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I dropped to 3/4" coming out of the head then soldered in a couple of 90s and a copper union to make mine adjustable. I'm about to redo a lot of this setup and I'm going to a 2" shotgun with a couple of 2" 90s with tri clamp ferrules. Weekend Setup.jpg Rusty Rusty, That's a mighty fi...

This is what I did for a small still to run in the house Willie. 35mm from the lid, reduced to 22mm for the condenser. I seen to remember you wanted to keep things as simple as possible, hopefully the pictures answer your question. 17364062042342127720729534446567.jpg 173640639413519383261666998373...

Just ordinary 90s work just fine and allow you to still tune the height at the end of the condenser. Most of the different configurations for the top of a pot still are due to the specific requirements of that still. For example, my stripping pot still head is just 1 90 bend connected to my shotgun...

Hey Gang,
I just posted a question over in the pot distillation/thumper design page.
I thought it might get more coverage over there than in my journal.
If this is not the proper protocol, please let me know. Thanks.

viewtopic.php?t=94163

Cheers,
WillieP

Good day all, I have done a google search and was unable to find the answer to my question. I found a lot of interesting things, and had an enjoyable 1 1/2 hours of reading, but didn't find where this had been answered. (Please forgive me if this has been covered over and over.) Pot still design, 2-...

Sorry I didn't get to reply earlier Willie. But it looks like you have all the answers you need. I will second the dedicated riser idea but the capped and insulated 30 inch column will work as well. Just take a bit longer to get everything warmed up and product to drip. All good subbrew! I think I ...

MooseMan wrote: ↑Sun Jan 05, 2025 10:49 pm Eloquently put by yummy there, I don't think I need say more!

Start a build thread when you are ready to get going Willie, we will wade in and help.

Copy that, Mooseman!
I thank you for your time and effort!
WillieP

Hey Willie The Riser ( it’s called a Column when it’s packed of a reflux still) can be any length that makes it convenient to collect under . It can be short if you don’t mind changing jars on the floor , or, you can make it taller so that it means the end of your condenser is closer to bench heigh...

WillieP If you build a simple pot still head as I described Willie, you can make fine Rum, bourbon, whisky, brandy with that for many years. There will be guys on this forum with literally decades of experience, who are still running a simple pot still. The CCVM is for making high proof neutral, th...

Those pictures are totally fine Willie, just get the hang of rotating them before attaching and you'll be good. Ok, a couple of options. As you have the column just friction fitted (I have the same on my gin still and I just put a wrap of PTFE tape around it before fitting) into the copper fitting ...

I went down to the basement and retrieved my still head that had been drawing dust for a really long time. My memory is not as good as it used to be. What I thought was a 2x2x2 takeoff in NOT, it's a 2x1.5x2. So, my earlier comment about the reflux ratio was incorrect. My Bad. It's been years since ...

MooseMan wrote: ↑Sat Jan 04, 2025 10:54 am Could you post some pictures of your still for us?
The top of the boiler, the connection between still head and the top, that sort of thing.

Well, that was a trip on the struggle bus!!
Sorry for my lack of ability to add photos to a post. I'll need to work on that.

Well, I guess posting pictures is not a strong suit of mine. I will need to practice up on this.

As I mentioned above, I have read the entire HBB thread, and it sounds like it's something right up my alley. It's a T & T for a reason, right? I did say that I wanted to start off with BB's rum recipe, but I have changed my mind and will be wanting the HBB to be my first real run. I want to run...

Hey Willie. I have a modular ccvm and run it as a pot still by simply removing the column, flipping over the tee and capping the top, it's that simple. If you need pictures let me know. Moose Hey MooseMan, Welcome! When you say 'Modular', I am guessing that you are talking TC fittings? My column is...

[/quote] Keeping specialty malts at a low percentage of a grain bill is a personal choice. I do multiple small ferments (8-9 gallons) and this allows me to experiment with grain bill percentages. 3%-5% of specialty malts seem to work for me. [/quote] Agreed that it is a personal choice, but I also t...

I made a chocolate bourbon, by substituting chocolate malt for the honey malt. I didn't add it with the corn though, I used HT amalase to keep the corn thin, and the chocolate bourbon went in with the other malts. I was very happy with it, although I cooled the corn too fast, and didn't get the lev...

8Ball wrote: ↑Fri Jan 03, 2025 12:01 pm

scubatech wrote: ↑Fri Jan 03, 2025 11:59 am… try and keep specialty malts as a very low percentage.

+1. me too.

Copy that, Thanks!

It sounds like you're more interested in alternative or "alt" whiskeys to bourbon? Look into Shineoncrazydiamond's recipes like the Honey Bear Bourbon. But I really encourage you to get the book "Alt Whiskeys" by Derek Bell. I've been flipping through it, and there's some mind e...

Welcome. If you made/make your column modular you can just remove the reflux column when you want a post still. A couple of tri-clamp ferrules and a clamp will do it. Since you did a salad bowel to a copper column I assume you have the skill to weld or solder the ferrules to a copper pipe. you will...

I made it with 1% each of caracrystal wheat malt, extra special malt, carapils copper malt and caramel 120L malt. Probably overkill, but lots of caramel/toasty notes and keeps getting more complex as it ages. Sounds delicious. That would only be 4% specialty malt, if you excluded the honey malt, or...

To SCD and all those who have contributed to this thread, Well, I just made it through the entire thread. WOW! There is a wealth of knowledge in there. (And for those of you who are willing to take the time to read it all, you will most likely find the answer to the question that popped into your he...

The first time I read this thread was back in 2018, I was impressed with it then, and I still am today. When I wanted to try and seal my 8-gallon brew kettle to the SS salad bowel I was going to use, I didn't have a clue how to do it. Knowing that it was not going to be on the high proof side of thi...

sadie33 wrote: ↑Fri Dec 27, 2024 1:25 pm Hello and welcome back!! Did you end up building your still?

I did, it's still drawing dust in the basement while I re-read and refresh my memory.

WillieP

subbrew wrote: ↑Fri Dec 27, 2024 11:04 am A liquor bust would be major news in any small town. You would have been half hero and half villain depending on which side of main street you talked to. Now it is your turn to head down the rabbit hole.

Amen...

So, you've waited six years. How long has she been retired ? Thanks for the welcome back! She has been retired about two years now. To be honest, she is very tolerant of all my varied hobbies. She just had a problem with the possibility of my name in the paper for getting busted making illegal booz...

Hey Y'all, I wanted a spot to document my journey, and to be able to look back and see what has worked well and what has not for me. As I mentioned in the introduce yourself post, my journey began back in 2018 but was put on hold. SWMBO was working at the local school and was not comfortable with th...

Well, Guys and Gals, This will be my second introduction, so to speak. I re-read my first introduction and all that was totally valid, and then the plow hit a stump. Back when I was originally researching this hobby, SWMBO worked in the local school district. She was not too keen on the idea of her ...