Home Distiller

In keeping the same setup but with the SS pot. The condenser head worked great with no leaks, so I'm very happy with it, minus the cheap pot I used. I still need to put a thermometer on it somehow.

I just ran some UJSSM, I jumped the gun a little and didn't let the wash finish fermentation, so I only collected about a pint of hearts from 5 gal. The still head worked wonderful! The pot is already rusting. I went a bought a much better SS pot. It's not as big, 4 gallon vs 5 gallon, but it'll be ...

I'll look into those places for a keg, thanks. I figured the steel under the porcilin where it's exposed from the holes i drilled will rust. Thought about it after i drilled it. It was the first thing i saw and i was thinking about the still head more than the pot and bought impulsively. I will look...

Well I drank some of my beer last night as i was building another pot still, It was great!

I decided to build a pot still yesterday as I am finding it very hard to track down a keg for my 2" boka i built a couple months back. Apparently in my state they are illegal, or unavailable or something. The point is they are unobtainable and therefor very few people have them to sell. I've be...

They said the Am amber was their best selling set, so I went with it. I hadn't planned on using a kit, i like jumping head-first into something and learning by experience rather than an instruction sheet, but there are more variations and combinations with beer than anything i've ever made, so i fig...

I like the simplicity of that recipe and procedure. I went and talked to my brew shop and they set me up with an American Amber Ale recipe. It's got 26 minutes left to boil as i write this.

One never knows. Something like this will almost certainly have to be done by exec-order, just like beer/wine was done in the 70's. This is not something I would put past a Mormon, just because their tenets do not allow them to imbibe, at all. We do not have a large mormon population around here, b...

As for the ferrules, I went with a 2" stainless to male NPT, then a female copper NPT to FTG, then put on whatever you like. I thought about going that rout, but here the 2" copper adapters are about $35. I would need two since i plan on having a 1.5 foot length for running my still like ...

Okay I understand a blow off tube now. I image searched it and figured it out. I'll have to do that next time, but the foam has greatly subsided, and is no longer overflowing from my airlock. I was fearing i'd be fighting this for two weeks, but it seems to have slowed down a bit. I took a reading a...

It's a bitter sweet thing in my eyes, I know the yeast took to my sugars very well, but damn it made a mess. I'll try the bowl and tshirt idea next time. So next fresh pressed wine I won't add so much sugar, and I'll back sweeten. Trial and error. Is a "blow off tube" an airlock extension,...

So i've been making wines for about a year, and have gotten pretty good with store bought juices. Yesterday i decided to press my own juice. I went with strawberry, cause it sounded good to me, and strawberries were on sale. So i got home and got to pressing. I made about a gallon, pasteurized it, a...

Why do you need to weld one to your keg? The tri clam furl will fit up to the keg opening? This is an actual question not a smart ass statement that I've been known to make. I actually don't have the keg yet. My friend works for Budweiser and is supposed to get me one tomorrow. I've never seen what...

I don't solder mine on, I put the ferrule in the freezer and then pound it onto the pipe with a mallet. When the ferrule warms up it fits so snug it doesn't leak on type L pipe. On dwv I have to solder. Okay this answers a big question of mine. I just need to be sure I'm understanding right. I have...

I used red star champagne yeast

.

After talking about a similar problem with my friend at my local home brew shop, I was turned onto this yeast. It yields similar ABV as the Red Star Champaign yeast, but it allows the cider to retain a lot of the apple flavor.

Thought it might help.

This is my finished condenser head! All that's left to do is order the tri-clover fittings, weld it onto my keg, pack my 4' column, and I'll be ready to distill. I spent an hour with a rag, lemon juice and salt cleaning the discoloration. It's not perfect, but it looks a lot better. the condenser co...

That explains a lot. Looks like i may be tearing out my beads tomorrow and soldering those plates for the 11th time. What's the best way to make the copper shine? I've done a real number on it with repeated heating and cooling. I've been reading up on it and vinegar and Coke seem to be common househ...

What type of flux are you using? During my builds I found that improper flux make soldering painful. I've just been using the stuff i got at the plumbing supply store where i got the pipe. Got the solder there too. It was the first lead-free flux i saw. I haven't been using it on the plates, just th...

Here's my progress with the still so far

Thank you sambedded, that is very helpful! I just bought a 10' length of 2" pipe, the couplings, 1/4 tube, and some other stuff. I'm going to start the build tonight. I'll post pictures either later tonight or tomorrow.

I have done more research, and exploring the forum and parent site, and have decided to construct a boka still. I drew up these plans, please tell me what you think. I want a 12" condensing head with a 6" double coil. I want to use threaded copper couplings for ease of storage and cleaning...

well i made whiskey with my pot still, yielding 50-65% alcohol. I want to obtain higher percentages, without doing multiple runs. So i guess what i would be making with a reflux would be closer to vodka. From what i have read and learned, reflux (and VM) produce high percentages, but cary little to ...

What would be the difference between the VM still, and the Reflux still? or are they synonymous?

Hi I'm new to the forum, and was hoping i could get some good feedback and information from those more experienced. I am looking to build a new still, and it will be my second. I built a simple pot still with a tea kettle, cotter worm and water bottle. I trashed it after many hours of breaking, fixi...