Setting Up And Running The T500

Visit the LoveBrewing website:
www.lovebrewing.co.uk/
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In this video, Richard shows you how to set up the Still Spirits Turbo 500 (T5000) and discusses how to get up and running.
If you would like to purchase the T500 Water Flow Regulator (Boxed) then check it out here:
www.lovebrewing.co.uk/t500-wa...
You can see the video about the regulator here:
• T500 Water Flow Regulator
You'll find the T500 Stainless Steel Water Flow Controller Valve here:
www.lovebrewing.co.uk/t500-wa...
Richard also mentions the Spiritworks - Granular Carbon Filter which you can find here:
www.lovebrewing.co.uk/spiritw...
We also have a huge range of Still Spirits flavourings here:
www.lovebrewing.co.uk/still-s...
The Spiritworks - Distilling Conditioner here:
www.lovebrewing.co.uk/distill...
This video is part of the 'Gin Making With The Still Spirits Air Still' playlist - see it here:
• Making Gin With The St...
If you are interested in Gin Making then you might want to attend our 'Gin Experience'
help at our Chesterfield and Liverpool stores
www.lovebrewing.co.uk/courses...
Or see this video
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjy8X...
You might like to see some other courses we have
www.lovebrewing.co.uk/courses/
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[@Paul280355]

Not used for a long time and couldn’t remember connection so looked at your info and not only was it great for this but also your info of the best temperature to run at, your a great tutor, thank you so very much

[@rchuso]

I bought the same still a couple years ago. Thanks for the additional information.

[@ogshaggymac]

Good work mate,best explanation on the T500 run I've seen yet. Rob from OZ

[@danielleelfstrom5826]

Love your videos thank you for your guidance.im still unpacking and setting up. Im finding it all daunting and yet exciting

[@cgoody9913]

Bought mine today, I do all grain brewing but yeah, sometimes things are confusing, but done a few times seems ok.

[@douglasvallance5136]

Thankyou so much going to help me to set up as I'm a first timer looking forward to making wiskey for the first time with your help hope to be successful Regards Doug

[@geraldaspin5992]

They are all halp a great deal,very good to watch. I give them all 8or 9 +.

[@Yellowsnow1]

This has made my mind up. T500 all day long. Thanks Rich

[@peterbradley2425]

Very keen to keep following.Cheers

[@danielleryan6116]

Great video, thanks. I just purchased a T500 and was a little scared of it. Your video was very helpful

[@beardyhomebrewing]

Same going to be running first wash on Friday all a bit daunting 😂

[@jpsabbey]

Great in depth video 👍

[@MrCornel454]

just bought one I can't wait

[@rojosurtv]

This became one of my favorite channels. I am thinking in buying an air still to re run my spirti and make some gins, and you convinced me

[@BullyBonanza]

Good salesman isn't he? 😂

[@hannible1002]

I have had one for 7 years. I drink half a bottle at 35% every day I am 60.

[@harveyotoole2029]

@@hannible1002 Wow

[@hannible1002]

@@harveyotoole2029 I never get a hangover nither Harvey. But I am retired I couldent do it if I had to get up at 7am. Take care.

[@harveyotoole2029]

@@hannible1002 My friend says the same thing, no hangover with this stuff. Take care.

[@Gerhard3838]

I own and use my t500 for the last three years. I do neutral wash with sugar, but also rum wash with cane sugar and black strap molasses. The t500 was my best investment ever. Btw you shop is fantastic 👊🏻 Cheers

[@erhui5597]

Hi, as for the rum, do you remove the saddles? I read you will loose less of the molasses flavor that way but ofcourse your alcohol% yield will drop.

[@robertreinerstedt8720]

Bypass the reflux cooling coil by putting the "drain tube" directly over the final condenser instead of leading the cooling water through the whole system. In that way you get a much more efficient condensation compared to if you only removed the stainless steel and copper saddles.

[@Gerhard3838]

@@erhui5597 Sorry for my late reply , no I don’t remove the saddles the flavour is still quite intense.

[@adaminness8658]

Well said and instructed.

[@TheGreatest1974]

Excellent tutorial. 👍🇬🇧

[@mrspykerwolf]

Awesome video and really appreciate your professional attitude. Maybe it's the accent haha but it definitely works. Any cons after owning it for 11 months?

[@patharris9210]

great advice

[@darylzampese1855]

Great video .. How does this still compare to your older still?

