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how long does it take to distill 6 gallons of fermented stuff if it is about 14%. I have heard 15 ml per minute is good. But that seems like it would take all day. that can't be right?
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Davey,
Thats like asking how many gallons of fuel it takes to go a thousand miles.
are you driveing a compact, suv, semi, or freight train?
Heat source, column size, and length, packing, temp of water and volume, condenser size and capacity. Basic answer- 3.5 hours to 12. Also, depends what you are after, flavored spirits or neutral?
Fill in the blanks, and someone here will have a simular setup, and can answer your question relevantly.
Welcome to the group, and this family of friends!
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Thanks John, I guess you are right
..well lets say it is an essential extracter pro series II using the reflux and heated on the 1500w hotplate, packed with copper. just to go for neutral spirits, temp of water whatever it takes. 6 gals of 14% water and sugar with 24 turbo yeast.
Really just wondering if it starts at late afternoon, would I be sitting up all night.
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OK Davey,
You have what I gave my sister for Christmas last. She bought a walmart 2 burner hot plate, that said 1500 watts, but it was 900 and 600, and I think they were stretching it a bit. Took forever to heat up, and after 14 hours, collecting almost a gallon, gave up. Tasted horrible. So she tossed everything. Hearing of it, I took an 17% 6.5 gallon wash down and my propane. We ran it slow with careful cuts, in 5 3/4 hours, light up to shutdown. It was 93.5% for the keeping stuff, and tasted, smelled great.
With 1500 w you should come close to that. Biggest thing is to insulate the top half of your pot, and the column up to the water lines. That will really help speed things up for you, and give you better product. Also, boiling chips will help you a lot.
Good luck,
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Rank: Guest
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Hey Davey,
I'm not going to quote any hours to you at all. If you're new to distilling then my advice would be to get a good night's sleep, have a fine breakfast, and start early in the morning. No harm done if your distillation finishes after only several hours, and you'll have more hours in your day if you need it. John, who has written you, can tell you stories of my distilling past my bedtime, and of the frivolities that ensued...
In short: start early, have a buddy over, do small batches ,5 gallons or less, at first, never live a running still alone, and try not to drink very much while the still is running ,I'd say not at all, but hey,.
Patience and the time enough to practice it.
Good Luck and Enjoy.
And Welcome!
Yours,
PJ Lily
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Davey,
Start early and plan on 8 hours
You might be pleasantly surprised;
I have been working to beat that with my PS2 hi cap & the 1500 watt hotplate.
So far I have insulated the column with fiberglass pipe insulation ,for a 3' steam pipe ...from Home Depot, and sort of insulated the top of the pot with some 1' foam insulation from Mcmaster.com
I also modified the hotplate, if you look at Rick's directions, when you remove the bottom cover you can just switch around the wires and bypass the temp switch, instead of mangling it with pliers. They are just push on connectors. That way you can switch back if you choose to.
Good luck
Lou
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Hey Sdog, thanks a bunch
And where might I find those modification instructions?
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Davey This is the link Rick sent me: http://www.brewhaus.com/hotplate-adaptation When I opened the bottom of the hotplate I found 3 wires, 2 from the cord and a short one from the switch to the element. They are connected with push on connectors. I removed the short wire from the element and replaced it with the long wire which went to the switch. That bypasses the thermostat switch, but is reversible if you don't like how it works. I still have to get a rheostat so I can control how hot it gets. Lou
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Let me know if you find a rheostat - I am having trouble as apparantly a dimmer switch or fan control wont do it as the wattage is too high on the 1100 watt hot plate.
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At 09:25 AM 05/19/2007, you wrote: Posted by Davey on Saturday, May 19, 2007 - 09:25 am: Let me know if you find a rheostat - I am having trouble as apparantly a dimmer switch or fan control wont do it as the wattage is too high on the 1100 watt hot plate. Visit www.harborfreight.com and search on 'Router Speed Control' http://search.harborfreight.com/cpisearch/web/search.do?keyword=ROUTER+SPEED+CON TROL+&Submit=Go You'll have to read up on how to destroy the hotplate's thermostat with a pair of needle-nosed pliers.
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so this router speed control will handle the wattage/elec requirements of the hotplate?
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 Rank: Junior Member Groups: Registered
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so this router speed control will handle the wattage/elec requirements of the hotplate?
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I have one of these but have never used it. A thread at HomeDistiller says it will go 1800 watts so if you get rid of the thermostat it should do fine. Never used mine yet so don't quote me on that.
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Thanks - appreciate the feedback
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