Methanol comes off at the start of your run, Your thumper (doubler) is too small, a thumper should be 1/3 the size of your still. You measure the temperature of the vapor at the top of the still, not down at the mash. With a thumper the temp of the still shouldn't go above 185* f. unless you're doing a stipping run or in a hurry to scorch the mash, in a stripping run you don't use a thumper. Methanol comes off when the still reaches 143*f, (head), and ethanol starts coming off at 163*f (Heart). With a thumper the process takes a lot longer to heat up, but the end product should be a hell of a lot more than 80 Proof...That shit at the end of your run that you said, "I'm going to throw away", (tailings) is the stuff you should be putting in that thumper when you do a run.
I have the same set up the 6 gallon still so do I only fill up my boiler just under the thermometer I have will have 5 gallons of wash should I only do about 2.5 gallons at a time?
how would I clean my still its new do I need to do a cleaning run of some sort I ran water threw it to to distill some water and test it out but it came out all cloudy and had stuff floating in it I heard of running some vinegar and water mixture threw it would screw it up? thanks
Thumper keg is a bit old school, and that's exactly why I want to start useing it. My question is how will it effect how much Forshots you have to throw out?assumeing from how thumper kegs work, alcohol saturates the liquid in the thumper, so will the Forshots then be first released from the thumper keg the exact same as any set up, and at same temp/volume,or is there any difference that needs to be noted?
Fair warning. I do not do a thump keg. So my knowledge is from watching others. You fill the thumper with some fair abv stuff to begin with. The few people that I know that use thumpers save their tails to load into their thumpers on the next batch. Or they use cheap store bought hooch if they don't have any tails. The way the thump keg works is that the hot vapor from the pot still bubbles up through the liquid in the thumper. In this manner it provides an extremely low tech approximation of one of those windowed flute columns. But instead of using a reflux condenser at the top of the still, it uses the relatively cooler liquid in the thumper. This liquid will heat up to the boiling point of the alcohol (which is why the thumper gets hot) and let the alcohol vapor come through, but help catch some of the water that is carried over. It provides a seperate rough distillation to further clean up the finished product. All of which should give a more consistent abv over the course of the run. I run packed column reflux distillation units at work and can talk all day on how those work. I know what happens when you take the packing out and run as a pot still because we have some split columns (half packed and refluxed/half not). But we don't use thumpers.
In theory you should still expect the same amount of garbage at the beginning of the run. It has a slightly lower boiling point than the good stuff, which is why it comes first. So it should carry over into the thumper first and out of the thumper first.
It's going to be the same with or without a thumper. Typically on a pot still you toss 250ml per 5gallon charge as fors. It seems like lots, but there are other things besides methanol that come through and also part of early heads that you don't want (like ethyl acetate . . . think nail polish). Best thing to charge your thump with is some of the wash you are charging your still with if you are doing a single run for a flavorful whiskey/rum. For cleaning up or if you want a lighter flavor, charge with water. Remember, whatever you charge with will carry through at some point.
I don't know where people get remove 250ml taken off first for 5 gal batch .its always been 50 ml for 5 gallon batch . 100 for 10 and 150 for 15 . If you filter everything after through. Charcoal , you won't have any problems.
50ml per 5 gallons is more typical for a reflux type still. There is a lot more smearing with pot stills. As well, no amount of charcoal will filter out many of the lower boiling point alcohols that come through the beginning of the run (such as ethyl acetate) which is why cuts are made, and any of the higher end commercial sold brands do not include this in blending (thus the higher price, less profit margin). On a single pot still run of 5 gallons, you aren't into the hearts until typically after 750ml and even then the hearts are smeared with heads.
+Tony Powell Right on. mine starts off at 165 sometimes 170. It gets weaker as the run goes. I catch everything down to 0 then dump my trails in either next run and some in the thump to help carry the proof all the way through.
This will be my first run ever, corn mash, I really need advice on what to add to the thump keg if anything.. Thanks for your time in advance, I really do appreciate it.
I was watching moonshiners and overheard one of those guys using previously made shine in the thumper. I also saw one of them put some water and fruit in as well.
MetherFeckerrrr thank you for understanding ones question and answering in detail. i hate when people just give some stupid response and dont ever answer the original questions. Just wanted to be that person that shows appreciation for you taking your time to answer. Thank you.
Just a little advice your running your steal to fast, one other piece of advice make sure your mash is worked off completely, 80-75 proof liquor is really low, that’s usually what I get towards the end of of my run… Usually start out at 150-160 depending on what kind of mash I’m using… But hey awesome video, Anyone who makes a little liquor on the side is ok by me….
