Distillers Parrots: Should I Use One? Do They Smear?

Distillers parrots or parrots beaks are a very common piece of equipment for home distillers.
But what does a parrot do? How do you use a distillers parrot? Do distillers parrots cause smearing and should I use a parrot?
These are the questions I am going to talk about today!
I also geek out a little bit a do a small experiment involving food coloring :)
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[@Samandcocoa]

Just a reminder for those that use a Parrot. I tell this to all the persons using one for the first time. Make sure you have an air break. If not you will get back pressure and this can lead to a dangerous situation, as well as making the Parrot impossible to use as the hydrometer bounces like my nephew on sugar. Another great vid too. Looks like you've lost a stone or two. Looking good

[@scottyweimuller6152]

Nuntius01 Ahh another internet expert lol

[@Samandcocoa]

Yep, all knowledge gained state side has bee strictly from the interweb. Lol 8)

[@StillIt]

VERY good point Nuntius! COMMENT PINNED :)

[@BigEdsGuns]

+1 Nuntius01. A good safety tip! A "Married" Parrot or "direct connection" Parrot will need an air break. You will see them connected to the output side of the condenser and they usually have a dump valve on the intake/bottom of the parrot to dump heads. A "Divorced" or "Solo" parrot like Jessie is using is fine.

[@AngryParrotDistillery]

… yeah he's lost a stone or two - when he shaved his beard down! :o)

[@MrGreglorious]

From a practical perspective, collect the foreshots and heads directly into a jar. Once those are collected and out of the way, the parrot can be connected to the still output line. This will eliminate smearing of the nasty compounds into the desirable spirits.

[@danielanthony1054]

or have a parrot with a valve on the bottom, cause connecting a parrot mid run without any leaking will probably only work if you're using flower paste

[@vomeronasal]

It would be interesting to fill the parrot with 90% ETOH, and watch the specific gravity as you push a volume of 100% water through. That would show how smeary it will make the hearts to tails.

[@nateashe3140]

Loved the visual with the food color control set, compared to the cuts you took from the parrot. Also, I knew nothing about this device, so this whole video was insanely informative to me, and you did an awesome job of explaining it. You have a teacher's heart and a scientist's passion. Outstanding job!

[@StillIt]

I had fun with it hahah Cheers mate, .eams a lot!

[@nicholascowling1369]

This experiment is an example of "time constants" look them up they are a physics/chemistry theory. They will tell you that it takes 5 times the volume of a vessel to change the concentration in the vessel to greater than 96%. It took me while to realise this is what we are talking about.

[@StillIt]

Yeah that makes a lot if sense

[@StillIt]

....not that the universe cares if it makes sense to me haha. But I mean that lines up with personal observation.

[@nicholascowling1369]

The replies below that say that if you make the volume smaller the smearing will be less also fits in with time constants. I know it from anaesthesia breathing systems, but it works with anything like this.

[@dertyp582]

I thought this rule of thumb only applies to ideally mixed liquids, e.g. in a CSTR (Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor)? In a narrow tube you will find other flow conditions that are influenced by flow velocity, fluid viscosity, tube length, etc. (see Reynolds number)

[@michaelnorwood5888]

You also have to factor the design of the parrot when you are figuring the amount of smearing. The smaller amount of liquid your parrot holds reduces smearing greatly. That's why I built mine with the smallest input tube possible

[@StillIt]

Agreed!

[@Jawst]

I've got mine down to 73ml capacity with hydrometer in there 😁 I'm surprised the main tube is so long, I used to sell ones that had the tip poking out the top a tiny bit so you can hold it. I never use parrot it untill have started collecting hearts. I used to get 'smearing' issue when switching my van over to veg oil to diesel 😆 would take 15 - 20 mins to clear the diesel pump!

[@Andre2199CE]

Last week was my first time using a parrot. I did not use it to collect the foreshot and heads. I love it! I'm new to the Craft, and I love every moment is like magic to me.💯🥃💥

[@zerolatitude2923]

I like running a parrot. I keep the ABV in the log so, as I go along I see the changes there as well. I have found that the ABV is a better indicator than my nose or burned out tongue. Like others I do not run 4-shots through the parrot. Old timers couldn't give a rat's ass. Fill the jar, shake it, watch the bubbles, add water until it shakes out right and SELL it. I like a bit more control and keep my whisky at 45%. More burns, less isn't as much FUN! Well done young man. Keep up the good work.

