waljaco wrote:
Subject: [new_distillers] Re: clearing mash

In cognac/brandy production the yeast is deliberately retained in the
wash to be distilled because it adds complexity to the final product
(about 80%abv)!
wal
================
There you go!  Thanks Wal.  I never realised that I was being so complex by
not clearing my wash  :-)
All the best,
Mike N

popwahtosh wrote:
Subject: [new_distillers] Recycling wine

When recycling wine into neutral spirits,  will there be any heads,
etc. I should be aware of? Will the color be removed?
===============
Hi Pop,

Yes and yes.  Wine will contain all the complex compounds that give it its
flavor, and these correspond to those that are removed in either the heads
or the tails.  Color comes from complex compounds that will also be removed.

All the best,
Mike N

Hi,

My friend just came back from Taiwan and she brought back 2 different kind of
yeast for me.  These yeast are for making chinese rice wine(they are not white
ball as sold in chinese market, they are loose and light brown color just like
regular yeast for making bread), they have a very strong smell.  My question is
how do i store them to keep them fresh? should I put them into refri? or
freezer?

Thanks
Julia





  Julia in PA












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> > He's lucky to be here to tell the tale.  That's why we are so
> > adamant about sight levels for this type of keg setup.  An ounce
> of
> > prevention is worth a ton of cure (if you survive), and if you
> don't
> > survive, then your family will have a rough time collecting on
> your
> > life insurance.
> >
> >
> > Slainte!
> > regards Harry
>
>
> Harry, This is a non issue if you are using propane .. Right?
>
> Tim

Very much an issue.

Capt. Ed Murphy said in his now famous and much
paraphrased 'Law'  "If there is any way to do it wrong, he will."

Well, I did, and so might anyone of us.

I was lucky in that my boiler was copper, and popped pretty quickly.
Even so it did building damage that took me 5 days and a thousand
dollars to repair. I get the 'Heebie Jeebies' if I even think of a
beer keg bursting.

Jim Puchai.

Cranberries – what I did to it...



One bag of cranberries was in my fridge without any use. Out of nothing to do
any better, I dumped it in a skillet with just enough water to cover the
berries. After boiling it for about fifteen minutes on simmering flames I got
mush on my hands. It was red and smelled delicious. It was already a mush so I
really gave it good workout with my potato masher. It turned out nicely. After
straining the good stuff for cranberry syrup I had a pile of lees on my hand.
Here goes the experiment. After soaking this stuff on 95% abv whatever juice and
flavor was in the lees I got it in the alcohol. A dark red liquid with
deliciously smell diluted to strength of vodka puts anything I tasted to shames.
It has strong cranberry flavor and some bitter overtones from the lees. Diluted
and cold -- it tastes great.

Just sharing an experience ;-)




Whatever I wrote above is my subjective opinion
There are no warranties of any kind
Act on your own risk and finally...
I can be wrong I must say
Cheers, Alex...
®





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I doubt there would be sufficient oxygen inside the boiler to allow
that....:>)

>From: "jimpuchai" <puchai4@...>
>Subject: [new_distillers] Re: Threaded Copper adaptor for Standard US Beer
>Keg
>Ignition of alcohol vapour.
>
>Jim Puchai.
>
>
>

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..ahhh...you are working towards an 'idiot proof still'......as only an
idiot would do this...agree?...:>)

>From: "jimpuchai" <puchai4@...>
>All you have to do is to put your first run back into the boiler with
>insufficient fluid to cover the element, and about 3 seconds after
>you turn the power on you have achieved ignition.
>
>Jim Puchai.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

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...like I said...lookin for an 'idiot proof still'...which isnt a bad thing
to have...especially if you happen to be....awww...nevermind...:>)

>From: "Harry" <gnikomson2000@...>
>Subject: [new_distillers] Re: Threaded Copper adaptor for Standard US Beer
>Keg
>Date: Tue, 02 Nov 2004 06:10:24 -0000
>
>This has happened to Jim in real life, through a comedy of errors.
>He's lucky to be here to tell the tale.  Slainte!
>regards Harry
>
>
>

