HedgeBird

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-brass-Rockwell-water-meter-/221797894882?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item33a42f4ae2 Instead of paying $70 for that, you can get an old water meter on ebay for $30. It has a spinner and hand that give a visual on how much water is going through and also makes it very easy to total up how much water you are using each run/week/month. I have one of these plumbed into my still condenser and another one on my mash tun cooling jacket.

Good to know!

Only one gasket should be needed to create a seal. Presumably the one on the outside is just protecting the glass from the threaded frame by providing a cushion or something? This means that half the force/compression of the threaded frame is going into a gasket that is not providing a seal. So potentially you have a useless gasket on the outside that is stealing sealing force from the inside one. On my still the metal screw part pushes directly on the glass.

Six years ago it was probably hard to start a distillery but easier to move product once you got up and running. Today the tables have turned and its easier to start up but harder to move product. I think a lot of guys like myself Skaalvenn and Deerhammer, etc. came of age during the transition between these two stages. A lot of people (including myself) have gotten their first product in the bottle and felt like they had finally arrived, or had made it, only to realize that the more difficult job was just getting started. TLDR: In today's world turning sugar into alcohol is easy, the tricky part is turning alcohol into money.

Congrats guys! Curious if you have any issue with kickstarter and the barrel reward you offered? I thought offering alcohol as a reward was not permitted?

I just went back and read this again, and it seems like you are saying that your plan is to produce and sell 30,000 (500ml) bottles a month through the 10 state run stores that the new PA Spirits Program gives you access to. That seems very unlikely to me.

What does a pot belly still boiler look like? Or what does that term mean to you? That is not a term normally applied to stills.

Im going to guess http://state31wines.com/

clearwaterbrewer: "An open flame still in a well ventilated area and that has no significant vapor leaks is perfectly safe.." Flying Red Pig: "If distillate from a leak in the column ran down the side of the still and caught fire, it would be a safety feature compared to vapors filling the room before they found an ignition source. Distillate wouldn't run down the side of a hot boiler to reach the fire box." OldSpye: "The bottom line is that there's no additional danger, compared to indirect heat sources, as long as a couple of very basic rules are followed - foremost among them being ventilation." Cougar Red Distillery: "Flir thermal imaging camera or most any brand can expose a leak." You guys all act like the only potential issue with direct fire is a small/slow leak, or a vapor buildup issue; and as long as you don't have one of those then they are "just as safe". Thats a bit like saying "my car with no seat belts is just as safe as yours with seat belts as long as I am not involved in an accident" Another issue that no one wants to say is that most direct fire stills available are just not built as well. There are only two reasons people use/build direct fired stills; they are easier to build and they are cheaper to build. While certainly not always the case; folks providing cheaper/easier equipment are going to be more likely to provide lower quality work and less safety features in general.

Without the top condenser running you will not get enough reflux to fill the plates. Just cause you have them does not mean you have to use them. I built/run a still that has 4 plates and a dephlag and ended up with a process I like that does not fully utilize the plates. And yeah, you might want to use your plates/top condenser to push back the start of tails collection and maximize your hearts. With no plates your collected distillate is basically coming over at the kettle boil temp, but with plates you are getting collected vapors that are a lower temp than the kettle boil tempt.

We have a part time distiller position available here in Lancaster, PA. http://www.thistlefinch.com/news/2015/5/27/part-time-distiller-wanted

I remember the first time I read the limited distillery FAQ thinking how unclear this limit was. All the same, if your doing well enough to need to worry about the limit you can probably afford to pay the state the $5,000 a year for a full distillery license.

Read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouzo_effect then read these threads: http://adiforums.com/index.php?showtopic=5710&hl=%2Bgin+%2Bcloudiness#entry32672 http://adiforums.com/index.php?showtopic=5989&hl=louching In my opinion you don't want to discard or filter the oils. If you have concentrated the oils so much to the point that they cloud you should be able to "dilute" with clean vodka.

I think you will find that 60° conical (beer fermenters) are more expensive and probably not needed/wanted for grain-in fermentation. The cone is designed to hold solids (mostly dead yeast) that fall out of suspension during fermentation in as small an area as possible and also to move it as close to the exit as possible. If you are doing grain in this is unnecessary and probably unwanted.