[@scottyweimuller6152]

Funny you made this video cause after 10 years of distilling i finally broke down and bought a parrot and so far i have to say im pretty impressed with the mile high one that's made like a tank. I recommend one to be honest

[@deezynutz4742]

You just saved me 50 dollars in materials and a hour or two of work, thank you for talking me out of making a Parrot! Your videos are the best

[@peterscandlyn]

zach, one aspect Jesse didn't touch on is that temperature of the spirit off the still. Not seen one yet that dropped out 'cold' spirit so the parrot reading could be taken as gospel. For that reason alone, much as I'd like the toy, no thanks.

[@StillIt]

Yeah good point Peter, I tend to tune my condenser so that it does come out at 20c. But thats just me, and I dont use a parrot haha.

[@chuckdontknowdoya6100]

My 24 X 3 inch shotgun condenser puts out cold spirits through the whole run.

[@TheStigma]

I'm just getting into the hobby so it's not like I can speak from experience - but I favor a refractometer over the hydrometer in most cases. They can generally do the same job in most cases, and can be found pretty cheap if you shop around (a manual one at least). The big benefit is that you can get a reading in seconds from literally a single drop - which makes it so much more practical and hygenic in comparison. Just have a long pipette/syringe or simple straw at hand to sample from your big fermenters and you're set. I don't see them referenced very much though. Maybe it is because they haven't been cheaply available for everyman-use until recently? Or maybe it's simply due to traditionalism and people not knowing that they even exist as an alternative.

[@stupiduser6646]

Make your parrot neck only as tall as your meter then less fluid in parrot. Less fluid. Less smearing. Mine is 125 ml end to end. Also making vodka you often double distill so smearing doesn’t matter on first distill since I keep it all.

[@chrislnflorida5192]

What about if per say u use your Parrot backeards and check the % as it comes out of the condrnsor? Then their wouldn't be any smearing?

[@Cougar139tweak]

Very scientific, best channel for understanding this stuff.... you sir are an absolute Legend!

[@OpenSourceDistilling]

Great experimental video. I gave my parrot away because I had the same concerns about smearing. A small amount of undesirables can greatly affect flavor. I run my heads very slow and I wouldn't want them mixing in with my hearts in any way shape or form.

[@Suzukidave]

Add a dump valve to the bottom of the parrot .. easy and no smearing .

[@timothypitts5795]

Very informative for me as now I completely understand the term Smearing being a newbie to all of this. I did just build myself a parrot and think they are cool but because of this video, I also now know that I will only be using it to monitor the stripping run. I may even modify it to make it a bit smaller as it now holds 140 mls. I could probably shave another inch off the height but likely not worth the effort for the difference in volume. Thanks again man, love your videos!

[@jeffloucks8256]

Three suggestions, make your parrot half the volume. Second add a dump valve. Third, design it so that there is a U shape rather than a T shap at the bottom. All of these changes would eliminate the issues. And finally as a method, too much food coloring. Second spraying into the intake tube would cause mixing. Thanks for the show.

[@BeardedBored]

Great experiment and tons of really informative comments on this one. Great community you've got here Jesse!

[@StillIt]

Cheers my bro. Yeah the comments section is gold! Lucky to have a bunch of clued up people hanging about ;)

[@geoffjones8657]

Great video, I use a parrot and I tend to drain the parrot, that means I have a valve in the bottom of the collection tube when doing my cuts, so in saying that I dont get smearing or very little at all.

[@chrislnflorida5192]

Why not have just the 1 side of the Parrot, the side your Hydrometer is in and collect straight out of your coil? I'm thinking of using 1 for the cuts?

[@SyBernot]

Picked up a little tip on another channel on using a parrot. Ball up a small piece of copper mesh and drop it in the bottom of your parrot. Gives you some padding if you accidentally drop your proof and tralle in to hard... and you already knew that.

[@robertoverdedcbob2581]

nice one I will be puting this to use ... i am on my 4th in as many weeks

[@StillIt]

hahah. how good of a tip is it though?!?!?! God dang I wish I knew who it was that told me that!