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...or an external electric burner...:>)

>From: "tfurey7" <tfurey7@...>
>Subject: [new_distillers] Re: Threaded Copper adaptor for Standard US Beer
>Keg
>
>Harry, This is a non issue if you are using propane .. Right?
>
>Tim
>
>
>

_________________________________________________________________
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...if your 'vessel'  is "airtight",you have screwed-up long before you
applied heat to it....,JMPO,of course...:>)
...."always be carefull" is excellent advice...:>)

>From: "Cary Rhodes" <rhodeseng@...>

>Subject: [new_distillers] Re: Threaded Copper adaptor for Standard US Beer
>Keg
>
>However,  anytime an enclosed and airtight vessel is heated there
>must be some method of monitoring AND relieving excess pressure
>should unplanned events happen.
>always be carefull
>
>
>cary r
>

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...but(t)....(we all have one...:>)....you are talking about combustion
OUTSIDE the boiler...(i doubt anyone would see anything outside an "air
tight" boiler to indicate its potential demise..if so,they should
run-like-hell.:>).....I dont think that was the original subject....:>)

>From: "Harry" <gnikomson2000@...>
>Subject: [new_distillers] Re: Threaded Copper adaptor for Standard US Beer
>Keg
   Burning alcohol is sometimes
>very difficult to see (faint blue flame), until it's too late.
>
>HTH
>Slainte!
>regards harry
>

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...ahhh...my appologies to  Harry...in my drunken stupor,I failed to grasp
the 'intent' of his  post...I totally agree...FWIW...:>)

>From: "tfurey7" <tfurey7@...>

>Subject: [new_distillers] Re: Threaded Copper adaptor for Standard US Beer
>Keg
>Date: Tue, 02 Nov 2004 16:32:44 -0000
>
>
>Thanks Harry, I do keep my garage well ventilated when I am
>distilling. The last thing I want to do is start a fire or worse yet
>blow something up.

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...awwww...come on now..."a thousand dollars" damage..to your
boiler???...:>)

>From: "jimpuchai" <puchai4@...>
>I was lucky in that my boiler was copper, and popped pretty quickly.
>Even so it did building damage that took me 5 days and a thousand
>dollars to repair. I get the 'Heebie Jeebies' if I even think of a
>beer keg bursting.
>
>Jim Puchai.
>
>
>
>

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Levi Langershank wrote:
Subject: RE: [new_distillers] Re: Threaded Copper adaptor for Standard US
Beer Keg

...awwww...come on now..."a thousand dollars" damage..to your
boiler???...:>)
================
Levi, I invite you to let off a bomb in your house and then report on the
meaning of "collateral damage".

The insurance industry is eager to learn .... as is the local undertaker.
Mike N

...my house is insured for $999.99.....with a $500 deductable...:>)...(...I
dont distill in my house...I have an out-building specifically for that
purpose..:>)....actually,I couldnt imagine how there was less damage to the
still than there was to the building that it was in....maybe I need to read
more and post less.......in fact,I 'pledge' to do just that........:>)

>From: "Mike Nixon" <mike@...>
>Levi, I invite you to let off a bomb in your house and then report on the
>meaning of "collateral damage".
>
>The insurance industry is eager to learn .... as is the local undertaker.
>Mike N
>

_________________________________________________________________
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I started with a 40% alcohol from my amazing still, put it through an
active carbon filter and ended up with 35% substace after.

What happened?

I was instructed to start the filter with 2 liters of hot water, i
did, then run the alcohol through, i did, then chase it with 1 liter
of water to 'push' the alcohol through.  I collected the first 2
liters seperatly, then my alcohol.  How did i loose 5%?  Should i not
even bother with the water?

Any help would be appreciated.

