Home Distiller

I posted my thumper results under my original build thread thinking to keep in same place. But Figured i'll cut and paste it here as well so it's also with thumper related discussion for anybody interested. My pot is 12 gallon, thumper is around 4-5 gallons. Here's the copy/paste: Well, ran the thum...

Well, ran the thumper for it's first real run. The boiler was charged with a mix of 6 gallons low wines and 5 gallons of fresh ferment (12 gallon boiler, leaving 2 gallons head space). The low wines were all around 25-30%. The thumper was charged from some higher abv strip run (it was around 50%, so...

Thanks rgreen. Just doing my first spirit run with the new thumper now. Coming off cold 160 proof. I'll check later at room temperature. No complaints here!

Damn good story iwine. SOH and I had a good laugh reading it to her. She fully understands these things. Was mixing my sebstar into my SMOP one day with paint mixer on a drill. Somehow lost balance momentarily and fell a little backwards pulling the mixer up from the button while squeezing the drill...

While I was malting my own barley, the last batch didn't get turned enough and while it sprouted, went a bit slimy. So cheap and only a couple few pounds worth, I tossed it to a dirt area with no grass in my back yard to let the deer enjoy. Had a few deer show up (always know because the motion sens...

This copper thumper starts out sounding like a little man knocking in there, gets pretty loud until it heats up. Purring like a kitten now. May even post a vid later. Just tell the neighbours it's your scooter running in idle... :lol: No, serious..you made a good job there...once again. It will pro...

awesome work! i'm so envious of the old school look, adding the distressed look to the thumper was a great choice. you have to report back on the spirit she produces. Thanks. Probably going to sand (grind) down some of the bigger bits of solder. I wanted it to run more than glob. Now I need copper ...

Thanks Sungy! Been two years since I built the pot. Figured it needed company so I revived this thread with a thumper. Supposed to have some nice weather starting tomorrow and I have 4 days off to play!

Thanks NZ. Can't wait to do my first real run on it now that it's all ready. I have 7 gallons of low wines AG and a fresh wash to use to charge thumper (i'll probably strip most of it first, it takes 3 quarts to just barely cover the notch in the thumper).

nice work moose, wouldn't have knows it was your first time by looking at it. Cheers for the vids, really helped me as I was wondering how loud a thumper thumped Well when it first started out i was thinking i'd have some neighbours visiting lol. Now I understand why they used wooden barrels during...

I usually dilute with some matching fresh wash. +1 I'll usually strip to get 4 or 5 gallons of low wines, then toss back in my pot still with 5 gallons of fresh wash . . . gives great flavor that I enjoy. Everybody is different though! Play around and try . . . some with backset maybe, some with wa...

Here it is just starting out. Charge was about 25-30%abv for sac run gy9ZYkzx1Mw After it warmed up, quieted down a lot and purred nicely . . . RpPb_jfItVM And didn't bother cleaning it up on the outside. Kinda like how my still is looking after a couple years use . . . the paste running down the si...

This copper thumper starts out sounding like a little man knocking in there, gets pretty loud until it heats up. Purring like a kitten now. May even post a vid later.

Happy birthday ShineOn...looks like Joe's Crab shack...if so, damn I'm jealous! Hope you enjoyed. Cheers! And to others I missed also!

Yep. Everybody likes what they like. I don't mind AG's of the spout. But anything with sugar I prefer aged (not bad off the spout but don't compare to AG in any way).

And the entire set-up...

Sure glad I kept all my fores...they came in handy for sac run along with a gallon of second time around feints (all proofed down to 30% abv with water)

Just steamed with vinegar for little over half hour. Now I added some to the thumper to see how she drives with a little in there.

bitter wrote:Nice! I wish I have copper skills would make a 1 Gallon setup for doing small gin batches.

B

I had ZERO with sheet until I built my pot. It shows, but it works. Only one way to get those skills...just gotta do it. I read others threads, watched videos, and then just sweat and a few blisters lol.

Added a thumper to my copper pot. Was at scrap yard , couldn't pass up the scrap sheet they had. Enough to make a 4 1/2 gallon thumper..bit small but still above the 1/3 of boiler for minimum size. Just doing vinegar run now.

Seems you know what you want to make . . . but keep in mind "moonshine" is a generalization. It can be rum, whiskey, brandy, vodka . . . any spirit distilled illicitly (but we tend to steer clear of that term regardless, because we make quality crafted spirits, not the "swill" ma...

Build yourself a little alcohol stove. Or take a look online for other alcohol run ideas. A little side project can always make for fun. Chinese lanterns?

You don't have to be a craftsman to bang up a still from a sheet of copper. I had never done any work outside of a bit of plumbing before building my pot from copper sheet. Sure there were a few swears here and there along the way, but i've had her for several years now and not a problem. I learned ...

how'd i miss those . . . happy birthday jb-tex and gb2! damn, always always late to the party!

Now I'm going to spend hours reading, when I should be taking care of honey dew jobs. And it's all your fault. :lol: I was just looking up for info on malting barley (already done a fair amount, but can always learn more) and stumbled on it. It's got me a bit side-tracked from some chores i probabl...

Talk about a post revived from the dead lol . . . last active 7 years ago. Interesting how this forum does that from time to time, and always something interesting comes from it.

Interesting in the distilling chapter, it seems to be a liebig or something very similar that is being discussed as to being more efficient than a worm!

Wasn't sure where to put this, figured here is good. Found old book (published 1819) turned into free ebook, and a section on brewing and management of malt liquors, including a little on malting barley (chapter seven, starts on page 82). There's much more as well to read through if interested. http...

Learned a few years ago sending a bottle of good mexi Tekilla to a friend back east via FedEx.. Got a nice letter in the mail that it had been confiscated per their policies and to not ship alcohol without the proper permits and paperwork. Turns out you pretty much have to have a shippers account a...

What's the best place online to buy a nice little footwarmer? I've always wanted an amp for mine, but never got around. Maybe now I need to. Think I may have to put up tower now and set up base in my shed since i'm out there fairly often. Would sure beat listening to the crap they play on the radio ...

"Beastly" . . . was given to me when I first got on the air from a friend. Had a 72 GMC half ton with bench seat and suicide gas tank. So much stuff behind seat it was pushed forward a fair ways, and my friend said i looked like "Beastly" from the "Care Bears" cartoon a...