Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

Thanks for the detailed reply OzKev :handgestures-thumbupleft:

I jut got myself two of these. They are great for $15......One for fermenting and the other is a water tank for my condenser. Can I use this 200lt drum with a small wash of only 25lt?

pochine wrote:I jut got myself two of these. They are great for $15......One for fermenting and the other is a water tank for my condenser. Can I use this 200lt drum with a small wash of only 25lt?

If it was me I would grab a Bunnings Fermenter for 25L batches
http://www.bunnings.com.au/venture-bmw-30l-blue-tint-wide-mouth-water-storage-drum-with-bung_p3240534

What sort of wash? , I wouldn't like to be trying to scoop 25L of TPW out of a 200 L drum without stirring up the sediment.

SBB wrote:What sort of wash? , I wouldn't like to be trying to scoop 25L of TPW out of a 200 L drum without stirring up the sediment.

MacRum wash. I hope to be making bigger washes but it is my first wash and I dont want to waste all the ingredients if it fails :? I have a tap fitted to the bottom of the drum too, so shouldnt have to worry about scooping it out.

A tap on the bottom is no good, mate, that's where the sediment is.

What's wrong with your little fermenter?

here's how I set mine up



Ignore the mess, you can see the valve on the brown olive drum, it's fitted via a cheap poly tank fitting from bunnings.

I can drain it pretty quick without disturbing sediment, once it gets below the valve I can just lean it over gently until the cloud hits the drain point :D

Zak Griffin wrote:A tap on the bottom is no good, mate, that's where the sediment is.

What's wrong with your little fermenter?

I dont have a seal for it......

I do have two 200 lt drums. I can put another tap I have on to the other drum & install it a little higher from the bottom. How much sediment would I expect have from a 180th ish wash? (just asking to figure out how far up to install the tap)

You don't need a seal... Glad wrap and rubber bands :)

There's plenty of us here that don't run seals/airlocks...

Zak Griffin wrote:You don't need a seal... Glad wrap and rubber bands :)

There's plenty of us here that don't run seals/airlocks...

Oh! thats good news. How do you know when it is finished fermenting if you dont have an airlock?

On my 200lt drum my tap is about 30lt up.....

On my 30lt drum my tap is about 2-3 lts up from the bottom. How does this sound? Sorry, maybe I should have posted this on a different thread. :cry:

One way to tell when it's finished is by the temperature. I've got a stick on temperature thingy on the outside of my fermenters.
While they are fermenting they'll sit at say 24-30 and when they have finished they will cool down.

If you just leave them a month after you put them on...you'll be fine :handgestures-thumbupleft:

pochine wrote: How do you know when it is finished fermenting if you dont have an airlock?

I have a sheet of glass on my fermenter with foam draft strip to seal ...lets the gas out and stops the vinegar fly getting in .

How do I tell ?...Its a combination of things ....SG readings ,every wash ...don't listen to the "SG is useless on Rum washes " bull...SG readings are consistant if you do the same procedure....draw off a sample from your tap

Pattern of fermentation ...If you maintain the desired fermentation temperature ,then you will see the same pattern of wash activity ...Rum washes look like a pot of coka cola on the boil for two days and then slows down so by about the third day its all over

Taste the wash .... it goes from sweet to bitter over the three day period ...draw off a sample from your tap

By comparing wash activity ,SG and sweetness over the coarse of every fermentation,you will familiarize yourself with what is normal

Zak Griffin wrote:You don't need a seal... Glad wrap and rubber bands :)

There's plenty of us here that don't run seals/airlocks...

Agreed. I use the nose test. And observe the bubbling of the wash. I have not used an air lock for years for beer or anything. If you stick your nose in the fermenter, take a deep breath, if you get a head spin, it's still releasing carbon dioxide, and not finished. It's crude, but it has served me pretty well.

Cheers for the write up Kev.
I will be attempting the same thing. 2 drums. 1 for a mash tun and the second for a fermenter. I will make a false bottom in the mash tun and insulate the hell out of it. I stared tonight with a small SS mixing bowl and cut a heap of grooves in it with an angle grinder. Drilled a 3/8 hole at the top and place a piece of copper pipe down the gus thats sits about 5mm off the bottom of the barrel and secured with a brass fitting. 90 degree elbow will connect to a tap. Hope it works out.
Also making a sparge arm that will be connected to my boiler. Haven't decided/worked out how to connect it all yet :)
I like Mac's idea with the tap, will give that a shot as well.
$15 bucks, can't go wrong.

Just leave the olive goodness in there, could make an interesting addition to your rum/whiskey :laughing-rolling:

On that note, how is everyone cleaning theirs to get the oil out?

davecuds wrote:Cheers for the write up Kev.
I will be attempting the same thing. 2 drums. 1 for a mash tun and the second for a fermenter. I will make a false bottom in the mash tun and insulate the hell out of it. I stared tonight with a small SS mixing bowl and cut a heap of grooves in it with an angle grinder. Drilled a 3/8 hole at the top and place a piece of copper pipe down the gus thats sits about 5mm off the bottom of the barrel and secured with a brass fitting. 90 degree elbow will connect to a tap. Hope it works out.
Also making a sparge arm that will be connected to my boiler. Haven't decided/worked out how to connect it all yet :)
I like Mac's idea with the tap, will give that a shot as well.
$15 bucks, can't go wrong.

Just leave the olive goodness in there, could make an interesting addition to your rum/whiskey :laughing-rolling:

On that note, how is everyone cleaning theirs to get the oil out?

Just boiling water/detergent. The smell goes after a few washes and doesn't carry over into product, don't waste too much time worrying about that :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Check out the last post by pinto in this thread :handgestures-thumbupleft:
http://aussiedistiller.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=3994

How is everyone attaching taps to these? I did one successfully but the new one is persistent in giving me a tiny droplet of water which is pissing me off. I worked for a good couple of hours the other night trying to get it right but the blasted thing keeps dripping.

http://www.bunnings.com.au/garden-rain-25mm-female-tank-access-outlet-grftf25_p3113886



:handgestures-thumbupleft:

Sweet! Does it come with an o ring or something?

davecuds wrote:Sweet! Does it come with an o ring or something?

Dave, what you need is a drum tap with back nut....

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=drum+tap+with+back+nut+site:au

http://aussiedistiller.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=4260#p70861