--- In new_distillers@yahoogroups.com, "dunnsteven"
<dunnsteven@y...> wrote:
>
>
> I started with a 40% alcohol from my amazing still, put it through
an
> active carbon filter and ended up with 35% substace after.
>
> What happened?
>
> I was instructed to start the filter with 2 liters of hot water, i
> did, then run the alcohol through, i did, then chase it with 1
liter
> of water to 'push' the alcohol through.  I collected the first 2
> liters seperatly, then my alcohol.  How did i loose 5%?  Should i
not
> even bother with the water?
>
> Any help would be appreciated.

You have to 'bother' with the water. It conditions the carbon... you
have to count on losing something to make a better product... the
other way is to dump carbon directly into the diluted product, and
shake the bottle, it will get better results than any filter...you
will still get alcohol bound up in the carbon though....

I would think you have got some extra water in it.

Cheers,
Lindsay.

--- In new_distillers@yahoogroups.com, "dunnsteven" <dunnsteven@y...>
wrote:
>
>
> I started with a 40% alcohol from my amazing still, put it through an
> active carbon filter and ended up with 35% substace after.
>
> What happened?
>
> I was instructed to start the filter with 2 liters of hot water, i
> did, then run the alcohol through, i did, then chase it with 1 liter
> of water to 'push' the alcohol through.  I collected the first 2
> liters seperatly, then my alcohol.  How did i loose 5%?  Should i not
> even bother with the water?
>
> Any help would be appreciated.

Hi, my name is Terry.  I have just joined your discussion group.  I
have been using a still for the last four years that I built myself.
It is gas (propane fired).  It uses an adapted Australian 50 litre
beer keg as a boiler with a 90 mm x 50 mm diameter copper reflux
column with upper and lower cooling tubes passing through the column
(plans off internet).  I have the column packed with stainless steel
scourers.  As I have said, I have used this for four years with great
success consistently 96 percent.

Lately however, I have had problems with surging and not being able
to regulate the temperature properly.  I have cleaned and repacked
the column to no avail, thinking that the column may of become too
restrictive.  I know that the burner is not working as efficiently as
it was when it was new, but surely this could not cause such wild
fluctuations.  Hoping somebody can help.

Thankyou

Terry

Lindsay Williams wrote:
Subject: [new_distillers] Re: Carbon Filter



I would think you have got some extra water in it.

Cheers,
Lindsay.

--- In new_distillers@yahoogroups.com, "dunnsteven" <dunnsteven@y...>
wrote:
>
>
> I started with a 40% alcohol from my amazing still, put it through an
> active carbon filter and ended up with 35% substace after.
>
> What happened?
>
> I was instructed to start the filter with 2 liters of hot water, i
> did, then run the alcohol through, i did, then chase it with 1 liter
> of water to 'push' the alcohol through.  I collected the first 2
> liters seperatly, then my alcohol.  How did i loose 5%?  Should i not
> even bother with the water?
>
> Any help would be appreciated.
=====================
Reckon you've hit the nail on the head Lindsay.  I would discount the water
held in the carbon after the initial soaking as most of this will remain in
the carbon, even though a small amount will be displaced by adsorbed
congeners and some ethanol, not to mention water present in the product that
is being cleaned.  In fact, initial soaking is good practice as it enables
free motion of the fluid molecules in the carbon lattice, something which
cannot happen if there are air pockets.  So, Dunnsteven, the main reason for
going from 40% to 35% is most likely due to the extra water added afterwards
to try and "flush" out the remaining ethanol.  Some ethanol will remain
adsorbed by the carbon but, if so, then it will be held firmly and flushing
is most unlikely to dislodge it. In any event, the amount will be miniscule
compared to all the ethanol in your product, and flushing afterwards is
really a waste of time.  It is most likely that you have actually lost very
little ethanol, but now get a lower reading due to good old simple dilution.

