Home Distiller

... I'd ditch those in favor of a true quick-disconnect or, at the least, a male-threaded hose barb... I'd be interested in finding a "true" quick-disconnect fitting. Any tips on the keywords for searching for these? What is the difference in comparison to the ones I have? Here's what I use. They'r...

The one in the pic is damaged. The metal is bent and the brown plastic piece is snapped. It does seem to still work but I'm happy they're sending a replacement. Replacement or not, I'd ditch those in favor of a true quick-disconnect or, at the least, a male-threaded hose barb. The connectors provid...

illegal_smile wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 03, 2021 4:26 pm

I wondered if you knew of the old timers having favorites like this and still going off the grain?

I doubt that you're going to get a reply from castiron ...

Last active:
Sat Nov 08, 2014 6:15 pm

... but you might try the same question in the "Grains" or "Whiskey" forums.

Years ago I made a metheglin (spiced mead) with ginger. It was carbonated (very effervescent too). So, it was a sparkling meth. It was quite reminiscent of an asti spumante. Very light with a slight fruitiness. Thanks for the feedback. I've been looking to incorporate ginger and will try a blend wi...

I see no mention in this forum of anyone using ginger in their mead recipes (despite finding many on the 'net). I just started a batch of Tart Cherry and am wondering whether a big dose of ginger would add balance. I know Steve Piatz won a "best of" award for his ginger mead and he used 3 lbs in his...

yes I know TY is bad but this was all the HB shop had. This is *not* a criticism ... just an observation: Salespeople at any LHBS, when discussing distilling spirits, will drive you to specific products. Like turbo yeast. The irony, of course, is that you were in a LHBS which surely had a refrigera...

dunluce wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 20, 2021 8:00 pm

You want to make a joke, fine....make a joke. Then help a newer member out.

I think once an answer has been provided, as was by SaltyStaves in the first reply, then humor (that is absent of ridicule or belittlement) is acceptable.

... especially on a Saturday evening.

it seems this item is currently out of stock at the moment. It might be a covid china shipping issue.... China isn't a factor ... the AMA mill is from Italy. For me, one significant plus for the AMA (Agristore) mill is the availability of replacement parts. Simple design + available parts = sustain...

Does anyone have a good affordable (and hopefully reasonably smallish sized) suggestion to crack corn? Affordable is a relative term. If you want to do corn, whether coarse or fine, then you might want to consider this ... https://www.agristoreusa.com/collections/grain-mills/products/electric-grain...

Dathhu wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 18, 2021 10:46 am

Just scored some csst off Amazon relatively cheaply, 6 foot by 3/8, delivered to Au for about $30.

You should have bought two ... especially if it's uncoated.

Alari18 wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 13, 2021 7:36 am

Then I dilute it to 45 abv and it tastes awesome but when I put it in the fridge, cool it down and try then, it tastes more like regular moonshine.

Does it get a little cloudy when chilled ?

But could we as a community put together options or a list? Vendor quality can be very fluid. What was good on Monday may be unusable on Tuesday. So, unless you have a way of regularly auditing product quality then any recommendation is just a static line in the sand. (posting along with Bushman)

stevexxx wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 11, 2021 9:53 am

An alternative is egg shells..

Another alternative is marble chips ... readily available in the landscaping section at the big-box home improvement stores.

v-child wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 10, 2021 1:57 pm

Isn't vodka just another name for colorless unflavored ethanol?

Per the US federal definition, yes. I believe that a properly-made vodka should have hints, to varying degrees, of its (grain) source.

I never thought any white spirits were rested. Maybe that's the reason they charcoal filter and add glycerin I primarily do AG vodkas and always allow them to rest two months after the spirit run. I've found they generally stabilize their flavor profiles after 6 weeks but adding two months is easie...

Welcome ! I purchased a 3 gallon 3 part still (Boiler, condenser and thumper) Please create a new thread in the "Novice" forum and post a photo of your still. Based on your description I, and probably several others, are visualizing a design, commonly sold online, that may require some modifications...

I have racked it for a few days but it's still a red colour and not clear. "Clear" doesn't mean "transparent" ... just that there are little to no suspended solids, when using a grain recipe, or the haze of yeast when making a sugar wash. After a few days you should see a layer of yeast on the bott...

LWTCS wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 02, 2021 3:49 am

Just that I got a guy that has plenty, plenty of column height
struggling to get to 95.

What's he using for packing and is it properly sized for the column ?

sampvt wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 31, 2021 11:15 am

I then diluted back to fill the boiler and ran it at 50c. I collected 1/3 heads, 1/3rd hearts and then ran it out of tails till it stopped

Where were you measuring temperature that you were able to complete a run at 50c/122f ?

mercmar wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 29, 2021 11:32 am

its going but slow and boring. no spills or explosion..

Are you keeping the ferment temperature in line with what the yeast requires ?

Dancing4dan wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 26, 2021 5:35 pm

That pail looks pretty full... you going to divide that before you put the lid on?

Maybe the experiment is "cleaning up."

chilimies wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 24, 2021 10:53 am

I'm running at almost lowest possible scr settings at 2A and 230V

What's your boiler temperature ? At only 2A, I'm doubtful that you're creating any meaningful volume of vapor. That's why it's taking so long ... the wash isn't boiling.

Oh is 45% low wines in the realm of normality? For some reason I expected low wines to be like 20-30%, but maybe I pulled that out of thin air No, 45%ABV is not normal for a stripping run due to the intent of a "stripping" run which is to remove the alcohol from the wash. Where you stop is a person...

Craigils wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 23, 2021 8:25 am

Not sure where I went wrong with the stripping run anyway.

It would be helpful to know the volume of wash you stripped and the volume of distillate collected. You surely left some alcohol behind in the boiler but your results are generally ok.

LuckyB13 wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 19, 2021 8:34 am

Thoughts or anything that I might be missing in logic?

Well, since you asked ... what's with the discoloration both in and outside of the pot ? Is that sugaring from non-sanitary welds ?

Jorma wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 02, 2020 12:16 am

"Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning"

I want to make sure that I balance the proper level of care and safety with frankly being able to take advantage of sitting in the same place for several hours straight. If you're distilling in your home then you're the only one who can decide what is and what isn't safe ... 'cause if there's an ac...

Fastoz wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 10, 2021 7:18 pm

Then I will learn to ferment and do my sacrificial run.

You can always do a sacrificial run with the cheapest store-bought liquor you can find ... provided you're not ashamed at dropping two or three handles of Vladimir vodka in front of the cashier.

Rather than using extra supplies, put used copper into the hot backset in your boiler following a strip run. Leave in for 15 - 20 minutes. Dump your boiler and the copper is squeaky clean.

Here are steps for running a pot still. http://homedistiller.org/distill/dtw/use_pot" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow 404 Not Found This took me a minute ... https://web.archive.org/web/20140701224829/http://homedistiller.org/distill/dtw/use_pot https://web.archive.org/...