Questions

[Robbo12]

Hi i did a run on my t500 last night and got 2.7 litres at 92% now I've collected all in 200ml in jars so i take it this is called the stripping process? What's next is it a spirit run? And if so because I've got 2.7 litres at 93% what do i water down too and do i put back through the t500 and do i top up to the max mark on the boiler I'm asking this because i don't want to spoil it as it's been a kale wash and took ages to process thanks mark.

[Easydrinker]

It is normal to dilute strip to around 30% before a spirit run.
In this case adding 8,370 ml of water will do it.
I don't know your wash quantity or starting/finishing gravities, but my 25 litre neutral washes produce around 250-300 units, yours has produced 248, so pretty good.
A spirit run with cuts made will give you the finished article, but if impatient then jar 8 or 9 could be diluted and drunk as is
It is usual to collect strip in larger vessels which precludes this sneak preview.

HTH

Robert.

[Robbo12]

Ok so if i 8.37 litres of water to it it will be fine it just seems Alot of space left in the boiler is that how it should be ?

[Easydrinker]

The spare space doesn't matter.
When you switch off at the end of the run, determined by measuring the alcohol that comes off, and personal preference, the still will contain a greater volume than 8370 ml of very low % and foul tasting alcohol.
Your boiler will always contain more water than alcohol, until the point that it has given off lots of pure steam, (H20).
You will have switched off long before that.
You could safely run the still with only a few litres of diluted strip, though not very efficiently.

Robert

[Robbo12]

Ok thanks it's just finished i got 2.2 litres at 94% I've put 11 jars with 200 ml for the cutting process i did throw the first 200 ml it smelt horrid .

[Easydrinker]

Nice one, sorry I didn't get back to you earlier.

Robert.

[Robbo12]

Don't worry about thanks for the input.

[ITMA]

I'll be interested if you can discern any difference in the jars. Im assuming you mean the reflux column and not the alembic? I've just my first run with the t500 reflux and I didn't bother with cuts except for the first 100 ml (you're right, foul).

It certainly didn't produce any tails and I powered down at about the 3.5L point by then the wash was at 98 degrees so it was getting close to water. (I'm using the grainfather connect so I can see the wash temp all the way through).

Great end result. I've been happy with the airstill results but double blind tests show a marked improvement in quality.

[Robbo12]

Hi yes the reflux colum the jars i collected the first ones of smelt like chemicals to about jar number 4 then it started to smell ok i went off smells so the next day i put the 2.7 litres @93% abv watered it down to 30% and put back through my still the first 100ml that came out i threw but after that it smelt Alot better and i ended up with 2.2 litres at 95abv and that was a kale wash I've just started a vodka star with 5kg of sugar and 21 litres of water but after tasteing my final product i will be putting it through twice you can really tell the difference.

[ITMA]

That's interesting I wasn't sure whether to double distill with my first attempt. I'm pleased with the single distillation results but the fun of this is the experiments so I'll give it a try. My input wash was pretty poor, my last set of turbo yeast to get rid of and it was the usual winey ciderish wash.

I'm really impressed with the t500. Apart from a few little tweaks of the cooling water it was a breeze and to get a 21L wash through in just a few hours it was a real pleasure. Still love the airstill and it will busy on botanical runs for a long time yet.

[Robbo12]

I was going to get an airstill but decided on not getting one because i didn't want to get 12 months down the line and think i no what i will get a t500, i no you carnt do gins with the reflux so instead I'm making a copper condenser to fit onto my t500 to do my gins and next on my list is a power controller I've only been doing this a couple of months and am thinking of bigger and better things once I've got the basics right .

[ITMA]

You can empty the saddles out of the T500 and run it in "pot mode" but I've no idea the effectiveness of this.

It seems people have different ideas on whether to double distill with a reflux column so I took the lazy way out; eventually I'll try a double distill and compare the results.

[Easydrinker]

I think you will find a double distill a great improvement.
With any still.
But, Hey, we are all different.

Robert.

[Mash]

Agreed. That and copper made all the difference when I started.

[ITMA]

Will definitely give it a try. I'm getting good at double blind taste tests...