Welcome!
Be part of our community & join our international next generation forum now!
Categories
In this Discussion
- captainshooch August 2015
- CothermanDistilling October 2015
- crozdog October 2015
- dad August 2015
- fadge October 2015
- FloridaCracker October 2015
- grim October 2015
- Harry August 2015
- Higgo October 2015
- jacksonbrown October 2015
- Johnboy October 2015
- Kapea September 2015
- Mickiboi October 2015
- Moonshine September 2015
- punkin October 2015
- SBB_ August 2015
- Smaug September 2015
- Sunshine September 2015
- TheMechWarrior August 2015
- Thomasedwin October 2015
- Unsensibel October 2015
- vooharmy September 2015
Comments
I used to get coal samples for analysis delivered in stainless steel milk cans. Damn things were nearly indestructible. The metal they were fabricated from was much more substantial than the metal in a half barrel sanke keg.
I'm more like I am now than I was before.
How long ago was that? I saw some older milk cans that were heavy duty seamless with about 3/8" thick walls but the lids were the press on type. The newer milk cans have welded seams and are only 1 or 1.5 MM thick and the stainless steel is not real high quality.
It was only 1 MM thick.
Do you think this will bring the proof up a bit?
Now we're talking.
What's your packing? Copper mesh? Same dephlegmator?
Mostly copper mesh and rashing chips on top
This is just the keg boiler and new column extension that I just soldered together, the burner adds another 10 inches. I'm going to fill it 3/4 with copper scrubbers and the last 1/4 with ceramic rashing chips and it has the same fined dephlag as before. In this photo the output condenser is not attached. Now I need to make a longer output leg to reach the collection jug because it's so tall, the rafters you see in the photo are 8 foot. It's hard to get lead free plumbing solder to stick to the 3 inch stainless steel ferrule fittings, I have to sand the SS ferrule fittings to remove the chromium oxide layer and then use special SS liquid acid flux then hit it with solder to tin it first then fit it to the copper and solder it again. You might not be able to tell by the photo but that's a 15 gallon keg.
Hope they aren't Chinese stainless ferulles you are using?
StillDragon Australia & New Zealand - Your StillDragon® Distributor for Australia & New Zealand
lol you are a shit stirrer!
If he's using lead-free solder, he gotta get some lead from somewheres! ;;)
I'm more like I am now than I was before.
I don't know where they are made but they are 316 SS and they were shipped to me from inside the US.
If i recall an Experiment @Mickiboi did, that copper scrubbies have a different reflux value to SS. when he experimented with a 1500mm tall section like the one I use and swapped in a section of copper to replace a large portion of the SS scrubbies as a means to pull out the sulfites the ABV dropped dramatically(Under 90ABV), regardless of how loose or tight it was packed or its position in the column. Once the SS was reinstalled azeo was achieved straight away. So now he just chucks some copper pieces into the boiler and run all SS scrubbies.
If you have a fairly clean wash, I would just use a few copper scrubbies at the top of the column and SS for the rest.
Maybe SS scrubbies are better but I don't know cause I never used them before, They would probably stay cleaner being SS. Copper scrubbies turn a blackish color and have to be soaked in citric acid to turn them back to a copper color. The copper turns a blackish because it pulls sulfides out of the liquor. I read that copper is better because it transfers more heat letting more heat escape through the column giving a better cooling reflux where SS doesn't transfer heat as well. I would use some SS if I find some for cheap, So far I have the copper mesh, ceramic rashing chips and some 3 mm soda glass beads to put in the column.
ss scrubbies are 8.99 for bags of 10 I used 90 in my 1500 mm 4" section Get them at Bunnings, Mitre10, most hardware stores.
PM @Mickiboi and get him to explain his findings he had all the formulas to calculate reflux values etc way out of my brain capacity, I just did as he said and it pulled azeo straight up 1500mm is equivalent to 16-17 plates according to the formula.
OK, this seems like the thing I need to get 180 proof or azeo in a single run. They don't have a Bunnings store here in the US that I know of so I get most of my stuff on ebay. Ebay has dozens of stainless steel scrubber products claiming to be pure SS but they are designed for scrubbing pots & pans not column packing. What is the best brand to use for my column??? You've heard my rants about quality stainless steel! They all say pure SS but there could be other crap in their products like cadmium, zinc and who knows. You guys across the pond have brands that you use and trust but in the US they have different names for the same thing. I always used Chore Boy brand copper scrubbers because they are supposed to be made from 99.9 % copper. So far they work good but you have to clean them every few runs because they turn black or even verdigris green without proper care. They also get smaller and smaller with every use. I would like to use copper mesh in one half of the column and stainless steel in the other half. I solder 316 SS ferule fitting to my copper column but I know they are made from 304 or 316 SS, With stainless steel scrubbers you don't know what your getting.
Try some it's not big money if you need to buy a different brand what's $80 in the grand scheme
Bunnings is just a hardware store over here mate and the SS scrubbers are found in the cleaning section.... I'm sure they will have an equivalent in any of your hardware stores. At $7 for a pack of 10 medium scrubbers you can't go wrong
Try a restaurant supply store. I picked up a bag of 10 large, solid ones for $5.99. Could only shove 8 in the available space that I had.
I haven't got the stainless steel scrubbers yet but I did a run with copper scrubbers some natural stone pebbles and rishing chips and got 181 proof. Close enough to what I wanted.
Out of 30 gallons of sweet corn mash in a single run and after cutting off the heads I got about 4 gallon of 181 proof and I let it set for 1 day. I decided to take a taste. I almost never drink it straight but I took a little sip and chased it with beer, I don't know if it was the new 5' column or the natural stones but it was smoother than jack-d with a silky sweet taste. I'm going to try to do this again.
Seems like a reeaaallllyyy wide hearts cut. Or is this off an 18% wash?
Cuts? What cuts?
Looks like it was off a 25% wash. 10% wash would give 3 gallons total if it was possible to recover all.
StillDragon Australia & New Zealand - Your StillDragon® Distributor for Australia & New Zealand
what are these galloon things? I'm fully metricimicated....
4 shengs
StillDragon Australia & New Zealand - Your StillDragon® Distributor for Australia & New Zealand
More confusing than you'd think. 1 UK gallon is about 4.5L 1 U.S. gallon is about 3.6L
I remember back in about 1975 there was a big push for the US to turn metric. You know what they say about old dogs......
Cough cough cough cough - boy that's smooooooooth - cough cough cough