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i think i have my density to ABW ABV calculator working. it now displays proof as well just for completeness. i have tested it with a bunch of values comparing to available tables from the US Bureau of Standards and it seems right. I am not great at math (used to be when i used it a lot) so my algor...

the exe is pretty big because it is written in perl and was made into an exe with perlapp which make large files since the perl interpreter needs to be in the mix. so i think it must have exceeded some limit ans the attachment did not really happen. here is a link on my web server http://www.spencer...

i found the information i need in an old Bureau of Standards document and have made a lookup table for temps from 10 to 40C. i found other references in chemical engineering handbooks and the table i made agrees with them accurately. now i just need to add the table to my program do a lookup and int...

next improvement is to add temperature correction. i have read a lot online about how to do this and it gets a little complicated. i am thinking of just correcting the final ABV using lookup tables made from charts i can find online. a few questions: if i ony really want correct ABV do i need to cor...

Not totally sure if this works but I wanted to have a handy calculator to convert density to ABW and ABV so i can do a quick accurate check of my distillate. Would like others to check it and see if it seems right. I have been making very high strength vodka and gin and have been flavoring with pepp...

i have made a lot of progress since the last posting. got the still working a lot more reliably due to better temp sensor placement. also made a much bigger reflux condenser that allows for almost 100% reflux at 40% heater power of 200 watts. got rid of everything that is not stainless steel glass c...

since i tend to forget now and then, i should add a kill switch connected to a string on my belt so the still will stop if i leave. i had one of these on the motor on my sail boat. if you fell overboard, it killed the engine.

i have been running my still quite a lot lately. i made a big batch of sugar wash and am stripping it so i can make gin quickly on demand with different recipes. my Arduino controller has been working flawlessly with one minor exception. i had a short of 220 volt line current to ground and it burned...

my still is working amazingly well now. i actually had quite a few things to fix. the new tee for the bots really lets me get a lot of flavor. i am now experimenting with pepper. pink pepper corns seem to add an interesting flavor. the first batch i made with the new gin back came out good tasting b...

gin-ack-small2.jpg gin-back-small1.jpg got the still assembled but no time to try it today, maybe tomorrow. here are a couple of pictures of the new "gin back" the quality of the tee is amazing for a $20 part. the plug fits tightly so will not fall out. an o-ring keeps it in place and bec...

got the new 3" stainless steel tee and it is a beauty. can not tell if it is chinese or not but the thing is perfect. dimensions are right on and the finish is gleaming. all for $20 with shipping :) i got the shortest tee i could find so the placement of bots will be easy. since the bore of the...

i think i figured out how to make the plug for the stainless steel tee. i had been using teflon wrapped EPDM o-rings for all the teflon to glass joints thinking the teflon was too hard to seal well. if i machine the groove for the glass in the teflon rings, they do not leak at all with moderate tigh...

i am going to use a weld type 3" stainless tee and make a plug for it after cutting the side arm short so i can angle the sieve of bots in easily. i thought about using a tri clover tee and cutting two of the flanges off but the side arm would be longer and interfere with putting in the bots. s...

ok, forget the brass. the only brass in the still now is a tee for draining the boiler. never exposed to vapor or alcohol stronger than what is in the boiler. also only has much going through it when the still is drained. everything else is copper glass teflon and stainless steel. i think my current...

i think it is old enough that it does not have lead in it, not the chinese recycled stuff but testing is a good idea. the solder does not have lead in it or if it does it is a tiny amount. lead would make it a real crappy hard solder. if i tin the brass that should protect from any lead in the brass...

i just bought a heavy tube that i thought was copper when i saw it. the patina looked like is was copper and it was in with a bunch of other copper tube. turns out it is brass. i bought it to make a gin back for my still which is mainly glass. thought it would be easier to make a big opening than wi...

first a second to "why i like glass" the ability to take it apart and reconfigure is what i like the most. i am not using lab glass just big tubes. today i am probably going to finish the addition of a larger reflux condenser. i am heading to a surplus shop in a few days where i hope to fi...

i got some more stainless steel all thread and with my huge new stock of teflon i can now make a much bigger reflux condenser that will be able to do total reflux at a higher heater setting. my heater is 5000 watts so i will never be able to run it at full but it will be nice to be able to run full ...

thanks for the great explanation of cuts etc. i copied your text and have it available as a text document in my distillation folder. it does sound like i need to increase the capacity of my reflux condenser to get the best results but what i am making now is really good although probably not that ef...

i found the following which is probably the thread recommended. it is highly informative. saved an offline copy so i can find it more easily the next time. i am getting some very drinkable stuff already so after digesting this and learning a little more about how to use the gin basket should produce...

can you please provide a link to Beginner’s Guide To Making Cuts thread. i can't find it by searching etc. if i do a full reflux for a half hour and then remove the first 250 ml from a 10 gallon sugar wash, would i be removing both the forshots and the heads?

one other thing. i really like the last batch i made compared to previous stuff and even compared to mid priced commercial stuff but this is certainly not the end of the experimentation. i want to keep fiddling with processes and recepies and different sources for flavors. what i like about gin is t...

i am not sure what you mean by "no head cuts" i am definitely throwing away the first 250 ml of distillate from a 10 gallon sugarhead wash this is after running at full reflux for a half hour or so. i have to turn the heater down to about 20 % to be able to condense all the vapor with the ...

using fermented sugar. some day i might try something like potatoes or cattail roots. a friend would love to have me remove a ton or so of cattail from her pond but i think i am too old for that kind of work. not sure about the analogy? i can actually get some really good gin out of the still and so...

i ran the still today for a while. the teflon cone no longer condenses vapor. i am getting a lot of flavor from the bots because they are in the vapor path and not getting wet now. the larger reflux condenser is close to big enough now. i can get close to 100% reflux now as long as i have the heater...

i ran the still with just water as a test. it now seems there is not as much condensation on the teflon piece. there is really little but there is a little on the glass tubing near the top. if i figure out how to insulate this section it might improve. definitely do not have a big enough reflux cond...

i missed the part of your posting with the actual calculations. i see that you had not missed my idea about the distillate cooling the teflon piece. a couple of points though. i think that the distillate is cooler than just 2 C below boiling when it hits the teflon. it also sits there because the dr...

i made a new piece to intercept the distillate and run it out the condenser area more directly. i will try to test it tomorrow or the next day. my mash is almost ready. it is entirely possible that i am "seeing" what matches my theory but i really try to avoid this. my theory is based on o...

What makes you think that this liquid results from vapor condensing on the teflon piece rather than vapor condensing on the main condenser and dripping down through or past the teflon piece? the feed tube has a cone shaped top that overextends the holes in the side that allow vapor to pass through. ...

if you go back a couple of posts in this thread there is one with two pictures of the top of my still. i did test the new configuration and it worked pretty well but i modified it again. reduced the size of the reflux condenser and also changed the feed tube to the main condenser. the goal is to all...