George I can’t thank you enough for all your informative and amazing videos! I’m very grateful for your input on this still as I have owned the same still from Mile Hi for about 10 months now and it was great having you confirm that I was actually running it correctly all along as I am a very novice distiller. With your advice I’ve also built a custom PID controller for the still. I also run a second 5500watt heating element for the first 20-30 minutes of heating the still and usually turn the water on when my head temp starts to climb rapidly. I monitor the pot temp via another digital output on my controller as a heads up for tails at the end of my run as well. I love your water chiller set up and will be putting one together soon to conserve on water and the expense of ice. Thanks again for all the hard work you put into these videos! Always looking forward to the next!
thanks George, ive been homebrewer and commercial brewer for years, but your work has helped me to think about expanding the scope of what i do into distilling. I hope to see you back at it. =)
I’m glad I was able to find this video George it’s very informative I’m still waiting on my still from Mile high it’s basically the same exact thing that you just ran it’s been very helpful to watch you thank you very much. I must use propane because we live off the grid and there’s no electricity to run it
Happy Distilling and good to see you Professor Duncan. I am so happy to be in class today I love to watch those plates work. Anyway I was thinking.... If you have a stable closed circuit cooled water supply, like you do, no matter what you do it will maintain water temp X. And you have a data point for the optimal temperature of your column. How hard would it be to build a device to act as a throttle to maintain that value in relationship to the boiler, like a pid except it would have to know what both are doing, I guess like a pid but controlling a pump speed or pressure control. Or in ratio to those two data points till it stabilized. Set it and forget it. I hope I am explaining what I am thinking.
I absolutely agree that once you get a reflux still settled in it doesn’t require much attention. Just sit back and watch. And once it has dropped three or four ABV points it’s time for me to quit, depending on what I’m after.
Very well explained and I run my still till I see my reflux water outlet (hot side) on outlet temperature overtake my column temperature then I know that's it.Also if it gets to just under 99 degrees centigrade I'm going switch it off. Normally I stop at around 88 abv .
Ment to comment on part one but have seen a few people worried about you. You where gone for about 3 weeks. Hope everything was ok and thank you, very instructive.
It's like playing a musical instrument. You need to master the basic principals first and understand what's going on. Then practice, practice, practice. Then suddenly it's a piece of cake because you see what's going on and know exactly what to do about it. Don't expect to get 190 proof the first few times you run it. (I didn't) If you're a noob, (or not) watch George's videos. Build his P.I.D. controller and you're off to the races. No, I don't know George personally but I would love to hang out with him given the chance. Sub and like his vids so we keep getting this valuable info. As always, well done Master Distiller Duncan!
When you get to the end of a run on a plate still I like to turn the water on full and it will restack and get the proof back up and save some time if you want every drop.
hi George. Great video again like always. i have a small problem and hope you can help me out with it. So i got back into dnew still , 50 L beer keg ,2 inch x 36 inch column, sight glass, 2 x 90's all stainless and a condenser. my problem is when the keg is up to temp say 165F and condenser running, i am not getting any head temperature of my pipe ( point of no return ) i let it seat at that temp for about 2 hours at that point it was only up to 69F/21C. I increased the temp to 185F and 30 minutes later still it would not warm up 77F or 25C it should have equaled out by then. so why will it not warm up ? working on this for two days now with no luck , if you could help me out with this it would be greatly appreciated.
I've found a good shutoff point is when the proof gets to about 188 and/or the boiler temp reaches around 204F. This seems to be the sweet spot where hearts drop and tails begin.
Question if you ran this still with a PID controller would you install the temperature probe above the dephlegmator or would the cool water running through it confuse the PID? I'm asking for a friend.....
Great video George, finely some person who designed it got it all right and is pretty much the same as how my own design and build by myself reflux still is running. What a great still. The only thing I would change is that ball valve on the output of the reflux , I would rather have a needle valve tap on the input cold water inlet to manage the water flow from the bottom end of the reflux. That's the only thing I would change. It will also be good if you got a small drain ball valve on the bottom of that parrot to drain that fore shots off if it haven't got one on. Would like to run it with Pid's and see what you prefer to run and why?