[@SyBernot]

Still It I think I saw it on Barley and Hops

[@BigEdsGuns]

It was me Jessie. I mentioned it in the comments almost a year ago(?) You put up a screen shot of it and mentioned me in one of your videos. You also asked me about my screen name "BigEd's Guns" and you made pistol with your hand, and then made a muscle and asked me which... Answer is both. I used to be a bouncer at a couple bars. I have always enjoyed shooting firearms, and up until 7 years ago building and repairing airsoft guns. I enjoy the craft, home brewing, and target practice. ;) Cheers!

[@StillIt]

Should have known it was you mate :).

[@BeerByTheNumbers]

Thanks as always for the great info. I had never heard of parrots or smearing before today. Cheers!

[@StillIt]

;) well there you go!

[@wouldntyouliketokno1631]

After the heads I blend all mine anyway lol and I use an all copper pot still I find it makes for an all around better taste over all but to each their own

[@ZENMASTERME1]

Your Videos Are So Epically Awesome & Informative! Thank You For All That You Do For Society!!

[@StillIt]

Ahhhh shucks mate!

[@Fish_InChips]

You always seem to post the video just as I need it. Thanks!

[@StillIt]

Hahaha. I'll keep checking your browser history then 🤔😳🤣

[@gwalkerbtc]

Thanks for the cutting edge video Jesse. One of your best. Learned so much in just 14 mins. It seems stuff like this really pushes the craft forward.

[@StillIt]

Thanks dude :) appreciate it!

[@lori8378]

I am thinking that if you want to reduce smearing, you would want to reduced volume by using smaller pipes. Comparing this parrot to the ones I am researching, the input and output are 1/4' pipe and the parrot main vessel is shorter. I think I will build one just to see if I can reduce volume significantly from the 200+ ml initial volume.

[@markthorne5422]

Great video i use my parrot exactly the same. Love it for stripping run and when to shut down the still. Dont use it for the spirit run until i hit tails and then monitor abv till there is no point collecting anymore . Re-use tails to make more vodka in my reflux .

[@StillIt]

Yeah nice man. I guess that will be where I use it too. It's about he only time I really want to know the abv all the time.

[@terrydrew7002]

A revisit of this with the fill neck of the parrot filled with copper wool to slow the interaction of the fluids down mayhaps? Or perhaps any other experiments the patreon members suggest to potentially reduce or eliminate smearing

[@StevetheBartender_]

Super informative video! Great work 👌

[@dave50cal]

Good video Jesse,I build my parrot a while back and had some concern about smearing,but it' nice to know where you are at the end apv wise so you don't stop to soon.Hope the family is doing great and I like the new look.

[@StillIt]

you know what man. A lot of people have mentioned that. Im thinking that is where I will use it regularly on spirit runs.

[@slaytanicsabbath]

Your production and presentation is great man. I look forward to that 100k subscriber count it'll be here faster than you think. (Edit hear to here, one too many)

[@StillIt]

Haha dunno about that mate! But cheers 🥃

[@djvandijk5883]

I would enjoy seeing you use the parrot during a striping run and adding some food colouring to show the effect of the changing density of the distillate as the % lowers throughout the run. Maybe use a couple of different colours through the run?

[@StillIt]

A few people have suggested similar things. I think it's a solid idea. Will have to look into setting something up like that for you guys :)

[@williamarmstrong7199]

Good for stripping runs only then. I have to admit I had not thought about this aspect.. good work!

[@andvil01]

You have a design flaw. The inflow in the measuring tube is too high. In that endcap in the bottom there will stay early head smearing out in the product to come. In brewery construction we avoid such design. No places where liquid can stay and change slowly. They are also harder to clean with the CIP.

[@jacobmachin6517]

One thing worth thinking about as well is that the relative concentration of many of the compounds in the heads are there at relatively low concentration initially. Hearts out of a pot still will likely contain methanol on an order of magnitude of 1ppm. I would say that while smearing isn't desirable (because it is hard to control its effects), it's unlikely a parrot would cause any significant issue unless the total volume you're running is small. In which case, why are you using a parrot anyway? For a hobbyist though, I don't think a parrot seems too crucial vs just checking the abv either via gravitometry or refratometry from the collection jars. They are cool though.

[@pauljacobs5390]

Brilliant analysis Jesse......

