Home Distiller

It's probably been covered elsewhere, and you could do the calculations yourself, but here are a few facts to consider regarding column sizing... It doesn't take a whole bunch of studying of the main site, just a bit of math... A .75 inch diameter column has about .44 cubic inches of volume per line...

I have some finished potent sugar wash that I will be combining with an upcoming batch that I've tried... I've let it settle, siphoned it off, filtered it several times, and it looks, smells, and tastes like Thunderbird wine... Definitely more potent than your store bought wines, however... A hydrom...

I have a batch of sugar and cornflake wash going right now... I don't recall the proportion of pulverized cornflakes but I think it was less than one cup per liter which I'd probably increase if I were to do it again... The fermentation is going slow mainly because of the low temperature where it is...

I don't know where you get potato starch, or how to process it, but I bet it might work a treat, it does on water. I'd think you could just use the water from some freshly boiled peeled potatoes... There's always a ton of starch in the water that usually gets dumped down the drain when preparing to...

I just got home from the local Home Depot, which is just up the street from me, and they don't carry any copper larger than one inch... At least not at this store... I know for a fact that Lowes has a broader selection of copper, or at least the one almost 20 miles from here does...

The problem I see with the suggested scenario is that some people may have already been lurkers for quite some time and only decide to register and post when they have a legitimate question which either hasn't been answered to their satisfaction or they just haven't been able to find the right post ...

Lawbreakers? we just talk about it hear-- no law against that is there? It's illegal to make liquor privately and make water publicly In some areas just talking about "it" could be considered conspiracy, especially if someone who you talked about it with actually did "it"... Her...

Thanks for sharing your progressive history as I'm sure it mirrors the trials and tribulations of many... Your craftsmanship with stainless is astounding considering how difficult it can be to work with... I'm sure you have found copper to be much more forgiving... I would be interested, as I'm sure...

It's entirely possible that your improvised airlock is to blame if your mash is indeed turning to vinegar... What you may consider to be an effective airlock may be allowing air back into your carbouy... Remember, the absence of oxygen causes yeast to make alcohol while the presence of oxygen causes...

Thanks for the clarification, Nykter... True, such a column would only be good for stripping runs... Although you wouldn't really need to worry about tails you would always have heads in the output...

Now, if I have my head wrapped around this correctly, Nykter, this setup never actually pumps wash into the bottom of the column, where you would have a bubbler in a standard continuous column like a Charles 803... Instead, you are relying on the steam in the column to pre-heat the mash... Am I corr...

I have contemplated a similar design, except using a hot water heater element screwed vertically into the bottom of the column... Granted, such a setup would require that enough wash covers the element, but it sure would speed the overall process as long as you could maintain adequate reflux... I di...

Ill try that type answer next distilling question ya ask :| :lol: Well thats xp covered .Somebody else chip in on one they know. I run a software support forum myself, so I wasn't being wise with my answer, unlike you, Tater... But no offense taken... The best practice is to point people where they...

I am a computer consultant by trade so I have no qualms in stating that the idea of giving ambiguous resizing help is beyond the scope of these forums... There are many different image software packages, and each one takes different steps to resize images... All Windows XP machines should have both ...

The bowl is not large enough to fit on the pot alone. You can tell by the holes on the lid where the bowl is bolted on. I'm still leaning on cutting the hole in the lid or getting a bigger bowl. Thanks! I'd butcher the lid up before searching for a larger bowl... What you have there is bought and p...

Yeah, if I was going to modify the lid I'd probably cut out as far as possible and then drill holes or cut notches so that no cooled distillate pools on top of the lid... Although any ethanol would re-vaporize into the column, water would only accumulate and possibly compromise your flour paste seal...

Yeah, I can see the problem you might have... I have a similar setup but my stainless mixing bowl is large enough to rest in the lip where the pot lid originally sat... Your bowl is smaller in diameter and I can't tell from the images whether there is even an actual lip on the pot itself... From the...

I have a number of control circuit schematics. Do you want one with temperature sensing feedback control, or just single ended control like the light dimmer idea? Probably the temperature sensing one would work well sensing steam temperature, but it would have to be incremented as the alcohol deple...

you can buy dimmer controls for lights 1200 watts cheep. Not in Australia. Even standard 300 w ones are not real cheap. They aren't cheap here in the US either... Well, 600W and under are below $20, but they go up quick when you go bigger than that... The exact pricing is irrelevant... I can buy co...

you can buy dimmer controls for lights 1200 watts cheep. Higher wattage ones get more expensive. I've never seen a high wattage dimmer that was cheap, nor have I seen one that would hold up as well as expected, but thanks for the news flash... In fact there was an adequate dimmer in the parts box r...

I've been kicking around controller ideas for years, and not just for still control either... My hobbies vary and many of them include power control for one reason or another... After reading all of the information on this site, as well as everywhere else I could find information on the internet, I ...

would this not work??? Pinto can you let me know I don't think bouncing the topic with re-posts is going to get your question answered any quicker, and is against the guidelines of conduct in most forums... Now, that being said, are you referring to the use of a diode for cutting power output in ha...

Actually, using the compression fittings ferrule could definitely result in the loss of proper calibration and is not recommended... All that is needed is a means of reducing the loss of steam past the thermometer shaft... Either teflon tape or flour paste would be better choices... You might even b...

You will find that the sensitivity to the outdoor temperature will be reduced if you use scrubbers in your column... The further up your column they extend from the bottom, the more consistent the temperature will remain... Scrubbers, or expensive mesh, will definitely make better packing in smaller...

As I see it, there would be a distinct performance difference between using one of the recommended temperature control valves versus a solenoid based control... A solenoid valve is either fully open or fully closed, depending on the threshold of the sensor... With the solenoid based control you coul...

In any case both google searches don't return the latest results. The latest results won't be available using site: until after the next time search engines spider the site... Any posts added since the last time the site was spidered will only be found by the forums search routine because it search...

Well, I cut the plate slits for my 1.5" bok funny and the gap is less than 1/4" on one side and about 1/4" on the other. It chokes like crazy. If I were going to do it again I'd do two things: make straight cuts cause they look nicer and increase the gap so my still would actually wo...

I am in the process of building my own variation of the mini-still... The finished column will be 28" tall, 1.25" diameter copper, with both plates installed at a 30 degree angle, a 7" condenser with 15 coils of .25" copper tube, and a .25" take-off... I should be able to in...

You don't need a permit in California to make ethanol for fuel uses. The Federal permit is not hard to obtain and I do not believe this alcohol is taxed though you'd need to send in reports of your denaturing operations. As for fire safety codes and so on, that's all local stuff and of course your ...

I've been lurking these forums for quite some time now but have registered now in order to comment here... The main reason for posting here is to voice several concerns which have been overlooked in several threads regarding the manufacture of Ethanol for fuel... Where to start... Hmmm... Unless I'm...