Common Household materials?

Fittings, parrots, packing, tooling and so on.

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Will the Reflux Wok Still work?

Yes, very efficiently
0
No votes
Yes but weakly...
0
No votes
Yes, but hes going to kill himself
1
9%
No, not at all
1
9%
No, which will keep him from killing himself...
9
82%
 
Total votes: 11

BroncoDistillery

Common Household materials?

Post by BroncoDistillery »

So I just made a still(basically this one - http://homedistiller.org/image/mini_explained.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow), but considering my location, I had to do a bit of improvising. I live in a college dorm. Hot plates and other heating elements aren't allowed.....i said screw 'em. So I tried something I hadn't seen on here yet but is more compact. I bought a kitchen wok from a thrift store, holds 5 liters. So im going to have to do a few more runs with such a low capacity, but hey.
Next, I went with brass for my column, as they came in 1 foot tubes and i didnt want to explain to a worker at the hardware store the reason i needed a 10 foot copper pipe to be cut.
I used standard scour pads
Living in a dorm, I cant really do any high power soldering plus i am on a really low budget, at least till i get some made and can sell it to a few close friends, then im upgrading. So this left me to find a substitute. I used a hot glue gun. With the wok, I wont be getting as high of temps and they are a little below the melting point of the glue. But the glue is around the condenser coil so it will be cooler anyway. What are your thoughts?
Next, for the part between the condenser and the reflux segment, I used a molded Styrofoam cup. I cut it up and made a tube to fit snug inside the brass tube, then attached two little styrofoam plates to it to make the plates shown in the design. I used the styrofoam bc i had several cups and i know it can hold boiling water.
I did use copper for the coil and spout.

Please let me know what you guys think, so i dont kill myself. I live in michigan and im under 21 so that limits some things I can buy, plus i dont have much past walmart, lowes, and meijer. Thanks guys, and yes, Ive read hours upon hours from the parent site and a lot from the forums.
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Tater
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Post by Tater »

Looks to me if ya had really did any reading You wouldnt be asking questions you are. Trolls dont last on this forum.
I use a pot still.Sometimes with a thumper
AfricaUnite
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Post by AfricaUnite »

There are several flaws with your "plan"

#1- Not using copper because you were afriad. People buy copper all the time, if someone comes into a hardware store asking to get a 10 foot piece cut they dont automatically assume your building a still. I am always working on my sink.

#2-Selling to friends at college, get caught get kicked out.

#3- No heating element. I dont understand how you are going to use your 1 foot section of brass "column" with a wok evaporative still. A wok evaporative still is a fine place to start to understand the concept but with no heating source I think you will get tired of it pretty quick.

#4-Hot glue and stills = No.

#5- Styrofoam and stills = No

I think you need to re-evaluate your position in life. Living in a college dorm is not the place to start making your own alcohol. next year when you live in a house with some friends....maybe that would be a better time to start. This way you can work in the summer and put away some cash to buy piece of copper and a proper boiler.

I would strongly advise against what you have planned. The risk is not worth the reward. If it were easy, everyone would do it.
junkyard dawg
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Post by junkyard dawg »

i am on a really low budget, at least till i get some made and can sell it to a few close friends, then im upgrading.
that line made me laugh...
possum
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Post by possum »

Bad Idea Bronco....You will get busted in a dorm...there will be funny smells escaping and stuff. For God's sake, youre not even allowed to have a hotplate. I live in a dorm right now..I would be an idiot to do my stillin' here.
As for your still Idea, I totaly Agree with Africa Unite.



By the way: forum etiquitte is that no one here ever , ever, ever, sells hootch. That is against the law.
Hey guys!!! Watch this.... OUCH!
BroncoDistillery

Post by BroncoDistillery »

ok, so ill make some adjustments and reconsider a lot of stuff, but one clarification, the Wok, its a cooking wok and can heat up. I can get pretty good steam coming off of it with water, so it can heat pretty well. And the brass pipe, it is pieces that can connect to eachother, I have two, so its a two foot pipe, not one.
I have a large room in and I have it to myself and the is a larger room between mine and the hallway. I also live on the top floor so with a fan and everything by the window, I can keep the smell out.
Brass is an alloy, copper being one of the metals used to make it, correct? Would there be a problem with the brass?
The hot glue, I did wonder about that, thats why i mentioned it, ill change it.
But the styrofoam, I dont see the problem, Its from a cup that is made to hold extremely hot liquids and still be drinkable. Its not just regular styrofoam, Its made for consumable products and high temps. I droped it in water at 95 degrees C and left it there for about 10 minutes, and nothing happened to the material. It was still perfectly intact
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Post by theholymackerel »

Broncodistillery, just because the material stands up to heat, or alcohol doesn't make it a safe material.