[@StillIt]

Thanks mate :)

[@olliesututbe]

Awesome video... think you convinced me to purchase or build one! I personally do gin which for me requires stripping runs followed by a spirit run with botanicals.. cuts on the spirit run is usually interesting since different botanicals come through at different times but typically they all get blended.... so therefore smearing isn't an issue for me... so long as foreshot, heads and tails cuts are reasonably in range. However, knowing abv throughout the both stripping and spirit runs would be very interesting! Thanks again

[@StillIt]

Definitely something fun to play with mate. I can't wait to get onto gin!!

[@keshwannaidu3943]

Been distilling for many many years and this is the reason I do not use a parrot. Great video Jessie.

[@nunyerbeeznaz2906]

I started a handlebar moustache when my son was conceived. I lost the handlebars when the son reached 9 months,and did a chin-up on my moustache !!! Strongly considering reducing size of parrot input side to 1/4" line to bottom,versus 1/2" stuff. Already stuffed with cleaned copper wire,to reduce volume. Thanks for the mesh idea !! :-)

[@StillIt]

. . . . yeah I think the beard may start making a comeback in about 8 months haha. We will see! cheers for the tip my man!

[@chuckdontknowdoya6100]

You're very welcome Jesse that was my tip to use copper mesh in your parrot an your test beaker.

[@bendent9002]

I'd say a "fix" to this entire issue could be as easy as adding a drain cock to the lower section of the parrot and drain each run huh. Then you have an exact run each time and not but what, a drop of blend or smear? Non the less. Still a good randition of your explanation to newbees!

[@StillIt]

That would totally fix it. But it would also render the parrot somewhat unneeded. Its just a trade off. what is important to you?

[@chuckdontknowdoya6100]

I only use a parrot in reflux mode and I only connect it after my heads have come off then for me as soon as my abv starts dropping off I collect the rest as tails.

[@paulipoika]

Try making tubing as slim as possible . 3/8 or 1/4 " tubing coming down and just big enough tubing for alcometer ...

[@klatlap]

Thanks, i was always pro parrot as the one's i have seen only hold 100ml and i guess i was under the assumption that if it holds 100ml there is no more smearing than you would get in collection jars, but when you consider as soon as the vapour hits point of no return it is condensed back to a liquid and slides down the the condenser and in to the jar with no chance of mixing except in the jar and reality if things start going bad the most you lose is a jar and that could be as little as 250ml but as you have shown using a parrot that could be several jars, a dump vale would limit the loss and clear the parrot of rubbish liquid.

[@christurner1791]

One thing that may be of interest to Still Spirit's T500 boiler & alembic head setup owners: When I'm doing a spirits run with the alembic head, my cold water tap is on 100% (or until it blows off a water hose!) & yet I still get vapours coming out... The parrot solves this issue. :)

[@seymourpro6097]

Smearing is directly proportional to the volume of the parrot, Some parrots have a 6mm feed tube and some a 19mm diameter feed tube. getting the smallest parrot that will fit your needs reduces the smearing. IMO best used for separating the stripping run from the water.

[@SirGolfalot-]

I questioned, what I now know is termed " smearing ", between cuts when using a parrot. Good video and more stuff to think about

[@Odian2]

Very nice video. Just got a parrot and an anxious to try it out. Do you think you increased your smearing factor by using the copper wool to cushion the meter? It would increase the "current" in the fluid, disrupting the continuous flow.

[@MrCecil_KD9WUS]

Thanks for the great video

[@danielbarbieri8199]

Very interesting topic. One thing is that the parrot design will have a great influence. The less liquid it will hold, the better. Your parrot is way too high. The diameter of the incoming fluid is too big, etc... In many ways you can reduce smearing.

[@Richdudevids]

hey thanks for the info i have seen the parrots in other videos but was never clear on what it was used for. now i know, and love the way you gave the info , to see a thing is to know the thing. as allways thanks for sharing..

[@nunyerbeeznaz2906]

Try "Dunking" the bird, or pushing the proof meter down into the spirit being tested,which semi-empties the well for fresher spirit refill. Good way to verify spirit changes.

[@StillIt]

True that. Will give it a crack.

[@schlab73]

The narrower you make the tubing, the less axial mixing you will get, and the cleaner your cuts will be.

