Search found 204 matches

by masonjar
Mon Jun 11, 2007 5:16 am
Forum: Related Electric Accessories
Topic: Heating Element Control
Replies: 1890
Views: 634516

There's no way to know if the router speed controller will work or not without seeing a schematic and parts list. My guess is that it would destroy the speed controller. There is also the possibility that the speed controller would turn the burner on - but the speed knob would have no effect on the ...
by masonjar
Sun May 06, 2007 11:06 am
Forum: Still Related Hardware
Topic: Microwave Still?
Replies: 26
Views: 8125

Household microwave ovens are tuned to the resonant frequency of the water molecule. i.e.- the wavelength of one cycle will be on the order of the diameter of a water molecule. This causes the waves to be 'trapped' inside of a molecule and bounce around which raised the electrons of the molecule to...
by masonjar
Fri May 04, 2007 10:45 pm
Forum: Research and Theory
Topic: UJSM inputs and outputs
Replies: 17
Views: 8383

Here's what I've been doing: (But I just started the UJSM a couple months ago so I'm not that experienced and I don't have any hard data either.) I started with 8 lbs sugar, 8 lbs cracked corn then added about 4 gallons of water and a few long squirts of concentrated lemon juice and a packet of EC11...
by masonjar
Fri May 04, 2007 9:57 pm
Forum: Still Related Hardware
Topic: Microwave Still?
Replies: 26
Views: 8125

Fun is worth $33.17US. :-) Point taken. It wasn't my intention to discourage. This project isn't exactly for the faint of heart though, considering the high voltage and the risk of microwave leaks. I do think it's a neat idea, and most of my post was trying to suggest that the impedance matching pro...
by masonjar
Tue May 01, 2007 11:54 am
Forum: Still Related Hardware
Topic: Microwave Still?
Replies: 26
Views: 8125

I'm not so sure that impedance matching matters much in this case. Look at the microwave oven - the load is different every time you turn it on because you put a different object in there. Microwaves with a turntable are constantly changing their impedance as observed by the output of the waveguide....
by masonjar
Tue May 01, 2007 5:22 am
Forum: Still Related Hardware
Topic: Microwave Still?
Replies: 26
Views: 8125

Microwaves do not heat water because of resonance. This is a scientific myth.
by masonjar
Sat Mar 17, 2007 3:08 pm
Forum: Research and Theory
Topic: New to distilling, but have on quick question...
Replies: 11
Views: 5794

Yeah, great movie. I want to see it again now. It looks like a pot still made from a trombone.
by masonjar
Thu Mar 08, 2007 6:21 am
Forum: Related Electric Accessories
Topic: Heating Element Control
Replies: 1890
Views: 634516

Good point, GOB. What country are you in, Coops? Does Oz mean Australia? What are you doing with your ground wire? Here's another thought - you could try reversing the dimmer switch. I wouldn't think it would matter which way the dimmer went in, but without seeing its internal schematic there's no w...
by masonjar
Tue Mar 06, 2007 10:50 am
Forum: Recipe Development
Topic: Anyone ever tried jalapenos?
Replies: 29
Views: 14257

Man, you're making me hungry, Pinto. I also love peppers and love to grow, pickle, dry, roast, and grind peppers. They are extremely prolific plants! I've heard that peppers are a good home remedy to treat depression because the body releases endorphines to help prevent all of the pain sensors on yo...
by masonjar
Tue Mar 06, 2007 10:36 am
Forum: Related Electric Accessories
Topic: Heating Element Control
Replies: 1890
Views: 634516

What part was backwards?
by masonjar
Tue Mar 06, 2007 10:32 am
Forum: Grains
Topic: Malting your own rye
Replies: 138
Views: 104229

Yeah, of course the spores are everywhere. But, as I understood it, the spores are not harmful to humans. They can only infect the rye flower - which would grow into a black-rice grain - which IS harmful to humans. The spore can not directly grow into the black-rice mold all by itself. It is a separ...
by masonjar
Mon Mar 05, 2007 7:04 pm
Forum: Related Electric Accessories
Topic: Heating Element Control
Replies: 1890
Views: 634516

The female adapter should not be a problem. Three possibilities for why the triac let out its smoke: 1. Underrated triac. Which part did you use and what is the voltage of your power line? 2. Load shorted. If the female adapter had its wires touching, the triac would be the weak link - or if you're ...
by masonjar
Sat Mar 03, 2007 12:15 pm
Forum: Research and Theory
Topic: Percentage vs. Temperature Equation
Replies: 27
Views: 13218

My error was to trim off the higher order terms. They looked insignificant to me at first, but they were quite significant after further inspection. I didn't save my work, so I had to start over - and now this one looks a lot different. I guess there are an infinite number of combinations of polynom...
by masonjar
Fri Mar 02, 2007 3:58 pm
Forum: Research and Theory
Topic: Percentage vs. Temperature Equation
Replies: 27
Views: 13218

Hmm... I should have double-checked my work before posting it. There is something wrong. Let me try this again...
by masonjar
Thu Mar 01, 2007 11:03 pm
Forum: Research and Theory
Topic: Percentage vs. Temperature Equation
Replies: 27
Views: 13218