The question we should all ask ourselvs when still buildin' isn't "what will the heat and alcohol to to this material?"... we all should be askin' "what will this material do to the alcohol?".
hans

Post by hans »

Not to be an a-hole but that sounds like some sort of prison still to me. :shock:
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Post by Ricky »

bronco get one of your buddies who is 21 to go to the liquor store and get you some 190 proof everclear, pour it in your styrofoam cup, watch it melt, then reevaluate your decision. o yea just how long do you think you can sell this rotgut at school before you get caught. just screw an ugly fat chick and see how long it takes that to spread all over campus. think a little or save your parents money and get a job.
Day Late;Dollar Short
BroncoDistillery

Post by BroncoDistillery »

Good point about the alcohol dissolving it, Ill have to whip something else up. Will regular soldering irons work or does it have to be done with one of the blow torch style soldering things? (cant remember what they are called) Every hardware store I do into, thats all they offer. So i was wondering if a simple iron would be heavy duty enough.
Thanks for your help guys
-Bronco
moonshiner dave
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Post by moonshiner dave »

Ricky wrote
just screw an ugly fat chick and see how long it takes that to spread all over campus.
:lol:
The stone age didn't end due to a lack of stones
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Post by Husker »

Ricky
just screw an ugly fat chick and see how long it takes that to spread all over campus.
Stop it! I was drinking coffee when I read that. Now I have to clean up around my monitor :lol: :lol:
rangaz
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Post by rangaz »

:D :D

bronco, I suggest reading a lot more before attempting this. I'm not trying to discourage you but to keep this hobby safe there are a few basic dangers agreed on here

1. plastic in stills. Some plastics are argued as being safe but its definitely not Styrofoam. Keep it safe, if you don't know your organic chem and would trust it with your health, stick with metals

2. Copper is much preferred over brass and I dont know why you're worried about people at the hardware being suspicious if you were thinking to sell it. Stainless is also fine. Brass is used in the fittings and aluminum is used in boilers sometimes but will pit over time

3. Distilling is illegal, just in case you didn't know already, selling it makes it even worse.

4. Scour pads. Those wouldn't be the pre soaped steel scourers. If so don't use them, instead use stainless pot scrubbers.

If the wok was the heat source, which I don't recommend, what was going to be the boiler? Buy a gas ring for ten bucks and a bottle to save yourself a lot of trouble. You will get in just as much trouble getting caught with a still and gas burner as getting caught with a wok and still.

Read over the main page on all topics involved in starting up as well as a few posts of others stills to avoid basic questions. Once you have read a bit and still something doesn't make sense, by all means post and you will likely get an answer. It seems like you skipped over all the big no no warnings and tried to go straight to alcohol. If you don't have the patience to read the parent site, then distilling isn't for you, otherwise, welcome aboard
BW Redneck
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Post by BW Redneck »

Oh God...
After all of the feuds and nearly wars about using plastic, nobody should ever ask about plastic again. The only polymer safe for use in stills is PTFE.
Don't expect that wok to heat up very quickly.
Ricky
just screw an ugly fat chick and see how long it takes that to spread all over campus.
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Husker
Stop it! I was drinking coffee when I read that. Now I have to clean up around my monitor :lol: :lol:


I had the same reaction! Only it was with diet coke.
"If you can't dazzle them with brilliance... baffle them with bullshit."
"Don't steal. The government hates competition."
"Believe none of what you hear, and only half of what you see"

20lt small pot still, working on keg
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Post by theholymackerel »

BW redneck said:
The only polymer safe for use in stills is PTFE.
What the hell makes ya think that?

Anyway, feel free to use plastic in a still where you are the only imbiber, and never, NEVER share. If ya want to share yer drink use safe materials.

