Home Distiller

I think I figured it out. Would this work? Furnace controller that opens the valve and the second valve for the pilot upon firing also has a thermostat wire which I could place in the parrot and set for a temperature within the condensers range. If the distillate rose above that temp it would then r...

Thanks for your responses. This will be placed in a licensed facility soon. I'm trying to get it to work the way I want it to but it came just a still and I've had to build the firebox and controls for it. I'd just like to add more safety. So let's assume I know a lot about distilling but not enough...

Hi guys, I'm working with a burner from Ward burners, X-44 impinged. I'd like to have a brewery type controller in a Nema control panel to stop the distillation if the condenser ever fails or I need to turn it off. I'd also like it to show the distillate temperature using a thermometer in the parrot...

Hello, I've got some friends that are interested in growing some different rye, wheat, and corn varieties. I'm curious what might be the strains with the most flavor and produce the best whiskies. I have pointed him in the direction of strains used for making breads but I was curious if anyone has a...

I ran my 5 gallon and it is not made very well. The hole which you would need to drain the liquids is not big enough to keep up with the volume of water you need to transfer to cool the coil properly. The condenser is not big enough either, its smaller than the still instead of 1.5x or bigger to giv...

What temp inlet water do you need in order to keep the distillate from getting too hot on the way out? Mine is pretty hot, I don't think.my 5 gallon has a big enough condenser. I may have to call Jayson about this.

Anyone use dried peel? What range per liter do you use?

Would it depend on if you are using malted rye or rye grain. I would think you would have to gelatinize the grain first but with malt you would need to give it a protein rest then bump up temps and saccharify, no need for boil bc its got the enzymes to help break down the freed starches. With raw gr...

I was looking for something like a flotec diaphragm pump with the appropriate edpm or santoprene diaphragm so that it will be ethanol tolerant. I've got some 95% alcohol I was trying to do some mascerations with and wanted to do them quicker than syphoning them, so I was looking for a pump that woul...

Does anyone sour mash their panela batches? I've been thinking of trying to aim for a 25% backset in the cook to try and see what happens.

I ran a batch @ 16.5 brix and it seems like its finished at 2.5 brix. This is pretty much on the money of 85% fermentable sugar. Is this common for you guys? Can you get this to ferment below zero? I'm about 3 days away from happy tasting days!

I was using lallemand notingham yeast that I use for beer. I am going to try and maybe get ahold of the lallemand distilamax RM but I am just starting to think this direction so I haven't looked into it much. I bumped up the temps to 75 to try and finish them off, tried to bump one up to 80 with an ...

I indeed did pH adjust after finishing the temperature hold for 30 minutes. Pitched, added nutes, warmed it up to 75 to let it get started, then later i'll move it inside, we'll see what happens.

Hello guys, I have some panela on its first day, during the cook, I brought it to 180, let it sit for 30 min which brought it down to 150, it was pretty cold. Then I pH adjusted it with 75% phosphoric acid down to 3.8, which I waited, stirred and checked 2-3 more times, even going so far as cooling ...

I met one of the girls working at oola running that double pda 2. Too bad you didn't get more pictures of that place, it was a crazy thing. They had the most beautiful building and front tasting room, etc. Then you walk in the back and everything is hand made, it was kind of paradoxical but still it...

I'm trying to use the alcohol for a hydrosol extraction, so it will be a lot, however, I've considered doing it in a chest freezer in small batches.

I am looking for a pump that I can use to circulate alcohol through misc processes which is a positive displacement pump 1/2" ID. Any suggestions? I saw tickle on moonshiners use an RV water pump but was sure that the seals or the diaphragm would not be ethyl alcohol tolerant or safe. I have a ...

I am interested in setting up a system to chill 75 degree 95% ABV alcohol down to -15 degrees for which will be used on an alcohol extraction of oils in tubes I that will be filled once chilled. I have considered using a deep freezer, chest style and setting up copper lines around the outside edges,...

I'm so confused, was it good but different than anything you tasted or bad? Did you not like the boka run, however, the neutral vdrsion was appealing?

Which way would be a better idea, the cooling tower or the radiator?

I'm looking for some ideas for how to make a closed loop water chiller setup to bring the water temperature of my condensing water down. I'm having trouble keeping control of my hillbilly still 26 gallon still and think it is really effecting my yield because it flashes off at times if I'm not able ...

I've got lots and lots of wine making equipment. I've considered using my hydropress but the thought of dumping this corn on the ground afterwards and scooping it up seems like a lot of clean up so I was thinking of other ways to do it. Mine doesn't tip, it just lifts off and a cake is formed which ...

what would guys suggest for grain seperation from the fermenter? it seems to me fermenting on the grain is better for extraction if I were not going to elevate temps to kill off enzymes however it creates a bit of a problem to remove it. I have a wine pumace racking wand with perforated holes, has a...

So you just lauter it out once your done saccarifying the mash and crash cooling it into the fermenter? I have a false bottom on my boiler kettle, I just avoided using it because everyone in my other posts was saying that they use grain in and it works great. I find it hard to deal with but will def...

I am having a little bit of trouble bringing my mash up to temperature to distill on grain without smoke coming out of the still. I've burned some corn and made a big damn mess trying to empty it and get it all cleaned up. Suprisingly the element washed perfectly clean and its ready to go again. I c...

Call up Cargill and ask them if they have food grade or animal grade millet and see if they have safe products in processing them, if so, ask for a wholesaler/distributor. Go from there.

I've got a nice stainless steel restaurant mixing paddle and I'm hoping it will work pretty nicely. I'll try that, I also got a water heater insulation jacket to add the the tank. we'll see how it goes this week, im going to do that and start some rum.

I've got a 55 gallon barrel full of 176 degree water and after an hour its down to around 160, its at 163 but ive still got 10 minutes. how long under these temps would you think it would take to fully gelatinize? I've got a water heater on demand I used to heat up the water and I've got some enzyme...

did you find the masceration time necessary or was it just something that happened that way? i have some friends that make some vodkas and other things with real fruit that they let sit several weeks but I wasnt sure if I should let it sit breifly or let it sit for quite some time. I've got some goo...

not miclo, hagmann and meyers i believe, i'll have to check names again. im still in florence for a few more days before i return and will be able to rummage through all my treasures.