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Big scorch. I pulled off the fill port cap and there was scorched material on the surface. I had to chip the crap off the element. I can't figure it out because on the first run I wasn't as careful about the trub, and it didn't scorch but this one did.

I am finding out that Rye washes seem to be my achilles heel for scorching. I made up a batch of 51% rye/35% corn/rest Barley. Took it off the grain and let it sit for a day. Carefully siphoned off just above the trub. That batch started smoking out the boiler before I even got the still head on. Ru...

mendozer wrote:what are those parts called? the stainless flange things.

Spuds? Ferrules? etc

Sanitary ferrule. Get em on Amazon or eBay

Why cant the 4" fill port double as the mount for the column? And actually that can be the drain flipped upside down. Or do you find u need more holes? The whole idea is to not have to completely disassemble your still to empty and fill when doing multiple runs. My still stays setup all the ti...

Ok so the bittom side port is for your element. Whats the smaller one at the top? And whats a general consensus for top port size? Small (2") port at the top is for a sight glass. Not terribly useful except to check foaming, it turns out. But I may change it out and add a thermometer in a meta...

If you are going to go to the trouble to modify the keg with a larger cleanout port, then I suggest flipping it over and using the existing sankey fitting as a drain on the bottom. Add a 4" fillport + your desired size of column fitting on the top. Electric on the side. The flip is a great appr...

Fifty pounds of cracked corn will set you back about $10. So unless you got 150 pounds or so of free whole corn, you're better off heading to the feed store than you are heading to walmart (where you can get a grain mill for $25).

Good call Braz. I'm not looking to sell this stuff. :) It's just for my own enjoyment so why not add a little rye! Thanks for the suggestion! I'm a big rye fan as well. Only caveat I'd put on that is that rye costs about 5x what corn does. At least malted rye vs. feed corn. I can get a 50 lb bag of...

My last run was my first AG. It was a 51% rye blend. I was supposed to run it a week after mashing - but you know, things came up. Didn't get back to for about 3 weeks. I didn't know what was going to greet me when I finally got back to it and I figured I may just have to toss it. But I guess I got ...

I've made a clove/lemongrass infused vodka before. Also had lemongrass infused Lao Lao when I was in Laos a couple years back. Good for infusions, although it can be a bit perfumy imho. I prefer a lemon zest.

6" is 50% bigger, and 2x the price of 4". And you need a ferrule, a clamp, and a reducer. Not even considering the cost of a drill bit... OR the drill you need to make that sucker turn. If you really want a 6" opening on a keg boiler, I'd add a separate 6" fill/cleanout port. But...

However there are studies suggesting some butane sources will leave behind a slew of heavy metals after evaporation. I'd seriously reconsider using it. That is unless you plan on addressing the possible heavy metals issue. That's kind of a turd to drop in the punchbowl without so much as a link. Ma...

Freezing/cold doesn't kill yeast. Only heat and/or too much alcohol. Plenty of folks out there with sourdough starter in their freezer saved for the future. Thaw it out and it will restart.

Now it is time for the feats of strength!

I'm surprised no one has asked... why are you going with 3/4" for a worm? For a keg boiler, 1/2" should be fine. Saves a whole lot of $. But I agree with T-Pee, a Liebig is a smarter choice.

Good info. I think a lot of the questions I've seen are about use of push-fit connectors for cooling. They're fine for that use.

You'll need a bell 1 1/2 x 2" bell reducer and a short length of 2" pipe to attach the ferrule to. The bell reducer will be too large in diameter for the ferrule. I don't think you could solder the ferrule directly to the bell reducer, as the potential for leaks would be pretty high. Maybe...

Actually, I kind of had to push the project to the side while focused on my day job. I built up most oIf my dephlag - which I have to say was a pretty daunting exercise in soldering. I'm still not sure it's leakproof at present... In the middle of that I had to get a new drill press and I still have...

You're in college? You should be able to find a beer keg pretty easily. Lest we forget, we don't condone illegally procured beer kegs... If you want a keg, legally purchase one... Stealing one from a party or from a beer distributor/manufacturer isn't what we consider legal procurement... Just sayi...

You're in college? You should be able to find a beer keg pretty easily. Remove the spear and use it for your boiler. You can even put it back together and return it when you're done. Order a stainless Sanitary Ferrule and clamp off of Amazon, and the copper fittings from Zoro tools. Nice thing about...

I'm confused. You said you were running 60% feints and low wines from sugar washes. But there were corn pieces in your backset? I'm assuming some details were omitted here. Might be important ones. One thing I'd suggest, if you're running on grain, don't try to reflux it. Strip it and then reflux it.

I'd buy something off Craigslist before I'd buy off ebay. Not sure where you are, but do a search. There generally seem to be builders offering keg boilers/copper pot still heads w/liebigs. At least in my area. Going rate is about $250 for something like this - http://seattle.craigslist.org/oly/for/...

you can find SS ferrules and clamps for less than $15 on Amazon. Quality is just fine. You'll also need solder/flux for joining SS to copper. Check out Harris Staybrite. And you want M-type copper for the best fit on that ferrule. L-type is too tight, DWV is too loose.

Sounds like he was commenting on a single pint jar, not the overall run... I get jars higher than 145 proof when pot stilling, but the overall blended proof is much lower before diluting to drinking proof... This was my interpretation too. I usually get higher proof stuff a the start of the run, dr...

ABV out of a normally run pot still is locked to the ABV of the wash or low wines put in. You will get what you get. Running fast can lower the ABV but there ain't nuthin makin it higher than it can be For you to get 145 proof you'd have to be fermenting a pretty high ABV wash/mash. 20% plus. Anyth...

Welcome SJ!

Just tell 'em you're a grower not a shower.

Two words: harbor freight

get one with at least 10 feet of head lift, if you are going to do a reflux still. Pond pump is easiest, you don't need a 12V converter

I did the keg flip trick, cut off the skirt. Love the result. The 2" drain rocks. So nice not to have to tip & glug

Tough to say how well it will fit - I have found that some fit a sanke fitting well, while others bind a bit. The thinner/cheaper ones seem to work better on the keg. The pictures make that one look pretty thin, but you never know what will arrive in that box. At least it's coming from the US, not c...

Brendan - good info. I read this along with your other post on Bourbon. Question for you - do you think a sourdough culture could be used as a starter for the sour mash? The starting methodology here seems like the hit or miss type of approach one can take to get a mother culture going for bread bak...