StillSmart

smartstill

2008-12-19T01:28:31+00:00

Oh, and what I would do in your case is take say 500ml from each run, then put them all together and top up to 4 litres with water. Test the strength again, then run the calculator with the new ABV and work out a decent return (look carefully at the central purity column, that's what is coming out of the spout and it drops off fast, try to keep above 40 on there).
Assuming you made 25 litres, that would give you 6 batches of 500ml at 40% so 3 litres, top it up with water to 4 litres (as water is purer than the filth you're left with in the still) and then run again, pure guesswork but if that 4 litres is 25% say then you can get 2 litres at 49% out of it and that should be a decent double-distilled vodka, especially if you run it through some carbon!
Considering it is a first attempt, and that 2 litres of vodka at higher strengths would be about 30 quid, I'd be happy with that!

Statistics: Posted by Jimmy — Fri Dec 19, 2008 1:28 am

smartstill

2008-12-19T01:20:54+00:00

Use the calculator! You don't know the initial alcohol content, but you can guess it by trying different numbers until you see what gives you 900ml at 30%. My guess would be 8 or 9. If so, then about 500ml would be 40%. You really want your wash stronger than that though so see if you can work out what you did wrong this time, or missed out.
http://www.homedistiller.org/pot_calc.htm
Settings are :
* Initial volume of wash : 4 litres (if thatâ€™s what youâ€™re putting in!)

* Alcohol content : The alcohol content of your wash, wine, etc

* Initial temperature : Usually around 20 degrees celcius

* Power during heatup : 320W for modified version, 400W for unmodified

* Power during distillation : 320W for modified version, 525W for unmodified

* Internal reflux : 25% for modified, 15% for unmodified

* Time step : 20 mins works well, change if desired

Statistics: Posted by Jimmy — Fri Dec 19, 2008 1:20 am

smartstill

2008-12-18T21:29:32+00:00

when i run a turbo wash i only collect the first 5oo ml for drinking. the next 3-400ml i save and had to my next run.I do the same with the tomato wash and the wheat germ wash only i take 400ml.Both these washes are not bad but they need to ferment right out to below 1000, otherwise you dont get a good return. if it finishes above 1010 you wont get much more than 5-6ltr 40%. when runnig these two washes i throw 10 -15ml away

Statistics: Posted by alan — Thu Dec 18, 2008 9:29 pm

smartstill

2008-12-18T20:07:54+00:00

Would it have been higher volume if i would have taken say 700/800 ml....
Yes it would, I got more or less two bottles first was 60% second was 37% so it seems to drop of in vol quickly. The next distil I do, (same wash) I'm thinking of going for another 500mil or so seeing as I will distill it again anyway.
At a guess from as your product was 30% @900ml maybe 40% around the 4-500ml mark.

Statistics: Posted by HangOver — Thu Dec 18, 2008 8:07 pm

smartstill

2008-12-18T16:10:47+00:00

I just looked, i threw away the first 30ml

And i actually took out more than i thought i got 900 ml at 30%
Would it have been higher volume if i would have taken say 700/800 ml....

Given them figures, what volume of liquid would have given me 40%... ??

That is assuming i could have got it that high with less liquid..
Iam doing not bad for my first batch, at least it is spirit, but not strong enough yet

Statistics: Posted by pi55ed — Thu Dec 18, 2008 4:10 pm

smartstill

2008-12-18T07:39:37+00:00

Hi P
I wouldn't try fermenting it again with turbo yeast as i tried when i first got in to distilling and it and ended up as a smelly concoction, still sweet which ended up down the drain, i would be inclined to do the lot at 30% and then re-distill it and put it down to experience.
How much did you get at 30% of the 4 liter wash?
Mick

Statistics: Posted by bluecap — Thu Dec 18, 2008 7:39 am

smartstill

2008-12-18T07:11:26+00:00

Ok my tomato brew came out at 30% after distilling....... initial brew may not have been strong enough really to go through the still, i gave it 3 and half hours from start to finnish and 30 % exactly i came out with........ looks like alcopops for this batch.....
What would happen if i put this 12 litres or so of tomato wash in with a turboyeast and carbon, obviously its wash and produces spirit when stilled, but if i put this already formed alcohol wash in with a new turboyeast brew what would be the outcomei wonder........ what you's think on that one then guys......

