Home Distiller

Welcome in.
As I write I have 15 liters of Calvados sitting on wood.
Hopefully, it's ready around Christmas.

A boiling wash cannot exceed 100 C. It will not even reach that temperature because the liquid contains different alcohols, water, and some more volatile stuff. That means the boiling point is way below 100 C. Are you planning on distilling with steam? It's the only reason why I can imagine you woul...

+1 on Yummy's explanaition. I haven' t seen this design for years. A SCR is what I use as a controller. Some use an extra heating element coupled directly for faster heat up. Be very sure to keep these valves at this place and interlocked! The handles facing each other is the only way this still can...

Welcome in..
Links? Well, there is a ton of information in the different sections..so all you need is right here.
You could start by clicking on the "spoonfed" thread...link is in my signature..

RC Al wrote: ↑Sat Jan 28, 2023 2:30 am Sometimes condensers leak internally into the product path

Well, that says something about poor build quality.
My suggestion presupposes that the equipment used is made as it should be and safe.
From what I see Detriot has a pretty good grasp on that build quality.

This or you could add antifreeze.
That also helps to prevent corrosion.
It won't come into contact with your product anyway and the thermal conductivity would be more or less like water.

One thing you could try is to insulate the column. I don't know under which conditions you run it but if it gets too cold or drafty you'll experience fluctuations. The insulation will do a few things, it will help you bring the column faster to equilibrium, stabilize the run, and save power input. I...

Nah..no way she's too shiny..she's a beauty! :clap: One way to find the maximum power setting for your rig is to run a quick and dirty sugar wash through it. You can crank up the power just until you recognize flooding in the column, then dial back a bit. If you have the maximum power it will take w...

Well, you can find some guidance here.
However, this is a welcome thread so if you need a little help, please open another thread.

Well, welcome in.
I'm sure you can find some answers here + a lot of helpful people.

Welcome in.
I can only advise you to get a real still asap.
Build one if you don't want to shell out a ton of money yet.
There are many treads about building and designing all kinds of stills + a bunch of helpful people ready to help you.

Welcome in.
You'll find a bunch of helpful people and an abundance of posts about everything you want to know...and stuff you do not yet know you want to know.

Welcome in.
Mine ain't much larger than the 5 gals you've got.
if you have the space and can get your hands on a legal keg...just do it!
It will make your stripping runs so much easier.

Well, I had a dunder pit going once and sure enough mold started to come.
There is no need to be worried as it's perfectly normal.
Have a look at some of the distilleries in the Caribbean.
They work with open dunder pits and you don' want to know what's all in there..

Yes, just fusion weld it. Let the pipes stay two to three millimeters proud og the plate and weld from the inside of the pipe out towards the plate. The protruding pipe will act as filler material. Tip: Spotweld on the opposite side before welding. Three tacks should be enough to hold it All togethe...

Very nice craftsmanship Twisted... I like that kind of professionalism.

I would use a tri-clamp connection. Easy to put together and you can adjust the angle of your condenser in any way you like. Stainless steel ferrules are to prefer. They would last a lifetime and can be either TIG welded or soldered to copper if needed. If you solder use a solder with some silver in...

Looks good.
People that claim they never made a mistake, are the people that don't get anything done.
Hands in the pockets can do nothing wrong.
I'm keen to see the end result of your build.

Congrats. Well, remember a vinegar run takes a lot more heat than an actual run with alcohol in it. Especially when it comes to the spirit run. Tri-clamps are the way to go. Your thumper should be sized 1/3 of your boiler size to avoid overfilling or to have to install a back drain to the boiler. Lo...

Welcome in. There are a lot of guys in here that are experienced beer brewers too. Well....if you see the first drops dripping from your still I can tell you it will be highly addictive. Especially when you find out you can produce a better product than a lot of commercially bought booze. :) Stay sa...

Welcome in.
You will find you've joined the best distilling forum on the net.
Stay safe..

That looks quite good. :thumbup: I take from it you ran it in pot still configuration. What kind of still head have you attached? Keep on going with the tri-clamps...it's the way to go. Well, a mash can be hard to get out of that tiny valve you have installed. If you plan on running mostly mash for ...

Question: How would I convert your recipe to a per liter measurement? How large is the still you ran the initial recipe in? The size of the still ain't that important (if you run a spirit run). Size matters when you want to have some product at hand reasonably fast, thus stripping a lot of mash/was...

It depends on how much power you throw into your still. There should be a lot of information here regarding dimensions and how to calculate the knock-down power. This is what WiKi says: https://homedistiller.org/wiki/index.php/htm/calcs/calcs_cond_calc.htm Edit: You can also use formulas for calcula...

+1 Sc
+1 SB

Cheers to all the gentlemen in here that shared their knowledge with us all.

I like your out-of-the-box thinking.

For what it's worth..I have something similar to Demy's build. I made a solid base out of wood, though which gives it stability so it doesn't tip easily. My bottle jack is just 2,5 T but there is plenty of power to press apples even if they are not super ripe. The I-beam across is 120X60X6 mm and s...

For what it's worth..I have something similar to Demy's build. I made a solid base out of wood, though which gives it stability so it doesn't tip easily. My bottle jack is just 2,5 T but there is plenty of power to press apples even if they are not super ripe. The I-beam across is 120X60X6 mm and so...

Congrats..! Ain't that a great feeling when the first drops come out of the condenser..? :) +1 Boozewaves I have a still of similar size and use to run 3 stripping runs for each spirit run. The stripping run is in pot still mode for a couple of reasons. 1. Speed 2. IF you have something in there to ...

Well, if you plan on TIG welding it, do it with purging gas. That eliminates the ugly black oxidation you get otherwise. It will be perfectly fine afterward. If you plan on going electric be aware of the placement of the heating element. Set it in a way so you won't get an uncovered element when the...