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AK2

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AK2 last won the day on October 11 2022

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  1. We started with 12's, but as whiskeytango pointed out, buyers were very much against 12's for an expansive item. We are all 6 bottle packs now.
  2. I have never used a roller mill on a large scale, they were all hammer mills. On a very small scale (think of a 5 gallon bucket of milled corn) I have used a roller mill. My problem was that I had to mill the corn twice to get the particle size I needed. On the first grind I opened the rollers all the way up, which resulted in a very course grit. Second pass I closed the rollers to get the desired particle size. If I tried to mill the corn with the rollers closed to the size I wanted the corn would not feed in. This was a single stage roller mill. Maybe the one your looking at will work, mine was the cheapest mill I could find.
  3. I use the 927 for my Rye, FP1 for my bourbon. I was happy with each strain's results. I can not attest to the differences between very well, they were recommended for what I was doing, tried them, liked them, used them. I am sure this is not much help, but I can state I use them. I have had great customer service from them, any questions I have the rep will answer usually within an hour, if he does not know he will find out.
  4. Update: The TTB got back to me. In their opinion mixing the distillates would NOT qualify as bourbon, due to the reasons a few of you pointed out. They did state that I could submit a formula for further evaluation, but after reading on this forum and their initial response I do not think it will be bourbon. Thank you again to all who chimed in. Adam
  5. Update: Upon further review the air actuated valve that allows steam to the vodka still was not fully opening. There was also a very small hole in the air line (it was lying on an uninsulated part of the piping, melted slightly). I had thought the valve was opening 100%, but in reality it was 75% or so. Adjusted the valve to allow it to fully open. Repaired air line. Warm up time decreased, and the boiling action in the pot was much more vigorous. Achieved a proof of 191 at one point, first time I have been able to go above 188 in about 5 trials! I did not complete the run, however, I am very hopeful that the next time I get a chance to make vodka I will have the ability to do so. Thank you again to all that gave input. I had at least two issues: condensate line plugged post steam trap, inlet valve not fully actuating. After fixing those items it appears I can make 190. Adam
  6. Thank you to all who replied. It seems to me that the more I read the regs, the more I can talk myself into something! Thank you again. Adam
  7. I am confusing myself and I would like for this forum to unconfuse me please. Knowing the class and type definitions for whiskey https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-27/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-5/subpart-I/section-5.143 , can you blend an unaged rye distillate with an unaged bourbon distillate, age it, and still call it bourbon as long as you blend it in such a fashion that based upon grain bill it is still 51% or better corn mash? 1/2 of me says no, because in the regulation it states "fermented mash of not less than 51% of said grain". That means that the Rye was fermented mash of 51% or better Rye grain, therefore if it was added, even in the proper proportions, it was never a fermented mash of 51% or greater corn. The other 1/2 says yes, because if you blended the two in the proper proportions it would be just like having 25% Rye grain in the mash. At the end of the day the majority of the grain that led to the distillate would be corn. Can anyone shed some light on this or tell me if there is another subsection of the regulations that I am missing? Thank you for any help Adam
  8. Update #2: Even with the condensate line cleared the still would not produce 190 proof. 188 proof all day long, open the cooling valve a little, distillation stops. Next step is to look at the inlet valve upstream. If and when I figure something out I will post it. Adam
  9. Update: Thank you to all who gave advice. Here is where it stands: In my haste taking every single pipe apart to inspect, and both steam traps to inspect, I failed to inspect the pipe from the the main steam header line's steam trap and condensate return tank. I inspected everything else, did not find anything, and thought to myself "there is no way anything made it past the strainer and the steam trap to cause an issue downstream". I am an idiot, found a major blockage between the steam trap and the condensate return tank. REALLY wish I would have done this 5 minute break apart and inspect before I posted! I will not be able to try the still until Friday, will let you all know if it works, but this is the most likely culprit. The condensate could not fully exit the main header, which would cause condensate, not steam to enter the steam jacket. It is uncertain at this time how material got past a strainer and the steam trap port. That is a mystery for another time. Again thank you all for your advice, you gave me the pep I needed to keep looking. I will post results of Friday's run. Adam