[@ClashClash89]

2:26 ... perfect macaw parrot cry ^^

[@robertoverdedcbob2581]

love your videos.... could you do this again and use the dump valve ... I think you will have very diffrent result

[@StillIt]

Yup. Agreed. But if I am going to use the dump valve after every jar I would rather just use a single jar to test in.

[@robertoverdedcbob2581]

you would not need to use every jar...my parrot has no dump valva, thats how i worked it out, allso made for me by a friend and shiped to me.. hes now making another ..not useing the dump valve is the same as useing the same jar....with out dumping all parrot do smear...100% that what your video shows.. i will make i video and post it show you want I am talking about... get me srtarted back on here...... thanks again your videos have helped me out big time....

[@StillIt]

Yeah cool man! That would be sweet :). I guess what I mean is as soon as you fill a parrot, and then fill more than one jar from the parrot without dumping it you are smearing between jars. So if you collect your whole run into individual jars it's a problem. If you collect all the hearts into one container it's no problem at all.

[@robertoverdedcbob2581]

just like the condencer

[@dorianmccarron2870]

The copper wool cushion is a smart idea, but another fool proof way to not break your hydrometer by accidentally dropping it is to start your run first, let the parrot fill, and then put your hydrometer in once it’s full and flowing.

[@billastell3753]

Personally I wouldn't run a still without a parrot. When the first of the run comes out (real bad stuff) it should not go through the parrot. Better parrots have a take off spout on the bottom to drain this poison so it does not smear. Then one should be taking very small cuts, about 1-1.5 inches inches in small mason jars for rest of the run or at least until you are past the good stuff. Very small amounts flavor smearing occur but not insignificant. I find it very helpful having a parrot. It allows me to know how efficient my reflux system is operating in real time. At the end of the run it also lets me know when the liquid coming out has reached the point where it is a waste of energy to distil any farther.

[@SirALXNo1]

I dunno, I see a loss of correlation between the results of plain water vs alcohol under heat control given the differing boil points of methanol, ethanol and water.

[@jamesclemons3815]

Do the buccaneer bob rum!! Would like to see an experiment where you add back some of the Dunder to make dark rum

[@StillIt]

That's currently winning the poll!

[@degmar]

I think your experiment has a flaw. You are using a fluid with a constant density, so smearing in the parrot will take place. In distilling, the density of the fluid will be increasing over time as the abv drops. So, in using a parrot, the lower density fluid that comes off first will rise to the top of the parrot - since new liquid is added to the bottom of the parrot. This will prevent a lot of the smearing that you are seeing in your experiment.

[@StillIt]

That's a really good point actually. Perhaps I will have to try this again with two different ABV solutions. Would it not have the opposite effect on the opposite side of the parrot though?

[@degmar]

Here's a good example of different liquids going into a common container and getting very little smearing due to density differences - kzbin.info/www/bejne/g6C5i6J5otCXoLs&ab_channel=TipsyBartender. I suspect that my initial objection will be mostly incorrect as the abv of the distillate doesn't change very quickly as the parrot fills. I collect spirit directly into jars, and use a parrot only periodically to check abv, so it's not much of an issue.

[@BigEdsGuns]

Degmar is correct. A user on the Hobby Distillers did one with red food coloring. He put in a couple drops at the beginning of the run and it all got pushed out within a pint/half pint jar. I believe it was done again during a head cut, same results. Might have been TruckinB.(?)

[@285runt]

Right. methanol, ethanol, and H2O evaporate based on densities. Does anyone have any experience using boiling beads?

[@sc00zy]

You already retested this ?

[@janpospisilm]

I wonder if the tongue is so sensitive to flavors as eye is sensitive to blue color. I doubt it.

[@Sugarsail1]

Parrots should be designed with the minimum possible volume to minimize the "smearing" problem you mention. The parrot you have has too large diameter down tube and too tall of a main tube (why you dropped your hydrometer in there and then had to put copper wool in). The parrot I designed and built has a 75 ml volume (with hydrometer in place) which is 1/3 what yours is. Maybe I should make and sell them.

[@markspc1]

Great work.

[@lilinguhongo2621]

the smaller the still, the smaller the cuts... but parrot volume depends on hydrometer size... thinking of diy stills around 5gl/20l or even smaller "pot on the stove solutions", having the volume of a complete cut (or even more) in that thing sounds silly to me. So parrots might have their benefits for some "big scale" users, but with small stills, the disadvantages prevail. Just my thoughts ...