Statistics: Posted by pi55ed — Thu Dec 18, 2008 7:11 am

smartstill

2008-12-17T02:07:26+00:00

finnings are used for clearing wine and beer, you can buy seperate ones for each, i dont know what the difference is exactly
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q= ... wine&meta=

Statistics: Posted by pi55ed — Wed Dec 17, 2008 2:07 am

smartstill

2008-12-16T23:59:27+00:00

On the subject of TurboKlar, it's also worth noting that it does clear the liquid carbon which you can put in to prefilter the finished wash - it doesn't tell you that on the packet so I had to just try it and see and it worked fine. I never bother with that stuff now though, I'm currently more concerned with doing it as cheaply as possible but perhaps I'll go back to it.

Statistics: Posted by Jimmy — Tue Dec 16, 2008 11:59 pm

smartstill

2008-12-16T21:41:22+00:00

the carbon cartridge has a finite life but the water here is pretty crap you can smell and taste the difference if it needs changing.
hmm and other turboclear, i dunno I'll give it a couple more days and see how it looks.

I drew off x4 litres in bottles and put them in the fridge tonight so I'll see how they look tomorrow.

Is that finnings stuff simmialr to turboclear, i have seen it mentioned just not too sure what it does.

Statistics: Posted by HangOver — Tue Dec 16, 2008 9:41 pm

smartstill

2008-12-16T21:09:42+00:00

Some of the plumbed in ones have a shelf life, do you change the filter at regular intervals, i use the five litre bottles of still water from stores as i can use the bottles also for my wash, or can use them with grommets fitted to to hold airlocks, cheaper than buying demijohns for 5 litres of wine........ The bottles are only Â£1-00
Would another turboklar benefit to clear more i wonder ?

Statistics: Posted by pi55ed — Tue Dec 16, 2008 9:09 pm

smartstill

2008-12-16T16:13:56+00:00

followed the turboclear instructions to the letter leaving the one hour. The wash looks exactly like it did yesterday.

Goot tip about the fridge though!
I was thinking maybe the temperature may be an issue its about 24-26C here at the moment in the house and a low of about 16C overnight. So maybe the heat is making it take longer? The wash barrel reads about 24oC.
About the distilled water we have a "plumbed in" water filer so I was just going to use that to dilute.

Statistics: Posted by HangOver — Tue Dec 16, 2008 4:13 pm

smartstill

2008-12-16T03:50:12+00:00

Dont worry too much about how long you leave it, if it looks clear then it's clear and ready to go. You could give your still a run by distilling some water ready for dilluting.
You're nearly there :-)
Regards, Q

Statistics: Posted by quietman — Tue Dec 16, 2008 3:50 am

smartstill

2008-12-16T02:52:57+00:00

Go on fella, it'll be great! It's a good idea to keep the brew covered as you don't want nasty bits of dust and insects getting into it, but it doesn't have to be completely airtight - the reason for the sterile conditions is to avoid contaminating the yeast but once that has died it's not so important. If it was stronger it would need keeping airtight as it evaporates, but at that strength it's less important depending on how warm it is and how long you intend to keep it. I leave mine in the bucket with the lid on but no bubbler attached, never had any problems.
The TurboKlar should be done in 24 - 36 hours - HangOver, did you add the first part, leave an hour and then add the second? What it actually does is glue all the yeast together with the first sachet, then the second makes them fall to the bottom so it is important to follow the instructions and not stir it after they've glued together. If the worst comes to the worst, you can leave it to clear naturally or else take out 4 litres and put it in the fridge each time, that should settle it too and you can siphon off.

Statistics: Posted by Jimmy — Tue Dec 16, 2008 2:52 am

smartstill

2008-12-15T22:35:44+00:00

I am keeping the lid on mine and the airlock to keep it sterile hopefull i have done it right, more gas may escape i dont know, i will run a 4 litre tester in a couple of days..... as i said mine was quite clearer than i thought it would be, plus i put turboklar in too so hopefully it will clear more too....

Statistics: Posted by pi55ed — Mon Dec 15, 2008 10:35 pm