Just checking out your Facebook page and noticed those Philly made barrels. Pretty cool stuff! How do I get an invite to your launch party? If you have not already; make sure to get on the guild list: http://adiforums.com/index.php?showtopic=6052&hl=manatawny maxp /at/ manatawnystillworks /dot/ com

Currently we are buying from a mill and its conventional rye as well. I have talked with some local farmers about planting for us, and eventually I think we will move that way. As we don't currently mill out own grain, part of this post is trying to understand what all would be involved with cleaning, filtering and milling on our own.. Just let me know if your ever in the area, or want to plan a trip! Would love to give ya the nickle tour and chat whiskey anytime.

Not exactly the industrial style your looking at, but I have been loving these guys.. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0008JGSD6/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000XTMG7I/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and http://www.amazon.com/Gilmour-4-Inch-Double-Connector-7MH7MH/dp/B000FJZZ3I/ref=sr_1_1?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1430410028&sr=1-1&keywords=gilmore+npt+nozzle if you need NPT..

I am curious if anyone can offer some insight on the various styles of rye flour available. Can anyone offer some details on the differences between the styles, personal preferences, or what impact the various styles would have on your mash/fermentation if any? Impact on flavor, yeast encapsulation, yield, etc. Cheers! --Various Styles I have Seen-- White Rye Flour Medium Rye Flour Dark Rye Flour Pumpernickel Rye Flour Medium Rye Meal Flour

We do all grain and use a 1.5" diaphragm pump. We just mill our grain very fine and it has never been an issue.

Send me a message with your email or just email me at martin@thistlefinch.com and I can add you as an editor, etc. I have not worked on this in ages as I am now using Alcodens.

I use a large coarse thread, hex-header screw and drive it into the bung with a ratchet, then use a block of wood and claw hammer to pry it out. Typically the bung breaks in two during removal, but its fast and simple.

By any chance does the distributor have a history in beer?

Correct. My current condenser has no baffles on the shell/water side, and no baffle/spreader at the top of the tubes on the vapor side. It would be possible for me to cut open the top to add a baffle/spreader as Paul suggests, but near impossible at this point to add baffles on the shell because of the way I built this. There are additional reasons why I want to build a new condenser and not try to fix/improve this as Paul suggests, or add to it as Dehner suggests. - Current condenser seems to have a small leak between the tube and shell. - Would prefer all stainless and not copper at this point. (my distillate seems to pull a lot of copper salts and I think this is because of the combination of these two factors) - Not enough cooling power (as stated) - I have not done a real metal project since I finished building the still and would enjoy the project So assuming I am building a new condenser, do you guys agree that a 8' x 6" (vapor on the shell side/water on the tube side) with seven baffles (about 1 every foot) would be plenty big enough for anything I could throw at it with my 320,000 BTU boiler?

I have been planning to build a new/larger condenser for my still and after following this thread I am thinking of changing my plans. I would appreciate any feedback you guys have. Current setup is a 150 gallon, 4 plate, steam jacketed still powered by my 320,000 BTU output / 400,000 BTU input gas fired boiler. Current condenser is a 5 foot long x 6 inch all copper shotgun condenser (mounted vertically) with twenty three 1/2 inner tubes. Vapor goes down the tubes and city water goes up the shell. Currently we can not run with the steam full on for most of a distillation run as the condenser can not keep up; hence the desire to upgrade and cut down our run times. My plan was to upgrade to a 8 foot long x 8 inch tube with thirty some 3/4" tubes and go all stainless and stick with the vapor on the tube / water on the shell side. Now after reading this thread it sounds like I might get more cooling bang by sticking with a 8 foot x 6" tube but changing the vapor to the shell side and adding baffles. Thoughts? Also any opinions on 304 vs 316 stainless for this type of application? Here are photos of my current setup; can you see that I have room to extend the height of the condenser from five to eight feet without changing the layout/placement of things.. Any and all feedback appreciated!

A search for 'obscuration' should bring up a few thread discussing this process, but I don't recall ever seeing anyone ask about oils affecting the hydrometer reading before. We use a lot of citrus/lemon in our gin and typically it also starts out cloudy because there is too much oil. Typically we have been able to "water down" the distillate with pure vodka until it clears up. In one batch we "watered it down" with 7 parts clean vodka to 1 part botanical distillate. This removed all the cloudiness and surprisingly there was little to no loss of the botanical flavor. All this was to say I can't answer your questions, but you might be able to use a lot less citrus for the same result and then not encounter this issue at all..