  10. Thank you both for your suggestions. Next chance I get I am going to try and get that valve apart and take a look. Your assumption is correct, warm up times have increased, and valve opening needs to be at 100%. In prior operation after boil valve would only need to be between 30% and 40%. If nothing is found in the valve I am going to try an acid wash in the steam jacket. As JustAndy stated the alcohol side easily inspected, the steam side I could only look through the 1" hole for the drain and pressure/vacuum relief ports. From that TINY observation it looks clean, but that is not to say I can say it actually is clean. Thank you both again, I was leaning this way, it helps to have conformation on the next steps. Hopefully I have time this week to investigate further, I will post an update IF something works! Adam
  11. Hello all, I am having an issue with our vodka still. I will attempt to be brief yet detailed to what I am seeing. Vendome Vodka/Gin still. Steam heat, pot base, 20 plate column with a dephlegmator at the top. I used to be able to complete a run 9 8 hrs (1 hour warm up, 8 hours to finish). During the pandemic we ran the still 6 days a week. Towards the end of sanitizer we were having problems achieving 190, what was already a trickle slowed down to 1/2 of a trickle (if that is even a measurement). Run times went to 15 hours. We stopped making sanitizer over two years ago, and I have not had the need to make vodka since. Recently I received the order to make vodka. I have tried to do so twice. Each time I stopped the run after 3 to 4 hours due to the fact that I can not achieve 190 proof. I have changed out the steam trap, taken the steam lines off (found no obstruction), taken condensate lines off (no obstruction), made sure the check valves are free and can move, flushed the steam side of the pot out with water (found nothing in the flush water), and did not see any fouling on steam side of the pot (granted, I could only look through the 1" holes for the drain/pressure relief piping, but from that tiny bit I saw it looked clean). I am pulling my hair out thinking of other causes to this issue. I believe it is a steam issue as the pot does not boil like it used to. I used to get a nice rolling boil, now the only boiling action I see is around the outer edges, the middle of the pot does not boil at all. I have the same steam pressure as always, the valve allowing steam in appears to be in working condition. I also have to keep the deph valve closed further than I used to to get condensate coming out. To me this means that either my cooling water temperature has gone down or I am not getting enough energy into the system, and I have not changed anything on the cooling system. These observations point me in the direction of either not enough steam getting in OR not enough condensate getting out (i.e. which blocks the steam from coming in). Has anyone else out there had this issue? Can anyone give me some advice as to what else I should be looking at? Any chance some sort of fouling has occurred on the steam side of the pot? I apologize for the long post. Thank you in advance for any responses. Adam
  12. Thank you to everyone, some good ideas to look into and some equipment to evaluate.
  13. What are some of you doing to remove the solids from your spent grain.? The grain does not need to be super dry (currently I can squeeze water out of the solids with my fist, I think moisture level was 82% last time I had it tested), I just need to get the solids out so that I can discharge to the city. My current liquid solid separator eats screens about every two to three weeks. The manufacturer stated that at most I could expect a month before screen's needed to be replaced. I did not know that when I purchased the unit, I guess shame on me for not asking. I am really hoping some of you out there are using something that costs less to maintain. Thank you, Adam
  14. Agree with Slick Floss, I use a low concentration (2%) of caustic. Works a lot better if I heat it up. Not too hot, maybe 130F. I set up a recirculation loop and let the caustic do the work. I do use a really low citric concentration after a gin run to get the still clear of some of the botanicals, but now that I think about it I bet that is not necessary (just one of those things you started doing and never examined why). I flush with water before the caustic wash, and flush again with water after. Again, not sure a double flush is necessary, just seems like the proper thing to do. Adam
  15. I am guessing the second picture is some sort of vent to allow pumping into or out of the tank while it is sealed up. My tanks I need to crack the lid a bit. I do not have breathers, but now that I see those I may look into them! The first picture might serve the same purpose, allowing for the air that is sucked in to be filtered. That being said, it almost looks like a fluid filter. In any case, these are both just guesses!
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