A guy told me on the last video to buy Chinese knock offs for half the price. There's a reason I've wanted a Mile Hi, they hand weld in stainless in CO, it's an American product. And the quality looks amazing. I'm really hoping this review shows they are great.
I'm installing a PID controller with a thermocouple at the location of your thermometer to control my 5500 watt element. That way I can digitally set the set point at 173 or whatever and let the controller do the work on it's own and I only have to balance the dephlegmator. Does this sound like a working plan?
Anyone know where George has gone off to? He was making a bunch of videos and replying quite regularly, but he seems to have stepped back. I really do enjoy watching his videos. He makes everything so interesting while keeping it informative.
It really does not matter if you control input or via the output. I prefer controlling the output. If you use clear hose you can see the flow easier so controlling it is a little easier.
@@BarleyandHopsBrewing Thanks George. I usually control it from the input. Mostly because the clear hose I use on the output becomes so hot that it becomes extremely floppy and soft. I was afraid it wouldn’t support a valve and might pinch off. I noticed you use some sort of device to hang your output hoses. This is another very good idea from you that I hadn’t considered. Thanks for the reply and the knowledge.💪👍🥃😊
Danny here…..watching the reflux column still 4 part videos. In part 1 you used 15 gallons of mash, what is the minimum for this 16 gallon gal? I bought this exact still….except, I got the 2 heating element. I have not seen any big mash amount videos. It may sound funny…..just repeat the 5 gal mash recipe twice? Also I have a 62 quart stainless pot to use, can I use that as a mash pot and cover the top with cheesecloths?
Please make a video to show your water flowing through condensers. I'm using a y from my 6000l/h fountain pump to split the water to main vapour condenser and reflux.
Sorry dan look through the vids that match your questions and watch his video’s. Maybe a couple times depending on interruptions in your situation. I’ve got three kids! Usually takes me three times before I’m comfortable I know what I learned is what he was teaching!
Honourable Sir, I wanted to enquire why do you collect hearts from the higher side of the column when volatile substances tend to come again and again during the refluxing process from the higher side of the column? Why not take the rectificate from the lower side of the column (atleast 40 to 50 centimetres lower)? Why not keep rectification set which has a lowered LM delivery option? The rectification stills are designed in a manner that LM and VM both are taken from the same higher section only. No provision has been suggested of the OLM or OVM. Why so?
Hello there, I am purchasing a new still from milehigh. But am stuck between two stills. I was wondering what are the pros and cons between the all stainless steel 26 gal. Still and the copper 26 gal. Still they have?
I just cant get 190 proof on my still. Its the same exact still. I get close but haven’t broke that 190. And mine has a sweet spot of about 167 to 172 degrees.. does that seem normal to you? So glad you did a video on my still i have. Happy distilling !
Kinda random question: Wouldn't it be a lot more efficienct heating/electricity-wise to DIY some insulation around the pot? I imagine it has to be radiating a lot of the heat you put into it, and it just seems more logical to insulate rather than just pump in more power. Not the column if you want reflux obviously. It would almost make sense to insulate the whole thing for a pure pot-still though. I've never seen this done on video, so is there a reason why not? Insulation materials that can handle the fairly tame temperatures of a still shouldn't be very hard to get cheaply, and even the thinnest layer of a material like maybe neoprene should be orders of magnitude more efficient at preventing heat-loss than bare steel (or even worse, bare copper). I don't see why you couldn't fairly easily make a "jacket" for the pot that could be added or removed easily
Seems like the better method is to keep water flow off at the Dephlegmator till foreshots and heads are gone. Once gone, start the water flow to Dephlegmator and then output is pure hearts. The MileHi controller is just a glorified temp control. A PID would do much better job of temp control since it monitors temp at the point of no return which is more precise.
If you run the deflegmeter while the system is heating up, it “stacks the column“. That compresses the heads and makes the point between heads and hearts much easier to determine. At least that’s the way I understand it and it seems to hold true from my experience
So just a question you have a 2400 watt element but not running full so would that be around a 2200 watt element and if so that's what I have with a 4" column I could run my 2200 watt element full tilt impossibly be about the same I will be running 2 but I would be able to shut 1 off altogether
This was exactly the set of videos I’ve been looking for. Thank you for sharing. On to part 3.
