Is a thump keg necessary?
An ordinary pot still, without a thump keg, is capable of distilling a wash to only a “low wine”, which will be about 40-50% alcohol. Many shiners in fact prefer to use a wooden barrel for the thump keg, precisely because it loses less of this useful heat than would a metal one.
Do you put anything in the thumper keg?
You can choose to add fruit peel, herbs, spices, and mashed ripe fruit directly into your thumper keg. Just remember that in the case of mashed fruit, you will need to add large quantities to impart that flavor.
What is a thump keg filled with?
At the start of the distillation, the thumper keg is filled with a small amount of spirit tails from a previous batch (ideal), some wash from the current batch (good), or water (better than nothing).
What happens in a thump keg?
The way the thumper works is that it takes the vapor from the head of your kettle and travels down a tube into the bottom of the thumper. This vapor is cooled when it enters the liquid in the thumper, which condenses the vapor while also heating that liquid in the thumper.
What is the purpose of a thumper in a still?
Basically, a thumper keg is a container that is installed in the distillation apparatus between the still pot and the condenser. It was traditionally used in hillbilly stills to increase the alcohol content of the distillate because, traditional stills only output product with about a 50-60 percent alcohol content.
How much yeast do I need for 5 gallons of mash?
Distillers Yeast If there are no directions we suggest 1 tablespoon of yeast per 5 gallons of mash.
Do you heat the thumper keg?
Many moonshiners do prefer to heat the thumper. The alcohol does need to stay in vapor form to be able to rise into the condenser. Wood barrels are often preferred as thump kegs because of wood’s natural isolative abilities.
How much liquid do you put in a thumper?
You need to put some kind of liquid in the thump keg… filling it about 1/4 full. The options are: left over mash, tails from a previous run, etc. But if you want the thumper to do what it is supposed to do (increase the alcohol % in the final product), there needs to be some kind of alcohol in the thumper.
At what proof do you stop distilling?
around 10-20 proof
When the Distillation Process Ends Experienced commercial distillers generally run their stills until the alcohol from the wash has reduced to somewhere around 10-20 proof. It is not worth the time and energy to distill further to separate the little remaining alcohol from the water.
What temp do you run a moonshine still?
You will not make any cuts at the different temperatures like you would with a typical pot distillation. Collect until the temperature reaches about 207°F/208°F (97°C/98°C). Turn off your heat source, but continue to run the cooling water until there is no vapor left in the moonshine still.
Does a thumper need to be heated?
Does a Thumper Need to be Heated? Many moonshiners do prefer to heat the thumper. The alcohol does need to stay in vapor form to be able to rise into the condenser. Wood barrels are often preferred as thump kegs because of wood’s natural isolative abilities.
What is a thumper keg and how does it work?
What Is A Thumper Keg and How Does It Work? 1 Thumper Keg: A copper, steel, or wooden vessel which is placed between the still pot and condenser. 2 What Size Thumper Keg to Use? A thumper keg should be 25% to 40% the size of your main boiler. 3 What Does a Thumper Keg Do? The main purpose of a thumper keg is to speed up the distillation process.
How much distillate should be in a thump keg?
Such a design would maximize immersion while keeping the volume low. The rule of thumb is that you want a thump keg that will hold at least twice the volume of distillate that you expect to collect. The liquid volume it contains should begin with around 1/3 the volume of the distillate.
Can a thumper be used as a second distiller?
So now you can see how the thumper part of the Thumper Still works as kind of a second distillation, because when you use one, you are basically double distilling, or doing two runs in one.
Can you run rum through a still with two Thumpers?
I was gifted a couple old kegs and seen a thread about running rum through a still with a boiler and two thumpers, so figured why not. Double distill in 1 run. It can work as a steam outfit to distill on the grain for grainy mash or real pulpy fruit must for brandy.