Does a thump keg 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.
Do you put anything in a thump keg?
Distillers usually add spirit tails, low wines, water, or whiskey to their thumper keg to cool the alcohol vapors coming from the potstill. However, you can include other fruits, herbs, or spices to add different flavor combinations to your spirits.
What liquid goes in a thumper?
Just fill your boiler up to 20% capacity with a mix of 50% distilled hot water and 50% vinegar. Then, start distilling from your pot into your thumper, just like how you normally would when separating tails and distilling spirits.
What is the purpose of the 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.
Can I put fruit juice in a thump keg?
Fruit, herbs, or spices can be placed in the thumper where their essences are, in effect, steam-extracted along with the alcohol during this virtual second distillation.
Can a thumper be too big?
On the other hand, if your thumper is too big or if you have too much liquid in it, the incoming vapor won’t be able to heat the liquid up properly. Then all the vapor is condensed and actually becomes diluted by the liquid in the thumper, which is the exact opposite of what you want.
Can you put fruit in a thump keg?
Finally, it should be added that a thump keg can be used to impart flavor in another manner as well: it can be used just like a gin basket. Fruit, herbs, or spices can be placed in the thumper where their essences are, in effect, steam-extracted along with the alcohol during this virtual second distillation.
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.
Do you put water in a thumper keg?
Depending on your thumper, it’s typical to plan to fill it about halfway with liquid. This is the case for our Brewhaus thumpers, but if you are using a different thumper, check with the manufacturer or adjust the fill level as you see fit.
How does a Mason jar Thumper work?
How Does a Thump Keg Work? With a thump keg, the hot vapor that exits the still arm into the wine that is already condensed at the bottom of the thumper once again evaporates before it reaches the condenser. When the alcohol is vaporized again, the alcohol content increases dramatically.
What happens if your thumper is too small?
If a thumper is too small or if you didn’t put enough liquid in it, then that liquid will heat up too quickly from the incoming vapor. Then that vapor will just bubble up right through the liquid without being cooled and condensed first, exiting straight through the condenser.
What can you put in the Thumper keg?
Fruit, herbs, or spices can be placed in the thumper where their essences are, in effect, steam-extracted along with the alcohol during this virtual second distillation.
Where did the term thump keg come from?
Indeed, some older European stills made use of what appears to be chambers that functioned as thump kegs, so the principle was surely well known to colonists from the British Isles and the continent.
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 You Heat a thump keg with partial reflux?
Bear in mind that many reflux column designs do not output hot vapor at all, so these will not be able to heat a thump keg. If you use a partial-reflux design, then you will get hot vapor coming out of the column that might supply enough heat to run a small, well-insulated thump keg, but to what purpose?