The other point that should be made is that it seems that you are running
your product through a cartridge containing carbon.  This is about the most
inefficient way in which you can clean your product.  You would do far
better to add the carbon to the product and let it soak for a few days, then
pass the liquid through a conventional filter (using porous paper or cotton
wool) three times.  Three times, as it is essential to remove all the
microscopic carbon dust particles (which are full of congeners), and once or
twice is just not enough to do this properly.

All the best,
Mike N

currybite01 wrote:
Subject: [new_distillers] Surging Problem

Hi, my name is Terry.  I have just joined your discussion group.  I
have been using a still for the last four years that I built myself.
It is gas (propane fired).  It uses an adapted Australian 50 litre
beer keg as a boiler with a 90 mm x 50 mm diameter copper reflux
column with upper and lower cooling tubes passing through the column
(plans off internet).  I have the column packed with stainless steel
scourers.  As I have said, I have used this for four years with great
success consistently 96 percent.

Lately however, I have had problems with surging and not being able
to regulate the temperature properly.  I have cleaned and repacked
the column to no avail, thinking that the column may of become too
restrictive.  I know that the burner is not working as efficiently as
it was when it was new, but surely this could not cause such wild
fluctuations.  Hoping somebody can help.
==================
Hi Terry,

This sounds very much like a case of surging and flooding that I encountered
once.  It was due to the packing having slipped down so that it was sitting
hard up against the aperture leading from the boiler.  What was happening
was that the liquid reflux coming down the packing couldn't get past the
vapour that was coming from the boiler, as the packing had reduced the
effective cross section of that aperture and was therefore traveliing
faster.  Net result ... liquid built up in the column causing initial
surging and then flooding.  Leaving a small gap between the aperture and the
bottom of the packing fixed the problem immediately.

All the best,
Mike N

Greetings Alex

could you please explain the reasoning for the " cold finger " in your new super
coil ??

Phil ( new member, perusing archives and getting a feel for the List )
looking forward to getting acquainted with you all...



   Dear Distinguished Members!

   I take some liberty of sending new photos of the new coil I am building right
now. The soldering is 95% complete and I have one dirty coil left for cleaning.
It is built with two layers of copper tubing plus a cold finger made of
half-inch pipe inside. I ask if anyone would help in suggesting a method of
cleaning this caked oxides layer. I would like it shine like a new penny first
time I use it. Please help with your advice.

   Thank you all, Alex (aka BOKAKOB)



   P.S. I could not upload pictures to the files section - there is very little
space left.




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   New Distillers group archives are at http://archive.nnytech.net/
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Phil,

the purpose of the cold finger in my particular case was some paranoid fear of
insufficient cooling. The good thing about the cold finger is that it
effectively reduces “free” space in the cooling chamber. It also looks good :)



To say honestly, there is no particular need for this “cold finger.” It can be
very safely replaced with one or two stainless steel or copper scrubbers neatly
packed in that cavity. But I did and I called it “Super Coil”



Some information about Super Coil:

===============================================

Outer Coil    turns     – 29

               diameter  - 1.625”

               length    - 148”

               area      - 116 sq. in



Inner Coil    turns     – 29

               diameter  - 1.06”

               length    - 96”

               area      - 75 sq. in



Cold Finger   h x dia   - 10.5” x 0.625”

               area      - 21 sq. in

-----------------------------------------------

Total cooling area:     - 212 sq. in

                         - (1368 sq. cm)




Whatever I wrote above is my subjective opinion
There are no warranties of any kind
Act on your own risk and finally...
I can be wrong I must say
Cheers, Alex...
®





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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I've been lurking around here for a few weeks now, so, first of all,
"Hello"

My rig: Polar Bear 26 e1, similar to the one in the link in all
regards except the pretty stainless casing and the date of
manufacture.  1100 watt, air cooled, stainless boiler, etc.

http://www.waterdistillers-polarbear.com/pictures/26-m2.jpg

The boiler has a safety float: when there's not enough liquid to cover
the element the unit shuts off.  I have never distilled down to this
point as the distillate gets nasty long in advance of that.  Unit
outputs ~70% to begin with and I usually shut down somewhere around
30%.  It takes about 3 Liters to float the float.

