StillSmart

Hi all,

Been patiently distilling using the excellent Airstill Brief pdf with superb results. I now have enough heads to do the fasbled "heads run". Problem is the brief doesn't cover it and I don't know what to do. Does it need cuts etc....there shouldn't be any fores in it as they get binned on the second run. Anyone care to educate me?

Cheers,
Mike

I have done it many ways:
- full strength (good yield, highly dangerous)
- half strength
- half strength after a baking soda soak
- half strength after a washing soda soak

My advice to start with is to add 2L to the still and 2L of water (hot water gets you started sooner). Discard the first 250ml as concentrated heads (125ml might be enough). Collect the next 500ml as heads and use it in the next heads run. Then collect in 100ml jars until the heads taste goes away. Collect down to 60% and then in 100ml jars to 50% as hearts. The rest is low ABV and can go into your tails jar.

Chuck

Excellent, thanks Chuck.

I'm thinking of getting the T500 as I can't keep up with demand (and there is only me and the wife!). My mate bought one and has had great results with it.

mikew41 wrote:Excellent, thanks Chuck.

I'm thinking of getting the T500 as I can't keep up with demand (and there is only me and the wife!). My mate bought one and has had great results with it.

LoL, I know where your coming from..........

Great post tho, I was going to ask the same when I got to 2 litres of Heads..

What's meant by Baking soda and washing soda??
S4BB

Baking soda is used in baking and it helps to separate the heads and hearts better
washing soda is to make your whites whiter i wouldnt use this

Washing soda is sodium carbonate. Both are alkaline compounds that help to break the acid bond and result in a cleaner result with more free alcohol molecules. I am not sure that it is really worth it. Washing soda / sodium carbonate is stronger and what is usually recommended. I found that both added a slight taste to the AirStill results, but I can't explain why that should be as they should not get driven off in the vapour.

Chuck

Here in the UK bicarbonate of soda from the home-bake isle of the supermarket does the thing,if you wish to.
The "washing soda" earlier mentioned,I grew up with,knew it as "caustic soda".
Vicious stuff.
HTH

Robert.

In a word, no. You are confusing washing soda with caustic soda (Sodium hydroxide) which is indeed nasty stuff. It would be highly effective at this but I would not recommend playing with it.

Washing soda is benign and can be made from baking soda that has been heated to chemically transform it.
http://naturesnurtureblog.com/ttt-turn- ... hing-soda/

Chuck

I'll bow to your knowledge here chuck.
I just have childhood memories of an evil old granny that used to boil the wicked stuff up in old aluminium saucepans..
Memories that I would rather forget.

Robert.

I am pretty sure it was used for washing, but washing soda is a different chemical. You can hold it in your hand with no ill effects.

Thanks Chuck I didn't know the difference.

Just been reading through this thread, washing soda in the UK is soda crystals.... Bout 99p for a kilo bag in the UK (usually found near vanish in the supermarkets) and considerably cheaper than bicarb