StillSmart

Hi Opus 27

Thats one to put down to expirience then,the main thing is at least you are able to run it.Should think it will be some nice clean tasting spirit as the yeast obviously wasnt over stressed during fermentation,ive read quite a few posts on the other site and the general opinion is not to stress the yeast by pushing it to ferment to a high ABV.

Thanks for the info about the needle valve,at least i now know something they are used for,so im of now to google and try the model engineer sites

cheers Optic

Finished result for the first 20 Litres is;

1700 ML at 86%. It took 9 hours in total. 1h 20m to get to working temp. Then by tweaking power and coolant I got a good reflux going for 1h 30m. just taking off about 70 ML of heads. I then tweaked a little more and took the 1700 ML over 6hrs.

Previously I would of used about 12.5 KWh. With the controller it was down to 8 KWh. With insulation on the boiler I could probably improve even more. Spirit smells nice in as much as it does\'nt smell at all but I shall still run it through the Z Filter. Next I shall try Alcotec 48.

Hope all thats of some interest.
Opus 27

Hi Opus 27

Have you thought about trying a column extension on the super reflux?,I know there is posts on here from Phantom about his result with a column extension.

With regards to you trying the Alcotec 48 next,have you tried the Vodka star,I have found this produces a nice clean spirit when run through the airstill,although it takes quite a bit longer to ferment than the usual turbos.

Thanks Optic I'll take a look at that.
Opus 27

Well, my wash was well & truly stuck at 1020, depite the aquarium heater and several weeks of bubbles. Just distilling it now, getting a very small amount out of it at 60%, tailing off rapidly. Might get a litre or so of useable spirit out of the 25 litres of wash.
FAIL!

Well when that happened to me once I re-used the wash in my next batch and reclaimed my sugar and nutrients. Dead yeast cells – awesome

Its a bit harsh to say it failed, its just that you did not get what you were expecting.

Actually, not as bad as my initial expectations. I cut and distilled it three times, and managed to get 2 litres from a high of 86% down to 60% when I stopped collecting.