Anyone use charcoal for fire?

[puttster]

I'd like to make some shine from sugar and/or corn and I'd like to do it using charcoal. Any thoughts on how to set up the kettle, regulate the heat and how much charcoal will be needed for 5 gallons of mash?

 

[Shine0n]

Ain't no tellin, it takes what it takes.
Make sure you keep a steady stream not no drip like it's Be

 

[Stealthcruiser]

3 bags of charcoal.
Build a separate fire with the charcoal, and shovel it under the kettle as needed to maintain temp.

Bricks or cinder blocks, or a car wheel trimmed for charcoal access and airflow, will support a kettle.

 

[madscientist451]

Have a pile of dried hardwood sticks handy and if the heat seems to be dropping off, you can add the sticks to the top of the charcoal.
Walmart has big bags of "lump" charcoal on sale for $7.78 in my area.
I've never tried to boil anything on charcoal, will be interested to hear how it works.
I'm thinking that regulating your heat is going to be a problem.

 

[puttster]

Hey, good idea of a separate fire. But add to "maintain" temp.. what temp do you mean? The temp of the water or the temp of the steam? Or something else.

 

[Stealthcruiser]

To maintain the temp of........Whatever you're heating up........Mash,still, bathwater, hot tub, etc...........

Watch your temp gauge, if ya' have one......Temp low, add some coals.

Temp high, rake some out.

 

[brewbama]

Get a BBQ Auto Temp Controller. It has a temp probe connected to a PID that controls a fan. Temp drops, fan comes on. Temp climbs, fan shuts off. Pro BBQers use them. They are pretty accurate, too. There are numerous manufacturers: BBQ guru, Pitmaster, Flame Boss, etc.

 

[Shine0n]

Bud, ifn you don't know what your heating up I'd suggest to read a little bit more on the subject before you get yourself hurt.

If using sugar with corn you won't need to heat up much but some water to melt the sugar, it's not like you're actually mashing the corn with malt so no need to boil anything except the mash when it's time to run it.
When you heat the mash up, get it to where it's a pencil lead sized stream. try and maintain that size for the duration of the run.

 

[WTD]

you can always use a 2 - 4 ring burner if electric isnt prefered. cheap and easy to control energy in. using coal seems hard and unefficient to me but ive been doing this for years with electric. I agree with Shine0n, read up a bit first. having a fire and coals can go wrong very fast with high proof alcohol near by. you want to control output speed or the rate of evaporation/transition to a vapour, not temp of the wash

 

[puttster]

I guess I'd be better off off practicing with propane and when I get that figgered out, then I can try charcoal.

 

[Shine0n]

I know a fella that uses wood and even he says it's a pain in the butt to regulate, I like propane and with a good burner it's very easy to regulate the heat for a simple potstill, I wouldn't try a reflux colum with wood or coal tho.
What size still do you plan to run, will it just be a pot, thumpers, what kind of condenser?

I have an idea, watch the video of Popcorn Sutton called the last damn run of likker I'll ever make. it's slightly over an hour long but very interesting and shows how to use wood the proper way so I can assume coal would do the same without all the smoke if that would cause concern.
Also, just sugar shine needs all kinds of nutrients and ph buffers so I'd go with corn sugarhead.
Keep the OG around 1.065-70 to not have the problems with higher og bite using sugar.
If I make corn likker I usually do 20 gal batches in a 30 gal brute feed grade trashcan.
4" corn
25-30 lb sugar
1/4 cup bread yeast
handful of crushed oyster shells on day 2 or 3
85°f temp or higher, bread yeast will do fine all the way up to 100

Boil half the water and dump on the corn, stir and let it sit an hour, dump the rest and let it cool to pitching temp.
Mix a quart of water (100f) with a tablespoon of sugar and stir in yeast, let it triple in size and pitch.

With those temps it should work off in 5-7 days, the grains will fall when it's finished and rack off the clear beer to the boiler and have fun.
If you have a thumper you can put the mucky stuff in there so you don't miss out on some good flavors and the rest of the likker.
Get technicaland do malted corn with cornmeal and you'll have your tongue slap your brain out sippin it.

 

[puttster]

I looked at that Popcorn video, looks like his fire was in a tunnel and drawn around the kettle on the way to the chimney

 

[Shine0n]

Exactly, that was just for you to see the importance of keeping the heat in and around the kettle.
I wish I had the property to do a boiler like that and not have to remove it

Even with gas, air movement can have an effect on efficiency, I don't think coal alone would do the job unless you use coal from the mountains not Kingsford and you'd need to keep the heat in without escaping except through a chimney. You wouldn't want that coming back on you.

 

[puttster]

My goal was to be in a position after the world collapses to make shine alcohol for a trade item. No matter how crappy it tasted it should sell. But now I'm thinking that would be too much investment especially for an untested distiller like myself.
I make beer now, maybe there is a system where I could use that same equipment with sugar and corn instead of barley malt? Same end result I suppose, I'd just need more bottles.

 

[Shine0n]

That would be a better way to know how to malt, so if you couldn't get sugar you'd still be able to make likker.
I have a stash

 

[Shine0n]

15.5 gal beer keg, 2" copper pipe, 5/8" ID worm and you're in business .
Simple, cheap and very very effective!