[@B0r0]

Ive been using these systems for now over 10 years now and my best advice I can give is to ditch the turbo yeasts etc (and as my wife says they taste like hospital alcohol,) the best yeast is bakers yeast, it doesn't give you a high alcohol content but gives a great taste.

[@lukeclarke8054]

Thanks for the tip.

[@paulkazjack]

It tastes very bready though.

[@gunlabchris]

Have you tried using a blend of both yeast? Saw a video where a person uses both

[@ffwast]

Just use beer or wine yeast.

[@peterpage7322]

Great still, but the timings stated are not correct. It takes 1 hour to reach temperature and then, if you are keeping the condenser temperature to as close to 50 degrees centigrade, it takes 6-7 hours. Obviously the higher the temperature the quicker it is.

[@anthonyiamtheone9381]

Go ray Martin. Good video

[@rchuso]

Please tell me, now that I'm living in the USA (Idaho), and I've purchased a replacement still (another T500 for 120V), I'm unable to get the Peat Smoke and Single Whisky here - and nobody wants to ship any to me?

[@dirtyworkdiver]

Thank you for this instruction! I just purchased a T 500 and a Grainfather 30L, I will use the GF for my boiler. Should I set the temperature of the Gf just slightly above the desired temperature? This will minimize the cooling needed from my water flow regulator, right? Your recommendations are greatly appreciated! Salute! By the way, your audio improved when you changed over to the stainless steel unit.

[@HeartPumper]

I'm setting mine on full boil all the time. You'd start collecting heads at around 91°C (@GF temp) and above 50°C @ T500.

[@joachimlandes5745]

Very interesting and helpful, thank you very much. I just got a T500 from a friend to try. How do you clean the copper saddles if they are all black or is it enough to rinse them in water?

[@aarnaarn1904]

Use citric acid, 1 tablespoon in one litre of water. Soak for 24 hours. Rinse well. Cheers

[@joachimlandes5745]

@@aarnaarn1904 thank you very much

[@patrussell3028]

Table salt and white vinegar solution I believe.

[@scottskinner2525]

Soak them in 551 - A homemade solution of 500 ml of water, 50 ml of peroxide and 1 oz (I use 2 tbspn) of citric acid

[@sheep3854]

Would it be possible to use a garden hose as the water source? My garage has no running water and the outside tap is 20 meters away, i could set up a web cam on the temp probe so i can adjust the water flow, im just not sure if its a good idea or not?

[@thomascaldwell6545]

i have run mines from garden hose no problem sheep

[@marcusjarrold2792]

Approximately how many litres of water would you use to run a t500 for about 4hrs..

[@plug4uk696]

I personally use the waste Hot water coming out of the still to sterilise all my bottles and then leave them filled up with the hot water in them and caps on until I need them 😉

[@reneeludewig6738]

How much litres of water are you using to make this happen

[@kristiankruse3964]

You might want to discard the first 50ml anyway, because still spirits recommend it. Do a burn test just to make sure you are not making methanol

[@rick151]

What if you don't finish running that batch that day and want to complete the next day? Do you continue to discard?

[@HeartPumper]

Always discard 5-10% of your initial yeld. In home distilling stills there's always bit of methanol in boiling wash (even despite discarding initial ml).

[@sseedell]

The burn test is an extremely unreliable method of determining the type of alcohol. There is so much garbage being posted around this. Most of the information is completely wrong and could be dangerous for people that don't understand it. For instance, methanol (bad alcohol) will burn clear blue and ethanol (good alcohol) will always burn with a flick of yellow near the top due to the extra carbon atom producing soot when burnt. There are many videos out there (in fact most) that state the exact opposite regarding the colours of flame.

[@thejollyfrog640]

At 2:55 problem with temperature probe. A T500 defect. For the exorbitant price they charge for the T500, it should have a proper length probe. At 15:20 re: classic yeast. So it's OK to have the smell and bite of acetone in your spirit???

[@DripdropBrewing]

OMG 😱😱 I cannot believe he has said not to discard the foreshots/heads and tails on pure turbo yeast. It don't matter what yeast in the world you use always get the strongest methanol from start and tails at the end 😂🤣😂 I have had this still for 2 years and I absolutely swear by it that's how good it is. First 100mls/150mls stinks and taste of methonol and billion percent need taking off and the tails the same stinks and needs to be kept for next run on pure turbo yeast. You having a laugh 😂😂😂 I have used it and stinks. Keep hearts and job done. You just keep it at 51c/52c 6/7 hours later you get roughly 3.2 litres or more @ 93% ABV. That's how you run a T500 still. TPW wash or kale wash is the best for me but this is my preference. I now own a 3" 5 floor bubble plate kit with 2"/3" reducer and 2" bulkheads that fits the 2" lid perfectly and a voltage controller is a must have!! now I get 96% without fail and it automatically filters it without using ez filter anymore. But guys please take take off your foreshots/heads and tails off your nutrual will taste discussing and the wrong way to doit on any type of yeast you use available out there. This is the only misinformed information on here. Other then this great video and perfect otherwise 👍🤘👌👊