Great video George, thank you for doing this for us. As usual, you're the one to go to for all the small details that help make us successful.
Thanks George! Enjoyed it as always! Please keep up the good work.
George I can’t thank you enough for all your informative and amazing videos! I’m very grateful for your input on this still as I have owned the same still from Mile Hi for about 10 months now and it was great having you confirm that I was actually running it correctly all along as I am a very novice distiller. With your advice I’ve also built a custom PID controller for the still. I also run a second 5500watt heating element for the first 20-30 minutes of heating the still and usually turn the water on when my head temp starts to climb rapidly. I monitor the pot temp via another digital output on my controller as a heads up for tails at the end of my run as well.
I love your water chiller set up and will be putting one together soon to conserve on water and the expense of ice. Thanks again for all the hard work you put into these videos! Always looking forward to the next!
thanks George, ive been homebrewer and commercial brewer for years, but your work has helped me to think about expanding the scope of what i do into distilling. I hope to see you back at it. =)
Thank you for all the information that you give I learn alot
Great video George! That is like a mini-me version of the one I got down here in MX.
Man, thats making me rethink my next build.
I’m glad I was able to find this video George it’s very informative I’m still waiting on my still from Mile high it’s basically the same exact thing that you just ran it’s been very helpful to watch you thank you very much. I must use propane because we live off the grid and there’s no electricity to run it
great videos!
Nice one George.. As Usual.. Best regards from the Falkland Islands..
George is the mad scientist he gets so excited explaining each step nothing wrong with that because that makes me watch him more an I learn more
Happy Distilling and good to see you Professor Duncan.
I am so happy to be in class today I love to watch those plates work.
Anyway I was thinking....
If you have a stable closed circuit cooled water supply, like you do, no matter what you do it will maintain water temp X.
And you have a data point for the optimal temperature of your column.
How hard would it be to build a device to act as a throttle to maintain that value in relationship to the boiler, like a pid except it would have to know what both are doing, I guess like a pid but controlling a pump speed or pressure control.
Or in ratio to those two data points till it stabilized.
Set it and forget it.
I hope I am explaining what I am thinking.
I absolutely agree that once you get a reflux still settled in it doesn’t require much attention. Just sit back and watch. And once it has dropped three or four ABV points it’s time for me to quit, depending on what I’m after.
That thing is a beast:-)
Ya love mine
Nice job George!
Very well explained and I run my still till I see my reflux water outlet (hot side) on outlet temperature overtake my column temperature then I know that's it.Also if it gets to just under 99 degrees centigrade I'm going switch it off. Normally I stop at around 88 abv .
Ment to comment on part one but have seen a few people worried about you. You where gone for about 3 weeks. Hope everything was ok and thank you, very instructive.
It's like playing a musical instrument. You need to master the basic principals first and understand what's going on. Then practice, practice, practice. Then suddenly it's a piece of cake because you see what's going on and know exactly what to do about it. Don't expect to get 190 proof the first few times you run it. (I didn't) If you're a noob, (or not) watch George's videos. Build his P.I.D. controller and you're off to the races. No, I don't know George personally but I would love to hang out with him given the chance. Sub and like his vids so we keep getting this valuable info. As always, well done Master Distiller Duncan!
The Silver Play Button & Celebrating 200k YOU CAN DO IT MAN !!!!!!! TIME TO GET IT! 30K MORE TO GO! GO! GO!
I KNOW HOW TO MAKE YOUR COME BACK !!
Excellent video. Were you concerned about ventilation with this still indoors?
You definitely confirmed what i thought!
When you get to the end of a run on a plate still I like to turn the water on full and it will restack and get the proof back up and save some time if you want every drop.
hi George. Great video again like always. i have a small problem and hope you can help me out with it. So i got back into dnew still , 50 L beer keg ,2 inch x 36 inch column, sight glass, 2 x 90's all stainless and a condenser. my problem is when the keg is up to temp say 165F and condenser running, i am not getting any head temperature of my pipe ( point of no return ) i let it seat at that temp for about 2 hours at that point it was only up to 69F/21C. I increased the temp to 185F and 30 minutes later still it would not warm up 77F or 25C it should have equaled out by then. so why will it not warm up ? working on this for two days now with no luck , if you could help me out with this it would be greatly appreciated.
