StillSmart

ok guys I'm gonna have enough heads to do a
heads run i just want to check a couple of things
i still need to water it down to 30%?
do i need to take fores out if so will it be 50ml ?
do i need to take heads out if so how much ?
how much hearts will i need to take (a rough idea)

I've only enough to do one 4lt heads run as well

I did my first heads run a week ago. I watered down to 30% and collected in batches sampling by taste and smell. I didnt bother with foreshots as i knew id be collecting unrecyclable heads for a while. I must have collected over 1500ml of heads before I started to detect hearts. From there i only got 600ml of hearts, which watered down to a little under a litre in the end. Not a massive result but still a litre salvaged from heads I would of otherwised thrown away

You can't distill by calculation. You especially can't when running heads. Water it down. I water 2L of heads down to 4L with HOT water and then add 2-4 Tbsp of baking soda. You should notice it fizz as the ethel acetate beaks down. I let it sit for at least a day and then run it. This seems to result in more usable hearts to me.

Chuck

I have only ever done a heads only run on the column as I use my pot still mainly for flavoured spirits, so any feints (heads and tails) go in on the next spirit run.
When doing this on the column I collect heads that are about 12% of the total alcohol, when I run a full keg full of these, I again just collect 12% heads.
If pot stilling, all bets are off as to percentages.

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chill wrote:I water 2L of heads down to 4L with HOT water and then add 2-4 Tbsp of baking soda. You should notice it fizz as the ethel acetate beaks down. I let it sit for at least a day and then run it. This seems to result in more usable hearts to me.

Chuck

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Its good to know what the pH is after you have treated it, alkali vapour (if you add too much) will start to eat any copper bits in the still.
Narrow range pH test papers or liquid soil testing kits are available on ebay.

Also using calcium carbonate rather than the bicarb, lets you add less, and works almost instantly rather than having to wait a few days.
I picked up a 5kG food grade bag a year ago - I should have opted for just a 1kg as I still have most of it

The aristill is all stainless so no worries about copper getting eaten for me. A good to remember for the future when I get a better still. I thought the other option was Sodium carbonate (washing soda), not calcium carbonate. I tried that once, but it made the distillate taste funny and it went down the drain. I am also unsure that you need to wait long after adding the baking soda. I have read that you do, but what I recall of chemistry does not support that. The fizzing is evidence of the chemical reaction taking place. Once it stops, it should be done.

Chuck

Edit: I just measured my treated heads, pH 8.5 according to my strips. So alkaline but not excessively so. That seems consistent with breaking down the ethyl acetate. At least by my weak recollection of chemistry.

chill wrote:I am also unsure that you need to wait long after adding the baking soda. I have read that you do, but what I recall of chemistry does not support that. The fizzing is evidence of the chemical reaction taking place. Once it stops, it should be done.

Chill, I have read that somewhere that the bicarb takes longer to work, so I may just be reiterating a myth. if I can find the article, I'll post a link.

I was also incorrect in my post saying you use less calcium carbonate, it's actually more, as the bicarb is better at dropping the pH.

I suspect we both read that in the same place. I don't recall there being any proof of it. This has some related information: http://homedistiller.org/distill/dtw/salt

This thread has some very good, technical information. These posts in particular:
http://www.artisan-distiller.net/phpBB3 ... =15#p81050
http://www.artisan-distiller.net/phpBB3 ... =30#p81053
http://www.artisan-distiller.net/phpBB3 ... =30#p81159

I'd try an experiment, but I never have enough heads saved up to do two runs to compare.


Chuck

chill wrote:I'd try an experiment, but I never have enough heads saved up to do two runs to compare.

I hear ya, I think it takes me over 600L of wash to get to the point where I do another all heads run. Cant see me ever doing more than 1 a year. With a column its very productive, and you collect about the same amount of heads as you would on a normal low wines run. The product is very smooth and neutral, and you feel like you get that for free.