my tiny still

[Mr Viking]

hi, this is my first still. It is pretty small (about 5L so I run 4L mashes) Bought it off ebay for £90, been running sugar washes and black treacle washes in it. So far I have made about 1.5L of low wines at about 20%abv, so I will be doing a few more runs of wash until I can fill it up for a second distillation. The still is quite neat, I run it on my stovetop, though I'm not sure what temperature is best to run it at, I've3 only used it twice so far. The thing on top is a simple condenser, which I pack with ice, though when I get some hose that fits I will have water running through it.

[OlympicMtDoo]

Looks real perdy Mr Viking, not sure I understand how it works though, can you take a picture from the top so we can see whats inside?

[hendecp]

The still is quite neat, I run it on my stovetop, though I'm not sure what temperature is best to run it at, I've3 only used it twice so far.

Mr V. that is a cool looking still. Compact for sure and it looks to be all copper. 90 pounds seems to be a good price if it is all copper. Anyway you made a mention about controlling temperature. This is futile and I had to get my head wrapped around this concept after a few lumps from the old timers here on this site. Here is a good thread about temperature, read it please: viewtopic.php?f=46&t=16635

Physics is physics and the temp of the boil will always be different because of the alcohol and other things in your wash. The most important thing is controlling the level of boil such as a raging boil, rolling boil or more of simmer. I think a simmer is what we all are looking for, but it depends on what you are trying to accomplish too. Read that thread and you should get a good understanding!

Happy stillin'.....

[Mr Viking]

Looks real perdy Mr Viking, not sure I understand how it works though, can you take a picture from the top so we can see whats inside?

sorry, no can do, my camera seems to have fallen out with my computer because they won't talk, that picture was from ebay. The top has a cone inside, which cold water sits in, the vapours condense on the inside and run down to a lip on the underside, then flow out

[Mr Viking]

hendecp, that's what I reckoned, just having trouble working out which setting to use on the hob so I don't waste electricity

[Prairiepiss]

Neat little thing. It's a sooped up ice wok still.

The thermometer looks to be in a position that will extend down into the liquid? This will give you a completely different reading then if it was in the vapor path. Where most temps are taken. But that's ok. You don't need it to run your still anyway.

Your stove will also give you problems. They cycle the heat on and off. You need a steady controllable heat. The cycling will give you surging and smear the cuts. If you can even make them with that little thing?

[heartcut]

Cool looking rig. For stripping, run as hot as your condensor can knock down, for the spirit run, go as slow as you can and still get an output. My electric stovetop uses output limits without feedback, so it doesn't cycle. If you think your cooktop cycles, put a thermometer on the element at it's lowest setting and see.

[Mr Viking]

haven't made it as far as making cuts yet, just doing stripping runs to get something a bit stronger to redistill. Thinking of getting a bottle of propane to heat it, just balked a bit at the price. The Thermometer isn't very long, it sits in a fitting in the shell, so it takes the vapour temperature

[OlympicMtDoo]

Looks real perdy Mr Viking, not sure I understand how it works though, can you take a picture from the top so we can see whats inside?

sorry, no can do, my camera seems to have fallen out with my computer because they won't talk, that picture was from ebay. The top has a cone inside, which cold water sits in, the vapours condense on the inside and run down to a lip on the underside, then flow out

Got it, cool looking little bugar though.

[Mr Viking]

The stovetop does cycle, I can hear the click from the circuitry when it goes on or off, it's quite old. Heartcut, it doesn't use a normal condenser it condenses inside the boiler, I think poeple call it a "wok" because of the shape of the top, so it seems to condense however hard the pot is boiling, the distillate comes out painfully slowly though, but I reckon I'll have to live with it until I get my tinkering gloves on

[Prairiepiss]

It's called a wok still cause they use to take a pot put a collection bowl in side it along with the beer. Then place a wok on top filled with ice water. The vapors would condense on the underside of the wok and drip into the collection bowl. Not the best design. Impossible to make cuts with. But makes some mean rotgut.

[Mr Viking]

it's not quite that bad, there's a rim around the inside to catch the condensate, and an output tube coming from that, so it collects in the same way, and I can make cuts, just the condensation happens inside. Seems to be quite an odd design