Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

I use a static power of 3600wt and only adjust coolant flow ta get the output volume or %abv I want ,but ya may not get both ,if I want the 95% its allways gonna be a slow run and output volume will be low,generally the faster ya take off the lower ya %abv,for me if you can just keep her running steady thru a run you will be well on ya way.Adjustments to an RC may take several minutes to transmit to ya parrot so be patient and try not to make too many changes too quickly,something I think will be much easier with the 40%abv run,donot forget what it was like learning ta drive ya car.cheers hillzabilly ;-)

r1zzla wrote:

Professor Green wrote:
I run 4 plates and a packed section due to height restrictions I the shed and Allan's recommendation was to run with a stripped wash for best results with that configuration.

Stripping with a neutraliser - my understanding of stripping with a neutraliser is turn the RC coolant off and up the power without flooding the plates or raising the distillate temp too high. Taking everything down to 20%ABV. Sound good ?

I wouldn't strip a whole run though the neutraliser mate. You would only open the neutraliser up like that towards the end of a spirit run to squeeze the last of the ethanol out for feints to use in another run.

The idea of the stripping run is to rip the alcohol out of the whole wash as fast as possible to create low wines at a higher concentration.

I strip my washes using the 4"pot with 2x2400W elements at full bore and run down to about 20%. This gives me low wines at about 40%.
After stripping a couple batches of whatever wash I'm running, I combine all of the low wines and run them though the neutraliser for my spirit run.

EDIT: have a read of this http://aussiedistiller.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=3098 for more on stripping runs.

Cheers,
Prof. Green.

hillzabilly, Prof.Green - thanx guys :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Rizzla, how long are you refluxing for before pulling off fores?

Fish

fishws - full reflux for 30 mins, then slow takesoff for FS (45mins for 200ml)

Results of todays feints run ...
Charged the boiler with 30L @ 40%, so was expecting around 12L@100%...As woodduck suggested left the RC at max and adjusted power for 2Lish flowrate.
Collected in 23 x 500ml jars until ABV dropped - all happened exactly as I've read on this forum, stayed at initial high ABV until ABV took a small hit, then nose dived from there.





you beauty :happy-partydance:

thats more like it !
:handgestures-thumbupleft:

Sounds good :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Now just make sure your cuts smell alright and you should be good. If you find it hasn't seperated the fractions well enough or you have too many heads/tails you know to back off a little bit next time. Did you notice more alc coming back down the still/downcomers?

woodduck wrote:Sounds good :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Now just make sure your cuts smell alright and you should be good. If you find it hasn't seperated the fractions well enough or you have too many heads/tails you know to back off a little bit next time. Did you notice more alc coming back down the still/downcomers?

There was a lot more passing through the downcomers, the plates seemed more 'active' and the amount coming back down from the packed section was also greater. I'll leave it for 48hrs to do the cuts, but first impressions are good.

There was a lot more passing through the downcomers, the plates seemed more 'active' and the amount coming back down from the packed section was also greater

imho, thats the best sign that the reflux column is doing its job. If you did not see this in previous runs, your still would effectively have run as a pot still...(which explains the rapid drop in ABV).
cheers rs

rumsponge wrote:

There was a lot more passing through the downcomers, the plates seemed more 'active' and the amount coming back down from the packed section was also greater

imho, thats the best sign that the reflux column is doing its job. If you did not see this in previous runs, your still would effectively have run as a pot still...(which explains the rapid drop in ABV).
cheers rs

It was there in previous runs, just more of it this time. This was my first feints run with 40% in the boiler. I'll be interested to see how it goes, with a normal (TPW) wash and more power/reflux.

yep, it all depends on reflux ratio (amount flowing back down the column versus your takeoff rate). Running a TPW straight trought the neutralizer should be the same in principle. ABV should stay well above 90 % for a while then drop off sharply towards the end (but you may not get the same high ABV as with the feints and the quality/separation may not be as efficient). For neutral, many users here will recommend strip and spirit run over a single spirit run (me included).
Good luck

I've forced a roll of copper (thanks bt1) into my FSD gin basket and clamped it to my Neutraliser packed section. I'll be running a Kale wash in the morning, if the ABV doesn't move up, it may be time to add a 6th plate.

No one is drinking 96% alcohol they are not even drinking 90% abv. 90% ABV is 10% aiming else and its this 10% that matters, now if that 10% is mostly water well who the hell cares. How does it taste? That is the only question that actually matters a damn, there is no point going to ex teens if you are only removing water you intend to add back. I find 5 plates with a packed section works well with most washes. Pre-stripping is never a bad thing with neutral.