Lastly, while the materials to make a still are up to the builders judgement, we here at this forum don't want folks tellin' others here that plastic is ok in a still. Feel free to make a plastic still if you choose, but DO NOT tell folks here that it is ok.
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Post by BW Redneck »

I believe that PTFE is Teflon if I remember right, and Teflon is completely nonreactive (as far as I know). And when I mention Teflon, I'd only use it in Teflon tape.
"If you can't dazzle them with brilliance... baffle them with bullshit."
"Don't steal. The government hates competition."
"Believe none of what you hear, and only half of what you see"

20lt small pot still, working on keg
pintoshine
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Post by pintoshine »

Some one threw out the plastic lure and all you bass bit as usual.
When you gonna learn?
BroncoDistillery

Post by BroncoDistillery »

i went with the brass since it was pretty much the same price and it would make it easier take apart when i wasnt using it since it came in connectible segments. It wasnt really bc i was afraid to ask. Rangaz, you said the brass would pit, ok so i will need to eventually change, but would it be a while before there would actually be an issue?

Scour pads-HA! no way in hell i would use ones with soap. I had to go all over town to find them without. which really surprised me.

Wok-I dont get the question about the separation of the wok and boiler. I would put the wash in the wok and turn it on. It is a heating element and container in one... and why would you suggest not using the wok?

As far as me and friends go, leave that to me. I know how fast things spread and i know who not to trust. Thats why I am going to keep it low key, only to a small select group, and with them also mostly being minors, they wont spread the word, as it would hurt them as well. I go to college at a school well known for parties, with few MIPs given so it is a lax atmosphere. I recently, after embarking on this venture, heard of another kid who i doing the same thing, and had been for three years. Living in a dorm too. I dont plan on going into business, or being known as a supplier. But I want to share this with my close friends and in return, they would help with compensation. I think I was misunderstood before when i first mentioned this.

One last thing, everyone says to read more, but where is a lot of this stuff on the parent site? Im not a scientist so there is a bit of terminology that I get lost in but most of it i get. I just dont see where some of this was on the parent site....did I miss a whole page or something?

Thanks again for your help guys,
Bronco

PS I can only find galvanized steel, thats not the same thing a stainless correct?
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Post by rangaz »

no I said the aluminum would pit. The reason that pure copper is preferred is that it has been proven that copper tends to take out sulfide smells from the vapor, giving it a much cleaner taste, therefore it is logical to use as much copper as possible in the vapor trail. Plus I don't think that anyone here to my knowledge has used a brass column, so you're in uncharted territory.

Good to hear that the pads weren't the ones I was thinking of, just make sure that they're stainless.

I know the type of wok you're thinking of and I know that they don't hold much liquor. From 5L of wash, the max amount of final 95% alcohol is only going to be about 700mL. It is much easier to use a pot with a pre existing lid as there are fewer issues with creating seals and leaks.

Of course it is your choice to sell but it is a touchy subject among many of the board members as is plastic so tread lightly and don't do anything you're aren't prepared to pay the consequences for if caught.

What did you want steel for, the column? There was just a topic recently about galvo. To answer, no it isn't and the debates over whether or not it is safe. It is zinc coated steel and can give a metallic taste when in contact with vapors.

First there is a number of still desgins and explanation of different types under equipment. I would suggest a bokakob design if a reflux is desired. Under preparing a wash there is details about yeast, fermentation and recipes to make the base alcohol. Finally under the distilling is theory of distilling and how to run different stills. It is all easier in practice when things make sense than it seems when reading. Just read over again and if something cant be understood from context just ask.
junkyard dawg
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Post by junkyard dawg »

Is this guy serious? I'm with tater and calling troll. Seems to me like he spent a little time finding the worst ideas he could and posted that up as a plan. If I'm wrong and he is seriously planning to do this... I just feel sorry for him.

bronc... if you really wanna make something to get you drunk, try beer first. This isn't rocket science, but you gotta take algebra before you start the differential calculus. if you know what I mean... :roll:
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Post by Grayson_Stewart »

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Light travels faster than sound. That is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
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Post by Tater »

BroncoDistillery Im calling an end to this bullshit. You read some and wanna post something intelligent welcome to this forum. Untill then quit posting on this forum.Any futher trolling will be delited.
I use a pot still.Sometimes with a thumper
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