Home Distiller

3/16" refrigeration tubing works well. More exposed copper than 1/4". (More winds.)

This is where I had my troubles as well. Mostly the larger fittings that had to be ordered. When putting out 30 or 40 bucks for a fitting and more, it's nice to know it's the right one. If someone could put this information together and add it to the reading lounge, it would be much appreciated and ...

I first thought of boiling water in a paper cup. The cup never gets hotter than the water and therefore doesn't burn.The column never gets hotter than whatever vapors are running at the moment. The same should be true for the cooling water.

bearriver wrote:
pumps I had laying around for another hobby.

Gold or green?

I just use vinyl tubing. It doesn't get too hot as long as I have water running in it.

Not really a safety guy...just too many explosions.

A 30 cm (11.8") long coil in a 2" column? I understand that 6" is plenty. I have 8" in a 3" and it's more than plenty.
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 17&t=16225

3.1415 x 1" = length of one inner coil = 3.14" 3.1415 x 1.75" = length of one outer coil = 5.49" For a 5" long coil there would be 5"/.25" individual coils, or 20 coils of each. [20 x 3.14"] + [20 x 5.49"] = 172.6" 172.6" / 12" = 14.38 ft ...

Safety glasses. Very fashionable. Part of my standard attire. What is a hobby if we can't play? If I just wanted booze, I'd go to the store. How would the world evolve if we all stayed in our safe boxes? I don't know what you'll gain from it. An answer to your curiosity if nothing else. Push forward...

A more transferable comparison may be that of the amount of alcohol condensed in relation to amount of water used. I.E. For 1.5 gallons of 90% ABV, I use 10 gallons of 70*F water. (wild guess) .9 x 1.5=1.35 10/1.35= 7.4 gallons of water/ gallon of 100% ABV Lower water temperatures should have minimu...

I'm going to venture a guess that in general a recirculating pump is going to require a higher flow rate due to the gradual heating of the water reserves. It's easy enough to drain it to the garden. Run it into a bucket or something to give it a chance to cool a bit. (For you folks east of the Rocki...

Trying to remember exactly...It maybe took an hour for me to fill a 5 gallon bucket with mine. Not very much. Not enough to make me want to buy a pump.

The vinyl tubing will work as long as the water is running, otherwise the ends will get soft. I didn't use any hose clamps on mine.

I developed an interest in this subject after a friend showed me a gallon bottle of CO2 extracted lemon oil that he had paid a couple hundred dollars for. It didn't take long to figure out that a lot of oil is released in the fermentation process. The CO2 along with the nutrient cycling strips whate...

Sound like a pro. It was only a couple of weeks ago when I posted my thanks. I guess it's like every thing else. Show some gumption and do your homework, show a little interest and folks will gladly tell you everything they know and then some. They're just waiting to get it off their chest. With a l...

Throw away all you want. Running about 10 gallons on my first low wine run, I only threw away a couple of shots. Then I pulled out and saved about half a quart to rerun later. I've yet to come across a set amount to toss. I imagine it depends on a couple of different factors as to how much acetone a...

Why would it surge? It's like boiling water. Flammable water maybe but none the same. Perhaps a build up of CO2? There shouldn't be. Leave more room in the pot. I guess I just don't know enough to make use of that stuff. I've found no need. It may be a safety issue with your particular piece of equi...

As a novice myself, that's been at it less than 2 months, I gotta tell you, it's not that difficult. Just have a bunch of collection containers handy on the first couple of runs and go overboard on making cuts. It's pretty easy to tell what is good and what is bad when it's sitting in front of you. ...

A little over priced for me, but it does look like a piece of art. Not a cheap import. Looking at the manufacturer's website, he does appear to take pride in his work. Unless you have some sort of extreme sensitivity, I can't believe there was that much flux present. I'd take a hard look at the moth...

Ordered some alpha and gluco amylase from Mile High. Following directions, it may have helped some. Cooking helped the most as far as speeding fermentation. For maximum flavor, I used a combination of raw and cooked. Molasses and agave nectar were used for fermentation, ice was then added to harden ...

I received a couple of unsolicited comments attesting to the tequila taste after using raw agave nectar. I'm sure if I had used more nectar, it would have been more intense. My current wash consists of agave nectar and molasses as well as cacao bean and a few pounds of sugar. It tastes like rum ball...

Fishing is never off topic.

I fish, therefore I drink.

Let the milk set until it separates into curds and a yellow liquid. Use the yellow liquid, give the rest to the dog. Lacto can be harvested off of grain as noted by rockchucker. Rice is often used. Leaving room for air in the container, soak a small amount of rice or other grain in water for roughly...

Ah-ha. Now it's all sinking in... Your granddaughter is smarter than I am. Got one of those myself. I've learned a lot from her. Seriously though, that does put it into perspective. for me, cheap is fine. Just don't drop or bump. One of each. I'll spend the extra money on a Pyrex vial. Much apprecia...

Sooo...the only difference between an alcoholmeter and a S.G. hydrometer is the scale? Couldn't I just measure s.g. and convert? Is there a difference in quality between brands? What do you have? While there is good instruction in the reading lounge, I'm very slow at comprehension unless I have some...

The problem is they are being told by others on YouTube or the boob tube and such. All this stupid BS. Even when you try to tell them. It goes in one ear and out the other. Until they have a problem. Then they want to argue about it. Or just won't listen to you. Hell they don't read all the great i...

Even after skimming the butter from the initial fermentation, some came out with the alcohol. Good in flavor overall with a hint of cacao. Lots of flavor in the tailings. Cloudy looking though. I also have cacao nibs, which have less flavor, but placed in the alcohol, they add a light cacao tint. Ho...

I simmered 4 cups for about an hour, squeezed in half a lemon and added yeast. after bubbling overnight, it was finished. I ended up with a lot of cacao butter and little alcahol content. I wanted to see what it did on it's own. it was a good way to get the oil our. Nice by product.strained out the ...

I have a 5' x 3" column column full of lava rock, so l'm sure I'm getting a good bit of reflux as well. But isn't that why we have columns? Regardless, the lower temperatures during warm up will only allow specific vapors to make their way into the first shot. There is no reason for a noob to a...

As a noob,Dad confused me by making perfect sense. I pulled out some rank smelling heads before refluxing. I then shut the valve and concentrated a bit more. The bulk of it was in the first shot however. I'm glad i didn't know any better and wasn't stuck in my thinking.