Hobbying in Ohio

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GreasedLightning
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Hobbying in Ohio

Post by GreasedLightning »

Hello all,

I have been reading about distilling for a couple months now and planning my entry into this seemingly wonderful hobby. It's great to find a forum where information is shared so freely by such nice folks.

I am considering buying this still kit, converted to electric for running it in my garage.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-Gallon-Coppe ... 1383646029

What do you guys think?

Also I was thinking about getting glass or stainless steel fermenting containers instead of plastic. I would also appreciate any input on this thought.

Thanks!

GreasedLighting
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TDick
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Location: Sweet Home

Re: Hobbying in Ohio

Post by TDick »

I bought a 5 gallon unit from these folks.
They QUICKLY answered questions I had - wanted to be sure it was NOT an unassembled kit and to make sure everything was included as pictured.
I bought and they PROMPTLY shipped. And I got it right before I went out of town for 2 weeks.
Been catching up from being gone and hope to get it put together this week. I do have to purchase a length of copper tubing to connect still - thumper - condensor.
My decision came down to
Making my own setup w stainless steel pot etc;
Buying one of the SS "China Pots",
or this.
When I looked at what I received, I'm satisfied so far with option C.
Stay in touch.
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Still Life
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Re: Hobbying in Ohio

Post by Still Life »

Nice traditional still. The first one I built had a worm and I was very pleased with it.
Be prepared for differing views from the old timers here.

This is a great site. Very dynamic. Always a new post. Always something new to read.
I've all but abandoned the other sites I'm a member on, because of lack of activity on them.

Don't worry about plastic fermenters (make sure they're made for fermenting).
It's the only plastic use deemed safe.
Be careful of slippery glass. There are woes of stories dropping them!
And if you want to splurge for stainless, hey, why not.

Welcome to this fine forum!
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bilgriss
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Re: Hobbying in Ohio

Post by bilgriss »

Welcome!
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nuntius01
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Re: Hobbying in Ohio

Post by nuntius01 »

welcome. dont be afraid to make mistakes. sometimes the most fun comes from them
I'm just the bank and the mule

post your still pics here
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 16&t=66917
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rgreen2002
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Re: Hobbying in Ohio

Post by rgreen2002 »

Welcome to a great place for quality info. In looking at the pictures, which still were you thinking of purchasing?

The pot still with a thumper in the first pic: That thumper looks a bit too small. The recommendations here are the thumper be at least 1/3 the size of the boiler (1/2 might be better).
In the pic with the woman and the two stills the left looks like a offset head(Nixon-stone) which is a reflux still. On the right is a pot still with what I guess is a shotgun condenser(hmmmm...maybe a liebig).

You should spend a bit of time reading to get a general idea about what each of those stills does. Then decide what you want to make. A reflux is good for neutral (generally speaking) whereas a pot is good for flavored drinks like whiskey and rum (again...generally). This is not a jump in and start making quality liquor type hobby.... it takes a bit of time, a ton of patience and a bit of money. How much money is directly related to how fast you try to get started without reading and asking questions here on the forum.

A word of advice before purchasing...from someone who has made several stills AND purchased.... Build your first still. The cost for a simple pot still (found here under Pot Distillation/Thumper and Design
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=16 ) is half the cost at the very least. I learned to solder for this hobby and it was not too bad.... When you build, you understand more about how your still works. Building also keeps you out of the limelight of people who might be watching these sort of purchases.

I would recommend starting with the links in my signature as a great place to begin your journey. Take your time... it only takes one bad outcome to swear people off the hobby for good (or worse...)

There's no rush...the likker will still be there as long as sugar, water and yeast are around! :mrgreen:

Good luck, be safe, and again...Welcome.
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GreasedLightning
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Re: Hobbying in Ohio

Post by GreasedLightning »

I decided to build my own beer keg setup. I ordered the condenser column parts in a kit, which I will have to solder together. I'm currently looking into heating element(s) for the keg. It looks like I will need to learn how to weld, something I've wanted to do but never had a good enough reason until now.

Here is the column kit I got: http://www.ebay.com/itm/DIY-Beer-Keg-Ki ... 2749.l2649


I also have a half size beer keg that I might use to make a thumper. I need to search the forums and see if anyone's ever detailed something like this, but looks pretty straight forward anyway.
freefall
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Re: Hobbying in Ohio

Post by freefall »

I did a ripple element and the contoured tc from brew harware dot com. then just soldered with harris stay bright. It went together well with no issues.
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