Before this gets unnecessarily complex, here's the quesion:
The stuff in the bottom (its called "the lees" right?) after shutdown
and cooling tests at around 4.5% abv. (my sugar/turbo wash started at
about 18%).


Should I just recycle the lees to cover the element and top up with
virgin wash and tails/feints?

OR

Should i distill longer to try to pull some more of that 4.5% out of
the lees, toss them entirely, then refill the still from scratch with
virgin wash and tails/feints?

OR

I suppose I could just accept the loss of the 4.5% and toss the lees
anyway.  I suspect this isn't the answer.

I have several empty pepsi bottles full of rank stuff sitting in the
kitchen while I try to come up with an answer...

What do other people do?  I'm currently in the first step of option 2
(distilling longer)

Cheers

Hello to all on this brilliant site!  I am new to distilling and am from the UK
where distilling is frowned upon by the authorities!

I have read many messages on here and am amazed at the collective knowledge you
guys have!

This has led me to recently purchasing a PDA-1 which is excellent!

Kindest regards

Barry.

-----------------------------------------
Email provided by http://www.ntlhome.com/

Good onya Barry ,way to go !
Ken.
----- Original Message -----
From: <b.cotterill1@...>
To: <new_distillers@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, November 04, 2004 4:00 AM
Subject: [new_distillers] Hi to everyone


>
> Hello to all on this brilliant site!  I am new to distilling and am from
> the UK where distilling is frowned upon by the authorities!
>
> I have read many messages on here and am amazed at the collective
> knowledge you guys have!
>
> This has led me to recently purchasing a PDA-1 which is excellent!
>
> Kindest regards
>
> Barry.
>
> -----------------------------------------
> Email provided by http://www.ntlhome.com/
>
>
>
>
>
> New Distillers group archives are at http://archive.nnytech.net/
> FAQ and other information available at http://homedistiller.org
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

I just chuck it out.

Cheers,
Lindsay.

snip
> What do other people do?  I'm currently in the first step of option 2
> (distilling longer)
>
> Cheers

Welcome, Barry. I am sure you will have much fun as we do.

Cheers,
Lindsay.

--- In new_distillers@yahoogroups.com, <b.cotterill1@n...> wrote:
> Hello to all on this brilliant site!  I am new to distilling and am
from the UK where distilling is frowned upon by the authorities!
>
> I have read many messages on here and am amazed at the collective
knowledge you guys have!
>
> This has led me to recently purchasing a PDA-1 which is excellent!
>
> Kindest regards
>
> Barry.
>
> -----------------------------------------
> Email provided by http://www.ntlhome.com/

Got some spirit and awaiting some carbon from swedish connections. Am
thinking of taking advice from this group and adding the carbon to
the spirit, then filtering out the carbon. I have a 40cm tube of
glass with a coarse frit at the bottom. Has anybody tried using fine
sand in such a column to filter out the microscopic carbon particles?
Might try it anyway, but I wouldn't know if I've got them all except
for taste which I am very inexperienced with anyway? I've messed
about a bit with tissue in a funnel but can only get a slow dripping
out of it. Is this the speed you get?
Thanks
Dave Eastham

--- In new_distillers@yahoogroups.com, <b.cotterill1@n...> wrote:
> Hello to all on this brilliant site!  I am new to distilling and am
from the UK where distilling is frowned upon by the authorities!
>
> I have read many messages on here and am amazed at the collective
knowledge you guys have!
>
> This has led me to recently purchasing a PDA-1 which is excellent!
>
> Kindest regards
>
> Barry.
>
> -----------------------------------------

Barry I'm also new and only small scale until I can make a bigger
copper still (currently on 1 litre flask, glass columns and liebig,
scrounged from work). I also come from the UK, but dare we say where
abouts?
Dave Eastham