StillSmart

Hi All

Just bought myself the T500 with the artisan column and have been doing a lot of research, am wondering if I’ve missed anything out of the following steps or if anyone can answer the questions

.Column came pre-packed, will this be ok or shall I take a handful out
.PRV bought and now been fitted
.Lentil wash on and bubbling away, OG 1.100?? @23oc
.Reading about cuts , is there a set amount of heads hearts and tails , or does it depend on wash parameters
.When the wash is ready to be cleared, do I rack it off to a clean bucket ?

Cheers

Danny

@D4nny74: I have never used a T500. Re: packed or not. Exactly that. No point in half packing. Depends on what you are trying to arrive at. If aiming for a neutral, strip without packing, then do a spirit run with packing and after the column has reached equilibrium, start drawing off slowly. You do not want to upset equilibrium.

If aiming for something with flavor, pull the packing and run column as a pot still. No reflux. Run with everything wide open.

Your SG seems high. You might not get below 1.000 which will indicate non-converted sugars. Next time start with less sugar or more water.

A sugar wash will have less heads than an all grain wash. You will develop your own set amount of heads, hearts and tails as you become familiar with your equipment and develop consistency in your wash.

I let the wash settle for a couple of days once fermentation has stopped. I then siphon straight into boiler and leave the sludge behind.

Hope it helps.

Hi,

You may have seen the Video's on youtube??
If not they will give you a grounding on using the 500.
When I bought mine I had to pack the column, all the ceramics and the copper bits were in bags...can I suggest that you empty the column, this way you'll get an "hands on" at what's in there.
The first time I run mine... was laughable I must admit. I had water all over the kitchen, from the thermo probe, from the connection to the mixer tap... but the wife bless her took it all in her stride.

After that fiasco I re-read all the 500 section on here and now have it down pat. It will take time to get the hang of distilling.....but it's a great hobby

Hi and welcome mate
I always found that it runs best if the column is not too overpacked
when you turn it the correct way up make sure you tap the top of the column which helps the saddles settle down and it creates a little bit of space for the vapours to circulate around cooling reflux condenser at the top
I know Rum John suggested you run it without packing to act as a pot still for stripping the wash but I would be careful with this as I don't think the plastic cap on the top of the column is very resilient and I seem to remember this coming up on one of the threads sometime ago
best to get a purpose made pot head made or bought to do this or simply run the distilled spirit, diluted own to 25% back through the still again to get a purer product
Anyway what ever you do enjoy yourself

Thanks for the replies everyone , well a friend of mine gave me 5 litres of 45% wash he did on a strip run , so i decided to pop the cherry on the T500 , did the following
diluted wash back to 30%
took off

150ml fores
400ml heads
1400mls hearts
150mils tails , stopped it because am not sure if am using heads and tails in next run, did I stop it to soon,

Diluted 1400ml down to 35% missus doesn’t want it at 40 ,with spring water, decided to run it through the z filter = resulted in the spirit was a chalky colour.
I did sit the cartridge in hot water till the bubbles stopped coming out , am i meant to boil the water with it in the pan ? anyways am sat here running it through again, taking a lot longer this time though.

cheers Danny

I'd guess the spring water has minerals in it causing the residue, try picking up some distilled water from the shop next time (cheaper than you distilling it yourself).
I also led to believe its easier for stuff* to come out of suspension with lower ABV spirits, which is why non-chill filtered malt is sold at over 46% by vol.

* the whisky folks talk about long chain fatty acids, I have no idea if these even exist in a sugar wash or are unique to malt based ferments. So I'd try different water first before worrying about the strength.

I also led to believe its easier for stuff* to come out of suspension with lower ABV spirits, which is why non-chill filtered malt is sold at over 46% by vol.

Looks like the missus will have to get used to the strong stuff,

cheers Capt-Cudellez

You might we'll be right about over dilution and I think CC icould well be correct about your water
I got one of those cheap in line fear on cartridge filters that has a little tap and a clamp on tap that goes on your standard copper water pipe without ant plumbing. I use this for all dilution and when mashing all grain washes.

Any Chance of a pic Admiral, will change what I’ve got

cheers Danny

Hi mate this is the same or similar to what I use
Very easy to install and replacement cartridges are easy to get and last a long time
Think they're used for ice making fridges normally

http://www.amazon.co.uk/AMERICAN-FRIDGE ... ge+filters

Hi mate this is the same or similar to what I use
Very easy to install and replacement cartridges are easy to get and last a long time
Think they're used for ice making fridges normally

http://www.amazon.co.uk/AMERICAN-FRIDGE ... ge+filters

cheers Admiral

put that neutral through three times and it took and age to go through last time, crystal clear , but Ive just ordered 1 off these, how many liars of diluted spirit do you reckon before buying new cartridge, sorry for all the questions

Thanks again

Danny

The cartridges say 6 months and I don't think that's unreasonable for the amount we use suppose it depends on your water quality

brilliant , just bought one

cheers Danny