StillSmart

This subject has had me thinking for a while now, the reason being I'm half way though a 3" column build. Because I seem to have fallen into making rum as our main drink, I just use the pothead I made a few years back.

Now I must admit I've done both single & double runs with the rum washes, but never done a side by side taste test. We have to admit that not everyone has the same taste buds, it would be a very dull world indeed.

What I trying to get at is how do we know we're getting the best from our kit and the way we run them. I know some guys do a single run because it says somewhere that "the big boys do it"....do they???

Then you read that a plated column is better than a pot still for rum, how do we know???
I've never had a rum from a plated column...not as far as I know...unless the big boys use them.

I'm going to sit down my heads spinning..

The bottle I gave you was first stripped on a pot and then run through 3x4" bubbles plates for the spirit run, plates help separate compounds during the run, pushing heads out first and compressing the tails out last, giving a bigger cleaner hearts cut in the middle.

The more plates you use the more compressed the heads and tails are either side of your hearts.

That's why for flavoured spirit only 3-4 plates are commonly used, you can use more but guys who do end up adding some late heads and early tails to their hearts collection to get some flavour back.

Anavrin wrote: That's why for flavoured spirit only 3-4 plates are commonly used, you can use more but guys who do end up adding some late heads and early tails to their hearts collection to get some flavour back.

I have my torpedo that I can fit....this is one of the reasons why I've made a thumper.
As I understand a thumper is equal to one if not two plates.

I think this will be my setup for the next run...watch this space.

I think a traditional rum still uses a pot with two thumpers, building another one might be ideal, you could use the torpedo and one thumper but you will then need some reflux for the plate in the torpedo to get the best out of it, have you got a dephlagmator or cooling cool you can add in the column?

Another thumper might be the cheaper option, as the torpedo is 2" on each end, to get the best out of your 3" column in terms of litres per hour with the torpedo, you would need to add some reflux cooling and use 3" connections on the torpedo.

I only use the top half of my torpedo these days, I built a keg with a 4" ferrule on it so additional bubble sections and the top half of the torpedo can be connected directly, also the bottom half of the torpedo works perfectly with my 2" stripping column as a reducer from the keg to my column.

Here's a link to the SD Rum distillery https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sUZSqoFRZYA

It's almost rum distilling porn! Lol

The traditional Caribbean process does indeed involve the use of two thumpers. However, this isn't so much for re-distillation instead it is mainly to do with FLAVOUR.

Their terminology is different but in effect you have wash in the boiler, diluted heads in one thumper and diluted tails in the other. Or any other flavour components that you wish to add.

Anavrin wrote:I think a traditional rum still uses a pot with two thumpers, building another one might be ideal, you could use the torpedo and one thumper but you will then need some reflux for the plate in the torpedo to get the best out of it, have you got a dephlagmator or cooling cool you can add in the column?

Another thumper might be the cheaper option, as the torpedo is 2" on each end, to get the best out of your 3" column in terms of litres per hour with the torpedo, you would need to add some reflux cooling and use 3" connections on the torpedo.

I only use the top half of my torpedo these days, I built a keg with a 4" ferrule on it so additional bubble sections and the top half of the torpedo can be connected directly, also the bottom half of the torpedo works perfectly with my 2" stripping column as a reducer from the keg to my column.

Here's a link to the SD Rum distillery https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sUZSqoFRZYA

It's almost rum distilling porn! Lol

What do you mean almost

@ Anavrin. ....Cheers mate I'll watch this in full when I'm home. Phones too small at the moment.

@ Myles. ..its flavour that I'm after..Now I'm thinking a second thumper may be the way to go.