PeteB
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Everything posted by PeteB
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Intrigued. Why do you think malted corn can be sparged? and why would his method "not be allowed today"? I have my theories on the sparging which I will post when I get time, have staff arriving right now.
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Scroll down to April 15th 2017
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This type will work for high % barley grist but not if high % fine ground cooked corn. A sloping screen is the simplest. Scrape the solids off as they build. There is another thread on this subject.
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Thanks meerkat, I have forwarded this discussion to John, not sure if he is a member but he can at least read the thread.
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I had a call yesterday from a friend who was finding the opposite of what he expected after lab distillation. He makes absinthe. Normally with a spirit containing sugar a hydrometer will float higher and indicate a lower ABV because of the higher density of the sugar. Lab distillation removes this sugar-solids-obscuration and the hydrometer will show a higher ABV He measured the absinthe directly with a hydrometer and calculated the ABV Then did a lab distillation and got a lower reading. I am sure he did the distillation and calculations correctly. My feeling is the substances in absinthe that are causing obscuration have a lower density than ethanol. (oils?) Any thoughts?
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Air bubbles can also make the hydrometer float higher if they get attached to the bottom of the hydrometer, spin the hydrometer to shake them off.
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I recall a presentation at an ADI conference in Louisville about 5 years ago. A researcher from Tuthilltown was giving great detail about "molecular clustering" of ethanol. Over a period of time the molecules attract to each other and form clumps that trigger a more mellow sensation on the tongue. That presentation was about ethanol only, maybe other flavour compounds clump as well.
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Your findings do not surprise me at all. I have often measured lower than expected ABV and suspected heating the flask contents once most of the alcohol and water have gone would most likely boil off solids, which will then cause obscuration of the collected distillate. I have been tempted to re-distill the distillate to see if this was happening. Your method would be easier and probably more accurate.
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Proof too high or tails smeared in, can't find the middle ground!
PeteB replied to Grazin' Spirits's topic in Technique
In pot mode you definitely need to run it twice as mentioned above. A single pot run will always taste like tails. -
Bringing back and old thread...What to do with all the d*** heads!?
PeteB replied to PA_JoeDistiller's topic in Technique
Please take this suggestion with caution. I put some of my heads in a garden sprayer, one with an air pump on the top. I can then spray this into the flame of one of my waste oil burners. One caution here is if the nozzle gets very hot the plastic parts could melt. As mentioned in an above post the burner under my still has dual nozzles so I can run one with oil and the other heads. I have tried mixing heads with waste veg oil, it will blend quite nicely but eventually splits out again. Have tried various types of detergents but haven't managed to form a permanent emulsion. -
TTB requires accuracy of about 1:1000 I deduce that from the requirement that hydrometer need to be accurate to 0.2 proof. Meerkat's example of 1,000 gallons; if it is in a cubic container it is approximately a 5 foot cube. To measure to 1:1000 that is 1 gallon in the container. Each gallon is 0.06 inches deep. You cannot measure any where near that accuratly with a stick or sight glass. A good electronic scale can measure to this accuracy
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Anyone with limited cooling water should consider a continuous stripping still. A properly designed one requires no cooling water and as a bonus they only require about 20% of the energy to run the same volume of wash. I think Dehner Distillery has built some. I have but I don't export.
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that is the same with any program when using for the first time. Meerkat I had a potential issue yesterday, we use both ABV and proof hydrometers (proof ones are so much cheaper) and this program makes it so easy to use both even in the one calculation just with one click of a mouse. Yesterday I notice Mass% was clicked instead of Volume%. I suggest on next update you make it slightly more difficult to change, maybe right then left click.
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No harm in trying to find out but in the end there are some customers who just won't believe in science. "the customer is always right"
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If you set fire to ethanol its carbon will turn to carbon dioxide but if you run ethanol through a still then it remains as ethanol, no carbon released.
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By being "certified organic" the customer should be confident that there are no pesticides or other "artificial" nasties in their drug (ethanol) that they are consuming.
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The main reason to brand "certified organic" is to cater for those customers who wish to pay more to make them feel better for being more "natural" etc etc. All spirits are "organic" Ethanol C2H5OH is an organic compound, so I was told when I studied organic chemistry at university many years ago.
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I have been thinking about the physics of why a still would pulse. Interest for physics nerds only. The boiling chips comment gave me an idea, the boiling appears to stop and start. A plausible explanation is when the pot boiling vigorously there is a very slight increase in pressure in the still because the rapidly evolving vapour This slight pressure increase will increase the boiling point of the still contents and boiling stops, (but temperature now increases because no heat lost as Latent) Now not boiling or producing vapour and pressure drops, boiling point drops and the contents will start boiling again, even more vigorously because the liquid is now slightly superheated. Pressure builds again and boiling stops........................etc..... Someone mentioned very cold condenser water could cause pulsing. The above theory still applies, the really cold water creates a slight negative pressure allowing rapid boiling then pressure builds .... etc......
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For a still with plates and bubble caps you are quite correct, if column too narrow the vapor velocity is too high and liquid will get carried up the column reducing effectiveness of the plates. With no plates as in an alembic still there is no need for a column. It will work more efficiently at separating ethanol without one. The main reason for the column or neck is for reaction with copper especially when making whisky to remove sulphur. The wider and longer the neck the more surface and also a cooler surface that allows more reflux and hence reaction with the copper.
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What is wrong with grasshoppers in your mash? A bit more flavor. I grow my own grain and it has a lot of chaff and other seeds, and grasshoppers. Jim Murray has awarded my whiskies 4 Liquid Golds, maybe he likes those grasshopper notes. You won't get mouse poop directly from the field, that is usually added during poor storage even if it is cleaned then stored with mice. Tim, what was your cleaner removing before it died?
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My cooling water tank is an old concrete 35,000 gallons. It was initially filled from the river with a windmill pump that must have sucked small fish or eggs into the tank. There were some quite large fish in there. Then I started circulating warm condenser water I assume they didn't appreciate the heat because they have now vanished. There is now a freshwater plant called azola growing on the surface. The water appearance and smell is now much nicer than when the fish were there.
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If I am understanding your setup correctly then leave the drain open at the bottom of the parrot, with a bucket to catch initial condensate, until condensate starts flowing fully.
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My suggestion is to leave your hatch open while heating your water or just leave it closed but not bolted down. The danger time is if a pressure buildup is suddenly released
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Totally agree, a slight drop in pressure can make the contents boil rather rapidly. Been there, done that. Luckily I jumped very quickly but still ended with a small burn on my back. Another distillery near here ended up with 2 people hospitalized for some time.
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I assume you mean no steam or water! If you are you running cold water through the dephleg that could stop the steam getting past. Boiler can't be working efficiently. If my math is correct 600,000 btu is about 175 Kw. That is a lot of heat for 600 litres. I am intrigued, I will watch this space.
