Noob with a Chinese still, can you fix it?

Simple pot still distillation and construction with or without a thumper.

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Godsmulligan
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Noob with a Chinese still, can you fix it?

Post by Godsmulligan »

So I just received a Chinese distiller for my birthday. I've been searching the form for how to salvage it. I know there has to be a topic on this. So far I've gathered that I need to get rid of the silicone, replace the pot, and check the gaskets (which I'm still reading up on). I would really like to be able to use this just so I can show my friend how much i appreciate his gift. After that I'll probably build a still from keg and some copper tubing with the help of a friend that had been in the hobby for years.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

DIY 2 Gal 10 Liters Home Distiller Moonshine Alcohol Still Stainless Boiler Copper Thumper Keg https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XFXN2EU/re ... TybGDVGTRJ" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow




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Lyonsie
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Re: Noob with a Chinese still, can you fix it?

Post by Lyonsie »

Have you a sledge hammer? :lol:
I thought i was wrong once,
But then i found out i was mistaken.

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jb-texshine
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Re: Noob with a Chinese still, can you fix it?

Post by jb-texshine »

Remove all plastic and rubber parts and replace with copper. Remove the airlock and put a cork(100%natural) in the hole. Relocate the flake and worm from the lid replace silicon gasket.done
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Godsmulligan
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Noob with a Chinese still, can you fix it?

Post by Godsmulligan »

I heard you need a different worm due to its size
Last edited by Godsmulligan on Fri Mar 03, 2017 11:07 am, edited 1 time in total.
jb-texshine
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Re: Noob with a Chinese still, can you fix it?

Post by jb-texshine »

It would help but can be overcame by running slow enough to not overpower it and using a recirculation pump
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Never eat Mexican food north or east of Dallas tx!
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cranky
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Re: Noob with a Chinese still, can you fix it?

Post by cranky »

I think with the standoffs keeping the flake stand above the lid you should be able to get away without moving it. It certainly isn't ideal though and would be better to get away from the lid entirely. It looks like the plastic bubbler has a shut off valve so you should be able to remove it and close the valve and be OK. As far as silicone or rubber seals, replace those with PTFE. A piece of thick thick cardboard wrapped in PTFE tape will work, my preference is copper wrapped in PTFE tape. One last thing, pay no attention to the thermometer.
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thecroweater
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Re: Noob with a Chinese still, can you fix it?

Post by thecroweater »

firstly its not a thumper so that's some bullshit right there. What it is is a small pot still with a way undersized worm and flake but as you can run water through it it will work ran slow enough. Do piss the airlock off that's just ridiculous and as for dubious seals try wrapping them in thread seal tape. Play around and see if this hobby is for you, if it is you will soon upgrade. Read through the mandatory reading section to see the correct way to run these potstills and get a fermenter or bucket as fermenting in the kettle is far from a good idea
Posted same time as above
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Godsmulligan
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Noob with a Chinese still, can you fix it?

Post by Godsmulligan »

K, thanks everybody. Will do.
Last edited by Godsmulligan on Fri Mar 03, 2017 11:06 am, edited 1 time in total.
jb-texshine
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Re: Noob with a Chinese still, can you fix it?

Post by jb-texshine »

Keep us updated on the repairs as you do them,and take plenty of pictures as you go and post them here to this post so other newbies with the same still can learn to fix theirs. They show up here often enough that a pictorial with explanations would be a good contribution.
Jbt
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Never eat Mexican food north or east of Dallas tx!
Godsmulligan
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Re: Noob with a Chinese still, can you fix it?

Post by Godsmulligan »

Ok, started the repairs tonight. Let me know if there's anything I can do better or did wrong entirely. Started with covering the silicone seals with Teflon tape.
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Last edited by Godsmulligan on Thu Mar 02, 2017 10:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Noob with a Chinese still, can you fix it?

Post by Godsmulligan »

Also decided to make a couple corks out of one of my wine corks as I agree with not fermenting in the pot itself. As a wine maker, seems problematic on so many levels. Also reading that the thermometer is not necessary, so i did away with it in this pic.

If you can just buy the corks. I'm impatient. And covered in cork dust.
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Last edited by Godsmulligan on Thu Mar 02, 2017 10:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Godsmulligan
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Noob with a Chinese still, can you fix it?

Post by Godsmulligan »

Took the silicone gasket of the rim will be experimenting with a couple solutions to this problem. One being, flour paste. But with the gasket off, the pot lid clamps won't clamp tight. So I took some beads I had left over from another project, cut 'em, spread 'em and clamped 'em on to take out some of the slack. They're snug but not too snug that I can't fit a cardboard gasket wrapped in Teflon tape in, if need be.
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Last edited by Godsmulligan on Thu Mar 02, 2017 10:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
yakattack
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Re: Noob with a Chinese still, can you fix it?

Post by yakattack »

Please upload your pictures directly to the forum not through tap talk. As no one that isn't using tap talk can see your pics.
HDNB wrote: The trick here is to learn what leads to a stalled mash....and quit doing that.
Godsmulligan
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Noob with a Chinese still, can you fix it?

Post by Godsmulligan »

Well that sucks. I'll do some editing.
Last edited by Godsmulligan on Fri Mar 03, 2017 11:06 am, edited 1 time in total.
yakattack
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Re: Noob with a Chinese still, can you fix it?

Post by yakattack »

Thanks m8.
Not to nag but you're going to get a bunch of posts telling you to turn off the tapatalk signature at the end of your posts ( it's a setting ) tater ( forum owner ) has requested all tapatalk users do this as it is advretiring and he keeps this place ad free. There's a post on how to do it on here from the last few weeks.
HDNB wrote: The trick here is to learn what leads to a stalled mash....and quit doing that.
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Re: Noob with a Chinese still,and how you can you fix it!

