the end of a tpw wash i know there isnt a heap of gunk you have to filter like a turbo wash but is there anything that i have to slightly try to filter as it goes into my still or is it straight from the fermenter bucket into the still and away it goes ?

Gday mate welcome here, a lemon will do the same thing but yes, most of us use citric acid from the supermarket, it’ll be near the flour/ baking section.
Have you read my guide to running a t500 properly? If not, click here and have a good read, hopefully it helps :handgestures-thumbupleft:

G'day mate and welcome aboard

I haven't read through all of it but this one might help on the cleaning

https://aussiedistiller.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=33

Doubleuj's thread is a goody :handgestures-thumbupleft:

No gunk to worry about with the TPW, just don't suck the sediment off the bottom of the fermenter. No need for filtering your spirit after the run either as long as you've done cuts :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Good luck mate and let us know how you go.

I never use the lemon :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling:
But you'll get the best out of your still if you run everything twice.
Double distilling will give you the best results by far

Doubleuj wrote:Gday mate welcome here, a lemon will do the same thing but yes, most of us use citric acid from the supermarket, it’ll be near the flour/ baking section.
Have you read my guide to running a t500 properly? If not, click here and have a good read, hopefully it helps :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Yes read it a few times its great thank you

woodduck wrote:G'day mate and welcome aboard

I haven't read through all of it but this one might help on the cleaning

https://aussiedistiller.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=33

Doubleuj's thread is a goody :handgestures-thumbupleft:

No gunk to worry about with the TPW, just don't suck the sediment off the bottom of the fermenter. No need for filtering your spirit after the run either as long as you've done cuts :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Good luck mate and let us know how you go.

i dont have a siphon just yet so would i just pour it in carefully trying not to disturb shit that i presume would be settled on the bottom ?, yeh im aware i dont have to filter will be having a go at cutting need to get a few more jars in the future for doing it i have a question about reusing heads and tails and also double distilling

so to double distill a tpw would i just run everything through into my 5L demijohn bottle then how long do i wait to open up the boiler to pour it back in ? does it have combustion or anything do i need to let it cool down to a certain temp i havent come across any info about doing this

reusing heads and tails next batch do i just pour them ontop of the wash that im putting into the boiler at pure 90%-95?

thanks for the reply's guys nice to meet you's

The Stig wrote:I never use the lemon :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling:
But you'll get the best out of your still if you run everything twice.
Double distilling will give you the best results by far

yeh i didnt realise citric acid was something you bought at the supermarket until i had the batch going and everthing in so i thought i'd just stick it in incase, next wash i'll have bought some citric acid

I dont use citric.
Tomato paste, sugar, water and yeast is all thats needed unless youve got some weird ph levels in the tap water

Reckon you might want to have a good read of this section :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Don't run your boiler with anything over 40% ABV, would you tip petrol in your boiler and give it a run? :scared-eek:

You would usually do your first run (strip run) and keep all of it except the first 100mls of fores (throw them out or clean a window with them) no need for cuts on strip runs. then keep them aside until you do another strip run or two then put them all back in your boiler and water it down with clean water until it is below 40% abv. Then do the second run ( spirit run) with cuts.

I would let your boiler cool for a while before opening it, you don't want to get steam burn. You throw the stuff left in the boiler down your drain unless you are doing generations which your not that is something you can research later on :handgestures-thumbupleft:

you use the same

5kg sugar
80grams bakers yeast
1/4 tea spoon citric acid
200 grams leggo's tomato paste.

just without the acid ?

i'll give it a go next time, yeh im in brisbane just using normal tap water i forgot to aerate the 10L of cold water for 15+ minutes when i put this wash together so hopefully that doesnt ruin in it

Sam. wrote:Reckon you might want to have a good read of this section :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Don't run your boiler with anything over 40% ABV, would you tip petrol in your boiler and give it a run? :scared-eek:

wouldnt the wash in the still dilute it ? i dont understand ? i'll read your link hopefully my answer is there and if i still have any questions i'll let you know
****EDIT***** yeh i've been reading up as much of the newbies section as i can somethings i dont quite understand yet simply from lack of experience so far i think i understand most of the things apart from the questions i've asked
Thanks

woodduck wrote:You would usually do your first run (strip run) and keep all of it except the first 100mls of fores (throw them out or clean a window with them) no need for cuts on strip runs. then keep them aside until you do another strip run or two then put them all back in your boiler and water it down with clean water until it is below 40% abv. Then do the second run ( spirit run) with cuts.

I would let your boiler cool for a while before opening it, you don't want to get steam burn. You throw the stuff left in the boiler down your drain unless you are doing generations which your not that is something you can research later on :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Ahh ok thanks
ignore the above questions

Welcome Matt.

:text-+1: on all the above advice.

With your fermenter and transferring the wash to your still, I don’t think you will be able lift and pour without disturbing the bed of yeast at the bottom. A siphon is definitely your best bet if your fermenter doesn’t have a tap. You don’t need anything special just a length of food safe hose which should be fine given the low ABV of a wash - just don’t use it for any high proof spirits.

Cheers,
Prof. Green.

Professor Green wrote:Welcome Matt.

:text-+1: on all the above advice.

With your fermenter and transferring the wash to your still, I don’t think you will be able lift and pour without disturbing the bed of yeast at the bottom. A siphon is definitely your best bet if your fermenter doesn’t have a tap. You don’t need anything special just a length of food safe hose which should be fine given the low ABV of a wash - just don’t use it for any high proof spirits.

Cheers,
Prof. Green.

ok thanks for the info i'll see if i can get a siphon over the next few days yeh i cant imagine pure 90+% is good on hoses

how safe is having the plastic hose to collection jars ?
i have read about changing to copper but not an option before i do this wash will look into it though and have read the post on the forum

Bunnings sell short lengths of 1/2 inch copper pipe that can replace the plastic outlet in quick order, even if you don’t have a pipe bender.
Anneal the pipe then pack full of salt and bend it to shape around the appropriate diameter/ angle. Then, dissolve the salt with water and rinse, hey presto, bent pipe no kinks.

Doubleuj wrote:Bunnings sell short lengths of 1/2 inch copper pipe that can replace the plastic outlet in quick order, even if you don’t have a pipe bender.
Anneal the pipe then pack full of salt and bend it to shape around the appropriate diameter/ angle. Then, dissolve the salt with water and rinse, hey presto, bent pipe no kinks.

thanks a heap that should be easy enough to do

Will it just slide onto where you usually connect the hose as the plastic just moulds over the top will the copper sort of just tightly wrap around the output nozzle ?