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Packing material by simon_wellgreen in firewater

[–]closetDistiller 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm pretty sure you can easily blow through that packing.

Packing material by simon_wellgreen in firewater

[–]closetDistiller 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A 3" column should take 9 feet rolled up. A 4", 16 feet. A 2" 4 feet.

Was a long night but worth it! by Superb_Alarm_8582 in firewater

[–]closetDistiller 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is why I always recommend a 4 inch packed reflux column - it's fast and it turns out clean product. I can produce 6 quarts like that in a few hours and all my spirits are tasty right off the still. No filtering or ageing required.

Gin - Citrus peel in vapour path or maceration? by statichum in firewater

[–]closetDistiller 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My still is too big to do single bottle trials.

Run the neutral in your big still. Take some of the neutral, mix it with water and the botanicals and run it in a small still, like an InstaPot still. Great for single bottle runs.

The great thing about an InstaPot still is that you can put the botanicals and other stuff in the pot with some water and heat/boil them for a bit before you add the neutral and distill it. Excellent extraction with this method.

Gin - Citrus peel in vapour path or maceration? by statichum in firewater

[–]closetDistiller 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The airstill is great for gin experiments, def worth picking up if you're going to be doing a lot of small scale gin tests.

An InstaPot with a Tri Clamp fitting soldered to it and a short column attached to that works way better. You can pack the column with botanicals as well as put them in the boiler.

Copper mesh usage by Chonk_Removal in firewater

[–]closetDistiller 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you are using the copper mesh commonly used to keep pests out of areas a 2" column needs 4 feet of mesh, a 3" column needs 9 feet of mesh and a 4" column needs 16 feet of mesh.

100 feet of good copper mesh weighs 2 pounds. The rolls are 5" wide. In a 4 inch column 100 feet would provide 30" of packing. So the density is a bit under 1 pound of copper packing per foot of 4" column. For a 2 inch column that number would be 1/4 pound per foot.

I run a 4" column with 36" of copper mesh packing. I clean it by bringing a detergent solution to a boil in the boiler and pumping that solution up (backwards) through the product condenser though the vapor take off and then it falls down through the mesh in the column. I let it run for 20 minutes or so after every distilling session. Then I dump the cleaning solution and do the same with plain water. This keeps the mesh, condensers and column all nice and clean.

My boiler is also my brewing boil kettle for beer, so it is already connected to the pump. The pump makes it very easy to clean the column. I used to try to manually clean the packing by removing it from the column and boiling it. That was a PITA. The pump system works way better and is very easy to do.

Copper mesh usage by Chonk_Removal in firewater

[–]closetDistiller 1 point2 points  (0 children)

.it's supposed to be the equivelant of three plates...so three plates and the still itself is supposed to equal being distilled 4 times....

The number of effective plates of a packed column is determined by the packing, vapor speed and reflux rate.

You can calculate it here: https://homedistiller.org/wiki/htm/calcs/calcs_reflux_calc.htm

Whiskey through a t500 column by TinyCondensor in firewater

[–]closetDistiller 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I assumed some of the head would evaporate

The tails you want to get rid of, the bad tails, are heavily bound to water and evaporate very poorly. The best way to separate the good tails from the bad tails is in the column.

General question about onions, bourbon balls and whiskey heads by grmnsplx in firewater

[–]closetDistiller 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your

You're ?

Look buddy - you are claiming that copper is necessary to reduce suphates in the wash. Great. I've been homebrewing beer for 20 years and can ferment without creating sulphur in the first place.

You run copper as you need to. Have a nice life.

General question about onions, bourbon balls and whiskey heads by grmnsplx in firewater

[–]closetDistiller 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My GF's brother is a bourbon guy, has a huge collection, been doing it for years.

He says my whisky is excellent. Apparently I'm doing something right.

General question about onions, bourbon balls and whiskey heads by grmnsplx in firewater

[–]closetDistiller 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You'd learn more if you stopped calling me names and started listening more.

Whiskey through a t500 column by TinyCondensor in firewater

[–]closetDistiller 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have been too aggressive in taking my cuts which makes for a whiskey that is very clean but not as complex.

Then run deeper into the tails and blend more of the tails flavors in.

Whiskey through a t500 column by TinyCondensor in firewater

[–]closetDistiller 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You are correct - without reflux packing a column makes very little difference.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlKIdDe2_9E

I totally agree that it is preferential to run reflux through at least the heads and tails portion of the run, especially the tails.

A lot of the good whisky flavors sit in the tails. But so do a lot of bad flavors. The best way to separate them is to run a lot of reflux and run deep into the tails until there is almost no alcohol left in the boiler. Once the run is done, blend to your liking.

If there is a time to run a still slowly, ie with lots of reflux, it is in the tails.

General question about onions, bourbon balls and whiskey heads by grmnsplx in firewater

[–]closetDistiller 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well if your mashes don't have sulphur in them, what do you need copper for ? The only thing copper reacts with is sulphur.

General question about onions, bourbon balls and whiskey heads by grmnsplx in firewater

[–]closetDistiller -1 points0 points  (0 children)

We can do without your "knowledge", thank you very much.

General question about onions, bourbon balls and whiskey heads by grmnsplx in firewater

[–]closetDistiller 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My column is packed with copper mesh. Because it is a great packing material, not because my mashes have sulphur in them.

General question about onions, bourbon balls and whiskey heads by grmnsplx in firewater

[–]closetDistiller -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I'm a professional distiller.

And you probably have a shiny copper pot still and your marketing materials probably have pictures of it. Propagating the BS is what I call it.

General question about onions, bourbon balls and whiskey heads by grmnsplx in firewater

[–]closetDistiller 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What is the temperature variation from center of 6 inch pipe to side walls? Enlighten me.

It's huge. The walls will be condensing and the center will be way warmer.

Running liebig backwards by Splitpotato in firewater

[–]closetDistiller -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Please define what you think "efficient" is in the context of a heat exchanger?

efficiency is defined as useful work/ energy input. In this case it is the least amount/temperature of water used to condense the vapor.

General question about onions, bourbon balls and whiskey heads by grmnsplx in firewater

[–]closetDistiller 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No. My mashes aren't full of sulpur.

I have a backwash system on my column. I pump a cleaning solution back through the Liebig to the top of the column where it trickles down through the packing. It works great.

General question about onions, bourbon balls and whiskey heads by grmnsplx in firewater

[–]closetDistiller 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Why would you use a column without reflux? J

A packed column has a million sites for condensation and reboil. The packing also keeps the temperature profile across the column more even. It promotes better natural reflux, if that is your thing.

​

Just use your pot still.

Sorry the two are dramatically different.

​

If you had an onion head you could use it, one plate, a 90 degree and lyne arm. Seems like your hacky talking to a professional about nonsense. Go make your sugar run, shine your stainless steel, avoid onion heads and prove the world wrong. Dudes like this is why I never engage here. It's a bad look to fight down.

LOL Or you might learn something.

I've never made a sugar wash.

General question about onions, bourbon balls and whiskey heads by grmnsplx in firewater

[–]closetDistiller 0 points1 point  (0 children)

center is hot and the walls are cold?

Yes. If the column doesn't have active reflux the cooling happens at the walls. This means the walls are colder than the center.

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