[@JoaoPedroSobral]

Agreed. I have been doing a lot of pot still so when I moved to reflux and doing a spirit run you will have foreshots, heads, hearts and tails like in a pot still. Best way to identify is to take a small sample and dilude it to 40%. Smell and taste you will see. However for the ones new to the hobby start with the alembic dome / pot still setup. It will help identify all the different cuts then move to reflux to play with clean spirits. Despite all of that alembic is my favourite I love brandy and whisky 😊

[@DripdropBrewing]

@@JoaoPedroSobral even better split the pipe with a two way pipe connector and you can use it as a pot still. Add a gin basket two type in upgrade t500 on here there is a few video on it👍👍

[@vandoguk8478]

Now open the shop so I can buy one please! ;-)

[@donnasmeaton8969]

What about the methanol that is produced after still reaches 143 F degrees that is poisenous? This still does go through that temp range on the way to 170F-175F degrees?

[@irish-medi-weed-grower5240]

Heads. They are used for rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer. You also get methanol as the temperature drops to said 143f , they are called the tails. You keep heads and tails separate from the good stuff 😜

[@mickblue768]

Hi Do you turn the water on as soon as you start the still or do you wait untie it starts getting hot then turn on thanks

[@LoveBrewing]

I normally wait till it starts to get quite hot

[@sandyjack1901]

Any advice on “puking”? My distilling stopped after about 2 litres of alcohol produced and full flow wash came through the alcohol tube.

[@scottskinner2525]

Are you adding an anti-foaming agent (Still Spirits Distilling Conditioner) to your wash before you distill?

[@sandyjack1901]

@@scottskinner2525 Hi Scott I didn’t for the first brew but will next time. Thank you

[@lindadodge6926]

Is it okay to pre-warm the wash in a pot on a burner before putting it into the T500?

[@LoveBrewing]

Yes it is but be careful you don’t any where near to boil or the vapours coming off would be alcohol and combustible.

[@lindadodge6926]

@@LoveBrewing Yes I understand that bringing it to a boil would be very dangerous. Thank you for your fast response. Love your channel.

[@LoveBrewing]

@@lindadodge6926 thanks! :)

[@user-eg8hb8xt3j]

For nuts that won’t start …go counterclockwise until it clicks then tighten it up

[@jamalking6738]

A couple of questions How much does it cost to produce the 3.5litres at 92-94% before watering it down ? And I've seen videos where people say to throw away the 1st 200-250ml when making Rum (Which I what I want to make) Thank you

[@cgoody9913]

Cost of the still, sugar 6kg, 25 ltr water and yeast. Oh and the charcol packets, not much.

[@bigsiegee]

I think you got a ghost mate. That wire holding your bookshelf up is going bonkas.

[@LoveBrewing]

good point, how strange

[@TimothyRCrowe]

Did you run off and throw out the initial 100 ml of nasty methanol and acetone off first?!

[@HeartPumper]

Seems he didn't. I personally always do, 10% of my calculated yeld (180-230 ml). It goes for sanitization purposes. Also collecting tails (the taste is kinda off) - also purposed as heads. All that with 100% sugar wash & baker's yeast (Birdwatcher's recipe).

[@MrRhino12667]

Actually how far in should thermometer probe go in and why is it not already restricted at that depth?

[@HeartPumper]

Bit of teflon tape is needed. Otherwise it will leak ;)

[@tiagovieira1151]

Do you not discard the head and tail?

[@blackcyclist]

there are no tails. discard the first 50ml. why risk it for a double shot?

[@HeartPumper]

Tails are coming out as well. It's all alcohol (tasting bit off for me) around 90% at the end of the run.

[@blackcyclist]

@@HeartPumper I guess you can call the last part tails. My last run I got 3.9L of 92% alcohol. 1st 2 liters was 92.5% then liter 3 came out about 92% and the last 700ml ended up at 91%. I chucked away the first 100ml (saved for paint cleaner) 3800ml from a 20L sugar wash ain't bad. I'm sure I could have collected another 400-500ml, but it wasn't worth the time and effort.