Been waiting for this.
Same here, thanks George
I've found a good shutoff point is when the proof gets to about 188 and/or the boiler temp reaches around 204F. This seems to be the sweet spot where hearts drop and tails begin.
George, awesome as always! Thank you! Out of curiosity, how many gallons of wash did you start with?
I believe he said 15gals on part 1.
Question if you ran this still with a PID controller would you install the temperature probe above the dephlegmator or would the cool water running through it confuse the PID? I'm asking for a friend.....
Been watching you for many moons. I want to donate. Where do I do that?
Thanks George
George does the 100 proof and 204 degrees rule of thumb measure not apply to a reflux setup? Great Information! Thank you! Happy Distilling!
Not actually since this is a reflux.
WOO-HOOO! Part 2 !
What I have observed Master George, is that your viewers don't LISTEN very well. Thanks for the class.
George, get rid of that ball valve at the Dephlegmator and use a needle valve which is far more precise.
So basically a Stillman x style been on the trying to figure out the one to get any thought s.
How ultra cool.
Great video George, finely some person who designed it got it all right and is pretty much the same as how my own design and build by myself reflux still is running. What a great still. The only thing I would change is that ball valve on the output of the reflux , I would rather have a needle valve tap on the input cold water inlet to manage the water flow from the bottom end of the reflux. That's the only thing I would change. It will also be good if you got a small drain ball valve on the bottom of that parrot to drain that fore shots off if it haven't got one on. Would like to run it with Pid's and see what you prefer to run and why?
Parrot does have a drain valve.
Engineering 101. You always control flow on the output side.
A guy told me on the last video to buy Chinese knock offs for half the price. There's a reason I've wanted a Mile Hi, they hand weld in stainless in CO, it's an American product. And the quality looks amazing. I'm really hoping this review shows they are great.
I'm installing a PID controller with a thermocouple at the location of your thermometer to control my 5500 watt element. That way I can digitally set the set point at 173 or whatever and let the controller do the work on it's own and I only have to balance the dephlegmator. Does this sound like a working plan?
Any difference it start up time between the two methods? I have this still with the 16 gal boiler…..firing up on Fathers Day.
Hey had a question . Is there any head when starting ? Or is it just pure enough where it becomes the body?
Anybody know what the mash wash, what proof ‘ ABV did Prof George start with in the kettle/boiler
Anyone know where George has gone off to? He was making a bunch of videos and replying quite regularly, but he seems to have stepped back. I really do enjoy watching his videos. He makes everything so interesting while keeping it informative.
Great video as always George...
Can I ask if/why you prefer to control the water flow from the output of the defleg?
Best wishes.
It really does not matter if you control input or via the output. I prefer controlling the output. If you use clear hose you can see the flow easier so controlling it is a little easier.
@@BarleyandHopsBrewing
Thanks George.
I usually control it from the input.
Mostly because the clear hose I use on the output becomes so hot that it becomes extremely floppy and soft.
I was afraid it wouldn’t support a valve and might pinch off.
I noticed you use some sort of device to hang your output hoses.
This is another very good idea from you that I hadn’t considered.
Thanks for the reply and the knowledge.💪👍🥃😊
I too am wondering best way to run this with PID controller.
Danny here…..watching the reflux column still 4 part videos. In part 1 you used 15 gallons of mash, what is the minimum for this 16 gallon gal? I bought this exact still….except, I got the 2 heating element. I have not seen any big mash amount videos. It may sound funny…..just repeat the 5 gal mash recipe twice? Also I have a 62 quart stainless pot to use, can I use that as a mash pot and cover the top with cheesecloths?
Would be interested. In you running this still, trying to use it as a pot still. As always educational, and interesting.
I am running it as a pot still for now
@@martinjeschke7178 do you leave the deflagmentor in or remove it?