I seriously doubt this is a Taylor-series expansion. What would be the point of expanding a tidy, meaningful equation into a nasty 4th order polynomial? More than likely, this is a polynomial regression generated by Excel or some other data plotter - somebody plotted a bunch of data points and gener...
by masonjar
Mon Feb 26, 2007 9:05 pm
Forum: Related Electric Accessories
Topic: Heating Element Control
Replies: 1890
Views: 634516

Yeah, as Tater pointed out earlier in this thread, stove elements use thermal switches (infinite switch), which can wander around a small range of power outputs and cause surging - where the boil picks up and calms down over and over. I've been using an electric stove burner for the past few months ...
by masonjar
Mon Feb 26, 2007 6:02 am
Forum: Related Electric Accessories
Topic: Heating Element Control
Replies: 1890
Views: 634516

In parallel, the power rating of each resistor will be summed if they are the same value resistor. So your new power rating will be 16x5=80 watts.
by masonjar
Sun Feb 25, 2007 10:53 pm
Forum: Sugar
Topic: Sugar mash and methanol
Replies: 4
Views: 5943

Sugar washes don't contain significant amounts of methanol, but if you want to make something drinkable, you still have to take out some heads (and tails.) There are other things besides methanol that make booze undrinkable - namely ethyl acetate, which smells like finger-nail polish and is gaurante...
by masonjar
Sun Feb 25, 2007 10:06 pm
Forum: Related Electric Accessories
Topic: Heating Element Control
Replies: 1890
Views: 634516

Can you not find an Australian distributor, or can you not find the part number at your local Australian distributor?
by masonjar
Thu Feb 22, 2007 8:22 pm
Forum: Recipe Development
Topic: Jack Daniels Mash
Replies: 57
Views: 43419

No, he's talking about aging in oak boxes instead of barrels. I asked if anyone had tried it because it seemed like a cheaper way.

My fault for hijacking the thread.
by masonjar
Thu Feb 22, 2007 8:07 pm
Forum: Column Builds
Topic: Plans for still
Replies: 14
Views: 18612

Your pipe diameters are fine. You won't blow anything up. I'm with Husker - the bokabob inline or offset reflux is the better still. I've heard from many people that this one will work, but it has efficiency problems. The main one being the cooling tube that runs through the column on the bottom. It...
by masonjar
Sun Feb 18, 2007 1:02 am
Forum: Recipe Development
Topic: Jack Daniels Mash
Replies: 57
Views: 43419

Slightly unrelated question: What would happen if you built an oak box instead of a barrel? It seems that you could make some tongue-and-groove edges pretty easily with a router and you could use straps to press the pieces together tightly to stop leaks. Wouldn't this be effectively the same thing a...
by masonjar
Sun Feb 18, 2007 12:06 am
Forum: Column Builds
Topic: My Bokabob very-tiny-ministill
Replies: 19
Views: 7713

but when i try to get the bottom off, i break the bottle..
What methods have you tried so far?
by masonjar
Sat Feb 17, 2007 1:15 am
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: Household things yeast like alot..
Replies: 28
Views: 9133

times gone by i heard tell of them usein a chunk of horse meat an a rusty nail per barrel to make wine
Does anyone know where I can get a dead horse?

Would dog food work?
by masonjar
Sat Feb 17, 2007 1:02 am
Forum: Still Related Hardware
Topic: What are you guys using for gasket material for lids?
Replies: 48
Views: 12907

So... no one really has any objection to using teflon tape for a lid gasket? Im so close I can taste it.... You're not getting answers because this is a bitterly debated topic here and nobody wants to get into it again. Do a search and you'll see. Yes, many here use it on threads but officially, th...
by masonjar
Sat Feb 17, 2007 12:54 am
Forum: Still Related Hardware
Topic: Could'nt find copper mesh how 'bout using this?
Replies: 6
Views: 2215

Hey new moon, why the hxxp?
by masonjar
Sat Feb 17, 2007 12:51 am
Forum: Still Related Hardware
Topic: Could'nt find copper mesh how 'bout using this?
Replies: 6
Views: 2215

It will probably work, but nowhere near as good as real copper mesh. I got mine here:

http://www.amphora-society.com/equip_1.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
by masonjar
Sat Feb 17, 2007 12:39 am
Forum: Off-Topic Discussion
Topic: Ideas/wishes needed for electrical engineering thesis
Replies: 6
Views: 2990

Do you have to write something up or do you need to implement it as well? What specific field of electrical engineering sparks your interest the most? And aren't you a little bit concerned about legality? You might want to consider taking the ethanol-fuel route so you can be considered a globally/en...
by masonjar
Thu Feb 08, 2007 9:28 pm
Forum: Off-Topic Discussion
Topic: ok something went wrong
Replies: 20
Views: 5381

It would depend on the wash, but you can get a lot more than that.
by masonjar
Mon Feb 05, 2007 4:29 pm
Forum: Yeasts, Enzymes, Fungi, Nutrients
Topic: homegrown hg yeast??
Replies: 8
Views: 3814

I wonder what will happen when someone develops a yeast strain that can produce 40% alcohol. The government would then have to either legalize distilling or outlaw brewing it seems.