[@REAL-CARNIVORE]

You may want to consider the density of the liquid. The lower the proof the more dense the liquid, therefore forcing the higher proof liquid out of the parrot. By way, of displacement. Maybe? I am completely new at this I have not even Done one distillation yet. Although I am preparing to do one in the next few days. But in playing around with the hydrometers. I think we need to consider the density factor.

[@PetraKann]

It's useful to know the residence time of the parrot. This can be estimated by dividing the volume of the parrot (with the hydrometer inserted) by the volumetric flowrate of the distillate dripping into it. The residence time provides you with a guide as to how long it will take for a change in alcohol concentration of the drip into the parrot to emerge from the parrot and drip into your collection jar. If your Still is running fairly smoothly there shouldnt be too many problems. Sudden changes in the still output may be missed by the parrot if you take a reading during that residence time window. The dye you used in your test can be misleading with respect to how much of the dye is present in each jar. A small amount of dye will still be detected. You should try and estimate what proportion of the dye ended up in the first jar. Perhaps it would have been more useful to have used a liquid solution of known concentration such as sugar or salt. A substance that can be easily analysed for concentration level. Parrots installed on large scale or industrial scale stills are less of a problem than small stills due to the relative volume and flowrate. Personally I wouldnt use a parrot on a small still. Looks good but just another item that can fail or require to cleaning.

[@StillIt]

Did you just science the shit out of this? I think you did! Yeah agreed about the dye. I *think* I kinda addressed that. But your right it would be better. And 100% agree on the practical use of parrots on large and small stills.

[@PetraKann]

@@StillIt Don't make me "Chemical Engineer" the excrement out of this. That would need several more paragraphs. In any case, I dont think the "smearing" phenomena caused by the parrot is much of a problem if you're not taking gravity readings as ques for making the cuts or changing variables on the Still. The only issue I see is if the "U" tube that makes up the parrot is acting as a trap for either water or ethanol which I doubt is occurring. Remember this "smearing" effect you speak of, occurs whether you have a parrot in the line or not. It's occurring in the collection containers. Think of the parrot U-tube as a collection container (the residence time remains)

[@danielgodfrey4415]

Good to know what a parrot is. It may be useful how I do my runs. I run my pot at about full blast for alcoholic standards. Good to know if I'm still collecting alcohol. Then I throw it in my temperature controlable air still at 95C. Thoss water out. Then I throw it back in for temp. based cuts.

[@gregolm]

Very well done 👍

[@JasonBlack66]

OMG, It's just a question if you like live information or 0.5 hourly or 1.0 hourly, or 2.0 hourly, etc. Parrot allows you to monitor in real-time. you don't have to keep filling a cylinder and dropin' the alco in. you can just watch live. Its no big beak :P (get it?)

[@devenbelanger8463]

I like this information. If you are making cuts it is super helpful. However, for just like a stripping run or neutral spirit I don’t see an issue and it is just informative to see how far down the proof gets and when to shut it down

[@DustyKorpse]

Really good video, well explained 👍

[@rolft.7697]

thanks for sharing !

[@tomstevelt9641]

Size of still would make a huge difference in smearing between heads, hearts and tails. A small still would change much quicker than a large one, resulting in more smearing.

[@erikpreston8976]

I always suspected, thanks for clarifying. Maybe when I have some disposable cash and time I'll try one with a dump valve, till then it's old school for me! PS, dig the clean cut look Jesse...RIP beard of legend...

[@StillIt]

Ahhhhh.....but how ledgendary would it be to grow TWO! HAHA

[@erikpreston8976]

Two would propel you into the legendary halls of forever! Go boldly my distilling sensei! May I follow in your footsteps...

[@StillIt]

Hahahaha yeah I dunno dude. I will see how i feel about that in about a year (what I really mean is will my wife still dig beards then 😉)

[@langyboy01]

I think they look awesome, and im lazy so ill do my stripping run with the parrot so i dont have to keep retesting my offtake, then collect out of the drain for the spirit run(s). didnt come across this concept until now though so thanks a lot!!