@@timothyhill1792 i do not have one on it
@@timothyhill1792 No
@@timothyhill1792 as long as theres no water running in it, it will run like a pot.
Wow that's a lot of current draw. How many elements do you have in it and how many watts are they each??
One element at 5500 watts.
I'm sorry I meant does the 100 proof and 204 degrees rule of thumb measure not apply to a Flute setup? Happy distilling!
Ok Stillman X or Mile hi I have been on the Fence ?. Any one in the community with thought
Is it possible to get a schematic for that controller. Thanks
Pretty much what I'm getting 1lt per half an hour, smooth sailing George
Do you intend on building a PID (220V) for this beast?
Please make a video to show your water flowing through condensers. I'm using a y from my 6000l/h fountain pump to split the water to main vapour condenser and reflux.
Pro???Dan
Sorry dan look through the vids that match your questions and watch his video’s. Maybe a couple times depending on interruptions in your situation. I’ve got three kids! Usually takes me three times before I’m comfortable I know what I learned is what he was teaching!
is not useful, necessary, an isolation of the reflux column? could it help?
Honourable Sir,
I wanted to enquire why do you collect hearts from the higher side of the column when volatile substances tend to come again and again during the refluxing process from the higher side of the column? Why not take the rectificate from the lower side of the column (atleast 40 to 50 centimetres lower)?
Why not keep rectification set which has a lowered LM delivery option? The rectification stills are designed in a manner that LM and VM both are taken from the same higher section only. No provision has been suggested of the OLM or OVM. Why so?
vodka runs are fun to watch. Kinda like watching a campfire...
Could i do this with a pid and just run it manual mode with perectage going to the element ?
When you run your sourmash do you run it pot or reflux
George is higher ok for my temp reading?
Hello there, I am purchasing a new still from milehigh. But am stuck between two stills. I was wondering what are the pros and cons between the all stainless steel 26 gal. Still and the copper 26 gal. Still they have?
Which one did you end up getting?
I just cant get 190 proof on my still. Its the same exact still. I get close but haven’t broke that 190. And mine has a sweet spot of about 167 to 172 degrees.. does that seem normal to you? So glad you did a video on my still i have. Happy distilling !
Nice 👍 Keep at it. This is an amazing still and can produce 190+ if you baby sit it.
I've been trying to get alcohol feel permit
Question am I suppose to align the down ports on the bubble plates?
watch part one....
nice!......way prettier than mine :D
Located near alamosa Colorado looking for two inch bubble plates
Kinda random question: Wouldn't it be a lot more efficienct heating/electricity-wise to DIY some insulation around the pot? I imagine it has to be radiating a lot of the heat you put into it, and it just seems more logical to insulate rather than just pump in more power.
Not the column if you want reflux obviously. It would almost make sense to insulate the whole thing for a pure pot-still though.
I've never seen this done on video, so is there a reason why not? Insulation materials that can handle the fairly tame temperatures of a still shouldn't be very hard to get cheaply, and even the thinnest layer of a material like maybe neoprene should be orders of magnitude more efficient at preventing heat-loss than bare steel (or even worse, bare copper). I don't see why you couldn't fairly easily make a "jacket" for the pot that could be added or removed easily
How hard is the reflux to run
I wouldn’t drink more than one jar since it’s at 190 proof 🥴😝
Where can I get that set up
Mile Hi Distilling
Seems like the better method is to keep water flow off at the Dephlegmator till foreshots and heads are gone. Once gone, start the water flow to Dephlegmator and then output is pure hearts.
The MileHi controller is just a glorified temp control. A PID would do much better job of temp control since it monitors temp at the point of no return which is more precise.
If you run the deflegmeter while the system is heating up, it “stacks the column“. That compresses the heads and makes the point between heads and hearts much easier to determine. At least that’s the way I understand it and it seems to hold true from my experience
Thanks
Is that intro music needed? It muddled what you were saying.
#moonshinemessiah
#disciplesofgeorge
Demand the Epstein CASE
So just a question you have a 2400 watt element but not running full so would that be around a 2200 watt element and if so that's what I have with a 4" column I could run my 2200 watt element full tilt impossibly be about the same I will be running 2 but I would be able to shut 1 off altogether