Home Distiller

Imho I would also measure the temperature at the top of your still by poking a temperature probe through the top vent when running my own 2" still i like to keep the top of my condenser at or below room temp Cant you tell that just by touching it with a finger ? You sure can :) But after you h...

one 2.5kw element will be more than you need to create vapour for that head. But Zinc coated elements??? I really think you want to look at SS sheathed elements, Low watt density gets you a couple of brownie points tho ;) forget the sightglass until you venture into reflux, in a pot still you may ca...

Imho I would also measure the temperature at the top of your still by poking a temperature probe through the top vent (ensuring you do NOT block the vent completely). This will inform you if your cooling flow is cold and fast enough to knock back the vapour your heat power produces and increase the ...

Use the condenser calculator to confirm the coil substitution is sufficient to knock back your max heat input. as for the dropping of a return valve why not simply go boka instead, as the benefit of the design you have selected is the ability to start the run with 100% of the condensate returned to ...

if you like pids how about a dozen or more virtual pids in a fully programmable box with an stc1000 form factor with wifi logging and control
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 83&t=64576

Hi there,

have fun and be safe..

far from expert, just a surprised (how easy it can be) novice here ;) a glass syringe? you should pick one up for about a fiver ??10usd?? tho i have used a polypropylene bottle with a stainless steel needle ala e ciggy topping up to deliver the liquid flux i use, just be carfull you dont suck any so...

:oops: it is a placky trial jar, but as this is the sacrificial run, im using the output for fuel only its a materials faux pax without impact. I also used a bit of silicone tube to extend the exit drain to the collection point cos i couldnt be arsed to sort out a couple more crates to raise the col...

my boka build had been shelved due to life.. but in order to fuel my spirit burner for yeast streaking i needed something flamable.. so i knocked up a quick final condensor something i forgot about as it wasnt needed for the vinegar run, but i reckon 78C ethanol is a bit fumey ;) my coulmn bottom tr...

Glad to have another Brit on board..

any plans yet?

ebay will sell u 304 SS overbraid without any rubber bonded or attached, look in the automotive section..

Thanks for the soldering thread BS, i almost asked u to do exactly that after reading about your plan to finish the job off.. the pic of the oxidised and burnt flux stained work is very heartening to a beginner like me, its supposed to look like that and i aint busted my copper - PHEW ;), tho mine w...

Nice, a real sculpture.. and functional too, I luv it...

Cheers, the situation has changed slightly, the biggest bowl available which i ordered turned out to be the slightly smaller size after a lot of head scratching i got the measure out .. DUH!! so a new 50cm bowl is on its way as i return the 48cm job i received.. I also tried soldering a 8" SS C...

hi all i am a total noowb at this, i have built a 54mm (2") boka column, vapor tested it and am getting ready for a real run.. prior to running my vinegar cleaning run i dismantled the column and cleaned it the best i could with bar keepers friend sponges and a long stick and rinsed it off well...

Simple water treatment is a single campden tab crushed and dropped in for every 50l to remove chlorine and chloramines followed by a short boil to pull temporary hardness out.

You are aware that copper makes a much more efficient heat exchanger than stainless, right? cheers, - yes, experiments with modular counterflow wort chillers indicate that the 10mm x 0.25mm tube is about 50% as efficient as same diameter tube in copper with a 1mm wall when using tap temperature wat...

Hi all and thanks for all the input, Ayay the 1/4" 6.4mm tube is the drain exit from the bottom boka plate, the column is 2", 54mm and the column is packed with 30m of 5" 2ply copper mesh. skow99 - cheers for doing the math, im considering going single dual use graham now ;) 44" ...

When designing my build i checked the parent site calculator for the optimum size for a liebig condenser for pot head mode using the calculator, Im making 2 heads 1 x pot head, and 1 x boka head and condenser, and the plan was to have the 1m long liebig interchangeable too. however the liebig withou...

the column is copper, as is the mesh and the diy spp coils, mesh first, tamped in with a broom handle and spp on top then, sounds like a plan, cheers..

i could use a quick pointer as to the best way to pack my column, ive collected 3 sets of materials, a few suitable SS scrubby pads, about 1 lb of diy SSP made from copper single core 2.5mm sq coiled around a 3/8" tube, and cut into 10-12mm (1/2") lengths (9-10" worth of height) and a...

Good work and great pics..

hope she serves u well

The brewer in me is still struggling with the butcher job some of u guys inflict on some lovely beer containers :twisted: Kegwatch aside the cost of a keg here is prohibitive, and if i had some i would fill em with beer ;) I have the SS shroud from a now dead and defunct Microwave oven, I could with...

I have a SS ferrule soldered with 8% silver solder to a SS stockpot lid. It wobbles and flexes very easily with a 2" column attached. Any suggestions as to how i can strengthen the lid easily to stop this? the lid flexes at the pint of contact and thinnest solder so will fail if left unchecked....

Generally its for the accommodation of a comfortable collection point, start at the height u want to collect add the cooling condenser of your choice height, and thats the height for the column

Very interesting.. how about using an end feed equal coupling fitting for the basis. u could plate the central point, its already crimped/dimpled with a central stop. and it will give access to work, a split collar of tube could sit inside the same height as the collection tube on the top, and simil...

just make sure its dry n rodent proof, i use the 50l hdpe blue barrels, aka mango chutney barrels, they hold 25kg (50lb) and with handles are lumpable.

well when dealing with volumes of beer and brewing liquor 1 kg as the rough mass of a L of liquor is a very useful metric especially with the advent of cheap hi mass accurate digi scales.

would hate to use lbs an oz's for measuring volume on the fly, i would have to start running dry brewdays..

I could probably manage to flare it myself but like I said I can only buy minimum 6ft lengths of 2" locally and they are $100. I only need 6-8" max, so I'd be better off buying the flared piece on flea bay. my bad should have read more carefully.. do you have any scrap/junk yards near by?...

yes u can flare it yourself if u have a good hand and a pair of locking pliers a thinner jaw is best. Im still building my set up, just mark a line 8-10mm off a square cut end of tube and then slowly clamp the pliers on at the mark and just slightly bend em out a bit, it will probably seem as if its...