StillSmart

Evening all, first post so be gentle

I've distilled a few washes now through the air still and have to say I'm very happy with the results.

Just going to make up another wash now, but when it comes to running it through the still I want to try it twice, just to see if it would help reduce the slight smell you get. I'm sure you know what I mean.

My question is this. If I collected the first 700ml as usual, then made this back up to 4 litre and re distilled, would this give me the same 700ml @ 60% I would normally get but with a cleaner smell/taste or would there be a % decrease.

I've read a few posts about diluting to 30% and re running it but still trying to get my head around this, working how much to distill, when to stop etc

My little idea would be simple to do just like a normal run, if it works like that

Cheers.

You can't make good tasting and safe alcohol without making cuts.

Chuck

First things first - Welcome to the Best Home Distilling Forum in the world - bar None

To answer your question I could retype what you need to know before doing anything else but I'll just offer this piece of serious advice: Do not drink the product from a single run in an Airstill without making very careful cuts and serious filtering through an Activated Carbon filter.

Despite the manufacturers and re-sellers claims the Airstill is not suitable for single run spirit production.

Read everything here viewtopic.php?f=3&t=765, take the advice there and follow the chart produced by Mozr.

The first rule of home distilling is to be safe and only consume spirits you know you have produced safely.

AM

Cheers for the replies and the link. Already had a read through that but a few more reads required before it all sinks in.

I read through a thread were someone had taken a sample to work and looking at that seems as though the first 30ml is enough.

I'll have another read through the link tomorrow and will no doubt be back with more questions

Thanks.

im only a newbie meself,but i followed aidanmac guide

get a few jars mark one at 50ml,mark another at 250ml,and mark at least 5
jars at 100ml each,so in total i used 7 jars,also use a glass 1ltr jug

fire the still up with 4ltr of cleared wash in,run it and collect 1350ml
pour that into a demijohn,let airstill cool down pur another 4 ltr wash in,fire still up and collect another 1350ml pour this into demijohn,take a abv reading
then go here http://homedistiller.org/calcs/dilute

what ever your abv reading is put it in the calculator in place of 70% and change the 40% to 30%,also put 2750 (the total for 1350x2)

as diagram sugest you should get 6 runs at 1350ml a run
then when all done,pour the first demijohn into the airstill upto mark
fire it up,and put the 50ml mark jar under spout (this is foreshots)when it reaches 50ml,swap it for the 250ml mark jar (this is heads)when that reaches 250ml,swap it for the glass 1ltr jug (this is hearts)when that gets to 1 ltr,swap it for a 100ml mark jar(this could be hearts)when that gets to 100ml
swap it with another 100ml and so on when you done the last jar i switched the still off,unlesss you wanna go a few more hours but i wouldnt bother,i then mixed the 1 ltr and the 2 jars at 100ml after the 1 ltr cuts so you have 1200ml in total,pour into demijohn take abv reading,do another run and do the same,and pour into demijohn,take abv reading then use calculator to water it down to 40%

i hope this helps..

On the Foreshots - the difference between 30ml and 50ml is tiny but most experienced home distillers know and accept that it is better to err on the side of caution. By discarding 50ml you can be absolutely sure you're getting rid of the really nasty stuff that comes off the still first - for safety reasons.

Also, no two washes are the same and will contain varying quantities of volatiles that you don't want in your glass. 50ml means you won't miss any of them.

In time, you too will learn that home distilling is not about squeezing every last drop of alcohol possible out of your still, but it is about getting the best quality from it.

One of the really great things about home distilling is that you have the ability to make proper cuts to remove not just the Foreshots but the Heads too. This will ensure your alcohol is cleaner than anything you can buy and that the things that give you a hangovers, etc., are removed.

Always put safety first - after all it's your safety we're talking about!

AM

In my experience, I get more than 250ml of heads. It is usually in the 350-450ml range. So I collect 3x100ml after the 250ml of certain heads. Smell and taste decide which of those goes in the heads bin.

Chuck

Best upgrade for the airstill imo is a power controller. I now run my airstill at 175w. If you build an 18A (4kw) controller it should also serve the still you upgrade to. It takes a bit over 5 hours for a run but the 'homebrew' taste and smell is very faint and it gives a clear head in the morning.

I will be trying the double distillation just as soon as I catch up on myself. My brother is staying for the weekend so not just yet.

I've had a good few reads through the guide and it seams very time consuming and a lot of messing. Which is probably one of the reasons why i ended up getting the Airstill.

I have no doubt it will produce top notch spirit and I will be having a go as soon as I have a full weekend to get it done and maybe got some extra bins to get a few washes going.

In the meantime I've had another idea. (usually bad lol) going along the lines of my first post. Hopefully a bit quicker and easier but need some input if it would work.

I was thinking of doing the usual SS method, first 700ml @ 60%. Then watering this back down to the same as it went in, so 15-20% I think the norm is.

That would mean I have a cleaner version of the original wash already.

Then a spirit run discarding the first 50 ml and collecting the next 700ml

Where I get confused is what % will this come out at. It would be the same as a "normal" SS run so 60% ??

Any thoughts on if this is a good/bad idea or even it will be worth it. Will there be a noticeable difference?

Like I said before, the stuff that comes out as it is will do me,but just want to tweak it a bit without all the fuss of collecting 100mls here and there re runs etc

Cheers folks, any input appreciated. Good or bad

PM sent

AM

Cheers AM. Haven't got it though mate

Edit; got it now lol off to read.

Thanks Am. Soooo much to learn

We've all been there, takes a little time but you'll get there too and we're happy to help

AM