[@HeartPumper]

@@blackcyclist Yep, my heads & tails are going always for sanitation/desinfection purposes. Just cutting it down to 72%, adding evt. bit of glycerine & water perioxide. PS V. nice yeld 👍. What yeast/recipe you're using?

[@blackcyclist]

@@HeartPumperI made a sugar wash but I inverted the sugar and lowered the PH. I used a turbo yeast with carbon. Ended up with a 17%abv mixture that went Into the kettle

50c° for the water aroung the condenser???? i put it as fresh as it can be, alcohol must be fresh when he drips out, if it's hot you could have 20%abv and on the taste it will be hot as 50abv ,,,,

[@hghtrfnko8634]

That water section was a punish.

[@mattikujanpaa]

How many litres of alcohol u get from a full load

[@mrpoop123]

What i don't understand is when he showed it running it was literally just a drip . How do you got 3.5 litres at 50 degrees in that many hours. If I did that it'll take me 10 hours and get less . Its also not my mash. My mash is 17 lbs sugar, dry active distillers yeast and yeast nutrient. Ferments atleast 10 days. Or more. I have the outflow set to 500ml per min.

[@peterpage7322]

@@mrpoop123 yes you are right, it actually takes 6-7 hours at around 50c. I don’t get the same quantities either using the same products. But hey ho it’s still a great still.

[@mrpoop123]

@@peterpage7322 i agree, I do think its a decent still especially just starting. I don't drink the stuff I make extracts with the ethanol. The strange thing is I don't get a decent flow until a much higher outgoing temperature. Also debating doing some videos because there isn't much info on running the t500

[@peterpage7322]

@@mrpoop123 any videos on the t500 would be welcome for many, especially beginners, as we are all learning and there are so many variables. I agree, it’s a great still for beginners as you get results from the start very easily, and if all you want is vodka, it’s perfect!

[@mrpoop123]

@@peterpage7322 its really one of those things you learn from doing. The biggest thing I've learned is watching your outflow per min and watching the drip/stream and by taste / smell. I did buy the copper parrot even though I know im producing 95% ( it will go down when the alcohol cools down, the highest this still will produce is about 93%abv) but I find it flows better with it when collecting. I also think it gets a bad wrap because stilling back in the day isn't exactly the easiest thing/dangerous if you don't know what you're doing and now a days its more of a plug and play. The ones who had to learn the hard way ( yet would know more of how distilling really works by trial and error ) compared to the t500 where you can get a decent neutral without even having knowledge. I don't even drink yet got alcohol within the first go. It's over priced but ive enjoyed it and its a good way to introduce yourself into distilling. I really think it mostly comes down to your fermenting and keeping the temps correct. I was in contact with George from barley and hops and he mentioned that too much sugar the yeast will give up here his words "I always recommend that in a 5 gallon batch of sugar wash you don't exceed 10 LBs of sugar (in fact 8 LBS is better for yeast health). If you have too much sugar your yeast tend to give up and you have little overall ethanol produced. Try keeping the initial (starting) gravity below 1.090. The results are somewhere in the 12% ABV area but very predictable and you can expect to collect almost three quarts. "

[@antakalnietiskalnietis4163]

I do not think that carbon cleaning is needed if all is done correctly. In my modest understanding - carbon shall be used only for correcting faults in distillation process.

[@kevinwalsh2566]

Can you put the t500 on top of a grainfather?

[@hannible1002]

No the T500 is for sugar washes.

[@HeartPumper]

Yes, but you have to buy an extra lid - or dome (if it's not coming with T500 column in the set). And is not only for sugar washes lol 😂. Just take the packing out & you have a pot still.

[@TheRealSnpe]

WHO come here for ow

[@platinumstudiosentertainment]

Need to cut the music in the background as it's a distraction.

[@Blelelelele]

Woooow, how cheap can you get to want to keep the first 50ml, ridiculous. Chuck it

[@Edgunsuk]

you sure you aint just banging on about carbon to sell your filters ??? PS Ellie-Clair is £100 cheaper for the complete still than these guys.

[@collinsarcade2939]

terrible video lol I read that theres 2 power switches but I only see one, try to watch a video on how to switch it on and you turn off the video, switch it on, then turn the video back on lolllll you cut out the most important thing in the video

[@irish-medi-weed-grower5240]

I bought a t500 still off you About 9 years ago. And I was watching the news the other day and and thought I saw you. But it was the hero Andrew Brigdan. Are you related?