Hi from Taupo NZ

New to distillation, or simply new to the HD forums.
** Your first post MUST go here. Introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your interest in distilling. Any posts asking distilling questions will be deleted. **

Moderator: Site Moderator

Post Reply
gordo
Novice
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Jul 27, 2021 10:32 pm
Location: Taupo NZ

Hi from Taupo NZ

Post by gordo »

Hi, been reading this forum for a few days after stumbling upon it during internet searches. Was a beer home brewer throughout the 1990s and often thought of stills then and since. Finally taking the plunge and am going hybrid with a pot still, made up of a beer keg boiler(yet to find a keg) fired from below with a fire, a cast iron claw foot bath filled with water as my coolant supply, and a alcoengine pot still clamped to the top of keg(as for the price I ended up finding one for, I was going to struggle to buy copper and make one)....looking forward to putting it all together and trying out some of the sage advice that I have read! Cheers.
User avatar
NZChris
Master of Distillation
Posts: 13062
Joined: Tue Apr 23, 2013 2:42 am
Location: New Zealand

Re: Hi from Taupo NZ

Post by NZChris »

Welcome to the forum.

When I visit a Scrappy, their copper bin usually looks like it has some kind of kitset still in it, plus the price is right. I'm trying to remember if I have ever bought new copper, but I can't recall anything.

Be patient, do your homework and know what you need. Just as importantly, know what you don't need. E.g. my industrial gasket supplier did my research for me and all he had to offer for seals for distilling was PTFE. I don't believe that advice has changed since then.

When off grid, I sometimes bathe in a claw foot bath under the stars. My condensers are not cooled with re-circulated water, which I think should be avoided if possible, because of the gradual temperature rise. The water that comes off my condensers is hot enough to wash the dishes and could be sent to the bath, but I hadn't thought of that until now.

Cheers
Chris
gordo
Novice
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Jul 27, 2021 10:32 pm
Location: Taupo NZ

Re: Hi from Taupo NZ

Post by gordo »

hehe thanks Chris, I have two baths so might have to run it from one to the other and then use it for a hot bath! Will have to suss out the local scrap dealer. Cheers for the advice.
Post Reply