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

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

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.

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.

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!

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.

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

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.💯🥃💥

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

Super informative video! Great work 👌

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!

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

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.

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)

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..

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

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.

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.

Really good video, well explained 👍

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

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

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 .

Great work.

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.

Thanks for the great video

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.

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

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.

Very well done 👍

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

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

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.

Great video, thank you!

Thanks for sharing!

thanks for sharing !

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

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.

Great video man, cheers

Brilliant analysis Jesse......

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

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 !! :-)

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.

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

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

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

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

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?

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.

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?

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.

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?

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. :)

Great video makes sense

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...

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

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!

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.

Curious if you have abv records for cuts on previous runs? Seems that if you have a relatively constant level to cut off at, smearing wouldn't matter?

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.

Hey mate I know this is 5 years later but could you use the parrot for you stripping run and not use it in your main head would that effect it thanks

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.

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

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

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

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.

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..

You surprise me every time

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.

what kind of copper is that parrot made from did you boil it out good with vinegar ? run your likker about 3xs should clear it up .

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.

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.

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

Please give me the link to buy this thermometer.

i very much enjoy your videos. just became a subscriber. your videos are very informative, especially for someone new to this hobby like me, and i learn something from every one i watch. i have only one question at this time. if your hands were tied behind your back could you still make videos? (just kidding) keep up the good work. look forward to more.

Great video mate, wondering what you think about fermenters? Ie; plastic or not....? I am looking at moving to stainless drums from ebay, as I don not trust any plastic with alcohol. What do you think? Economically the stainless I am looking at will hold more for less $ compared to plastic carbouys. Thanks mate!

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.

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

bit off topic but how many jars do you recommend when making your cuts, essentially how many parts are you breaking it up into? Thanks!

If you’re using a larger still with the same size parrot will that result in less smear relative to the increased size of the still? In my mind you would end up with the same quantity in mL of smear, but because you’ve got more liquid it will have a greatly decreased impact... can someone confirm?

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!!

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

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 ...

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.

Dude hello from California USA First off I love all of your vids thanks for all the great information. Second what happened to the beard?!?!? :,(

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.

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?

Is there any reason you can't add the parrot partway through the process? Skip the foreshots and estimate on the heads a little then add the parrot to the process?

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?)

So the parrot would be great for blending?

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 👍🏻🇦🇺

What might reduce the smeering is the fact yhe abv drops over distilation and the lighter alcahol might not mix as easy in the parot , id like to test that theory

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

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.

how about reviewing the use of a PID. Keep up the great work.

i guess we need a parrot that is as thin as possible whilst also having smooth bends instead of hard corners