Kitchen/restaurant supply stores you can usually get inexpensive stainless one from (that's where I got one). You going to keep that nice and shiny, or let it patina? I used to keep mine clean, but eventually just left the outside (the inside is maintained). After a few years now, it's got that "old backwoods used" look . . . complete with marks from flour paste dripping down the sides lol. Personal preference, some keep them shiny.
If you didnt get a temp reading of the output on your parrot then you're reading is off. You gotta add or subtract from your hydrometer reading if the output in your parrot is not 60°
Well, at least you got the tails off. Your 'most important' temp reading is about a foot too low. The steam temp at the head is where you want to focus.
The head temp isn't crucial when brewing with a pot still. It's only necessary when brewing with a reflux setup. But his temp is way too high and he's brewing the mash down too low.
yeah with a thump keg you should have edleast hit 110 off + up the sugar what yeast did you usetemp to high mabye still getting getting mabye water in with your product low and slow patience pays with better shine
been a while since this video. not sure what happened. I usually get 145proof right out of the gate and then it tapers off slowly for the past few years
@@Anthony_DP Do a thorough cleaning and lightly pack column with 100 copper mesh, then run at about 184° to 194° in the pot or 173° at the condenser entrance and you should pull 165-175 proof. Just FYI bro. Keep on keepin on.
Methanol comes off at the start of your run, Your thumper (doubler) is too small, a thumper should be 1/3 the size of your still. You measure the temperature of the vapor at the top of the still, not down at the mash. With a thumper the temp of the still shouldn't go above 185* f. unless you're doing a stipping run or in a hurry to scorch the mash, in a stripping run you don't use a thumper. Methanol comes off when the still reaches 143*f, (head), and ethanol starts coming off at 163*f (Heart). With a thumper the process takes a lot longer to heat up, but the end product should be a hell of a lot more than 80 Proof...That shit at the end of your run that you said, "I'm going to throw away", (tailings) is the stuff you should be putting in that thumper when you do a run.
Doublers Fine!
Nice rig enjoyed the video
Where did you get your still and how much did it cost you
I have the same set up the 6 gallon still so do I only fill up my boiler just under the thermometer I have will have 5 gallons of wash should I only do about 2.5 gallons at a time?
summer swan fill up to the point before the still tapers up, regardless of the size of the still
how would I clean my still its new do I need to do a cleaning run of some sort I ran water threw it to to distill some water and test it out but it came out all cloudy and had stuff floating in it I heard of running some vinegar and water mixture threw it would screw it up? thanks
YES! Run a diluted vinegar solution through it. You'll see the visible change.
So what is the rule about using a thumper and how much of the forshots you pitch won't it carry into the rest ?
were did you get still at
How high do you fill the thumper hopefully you see this
Should be no more than 2/3 full
hey im new to this stuff i was wondering how much it would cost me to build the same set up you have and if you have any advice for me.
$600 bought and pre made, $400 to build it yourself.
150bux will buy you a 3'x10' sheet of 16oz copper that will work for this size.
Please do a build how did you place that proof meter like that
cut a square piece of wood, use a forstner bit to make a hole in it
What do u call the proofer thing u made love the set up would like one for myself
Niko Curri "proofing parrot"
Running a thumper you only getting 80 proof ? 🤔
so your thermometer was too low when it was designed and built
Thumper keg is a bit old school, and that's exactly why I want to start useing it. My question is how will it effect how much Forshots you have to throw out?assumeing from how thumper kegs work, alcohol saturates the liquid in the thumper, so will the Forshots then be first released from the thumper keg the exact same as any set up, and at same temp/volume,or is there any difference that needs to be noted?
Fair warning. I do not do a thump keg. So my knowledge is from watching others. You fill the thumper with some fair abv stuff to begin with. The few people that I know that use thumpers save their tails to load into their thumpers on the next batch. Or they use cheap store bought hooch if they don't have any tails.
The way the thump keg works is that the hot vapor from the pot still bubbles up through the liquid in the thumper. In this manner it provides an extremely low tech approximation of one of those windowed flute columns. But instead of using a reflux condenser at the top of the still, it uses the relatively cooler liquid in the thumper. This liquid will heat up to the boiling point of the alcohol (which is why the thumper gets hot) and let the alcohol vapor come through, but help catch some of the water that is carried over. It provides a seperate rough distillation to further clean up the finished product. All of which should give a more consistent abv over the course of the run.
I run packed column reflux distillation units at work and can talk all day on how those work. I know what happens when you take the packing out and run as a pot still because we have some split columns (half packed and refluxed/half not). But we don't use thumpers.
