First still = FREE still!

[desmo_2]

I was about to buy a Clawhammer Supply still that required assembly and was discussing it with a friend of mine. He said, "Don't buy one. I have one you can have." I was expecting a stainless pot with a worm, but heck no! He gave me this (I hope I have edited the image correctly):


It looks to be an Alchemade still, but I suspect it is an older one. He never got around to learning to use it, and got it from someone he knows who used it to make rum. I have already started cleaning it up using citric acid (info I learned here!), and found quite a bit of patina in the goose neck and worm, and the bottom of the pot is charred. Still, with a bit more work it will clean up nicely.

However, there are a couple of other things I am concerned about.
1) the thermometer hole is in the pot. I am reading (and seeing on new Alchemade stills) that the thermometer would be much more beneficial mounted in the onion head. Any suggestions on the best way to plug the old hole? And, how do I mount the thermometer once I drill a new one? The old hole had a rubber grommet to seal things up.

2) the connection from the goose neck to the worm...once I get them matched up, is paste enough to seal the connection?

3) the worm isn't wound perfectly and holds a bit of water. Not much...just a bit. If I roll the condenser around on its base a bit more water will spill out of the worm. Is this a concern? It seems to me the hearts will push out the heads, and the tails will push out the hearts.

4) There is no water inlet or outlet for the condenser. Not a big deal, I suppose, as the box of goods this all came with contained a small fountain pump and tubing, which I can use to circulate cooling water.

I am a complete noob and am still completely in the learning phase. I have quite a while to go before I start a real run, but just happened to stumble upon a still already.
Any coaching is MUCH appreciated!

[Copperhead road]

Wow that’s awesome,,,,

Is it quite heavy duty or is it thin flimsy copper in the pot?

It looks like its heavy gauge Copper

A temperature gauge on a pot still is a waste of time in my opinion

[still_stirrin]

Well, it’s copper. So you can get a threaded adapter and solder it into the swan neck if you want a thermometer there. But, it won’t help you run the potstill. The thermometer in the liquid will tell you progress of the heat up, but not how it’s running, as Copperhead Road advised. In fact, it would be better to tape over the dial on the gage and learn to run the still without a thermometer anyway.

As for the flake stand, it too is copper, so you could easily drill and solder an inlet into the bottom to attach a hose to and one near the top as well for the outlet. That way you’d have a place for the hose connection that runs from your reservoir pump. Judging by the size of the flake, you’ll need to turn over the water a couple of times during a run.

Finally, make sure the worm is a steady downhill spiral. You don’t want “puddles of distillate” collecting in the worm as that can and will cause dangerous pressure build up inside the boiler.

Keep reading and be safe, responsible, and discrete.
ss

[tombombadil]

Man, that's a good friend! Have you got anything fermenting yet?

[desmo_2]

Have you got anything fermenting yet?

Alas, no. I am not schooled up enough, yet. I have more research to do.

I believe I will add a water inlet and outlet. That will make it so much easier to run, I think.

[still_stirrin]

Desmo,

Have a look at Rad’s All Bran recipe in the Tried & True Recipe forum. It’s a good ferment and clean and quick to make. A good neutral recipe too. The bran flakes buffer the pH and provide plenty of nutrients for the yeast.
ss

[Durhommer]

Nice free rig and ss is right about the all bran recipe.after time on oak it turns into a pretty good drink!

[cranky]

Nice score

Like the others I wouldn't bother with the thermometer, don't even look at it.

As far as the flake stand (worm) I'm personally not a fan because it's hard not to have low spots in them which will tend to hold liquid and cause corrosion problems. It's pretty but personally I'd replace it with a liebig.

[WiskeyJaR]

As a newbie, without the temp gauge, in a pot still, how does a beginner judge the temp of the mash? I could see using the temp gauge as a “guide” until ya have made a few runs? What is the “trick” to judging the temp?

[RC Al]

You dont need to, power adjustments are done by output rate - the drip drip dribble, broken stream you will have seen mentioned, I time jars to check output rate

A temp gauge in the boiler contents will let you know if there is still booze in there, As each wash will be different, the starting temp will be different, as it goes along the temperature will rise upwards as the lower boiling point alcohol disappears leaving the higher boiling point water behind

[Saltbush Bill]

The best place for the thermometer is with the face taped over or in a rubbish bin.
As RC has stated staring at a thermometer on a pot still is only distracting you from more important things.
You need to be watching the speed at which the spirit is leaving the still and adjusting the flow via the amount of heat/power that you are applying to the boiler.
As a Newb to the game I would suggest that your take off speed be to slow rather than too fast.
Take fores of at a slow drip, heads at a faster drip, hearts at a toothpick sized stream.
Once you learn a little about making cuts and identifying the different smells and tastes you can go at a speed to suit you and your particular still.
If you haven't already found and read this..https://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtop ... 15&t=11640 you will need to because without understanding and making cuts you will never make good booze.
Temp is not a good guide to making cuts........your nose and taste buds are.

[stillanoob]

As a newbie, without the temp gauge, in a pot still, how does a beginner judge the temp of the mash? I could see using the temp gauge as a “guide” until ya have made a few runs? What is the “trick” to judging the temp?

I too wanted a thermometer in the beginning. But I was too lazy and impatient to use the rig, so I never did put one in. What I found very quickly is that by feeling the copper pipe near the condenser you can easily tell when the still is about to start. In fact, by feeling along the Lyne arm I can track the progress. There is also the sound of the boiler. It is very easy to tell when the rig is about to produce. At that point I back off the heat and then instead of starting with a stream it starts with drops.

[SpeakEasy]

HELL OF A DEAL!!! Congrats!
If you decide you don't like it, Ill give you what you paid for it.

[cob]

What a score. the first thing to do is check for lead solder. then adjust the worm as mentioned above.

any other mods can wait until after you determine it is lead free.

[The Baker]

Drop a ball bearing in the top of the worm. Small enough so it will run freely.

If it does not stop rolling, no problems.

If it DOES, hopefully you will get some idea of where the worm needs adjusting.

Geoff

[desmo_2]

A few pulls and bends on the worm got it evened out. It now flows with no issues. I ran several stripping runs of the All Bran and one spirit run for product. My burner was an old turkey fryer burner with a frustrating 15-minute timer. Even more frustrating was the dirty, yellow flame that made the temp a bitch to control and coated the pot with heavy soot. That burner has now been replaced with a nicer Gas One unit.

I'll putty over the thermometer hole for a while until I either work a more permanent solution, or get another still. Flour putty is sealing the gooseneck to the worm pretty well.

I am running cold water from an ice water cooler through tubing to the flake stand and back, via the aforementioned pump and siphon. A shotgun condenser would be much better...if I get around to it. For now, it works well enough.

I'm wanting to run a sweet feed recipe next.

[Tummydoc]

I second the suggestion to check your solder for lead. Many of the stills made in the middle east use lead solder.