T500 first timer, easiest method?

[fredytee]

will be getting the t500 soon and i can just about use my airstill with the help of mozers guide

i'l be using vodkastar and im looking the simplest method to make some nice clean 37-40% vod

i have 2x 30 litre buckets with heater belts, vodkastar etc etc

many thanks to whoever can make this as simple as possible for me hahah. then i might try something harder

[Fil]

read up on taking cuts, and then follow the t500 instructions, they are very clear and easy to follow, they just omit any mention of cuts.

you may want to double distil run first a little warmer /faster before watering back to 30% and running again slower/cooler taking the cuts, which should give you a better product.

have fun..

[fredytee]

thanks mate . i understand the t500 is alot easier operated to the airstill when it comes to making nice product...

is it also possible to just run out a few liters of 90% or so water it to 40% and filter and get a good product?

the idea of no stripping runs etc sounds very appealing

[Anavrin]

Hi fredytee

If you want to just run your T500 without first stripping the wash, you could indeed collect 2lt at 90%
before proofing down to 40%, filtering and drinking, it will probably taste quite harsh and sharp and will probably give you a stinking hangover, at which point you'll wish you'd taken more time in the first place.

The hole point of our craft is to produce a quality spirit and to get the very best from the equipment we use, it's tempting to try and follow what you may have read or watched on YouTube about running the T500 but it won't be the best you can make with your equipment.

I think most people and I include myself, thought when we got into this hobby, that it was going to be easy and fast to produce good quality spirit, the reality is, its a complicated process that takes time to master, that's something that comes with experiance, and experiance is learning something just after you needed to know it!

I would advise to strip two batches, then add them together, water down to 30% and do a slow spirit run, discarding the foreshots and making cuts, it takes time but it's well worth the effort.

I can only do one spirit run every 5-6 weeks, because I make 3-4 25lt wash's, one at a time as its all I have space for and strip each one, only then do I have enough low wine for a spirit run, I collect in small jars and air them for a few days before deciding which are the cleanest tasting ones to make it into my hearts collection, it's also important not to be greedy, a lot of the alcohol you collect will not be drinkable, getting your cuts wrong by adding too much into your hearts collection will spoil the neutral your trying to make, even filtering won't help much, unfortunately making cuts is something that can only be learned from experiance, so have a go and have fun, I'm sure we can help you along the way.

[fredytee]

thank you for the advid=ce mate i apericaite itt .

is there any guides like the airstill breakdown thats floating about on here??? it was very helpfull to me as my memorys kinda fucked and im drunk quite a lot so the less technical jargon the better haha.

burt yes im am looking forward to getting going on the t500 after a few years with th airstill hhaa

[Capt-Cudellez]

If you follow the basic running instructions that come with the still regarding temps etc, they are pretty good.

But as you have learned with the air still rather than collecting everything (as they suggest) - you make head and tails cuts.
You are just doing it on a larger scale and at a higher ABV.


Good luck.

[fredytee]

how many ml heads, hearts and tails would you get roughly from a 25l wash @ say 20%?

i hear the essencia filter doesnt make a huge difference to taste? is this true? i have one but it needs a new cartridge lol

[John51]

I do it easy with the T500. Quality product and no hangovers. Going through a bottle (700ml @ 40%abv) in an evening gives a fresh as a daisy morning after. If drinking a bottle every night, the daisy gets a little less fresh with each succeeding morning.

For me, the secret is time. Almost everything takes longer.

Vodka Star, 6Kg of white sugar, leave it be for 4 to 6 weeks. I use the 25L wine fermenters, the type with handles. I bought one every payday until I had enough. Luggage label tied to handle with the starting date of the wash written on it. Not sure if buckets are good for being left 6 weeks or so.

A pressure relief valve is sort of a must, especially if you are after 'easy'.

Left long enough, the wash loses a lot of gas. After siphoning into another fermenter, pouring it into the still gets rid of most of the gas that is left. btw, lots of column packing left over, I used most of it in the still as extra boil enhancers.

Bit too much water flow to start, 70/80 mins after fire up the top of the column is hot but no output due to too much water flow.

Wind back water flow until temp on bottom thermometer is 42'C. Give or take 1'C. (Newer stills only have 1 thermometer.)

I then collect 500ml of fores/heads. I don't recycle heads because life is short and I am lazy. From fire up, it can take 4 or 5 hours to collect the initial 500ml but with Netflix and online poker available it's no hardship. Just an occasional glance to make sure the temp is ok.

Safe to say the heads are gone running that slow so I wind the water flow back until the temp is between 50 to 55'C and turn the still off after collecting 3L of hearts.

Each litre of hearts gets diluted with 1.35L of tap water to give near enough 40%.

[fredytee]

ok, the day is finally upon us , well im ordering it before my bank get cleared out lol. early xmas present to myself as i dont think santa got the letter last year lol.

so, il be keeping you up to date with how it goes!!

some quick stupid questions...

how much 30% should i be getting from a 25 ltr strip run? (my starting abv is usually 20% or so)

on the spirit run (roughly) after 500ml foreshoots, how many ml heads and hearts should i be getting? (roughly based on 20% starting abv)

and also, any tips on using the tails? i cant remember if iv ever done this before haha.

thanks everyone

EDIT - if for example i couldnt be bothered filtering it cos i am impatient and i need a replacement cartridge too, if i do the double/ triple distill should that be drinkable? i fpound it ok with the airstil...

[Anavrin]

how much 30% should i be getting from a 25 ltr strip run? (my starting abv is usually 20% or so)

If you do the maths, you have 25 litres and 20% of it is alcohol, then you have 5 litres of alcohol in there, I find if i do a strip run with a 14% wash and collect down to 30% on the output, I end up with 6 litres at approx 50% abv

Your starting with 20% wash so you should be able to collect more before the output drops to 30%, you might end up with 7-8 litres at 50% maybe more if you strip longer until 20% for example, then some more maths to work out how much 30% you will have after dilution,

Take your volume, divide by the % you want and multiply by the % your strip is

Eg 7 litres at 50%
(7/30) x 50 = 11,67 litres at 30%

[RumJohn]

@fredytee: how much 30% should i be getting from a 25 ltr strip run? (my starting abv is usually 20% or so)

How do you manage 20% ABV from a wash? What recipe do you use?

[fredytee]

plain old vodka star turbo yeast, 6 kg sugar, 21ltr water, and a heater belt. and a bit of extra time to let it fully ferment. 2 weeks on and my current bucket is still bubbling every 30 seconds or so...