14
GLOSSARY
BIO FUEL
Bio fuel can be made using the same process as distilling
spirits with the T500 Reflux Distillation System.
I CAN’T FIT THE WATER FLOW CONTROLLER TO MY TAP,
WHAT CAN I DO?
The water flow controller provided in the T500 Reflux
Distillation System comes with the thread adaptor M22
x M24 male. Remove the diuser on your tap and fit the
appropriate fitting. Your T500 Reflux Condenser also
comes with a 20 mm BSP adaptor to fit your laundry or
garden tap, along with a male hole connector.
HOW DO I KNOW WHEN THE DISTILLATION IS FINISHED?
You will also notice the distillate is slower coming out (one
drop every 5 to 10 seconds), that means all the alcohol
has been distilled and the boiler can be turned o.
WHAT IS THE T500 REFLUX CONDENSER FILLED WITH?
The T500 Reflux Condenser column is packed with
copper and stainless steel saddles.
Copper saddles play a catalyst role with your distillate
by reacting with sulphur compounds and eliminating
them from your distillate. Sulphur compounds are
molecules produced by yeasts during fermentation.
They are responsible for off flavours, such as ‘rotten
egg’, ‘cooked cabbage’ or ‘garlic’.
HOW OFTEN AND HOW SHOULD I CLEAN THE T500
REFLUX CONDENSER?
We recommend washing the saddles every 5 to 10
distillations, by rinsing the column with water. For a
thorough clean (every 20 distillations or so), rinse your
column with a citric acid mix, (2 tsp citric acid to 1 L
(1 US qt) water) then flush with water 2 or 3 times to
get rid of the acid. Alternatively, you can unpack your
column and soak your saddles in citric acid mix before
rinsing them and placing them back into the column
again. Note that the copper saddles should be placed
in the column first, followed by the ceramic or stainless
steel saddles.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO RUN THE STILL?
The still uses 2 KW/hour (NZ/AU/UK), and 1.6 KW/
hour (US). You can multiply this by the power rate
paid, by the time the T500 is operating (5-8 hours
for a 20 L (5 US Gal) wash).
Add to this the cost of cooling water, based on the
flow rate used and the cost of raw materials required
to produce the wash. NZ/AU/UK uses on average
100-125 L (26-33 US Gal) per distillation. USA uses
on average 20-25 L (5.3-6.6 US Gal) per distillation.
HOW CAN I RECYCLE MY COOLING WATER?
You can run your cooling water in closed circuit,
provided you have sufficient amount of water and
ice packs and a pump that provides enough flow.
We suggest using a 200 L (53 US Gal) container
(rubbish bin for example), filled with water, and add
6 x 2 L (2 US qt) bottles filled with water and frozen a
few days ahead.
Your cooling water can also be kept in big containers
and reused later for the garden.
ACTIVATED CARBON
Activated carbon is prepared in a manner which
causes the carbon crystals to become porous and
develop a very large surface area. One gram of
activated carbon may have 500–1,500 m2 (5,382-
16,146 ft2) of internal surface area. This large
surface area and the many internal pores in the
carbon are able to adsorb many different chemical
compounds including those which cause unwanted
flavours in your spirit. The adsorption process is
very complex and depends on concentrations,
molecular weight etc.
It can be added directly in your wash, or used for
filtering the distillate. In the case of alcoholic spirit
the process works best if the alcohol concentration
is 50% ABV or less. This is why we recommend
adjusting the alcohol level before purification.
Activated carbon must be soaked or rinsed with
clean water just before using to get rid of mineral
salts and dust.
ALCOHOL (OR ETHANOL)
Most commonly used to describe ethanol, the type
of alcohol in wine, beer, spirits and other alcoholic
beverages. It is a chemical with the formula
C
2
H
5
OH.
ALCOHOL PURITY
Alcohol purity describes the strength of the
alcohol produced by distillation; it is measured in
percentage of alcohol by volume, or % ABV. The
T500 Reflux Distillation System delivers 90 to 93%
ABV alcohol, when following the recipes and set up
described in this booklet.
KITCHEN
TAP
M22
M24 20 mm
BSP
Note: make sure all seals are in place
LAUNDRY
TAP
GARDEN
TAP
M22
M22
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