Post by jb-texshine »

Looking good! When you get everything done maybe we can get the mods to clean the post up and put it somewhere easy to locate it.
Jb
Fixed the title^^^^^
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thecroweater
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Re: Noob with a Chinese still, can you fix it?

Post by thecroweater »

Not a fan of the idea of wrapping cardboard in Teflon guess if you got enough it will be OK but its unlikely to last. I think wrapping the existing gasket would be wiser as Teflon should also seal that and it should stand up to use much better and be lest likely to leach than the cardboard deal
Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. Benjamin Franklin
Godsmulligan
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Re: Noob with a Chinese still, can you fix it?

Post by Godsmulligan »

Like i said, I'm going to try a couple things. I'm just worried that it's going to take a crap ton of tape to cover the original gasket and then not cover very well due to its usual shape. But we shall see.
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Re: Noob with a Chinese still, can you fix it?

Post by Godsmulligan »

And yes I hate the tapatalk signature, had it turned off on my android. Not sure i like the new app.
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Re: Noob with a Chinese still, can you fix it?

Post by jb-texshine »

Godsmulligan wrote:And yes I hate the tapatalk signature, had it turned off on my android. Not sure i like the new app.
Tapatalk sucks for browsing the site anyway,turn your popup blocker on and browse the site directly . For posting pics, Try out the app " Resize me" for android, its free on Google play store. Easy to use also.

Doing a great job so far,keep it up!
Remember not to blow yourself up,you only get to forget once!


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Never eat Mexican food north or east of Dallas tx!
Godsmulligan
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Re: Noob with a Chinese still, can you fix it?

Post by Godsmulligan »

Wrapped the lid and the rim of the pot in Teflon tape. Used an entire roll between the two. Tested it out with some water on the stove. No leaks except around one of the corks.
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jb-texshine
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Re: Noob with a Chinese still, can you fix it?

Post by jb-texshine »

Wrap the cork too!
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cranky
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Re: Noob with a Chinese still, can you fix it?

Post by cranky »

Looking good. :thumbup:
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Re: Noob with a Chinese still, can you fix it?

Post by stringman »

sorry to jump on this post.
I have also got one of these stills.
I got it very cheap so I appreciate it wont be brilliant.
I watched a youtube review and it worked ok- you get what you pay for I guess.

The biggest mod seems to be to change the seals. I can use pfte for the pipes etc but not sure how to replace the main pot seal.
Could I just wrap the existing seal with pfte tape. or maybe by a lard food grade silicone mat and cut it up?

Any thoughts?
yakattack
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Re: Noob with a Chinese still, can you fix it?

Post by yakattack »

Wrap.with ptfe is ok so long as you get proper coverage. Silicone is a no no
HDNB wrote: The trick here is to learn what leads to a stalled mash....and quit doing that.
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Re: Noob with a Chinese still, can you fix it?

Post by stringman »

Thanks for that
I can buy 5 rolls for £2.50 so will do that
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Re: Noob with a Chinese still, can you fix it?

Post by Godsmulligan »

I just wanted to come back and wrap this thread up. I have used this device once and it was worthless. All the Teflon seals seemed to hold up fine. I had a problem with one of the corks leaking a little bit, but the biggest problem was the pot on top. Unless you are constantly on top of it, this thing will run dry or overflow. There's no happy ground for it, and I just had it hooked up to a little $5 adjustable fish tank pump.

If I was going to use this thing, I would have to set up a seperate, larger, flake and worm. But once you start going down that road you might as well of used that money to buy a better first rig.

In conclusion, the original idea to fix it with a sledge hammer was indeed correct.

I will never use this thing again.

Thanks for all your help!
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fizzix
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Re: Noob with a Chinese still, can you fix it?

Post by fizzix »

I'd say you have learned a lot, Godsmulligan.
Now you can call a mulligan and begin again and know where you're headed.
It's tough to trash a gift, but when it's wrong, it's wrong.

My brother wanted a good telescope. His wife heard only "telescope" and surprised him with some piece of junk
that can barely look across the yard. Good intentions, bad results.

Solution? Thank the gift giver for turning you on to a great hobby,
and now, thanks to them, you want to ramp up to some pro equipment.
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Re: Noob with a Chinese still, can you fix it?

Post by still_stirrin »

I think that cute little boiler would be perfect for making a gin still. It might take a little ingenuity to make a separate botanicals basket, but that isn’t absolutely necessary...you can put the botanicals in the boiler, as Odin describes (see the EZ gin recipe in the Tried & True forum).

As for the flake, a larger reservoir pumping water into the bottom inlet with the overflow returning out of the top outlet back to the reservoir should work. Regulate the flow rate with a throttling valve on the pump’s discharge to the flake’s inlet (a ball valve would work for this “in line”).

A “purpose built” gin still is a great addition to your distilling equipment. The “keg still” makes a great primary still, and it is perfect for stripping and even spirit runs. The gin still is ideal for specialized “small batch” runs like you’ll do for making gin and other macerated distillations (absynthe maybe).
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Re: Noob with a Chinese still, can you fix it?

Post by Durhommer »

I have a similar Chinese set up I kept the 5 gallon boiler and got a stainless steel compression fitting attached to the top for my (lol) upgraded lyne arm worm half inch refrigerator coil from local hd store. I put the worm in a 5 gallon bucket sealed it also put a drain in the bucket I just use old pop bottles frozen to cool. Once they start looking melted I put new frozen ones in works for now I also ptfe wrapped lid seal and all others
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