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Short Plated Column Reality Check

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  • @Myles the puke catcher is an interesting idea. Perhaps add a port there to quickly add a little cold water as a puke buster?

    @Cambo I'm hoping to do another video soon to show off the new boiler but holding off for now in hopes the 5" Crystal Dragon prototype pieces all come together over the next month. I dressed up my little boiler with an insulation jacket and a sight glass above the element ports and another on the manway door. I figured I'd never get permission to buy another boiler so it did escalate a bit on the options :)

  • ^^^^ Exactly, how does the saying go? Easier to ask for forgiveness then ask for permission? 5" CD, and a new boiler I think yes!

  • You are getting close to an ideal Home Distillers rig. It is going to be a beauty. ^:)^

  • @Myles said: 1 to 4 plates. I have always held the belief that this set up is ideal for flavoured products. Grappa, Rum, etc. in fact I have one in the workshop partly built just for this purpose.

    My 4 plate 8" has been averaging around 94% for the fores, dropping to 90-75% or so for the heads and 60-55% for the hearts. My method has usually been to get up to temp, then to reduce power, stabilize, and then turn off the dephlegmator and collect.

    I haven't run any spirit runs yet, but I think keeping at full power and partial reflux in the dephlegmator would increase ABV over partial power and no reflux. Agree?

  • edited January 2014

    @jbierling this triggers another question but I am putting it in a new topic:

    Do you need the dephlegmator mid run for flavoured product NOT vodka?

  • Maybe a bit off topic, but I have a quick question on my rig. I am currently only running one plate which I am usually using to do whiskey spirit runs on low wines with fairly good results, however, I have noticed that the plate does not really load up and bubble vigorously all that much during the run. Should I be charging the plate with water or low wines before I start to run since I don't have a reflux condenser filling from above?

  • Hi @brewsmith, you are not getting a vigorous bubble plate because you don't have active reflux to feed the plate. Precharging the plate with water will help and so will adding more passive or active reflux.
    You can try wrapping a wet towel on the pipe above the plate and directing a small fan at the towel to get some additional reflux.
    I suspect you'll need to vary your power input to find the sweet spot where you get enough product takeoff and still keep the plate bubbling.

  • I have run hybrids before. Basically a pot still with a short packed section in the riser and a small dephlegmator. In my case this was an external coil on a 2" tube section. image

    I was using this as 1 way to increase the reflux ratio in the pot still and slightly increase the overall ABV of the product. Trying to get cask strength in 1 run.

    You may find that adding a small dephlegmator into the riser above the plate, is a convenient option. Either to be used selectively and then switched off, or to be left on but just ticking over, during the run.

    I have put this up before as an option for an SD pot still for that reason. image

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  • I use 3 single bubble caps for rum, load the plates then take of fores and heads slowly, drop the coolent back and take hearts at 90%, I leave it there till tails comes through in a split second at around 88%, collect tails till 87-86% then shut it down. I put a 300mm lava rock packed section on the same 3 plates for a neutral, load the plates and take fores and heads slow, put it into full reflux after heads for about 15 mins then take hearts at 93%,produces a very flavorless drink. Many people told me a packed section over 3 plates wont produce a good neural, I can now say there talking shit lol.

  • Now that is good to hear. My VM column is packed with the same stuff but I really would like to decommission it. If I can add a short packed section to a few plates I will be pleased.

  • edited January 2014

    First half of that write up sounds just like my procedure @googe.

    StillDragon North America - Your StillDragon® Distributor for North America

  • @googe said: I use 3 single bubble caps

    Caps or plates?

    for rum...take hearts at 90%,

    Isn't that high for rum? I would think you'd want to keep it below 80%.

    I put a 300mm lava rock packed section on the same 3 plates for a neutral,

    Do you put the rock on top of the caps or remove the caps?

