Home Distiller

When I was younger, a friend that I grew with brewed his own beer. I was able to help him brew a couple of batches and was fascinated by the process, and the product. Well hello there -- glad to see you made it. We did have a wonderful visit and looking forward to getting you guys up and running. I...

I've had my MK-5500 power controller for a few years now and it was built without an on/off switch. At the time there was some debate on the need for an on/off switch and there were many made without them. I was never completely at ease with it and ordered a couple of 30a/240v switches a couple year...

Congrats dude -- ya did a nice job. Let us know a little more about how you fashioned up the blue box around your element end.

I like the way it turned out deerhunter. I've been eyeing the copper ferrules and I think I'll pull the plug and get it. Building a rig with a friend and I think we'll go that route for the keg attachment.

Welcome Norbrewer -- glad to hear you have decided to clean up your act. Looks like a nice looking rig you have there.

Welcome to HD MartinGreer. Good neutrals are definitely in the attainable realm. Reflux rigs are there for all your neutral needs but I invite you explore the world of wood aged liquors.

woodshed wrote:I will be gentle as well.

Dammmmmmmmmmmmn.

Nice to see the New Years resolution has held up to this point. Take a deep breath 'shed.

Welcome mendozer. There are some here that don't drink at all but enjoy the process. Your successes in your other hobbies is an indicator of your personal QC. That'll serve you well on this end. It doesn't take as long to age out a good product when working with smaller container sizes. Drinkable bo...

Welcome to HD pandion. I'd highly recommend you stay between the solid yellow lines till you learn to ride the new bike. Based on your question you are not familiar with what you are getting into. You need to spend some time in the New Distillers Reading Lounge. As for as a recipe there are about a ...

Nice work Mason Jar -- air-cooled condensers have been discussed over the years with just a few ever getting past the concept stage. You did a great job on getting this up and running. As for as the $$$ goes, we have seen far more money spent on far less right here on this forum. I'm with you on tac...

We usually only to this once, but every now and then some of us (read ME) will repeat this mistake. Tends to leave a lasting impression.

Lot of heat or little heat? I read both ways a lot. Today I soldered a SS ferrule to a 3" section of type L copper. Had to anneal and slightly flare the pipe, drive the ferrule in to make it fit. I removed it, sanded everything up, fluxed and soldered with Harris Staybrite and Stayclean flux. ...

Yes indeed -- I was fortunate enough to spend a few hours with K-Rod6 working on his keg. Slowly gathering up the pieces to put together a rig. Hadn't really done much stilling wise for some time now and he and I crossed paths. As I told him you will come to recognize conversation with someone that ...

Thanks for the update Odin. Safe travels for you my friend.

Nice work rumbo. You did your homework and your craftsmanship is great. That'll make an awesome teacher for your journey.

Saw jedneck post a pic of his recent build and the question of SS/Copper soldering came up. Jedneck did a nice job and I want to encourage our new folks out there not to be timid and give this a shot. I was over at a new members home today and we put a 1" NPT copper fitting on his SS keg as we ...

Nice jedneck -- my all time favorite, a simple, straight forward potstill. Good on'ya for giving that condenser a go.

Thanks DSM -- I knew there would be a significant level of interest/appreciation and didn't want your build to be lost. Looking forward to updates.

.. The next barrel will be filled with 100% red winter wheated bourbon ;D Sounds like you are off to a great start. Your experience in brewing has put you on the fast track for top-shelf wares. Word of caution on the barrel -- don't "forget" about it. Please check it periodically. Some of...

. . . She is cycling on you electric stove you need a metal plate between the boiler and burner maybe. . . . . Be careful with this. Putting a metal plate on an electric stove will concentrate the heat and can lead to failure in short order. She'll get pretty upset if her stove suddenly has a burne...

To a friend who has contributed so much to this forum and kept us entertained on many occasions. Hope your Birthday is an enjoyable one.

Happy Birthday Odin.

Welcome to HD Chong Arak -- I see, like many (myself included), you tore out the starting blocks like a bat-outta-hell. You acquired a whole lot stuff in short order. The problem I see repeated in this scenario is the equipment FAR exceeds the users abilities. I caution you to keep safety first in y...

How do the plates fit in the tube? Do you intend to solder into place in the flute or were you thinking a removable "plate-tree"? I was unsuccessful with the hole saw as they cut just a bit undersized. I ended up rough-cutting then stacking plates together and ran a 1/4" all thread th...

I'm liking the looks of things early on. Anticipating a build with respect to traditional lines. Keep us updated. Just a thought -- this build looks like it's going to have some character and will be fun watching the progress. I'd recommend you start a new thread for this build. Your build will be l...

I get what you're saying. But, in my humble opinion, I don't think this would qualify as "high pressure". When I think high pressure, I think of something like a Coleman stove. Where you have to pump it up, and put the fuel under pressure in order to move through the system. Fair enough, ...

But if I took that same boiler charge and stripped, reran or refluxed it, I'd have two or three times as much great drink. Good point DAD-3 -- that has been the criticism of single-runs since time started. Post from several years ago discussed this and one of the threads of thought was to do one an...

Ole Blanikdog would love his post -- he was an unapologetic, single-run guy. Was on his advice I began single runs and have not done a strip/spirit run in a few years. You are correct in your assessment. The goal is to load your still with a charge that will give you barrel-strenght for your output....

The hops in your beer will get in your still and you will never be able to get the taste out (so it's been said). It is not recommended to distill anything with hops.

then there are other opinions as well.
other opinions

Jabberwock -- I see you've been around recently -- o' man o few words. Please update us on your progress.

Jabberwock ? ? ?

MoonBreath wrote:Seems like I saw a human do that once long ago ..But I blocked it out of my memory and can't remember the specifics ..Just the images ..

No Sir MoonBreath -- some things you just can't "unsee".