Running T500 in Pot Still mode

[Mississippi Shiner]

Hello Everyone,
I've been lurking around the site for a while and picking up lots of good information from everyone on the site. I've had a air still for a while now and decided to take the next step and have moved up to a T500 due to the time involved with the air still. I've mainly done sugar washes so far but have done several Uncle Jessie Sour Mash's with JD chips which have not turned out bad. I would like to continue to use the UJSM but was wondering if I could run the T500 in a pot still mode (to maintain the flavor)by leaving all the packing out of the column and run the cooling water just through the top and bottom of the condenser or continue to run the water through condenser and the coil in the column as well like normal without the packing. I know I had seen somewhere on the site that someone mentioned the top of the column might get too hot and I wouldn't want to melt my new toy.

Thanks for all your help.

MS

[Easydrinker]

Hi there,and welcome!
I cannot speak from experience,as I do not run a T500,but do not believe your attempts to run one as a pot still will melt it!
Yes it may get a little hotter than in usual mode,but if you are condensing spirit,all is good.
HTH
Robert

[Mississippi Shiner]

Thanks for you reply Robert. I may give it a try and see what happens.

I know the SS folks advise that you can distill water with it in their owners manual but they also tell you that you can cook seafood and boil beer as well.

Does anyone have an idea what temp I might run the striping run at if I run water through the column/coil and the condenser without the packing?

Thanks
MS

[packapoo]

I don't have a T500 however to run my reflux still as pot, recommendation is remove packing, run cooling as normal.
Spirit comes off 10 degrees higher then a reflux run.

[Mississippi Shiner]

Thanks for the info Packapoo, that should be helpful. I hope to add a pot still head soon but there is just so much money to spend on hobbies that the wife will let me get away with.

Thanks
MS

[John51]

Use the airstill for whiskies?

[Mississippi Shiner]

Hey John51
Well corn whiskey anyway.

20 Lt. wash of corn/sugar/yeast and water. Strip it 4 Lt. at a time (1500 ml each run) for 6.5 Lt of 30-35% low wines, then 4 Lt back into the air still for cuts at 50 ml (fore's)250 ml (head's)500 ml (hearts)and 100-700 ml for possible tails which I check after 24 hrs of airing, 300 ml-500 ml make the grade. Usually I get between 800-1000 ml per run at 72-75% ABV so 1600-2000 ml per 20 Lt wash. I put 500 ml @ 62% on 100 gr. of JD BBQ chips for 2-3 months then cut to 40% ABV.

Still working on making those cuts though!

1.5 Lt of back set from the stripping run goes back into the next wash with the sugar/corn/yeast and top up to 20 Lt with water.

So with the air still I was looking at 35-32 hours of work per 20 Lt. of wash which I hope the T500 will greatly reduce.

Thanks
MS

[Capt-Cudellez]

Running the T500 in potstill mode really means plumbing it so that you are only running cooling to the product condenser and not the reflux coil.
I found this was possible, but the condenser is so undersized for running for a pot, you have to run the water through it at an alarming rate, that will probably pop a hose off at some point.

It really is worth trying to do a separate pot head if you plan on running it as such. I love my little T500 boiler, and run it regularly with a pot head for making gin.

[packapoo]

Capt, I think it may have been yourself who posted something similar not too long ago about taking out the reflux coil cooling to run as a pot still, that got me thinking as I was getting close to running an Odin's corn wash.
Recalled that Ian Smiley had been very positive about my still's capabilities running as pot to produce a whisky, so asked him the question. His reply was remove packing, no need to re-plumb, run fast.

[John51]

So with the air still I was looking at 35-32 hours of work per 20 Lt. of wash which I hope the T500 will greatly reduce.

If anything, I found the airstill to be slightly less hassle. I was ok leaving it alone, have a timer tell me when to go look at it etc. As long as I was home for a few hours, I could get a run going and be elsewhere in the place.

With the T500, it is a commitment of many hours. Admittedly not much work once it is running but given its extra potential for omg if something goes wrong, I just don't feel comfortable leaving the kitchen for more than a quick bathroom break.

[Mississippi Shiner]

I agree about having to watch the T500 and its possibilities for "Ooo - S**T" moments while running and how much worse they could be with no one watching over it.

For a stripping run the air still was not bad, get it started and let it run for 4-4.5 hours and just check on it once in a while. Of course it took me five evenings to strip a 20 Lt. wash.

But it was the spirit run and changing out the jars (mostly the 100 ml jars ever 8-12 min.) that I found tiresome. And then again your looking at 10 hours for these two runs.

But regardless I am looking forward to continuing to learn about this great new hobby that you can also drink.

Thanks for everyone's help.
MS