  • edited January 2014

    For a heavier rum yes @jbierling. But a new born white drawn off at 90% is very smooth and has a very nice floral quality that can be enjoyed very early. One of my favorites is a heavy hand of white and a splash of fresh press cane juice with a squeeze of lemon.

    StillDragon North America - Your StillDragon® Distributor for North America

  • edited January 2014

    I'm hearing ya @Myles, that big 4" LM I recently did is just to big to handle, and the section over the plates is just as good, just not as fast.

    Good to hear I'm doing something right @Smaug lol.

    @jbierling, there single cap plates, 2" caps in 4" column. @Smaug is right, explained it perfectly, it's very smooth at 90%, the difference between 80 and 90% is different worlds. I can blend to my liking at a higher ABV also because the cuts are more defined. I've got my rum wash suited to how I want it to come off at 90%, it's a light white rum, but can be heavy if I drop the ABV to 85%. I have a plate soldered into the base of the packed section with holes in it that I clamp on top of the 3 plates.

  • Hi, how many plates you distils UJSSM? To what extent abv receive heart?

  • I make all my flavoured spirits with 4 plates between 91-88%. Sometimes I strip with a single plate below the pot. I use a single scrubber to load the plate. Rossco

  • When you guys say you pull at 91-88. Do you just increase your take off speed to get that result?

  • @jonno said: When you guys say you pull at 91-88. Do you just increase your take off speed to get that result?

    I collect that abv at about 5 liters per hour

    StillDragon North America - Your StillDragon® Distributor for North America

  • edited April 2014

    Personally, I think collecting at as close to your barreling/drinking ABV as possible retains the most flavor. Increase reflux or decrease power to increase ABV. I like collecting rum at 55-60%. If you don't want flavor, make vodka.

    I'll caveat that with that if your ingredients don't make things that taste good, by all means, strip as much flavor as necessary.

  • Collecting at those speeds doesn't smear your output? I've always just collected at about 2.2l hr and honestly haven't really tasted my dash stuff. It's still aging lol

  • I don't run the heads that hard. Get past the heads, and then get your ABV down if you want flavor. Increase reflux to maintain 45%+ and out of the "cardboard" flavor. I try to average like I said 55-60% ABV for the hearts. I'd rather dilute with natural flavor out of the still than water afterwards.

  • @jbierling said: Personally, I think collecting at as close to your barreling/drinking ABV as possible retains the most flavor. Increase reflux or decrease power to increase ABV. I like collecting rum at 55-60%. If you don't want flavor, make vodka.

    I'll caveat that with that if your ingredients don't make things that taste good, by all means, strip as much flavor as necessary.

    How many plates? I am a simple pot still ujssm distilled only once, slowly, picking up heart after careful droplets heads cut off. I collect the 50-40% ABV. But as soon I will have a column bubble cup plates, so I am looking for information.

  • It's interesting to learn this stuff. I'll give it a go collecting at a slightly faster speed. Be a lot better sooner as I bring the dash into an enclosed area that doesn't get affected by wind and temperature change

  • @jonno said: It's interesting to learn this stuff. I'll give it a go collecting at a slightly faster speed. Be a lot better sooner as I bring the dash into an enclosed area that doesn't get affected by wind and temperature change

    So right @jonno, this has to be the most interesting craft ever. Even the mistakes and failures can often be wonderful after 6 to 8 months on charred oak.

    Collection speed, power input, reflux rate, number of plates, tweeks to the ferment, cuts that make it to the barrel or aging jug, kind of wood and how long it's aged, temperature of this and that, fussing over every detail of the still and the distillation run... what's not to like? The more you know; the more you realize how much is left to learn. I love it.

    Anyone with a rice cooker, a plastic bag and access to YouTube can distill - and that's OK for some folks! - but almost everyone on this forum site has pro or at least semi-pro gear and are able to divine quality spirits using simple ingredients.

    I recon my favorite distilling story ever started with something like, "A farmer needed to get rid of XXXX pounds of surplus that he couldn't sell and guess what I did?".

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