[@Gotjits0156]

Cool video jess. However, one thing not being accounted for in the experiment, is that the buoyancy of the distillate is constantly degrading throughout the run. In your experiment, the buoyancy from start to finish of the simulated run, likely changed at a different rate than distillate would coming off of a still. Thereby the experiment may have failed to accurately model how isotopes ect would, or would not smear throughout the parroting process. Hope that makes sense???

[@StillIt]

Yep I hear you dude. Few people have mentioned it. I think I should test it for sure.

[@jeffreydenetclaw8779]

I would make it to clean easier, and use 551 cleaner, to make good non-smearing alcohol/drinking likker!! HA!! Keep it clean!! And you can cook some good clean drinking stuff!, can make some good stuff if you filter through white oak charcoal, and coffee filter to hold the charcoal in, burn to make charcoal, but rinse the coals before filtering!

[@kalescullen3600]

Thanks for sharing!

[@kennycelt]

Ive seen a great parrot that attaches to a two inch condenser and has a tap at the very bottom (below the alcometer) with that you can run off heads without going through the parrot and you can also clear the parrot for a fresh spirit reading. Cool no?

[@thomasedwin1]

I don't use a hydrometer until the end of the spirit run and until I have at least 5 gallons in a jug, When you use a parrot it only tells you the proof for a specific point in time, the proof changes as the run progresses. So when you measure 5 gallons in a jug it measures the proof of 5 gallons not that little bit of alcohol that's in the parrot.

[@hysteve19]

I use a parrot, but I only use it for the heart and the tails. I use a large jar on the fore's and head's that I use as a cleaning fluid. I like jotting down the ABV of each jar as it comes off. I know there are other ways of doing it, but I prefer to use the parrot. By the responses you are getting looks like you made a great choice for a great topic. Do you think you will use the parrot, moving forward?

[@StillIt]

Yeah man, I was hoping this one would be popular. I have wanted to make this for ages! Yep fair enough man. To be honest it's going to be kinda cool for videos too. Like something to actually show people hahaha.

[@hysteve19]

Still It I want to tell you that I have looked into this for the past 4 years (distilling hobby) I have bought books and joined groups. Have had a Beer Keg that I have lugged around with me through 2 moves, just never did anything with. Watching your videos, showed me a few things along with a channel called Barley and Hops. I stumbled on your videos 4 months ago an 2 months ago I had my rig put together, then it was off to the races with a sugar wash with table sugar. Next came a sugar wash with corn sugar/dextrous. So on so forth. Your tips on aging have made my buddy's proud. So I doff my hat to you as I say Thanks for making this look like it is as simple as it is. My next batch is Honey and strawberries. Again Thank you. Look after your youngens. Yes, I am a tank currently living in the state of Texas city of Austin. But I spent 20 years in a backwoods place called Arkansas. Looking to go back some day. I tried to find you on facebook, but my search came up empty for chasethecraft. Take care Jesse.

[@alambik4791]

Where have you bought your proofing parrot?

[@hysteve19]

Alambik I built mine, I found a few on pinterest, but I did not want to give up 100 for one.

[@StillIt]

Alambic, the lazy plumber built this one for me. Top bloke!

[@blakedo2335]

I remember doing a calculus problem like this with salt water. Trying to reduce the % salinity to zero with a continuous fill/drain of fresh water.

[@dwilmot]

Try putting 1 glass of yellow die. then 1 clear and then one glass of blue . If you get green then its smearing.

[@nathanrigby3418]

Great video man, cheers

[@StillIt]

Cheers dude 🥃

[@hedleypepper1838]

Awsome you have saved me the time and effort of making a parrots 🦜

[@dack4545]

Would it let people know when to make the cuts, especially if it had a valve at the bottom to drain off periodically, to then test the next lot in the parrot, like say start collecting at 94% and stop at say 45% and that's the Hearts of your run.? That makes sense to me 👍🏻🇦🇺

[@chrislnflorida5192]

Great video 👍👍. Im just getting into this Distilling ans am looking at making a Parrot. My Question is- Why couldn't u put yor Hydrometer into the beginning of the start of your collection in the Parrot?

[@harryberi.]

Only drip through the parrot when you hit your ideal run meaning just run the hearts in the parrot. Pull your cuts up front and on the tail and use the proofer for the hearts.

[@scottayling694]

Love my parrot for stripping runs. I don't use it on spirit runs.

[@mihaipopa9414]

Great video, thank you!