In theory you should still expect the same amount of garbage at the beginning of the run. It has a slightly lower boiling point than the good stuff, which is why it comes first. So it should carry over into the thumper first and out of the thumper first.
It's going to be the same with or without a thumper. Typically on a pot still you toss 250ml per 5gallon charge as fors. It seems like lots, but there are other things besides methanol that come through and also part of early heads that you don't want (like ethyl acetate . . . think nail polish). Best thing to charge your thump with is some of the wash you are charging your still with if you are doing a single run for a flavorful whiskey/rum. For cleaning up or if you want a lighter flavor, charge with water. Remember, whatever you charge with will carry through at some point.
I don't know where people get remove 250ml taken off first for 5 gal batch .its always been 50 ml for 5 gallon batch . 100 for 10 and 150 for 15 . If you filter everything after through. Charcoal , you won't have any problems.
50ml per 5 gallons is more typical for a reflux type still. There is a lot more smearing with pot stills. As well, no amount of charcoal will filter out many of the lower boiling point alcohols that come through the beginning of the run (such as ethyl acetate) which is why cuts are made, and any of the higher end commercial sold brands do not include this in blending (thus the higher price, less profit margin). On a single pot still run of 5 gallons, you aren't into the hearts until typically after 750ml and even then the hearts are smeared with heads.
If that started at 80 prof you got problems.
+Tony Powell Right on. mine starts off at 165 sometimes 170. It gets weaker as the run goes. I catch everything down to 0 then dump my trails in either next run and some in the thump to help carry the proof all the way through.
He has no idea what the hell he's doing. I would bet money that shit wont even catch fire.
@@TheSIeepyhouse I'm on fire.
@@Anthony_DP yea,he doesn't have a real clue.
That shit is running way to fast
how do you contain your flame?
i modulate the air and fuel from the tank valve and opening. to achieve a stable flame
Do you add anything into the thump keg?
My tails from the run before.
This will be my first run ever, corn mash, I really need advice on what to add to the thump keg if anything.. Thanks for your time in advance, I really do appreciate it.
Add a little bit of your mash in there.
I was watching moonshiners and overheard one of those guys using previously made shine in the thumper. I also saw one of them put some water and fruit in as well.
what is the purpose of a thumper keg
Second distillation using carryover heat from primary vessel
MetherFeckerrrr thank you for understanding ones question and answering in detail. i hate when people just give some stupid response and dont ever answer the original questions. Just wanted to be that person that shows appreciation for you taking your time to answer. Thank you.
I try to avoid TL;DR situations when I can; I misinterpreted your level of interest based off your short question with no punctuation.
tony sorry you couldnt understand "whats the purpose of a thumper keg" without "punctuation"----.....'''''!!!!!!???
hahaha
Just a little advice your running your steal to fast, one other piece of advice make sure your mash is worked off completely, 80-75 proof liquor is really low, that’s usually what I get towards the end of of my run… Usually start out at 150-160 depending on what kind of mash I’m using… But hey awesome video, Anyone who makes a little liquor on the side is ok by me….
Nice looking rig, but get rid of the plastic funnel!
I know right! One step at a time :) Definitely not using one anymore :)
Kitchen/restaurant supply stores you can usually get inexpensive stainless one from (that's where I got one). You going to keep that nice and shiny, or let it patina? I used to keep mine clean, but eventually just left the outside (the inside is maintained). After a few years now, it's got that "old backwoods used" look . . . complete with marks from flour paste dripping down the sides lol. Personal preference, some keep them shiny.
If you didnt get a temp reading of the output on your parrot then you're reading is off. You gotta add or subtract from your hydrometer reading if the output in your parrot is not 60°
Well, at least you got the tails off. Your 'most important' temp reading is about a foot too low. The steam temp at the head is where you want to focus.
The head temp isn't crucial when brewing with a pot still. It's only necessary when brewing with a reflux setup. But his temp is way too high and he's brewing the mash down too low.
yeah with a thump keg you should have edleast hit 110 off + up the sugar what yeast did you usetemp to high mabye still getting getting mabye water in with your product low and slow patience pays with better shine
been a while since this video. not sure what happened. I usually get 145proof right out of the gate and then it tapers off slowly for the past few years
@@Anthony_DP Do a thorough cleaning and lightly pack column with 100 copper mesh, then run at about 184° to 194° in the pot or 173° at the condenser entrance and you should pull 165-175 proof. Just FYI bro. Keep on keepin on.
But. That's. Not. A. Keg....