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So, I designed my own still. It consists of an old-style (cork on side) keg, on top of which a SS teakettle is brazed (looks a little like R2D2...pics soon). A 1.25"X2' section is packed with surplus 3/8" pipe cut to about 1/2", topped by a 8"X3/4" jacketed pipe. On the way ...

People who post things about ILLEGAL drugs I posted about CO2. I was unaware that it was an illegal drug. We're producing a LEGAL substance Try selling and advertising it. You'll find out soon enough exactly how legal it is. If I understand correctly, your beef is that, while LEGALLY fermenting, I ...

What's the temp at the top of your column? Going back to the "theory" part of this site, if you want 80%-90% pure output, you have to have liquid 70% alcohol, at the very least, somewhere in your column to make the last leap in purity. Since 70% ethanol boils at 79C, if it's warmer than th...

I'm almost sure someone thought of this already, but I've never come across it, plus ran one full page of searches--no joy. (So don't flame too hard!) From the chemical equation, C6H12O6-->2 C2H5OH + 2 CO2, for every 92g of ethanol produced, 88g of CO2 is also produced. Since 1 gal ethanol = 6.3#, 6...

I know that the aviation industry uses capacitance-type fuel gages to correct for the lowered energy density of warm fuel. (This is also why they mesaure fuel in pounds, not gallons.) Although a direct substution wouldn't be practical here (aviation parts are $$$$), perhaps one could reverse-enginee...

Actually, I have run 140-proof whiskey through my Honda CB 250 Nighthawk when I ran out of gas 5mi. short of my destination. The bike wasn't all that happy about it, but it got me there. IIRC, the two differences with ethanol fuel are that 1. It requires a richer mixture and 2. It's around 107-octan...

From wiki: Carbon dioxide content in fresh air varies and is between 0.03% (300 ppm) and 0.06% (600 ppm), depending on location (see graphical map of CO2 in real-time) and in exhaled air approximately 4.5%. When inhaled in high concentrations (greater than 5% by volume), it is immediately dangerous ...

No worries! I decided the "low tech" solution was to add "too much" sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) to the hooch. That would convert all the vinegar, and the leftover bicarb isn't volatile at all, so it won't wind up in the finished product. Results of 2nd run are: no vinegar an...

Well, after good results with wine as a test, I decided to run my grain mash (corn, sugar, malt, rye). However, it seemed to have gotten somewhat vinagery while sitting in the fridge waiting for the still to be built (even though I was careful to keep oxygen away). So, I decided to run it 2 or 3 tim...

Well, two tries, last one successful. First attempt (after the water trial run) was with mouthwash. Mistake. Though I imagine it was safe to drink, it wasn't anything I'd choose to consume. Mint flavor remained, and had to run 1 Gal H2O through the works to clean it afterwards. Next (sucessful) run ...

Well, I got my still built. I took a 15-gal keg, put a teapot (instead of the stainless bowl) atop the keg. Out of the teapot spout is a 4'4" lyne arm, inclined at 35deg, that gradually reduces from 1.25" to 3/8" at top. Then 3/8" copper tubing runs 3' down and 7' is submerged in...

Perhaps I was premature. Went out for ~3hrs; when I came back, mixture was at 85deg, so I tossed in another 1.5 gal water. Grains took up bottom 2/3 of fermenter; hydrometer took a while but settled down at 1.063 or so. Drops of iodine in a sample weren't blue like when I tried it w/ sugar water, bu...

Here's an update. In a 4gal pot, boiled 3.25 gal water, then tossed in 3.5# cracked corn. Let it boil 1:45. Took off the heat and tossed in 1.3# Rye flakes plus 2.8# sugar. Once it dropped to 150 deg, poured it in the fermenter and tossed in 2# malted barley. Th problem: right now, my 4gal of mash h...

Now, I'm just a noob, so correct me if I'm wrong... If you're running a potstill like mine (reflux still, sans scrubbers, with a shortened column atop the keg) the temperature reduction as you go up the column will depend, among other things, on how long (on average) the vapor spends climbing the co...

Bought the keg from an aquaintance. For safety's sake, hooked up a tap to it and opened the spout. No air or beer came out, so is it safe to consider it depressurized? (Pretty sure it is, but I'd hate a nasty surprise). Also, for heating: The edges of the keg curl over and keep the center suspended ...

I think you're going to need to flesh that out a little for us to have any idea. Are you going to heat it at all to cook the corn or mash the malt? How much water are you going to add? What percentage alcohol would you be shooting for? What kind of yeast, what temperature for ferment? Ferment on th...

Yes I know I'm reinventing the wheel here, but what's the point of a hobby if you don't experiment a bit? I figure if it tastes like garbage I can just distill it down to vodka. I'd just like some feedback on what type of product I can expect (using a de-refluxed still, taking the vapor off 1/2 way ...

Cornburner, it's interesting you mention the "legal" moonshine. I bought a bit of it a while back, cause I thought it was humorous and it was cheap. As it was clear, wasn't expecting much flavor, but it tasted like a mild whiskey plus a slight tequila sour. Does it taste anything like real...

Hello, all! 1st time poster. I remember from my flying days, when auto gas was first approved as a substitute for avgas. You had to make sure the mogas didn't contain ethanol, as it could attack certain rubber components in the fuel line. The test was to fill a test tube 20% with water, mark a line,...