StillSmart

any need to repack the condenser for next batch to go thru?

also would i be right in thinking that once iv got as much good alcohol out of the first run i shud water it down to 30% and run again?

last time i done 1 run , threw away 250ml that came out first and ended up with just over 5 ltr of 40% which was spot on once went thru the essencia once or twice... still has a slight , kind of sweet taste to it... i quite like that tho tbh.

wats the stuff like to mix with cola or lemonade etc wen its finished? i personally dont mix spirits and cant be bother buying fizzy drinks .

anybody shed some light on this stuff?

Cheers

Perhaps you are getting the names muddled up, the condenser is the small column on the right of the main column, which is purely a method of cooling the vapour back to liquid, this you never have to do any maintenance to.
Yes, dilute the produce back to say up to 40% ABV and run it again, it will make it purer.
Depending on the wash you use dictates when you need to empty the column and clean the saddles if you are still using them.
If you mix the final product with a mixer it tastes like Vodka, or thereabouts.

thanks vino, yeah so the first bucket of wash i spoke of came out around 85% (put around 21 ltrs of 11% in.) this watered down to over 5 ltrs of 40%. most of its gone now haha

anyway, have got 2 25ltr buckets bubbling away real good at the min (have a feeling this wash will be alot higher abv... Hopefully)

so, how do u recommend running this next two buckets? i was thinking run each one and get as much high alcohol as possible out of em (bar foreshots), water this down till its enuf to fit into the boiler and then run that?

also, i still have roughly 250 ml fores and 250 ml of less tasty alcohol that came out the end of my first run.... should i stick both of these into the first run buckets of wash to bring the abv up a bit before 2nd distillation?

last question, when doing the 2nd run how many litres of 40% do you think il get after diluting?

cheers for the input

fredytee,I know nothing other than what I have read of running a T500.
I do know something of distilling,using various pot stills.
You seem to be asking 3 questions.
The first,yes,I think that you have answered that one yourself.
The second,which compelled me to respond,the Fores,-throw away,use as anti-freeze,or BBQ lighting fluid,do not recycle.
The "less tasty" tails,by all means add to the next wash to be stripped,they won't hurt you,just not taste or smell good.
Your third question I will pass on,but maybe someone else will come along soon with an answer.
I do hope that was of some help.

Robert.

Hi mate
What type of wash are you using ? eg if a sugar how many kg and what yeast ?

fredytee wrote:last question, when doing the 2nd run how many litres of 40% do you think il get after diluting?

Have a look here, it has all the calculators you need to find quantities from runs of any %
http://homedistiller.org/calcs/rad14701

thanks for all the input guys.

im using vodkastar with 6kg in each bucket....

wash has stopped bubbling so il be clearing and running again soon

Hi mate
My experiences with the T500 I brewed and still do 7kg of sugar in a wash made up to about 26 L
This should produce a 16% wash ie about 4L of alcohol
I now strip in numerous ways but if you run the standard T 5 do your 2 wash runs (and you can let the water outlet temp run a bit higher say 65 to 70 degrees C to speed things up)
You should get about 5 l of 80+ %
Put both stripped washes in the boiler for your spirit run and this is where the cuts are important the boiler content should be about full when watered down to 30% or so
Net result should be around 16 litres of 40% product when diluted again
This is only MHO
Filter and enjoy !