StillDragon® Community Forum

Welcome!

Be part of our community & join our international next generation forum now!

In this Discussion

Just checking to make sure I'm starting right

So I'm trying to "start the right way" and build from there (im sure there is no right way) so I just wanted to run a few one reservations of my Baby Dragon practice runs past you wiser heads.

I ran a vinegar and water wash through it twice for practice and to give it a good clean. For the practices I have two 2400 elements that are on/off (the controller box is on my bench).

  1. The top plate looked like it fully flooded with bubbles going up into the dephlegmator with the lower plates barely making it up over the ProCap36. This is no matter what I did with the elements. Is this a power issue or because I was using water and vinegar?

  2. The water going out of the dephlegmator shot right up to 60 plus degrees C and my small cooling tub started to warm up. Is this mainly from the over flowing top plate or am I going to have cooling issues?

My plan is to run a TPW with four plates but not do any cuts and re run it again for practice and to see the difference between runs but hopefully I'm on the right track.

Comments

  • edited February 2015

    Just a little picture for show and tell.

    image

    ginger.jpg
    600 x 800 - 56K
  • short answer:

    1 - yes

    2 - probably not

  • @Ginger if that is a needle valve on the input line of the deph, i would move it to the output line.

  • Vinegar and water will not at all behave like a kettle with alcohol.

    StillDragon North America - Your StillDragon® Distributor for North America

  • She sure is a pretty rig! I like the polished acorn nut bling.

    I'm more like I am now than I was before.

  • With multiple runs on the same alcohol I effectively have no tails, or Any alcohol, left in the boiler at the end of the run. (I do a lot of test runs with the Ace).
    At the end of the hearts the production stops and the top plate wants to flood because all that is left is water, just like in your picture.

  • Thanks for that gentlemen.

    Whats the thinking behind the needle vale on the output line of the deph instead of the input i could control the temperature of the output water where it is on the input line.

  • I think there is an argument for placing it on the output as it would then be more difficult to get a 'siphon effect' that would allow a pocket of air to form at the top of the condenser.
    I've recently changed mine to the output but I haven't seen any difference.

  • edited February 2015

    I'd leave the valve in the input line, because it takes off the pressure from the cooling water supply line, and you do not need water pressure in the condenser. With bottom feeding there should not be any issue with air in the condenser, in contrast to top feeding (never saw any sense in counter-flow condenser feeding).

    Your Place to be >>> www.StillDragon.org <<< Home of the StillDragon® Community Forum

  • I have done it both ways and dang me as I can't see any difference.

    Perhaps operating on a recirculating system (a big vat of water with a pump) instead of by mains water as I'm restricted to could make a difference?

  • valve on the inlet is fine as long as you have the air out of the system... if you do not... you aren't getting all the condenser you paid for....

  • Hi @Ginger

    don't wanna steal your thread but seems a good place for all us new Acers to gain the vast knowledge in here

    my question ..

    I have a 100 lts apricot wash ready to go , how do I run it to get the most of the flavours ?..

    thanks guys

  • edited February 2015

    @starkid101 said: I have a 100 lts apricot wash ready to go , how do I run it to get the most of the flavours ?..

    Soon! Waiting too long is a flavor killer.

    StillDragon Europe - Your StillDragon® Distributor for Europe & the surrounding area

  • @starkid101 100L with 50L boiler, that's correct?
    Running a 4 plate Ace of Hearts, also correct?

    Try this... but I'm sure others will chime in;

    Make no change to your Ace, run with all 4 plates. You will need to determine for yourself how much of the compressed heads and tails to add to the hearts on the last step. A little early tails and late heads is conservative but sometimes its OK to be brave with a must instead of a wash as the goodly flavor is in ALL of the fractions - heads, hearts and tails.
    Wash = sugar. Mash = grain. Must = fruit. Right?

    Split the distillation into thirds. Distill ~35 liters as a striping run, twice. Make no cuts and go into the tails (this is a fruit ferment so the tails do have good flavor). Late tails, of course, still stink.

    Assuming the must is about 10%ABV then each 35L strip will give you ~4+L of strip for a total of 8 liters or so to add to the remaining 30L of must.
    So now you are distilling 2 strips with about 30L of must.

    You will get a broad and flavorful hearts cut and the heads and early tails will be well worth recycling.

    If these raw numbers hold you will get about 12 to 15 liters of fine 40% booze.

    Some you may decide to consume white (Yes!) and age the rest on oak at ~60 to 65%. If aging on oak it is normal to splash a dab more heads and tails in, adds complexity they say. I'd go 5 to 1 on the heads to tails ratio but that's a whole 'nother thread. The more feints (heads and tails) that you add the longer you will need to age and, theoretically, the better the product - if you can wait years by adding too much.

    It needs to taste a bit "sharp" before going on the oak.

  • Lloyds advice is good by stripping and adding to wash for flavour. I've done peaches the same way years ago with a pot still.

    You can also use the backset from your boiler at 100% after the strip run and add sugar for another wash. It won't be as good as the original wine but it will still have lots of apricot flavour and blended back with some of the good stuff will be perfect for the inlaws or the missus's mates when they visit. :))

    StillDragon Australia & New Zealand - Your StillDragon® Distributor for Australia & New Zealand

  • edited February 2015

    Thanks @Lloyd and @punkin

    Advise taken I am on 2nd strip run today .

    Ace on full power @ 2400 watt stripping at 55% abv = 1 lt takes 30 minuites.

    the smell in garage is bread and apricots ..yum yum..

    very strong taste of floral apricots ..

    will the floral taste go away ?

    so many ways I can put the Ace together for stripping..

    @Lloyd the Ace is such a cool machine bubbling away merrily while I sip my bourbon..

    thanks Starkid

    image

    garage_for_baby_dragon.jpg
    800 x 449 - 58K
  • ps

    down to 20 % abv the taste of apricots is exquisite

  • edited February 2015

    I've found that with my mead brandy too; the most flavorful part comes as the tails are coming off.

    I'm more like I am now than I was before.

  • edited February 2015

    Save all the cuts on your spirit run and when you are tasting don't stop tasting after you reach the cutoff point for tails. Keep tasting deep into the tails and sometimes there's a really special jar there, may only be 25% or something, that has all the flavour you'd ever want and none of the shudder that can be included with your other hearts. B-)

    I love hearing the excitement and enjoyment you are getting from your unit starkid. Makes the whole slog worthwhile. I'm sure it warms Lloyd's heart as well. ^:)^

    StillDragon Australia & New Zealand - Your StillDragon® Distributor for Australia & New Zealand

Sign In or Register to comment.