[@the_whiskeyshaman]

Great video makes sense

[@StillIt]

Cheers mate :)

[@BradMore]

I suspect there's a different answer if you're running 100 gal vs 5 as well?

[@StillIt]

There would be exactly the same amount of smearing in terms of the voume it takes to compleatly refresh the parrot. The difference would be the resolution/volume of each cut. The volume of the parrot becomes insignificant when dealing with much larger volumes.

[@stevehubb]

Another cool bit of 'idiot proof' info, thanks man. You are the distillers equivalent of a science teacher...

[@somerandomguy32]

Jesse ..the majestic facial hedge has become a lawn .. Lol i couldn't help sorry ..great video as always .. keep up the good work

[@StillIt]

Hahaha I know dude. I kinda miss it. But couldn't deal with the idea of sticky baby fingers.

[@somerandomguy32]

It is a very real thing for you ..twice as much as most of use .. I will say it does make u look awful young..did I miss the birdwatchers run..? How did it turn out ?. .

[@StillIt]

heh, yeah dude few people said that. Nope not yet. I need to get onto it! But waiting on still mods . . . . you know . . . . and being able to get away for 12 hrs! hasha

[@hubrisnaut]

I am just beginning to educate myself about home distilling and I am excited to find all the work and knowledge which is being shared online. But here I must say, I did take chemistry in high school and we worked with fractional columns, which is essentially a heat driven stratification process of a mixture of compounds. This is the question and concern I have with this experiment and analysis,.. Is food coloring an analogy to the substances contained in 'the heads' which we want to identify and discard, mainly methanol? It seems to me, that food coloring would have to have a similar density, volatility, polar activity, (insert parameter), etc relative to water as methanol has to ethanol before this test can substantially move us toward answering the question posed. Which is, Should we use a parrot or not? I could go on, I have some ethoughts..

[@jbrunson1949]

ok, I see sort of what you are saying, but if I were doing it with a parrot inline, I would have a bleed off valve under the copper mesh you put in, that way you could let all the fore and heads go out according to when you wanted, then using the parrot for the hearts run and maybe separating the tails,, this just makes more sense to me, I would prefer to use the smaller jars to collect into, and as I change them out I would pour them into the big jug so all the different levels of abv would be mixed, then cut them to desired drinkable taste level, but I know diddle squat about about how to really do it. just what I have viewed on youtube..

[@StillIt]

Yeah, agreed if you have a dump valve on your parrot and you dump between every jar then you have no problem. But it also really takes away from the apeall of a parrot. The point is just that there are compromises. Whats important to you?

[@khristianperdue1478]

Just a question . How warm does the exit water get on the condenser and can you circulate the water from a water tank if there is no water tap near by

[@capitaldd5840]

Great video. . What percentage of the Mash will be the "heads"( getting tossed) First batch ever - I'm thinking about running 2 gallons of sugar mash in a 6.5gallon boiler...pot still not a reflux... Thanks

[@StillIt]

Its going to be different every time mate. There are a metric butload of factors that will change what you do and do not keep. So unless you have a whole lotta experience making exactly the same thing over and over the best thing you can do is do it with your senses. You can just ditch the first 50ml without even thinging about it.

[@capitaldd5840]

@@StillIt ok thanks I know ya ditch the bad stuff - just wasn't sure if there was a rule of thumb percentage-wise. This would be the learning curve people refer to. I guess it's better to be safe and toss a bit extra - at these homemade prices I guess I can throw away a bit extra....lol Thanks again

[@byronholt4912]

The second chamber of that parrot needs to be smaller in diameter like the first. That would minimize the amount it holds and would reflect the ABV change more quickly. The design could be improved.

[@HauptJager]

I really like your videos, I have been binge watching them today. I dont have a still yet, but soon I hope. Do you run a use a thumper with your pot still? What if any advantage will a thumper give you over this set up?

[@StillIt]

Ah cool man. Glad you like them :) I have not used a thumper yet. I will give one a go at some stage. A thumper eventually gives you a second distilatuon. So generally a higher proof of one run. People will often put flavouring into the thumper as well. Because it's not directly heated things will not scortch in there. To be honest I would rather use a stripping run. (At least at this stage). But as I say I will try one at some stage :)

[@Nickle314]

Put a dump valve in. Would be interesting to see a run with a dump valve