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Looking For Irish Members

Hi guys and hope you all having a good week, just looking for some other Irish member friends to share recipes and help me with my new SD still.

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  • well we're all pretty good at answering questions if you need the help. all the best.

  • Thanks for the offer , its good to know theres help available

  • Please don't hesitate to weigh in and share yourself, it's great to have local perspective.

  • We definitely have some Irish members here, maybe they are too shy to out themselves?

    But never mind, @paddy999, distilling is a global phenomenon, so whatever question you have, someone surely should have an answer for you.

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

  • Heck, on St. Paddy's day, everyone here in the U.S. Is Irish

  • @Unsensibel said: Heck, on St. Paddy's day, everyone here in the U.S. Is Irish

    ;)

    Welcome paddy999.

    He's likely looking for someone within his geography to share experiences? That can be difficult because of legalities paddy999. But being an internet likker geek is not that difficult. We have a great group here and we are always willing to help with any questions that you may have.

    StillDragon North America - Your StillDragon® Distributor for North America

  • Maybe you can teach us about Poitín?

  • Have ya tried the pub?

    DAD... not yours.. ah, hell... I don't know...

  • Ya it would be nice to have local advice but thanks to modern technology its easy to share videos and stories , Ask for the poitin as its called here , or moonshine , or fire water , has many names but made pretty much the same ways except for a handful of people who make it for selling at christmas to unsuspecting people who has no idea what good or bad liker is , they sometimes make it so bad it has no life to it so they add detergent or battery acid to liven it up . One reason why it should be legalised so this kind of people be stopped . but at the moment its highly illegal so i wont be doin anything like this . but i will be running ethenol 85 in my still and hopefully get it to a good proof . ill share my experiences as soon as i get up and running , cheers guys and thanks again

  • Forgot to say that i must put up mash recipes for poitin when i get a chance , again many variations but ill put up the local one for west of ireland brewers from 50 years ago . if anyone wants it

  • @paddy999 said: Forgot to say that i must put up mash recipes for poitin when i get a chance , again many variations but ill put up the local one for west of ireland brewers from 50 years ago . if anyone wants it

    Ah yes please do.

    StillDragon North America - Your StillDragon® Distributor for North America

  • Mash recipes from Ireland. My long lost Australian Irish blood is screaming yes please.

  • Appologies for not having exact measurements but this is the ingredients usualy used in poitin here in the green emerald isle . First put barley into a net bag and soak for 8 to 10 days . remove and dry sprouting barley prefrably in an oven till golden brown , (do not burn )add your barley and sugar and mix well , add your fruit of choice , mine is crushed apples and raisns , mix and add yeast and put in a warm room or loft for even temperature . checking regular and adding one or two bottles of guinness during fermentation aswell as one or two boiled potatoes to help with yeast , mix once a day and cover with a cloth over container and do this for 18 to 21 days . if barley not available then use wheat or rye , As i said this varies wideley but i got that recipe from a 79 year old gent who made it all his life in mayo so cant be too far off the mark . happy brewing guys

  • edited February 2016

    So that is a pretty interesting recipe. Certainly not pulled from the pages of antiquity. Sounds like a relatively modern way of doing things.

    As a young man , your 79 year old mentor would have found it nearly impossible to source sugar during the days of his youth.

    Nesesity is the mother of change.

    StillDragon North America - Your StillDragon® Distributor for North America

  • It is pretty normal for this neck of the woods , fruit may vary such as apples cucumbers and soforth . now of days they use brown sugar because its an alternative to putting in treakle to sweeten mash

  • Hi guys , just wondering if any one can suggest where i can purchase a simple basic controler to regulate my two 4000 watt elements , i see them on ebay but dont think they will go the temperature ,

  • For stilling or mashing?

  • for stilling , sorry

  • @paddy999 said: Hi guys , just wondering if any one can suggest where i can purchase a simple basic controler to regulate my two 4000 watt elements , i see them on ebay but dont think they will go the temperature ,

    DIY Controller Kit @ StillDragon Europe

    See the instructions in the The StillDragon Operation Manuals thread.

    Usually you only control one element, with the other on a simple on/off switch. You don't do temperature control, but power control.

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

  • @SDeurope said: Usually you only control one element, with the other on a simple on/off switch. You don't do temperature control, but power control.

    +1

    StillDragon North America - Your StillDragon® Distributor for North America

  • It all depends on the volume of water , I have seen that control on sd but it does not give a max temperature or if it has a safety cut off point .also not complete without fan ect...

  • You cannot control the boiling point in the still with a temperature controller. Unless you taking about about controlling the power input to a bain marie style boiler where the boiling point will be 100c at sea level.

    You need a power controller like the one linked above. It doesn't need a fan for a single 44oo watt element, although you could add one if you wished.

    If you are asking for someone to link you to a competing product to one we sell you're on the wrong forum ;;)

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

  • OK cheers , its all new to me but im getting the general idea ,

  • You might be getting confused with the Auber unit mentioned elsewhere.
    It starts at 100% for a quick start up then drops the power when the boiler gets near the boiling point of the wash to avoid foam over.
    Then it cuts out near 100° (or a time) as there can’t be any alcohol left at 100° so it’s the end of the run.

    If your running 2 or more elements you can probably get away without a controller altogether.
    The elements are just resisters and depending how you wire them up (in series or parallel) you can actually get quite a few different power levels.
    With two 4kW elements you can have 8kW on heat up (both in parallel) then 2kW for equilibrium (both in series), then 4 kW for hearts (a single element). Just depending how you plug them in.
    With two different sized elements you get another power level. Add a third/fourth and you get all sorts of other possibilities and no need for a controller at all. You don't even need any switches if you like, just a jumper plug.
    The math to work it out is pretty basic. If you do up a truth table when designing you’ll see all the possible iterations.
    Sometime there’s no point in over complicating things.

  • @paddy999 unless you're a sparky, it's best to learn to walk first. The SD kit comes with everything you need to passively run one 4.4kW element. I drilled ventilation holes in mine and have no issues. Get a light switch for the other element & put them both in the housing and you're done.

    You can waste a lot of time chasing some automation or fancy controller and lose sight of the end game - making some yummy booze!

  • Cheers guys , i have actuly placed an order with sd for their controler and as suggested im just going to use one element on controler and other on a switch just to get my pot up to temperature and control with one element after . its good enough to get started at least , thanks for the help .

  • sorry if this is a silly question but im in the process of building my still and im putting in 3 plates at the moment , two with mini caps and downcomer and the third perforated plate and a long dephlegmator and a two inch condenser but do u guys think i should put in a section for packing , or is it better having it short and adding another plate in due course . for whiskey distillation purposes

  • @paddy999 For flavored spirits no packing required... if your wanting neutral more plates or packing required .... all depending on the end product your after...

    As a newbie start with something easy... a sugar wash a TPW.... or something along those lines... get a distill under you belt or even 5 of the TPW, then maybe a brown sugar rum wash..... or even try a Uncle Jesse's sour mash whiskey all those are entry level and somewhat fool proof.. and along the way you will learn to make cuts by taste and smell..

    The reason i say TPW or 5 of them is that each run you will learn something new and the object is to produce a product that gets better each run or is repetitive.. and you learn to drive your equipment..

    Happy Stillin,

    FS

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