Six months in the making

[Swedish Pride]

I know it's not much, just a bog standard pot still.
But to me it's months of reading , anticipations, frustration, breakthrough, failure, give up and start over.

I stumbled across this site in August and was hooked from the get go, I would say I went through all the newbie stages;

The giddy schoolgirl stage where everything was great and I could not wait to try everything now and shout it from the rooftops.

The cheap ass stage, where I wasted money on cheap substandard tools,items on my list of shame include a circulating pump for 4€ head height of 45cm and a jet lighter that i thought I could use to solder....... yeah I was that guy

The run before you can crawl stage, trying own (read crap) designs and almost succeeding before falling flat on my face.

and finally enlightenment, revisited a potstill plan I downloaded in early October and used that as a reference point to complete my first passable still.

It's not pretty, sorry, it's butt ugly is more accurate, but I'm happy as punch.
Sure, lots of things could have been done better but she is does not leak and is safe, nothing bar copper , stainless and PTFE.


No good pics, old school phone with buttons, but it gives you the general idea.

[yakattack]

Hay Swedish,

Looks pretty good from what I can tell. What size pot is that? What size piping did you use?

Have you done the cleaning and sac runs yet? What is the length of your condensor? It looks huge compared to the pot size, which is good. Means your ready to upgrade down the road.

Yak. ( glad to hear its working out for ya)

[Swedish Pride]

yeah small enough set up
10 l pot, 1.1/4 takeoff to 3/4 and a 3/4 over 1/2 condenser.
the condenser is indeed overkill, 32 inch, but I hope to move to a bigger setup if I ever get to build a shed as I've said I'd do for the last 3 years now.

I did the first cleaning run yesterday, will do an other one tonight if the kids don't wake up every 5 min

It runs ok, I have to have the stove on full though and still only get a small stream, might be that the angle is to shallow or that the hole in the lid is to small, it's only about 3/4. had to leave rooms for the screws that hold the lid down.
Will look to sort it out but happy enough to have everything in working order at least for now.

Siné

[W Pappy]

Good lookin rig ya got there friend! you run her a bit and find the sweet spot and she will kick out a good drink.

[yakattack]

Nothing wrong with the angle of the condensor. Its sloped down so its working. Could be a little steeper but not necessary so long as it works for collection.

10l is very small. Your not going to want to run it fast at all for a spirit run. And yes try opening it up a bit if you can. One thing you can do is use a bigger end cap to mount to the bowl and use a few reducers to get back to 1 1/4 inch so you keep the full opening for the vapor.

When you do the spirit run collect in a ton of small jars. 100 ml to 150 ml max per jar SK you can. Get your cuts.

Make sure you do the sacrificial alcohol run until it comes out completely clean.

Its a good start. Also try to get a small piece of pipe insulation for your column as this will help a bit with energy loss and run time.

If you are running from the tap use the hot water coming from your condensor ( after a few runs to make sure its clean) to make your next wash as you are running it. That way your energy output is doing 2 jobs for the cost of one.

Keep at it and it will come.

What are you planning to make?

Yak

[Tap]

Congrats on ur first rig.

I just wanted to comment on safety... You may want to consider supporting the end of that monster (for you size pot) condenser. Looks like shes trying to pull the whole rig over.

[yakattack]

Congrats on ur first rig.

I just wanted to comment on safety... You may want to consider supporting the end of that monster (for you size pot) condenser. Looks like shes trying to pull the whole rig over.

Good catch tp

[Swedish Pride]

Yak, yeah I know it's small but all I had/ can fit on the stove.
Will try to open her up and insulate a bit as well to speed things up.
I have a pump so will not waste much water at all, just what fits in the basin.

Far far down the line I look to make some AG whiskey but for now I'll settle to learn the ropes on AB washes and oak them if/ when they turn out drinkable.

TAP, I did notice that she was a bit unstable so I have since added a support leg at the end of the condenser.

Thanks for kind comments, can't wait to fire her up, about to put my monsters down for the night

[yakattack]

Nothing wrong with it being small, just understand the limitations and run her the best you can. Couple strip runs and a spirit run every few days to get some stock going. Easy way to start.

Give rads all bran a try. Tasty and easy to do. Ages well on oak or on a grain bed for some awesome flavours.

[rager]

looks a lot like mine other than mine comes up off the rig a few inches then union to liebig. mines 20 qt. like others said do enough striping runs for a spirit. collect in the small containers and make your cuts the next day. I would say if you did good at all the steps you should get at least a qt or barrel proof (120p) after cuts. not really a lot persay but it will be a good drop

[GrassHopper]

That's a great start. I wanted to start out with a small setup because I knew nothing about this hobby. I was going to build something but didn't quite know how to go about it. So, I borrowed a friends 6 gal pot still and my first recipe (not from here), came out horrible. So, I found this site and studied for months. I learned so much that I did wrong. I had a lot of folks on here suggesting various recipes but it seemed that the following one had a lot of support. So I went with UJSSM (Uncle Jessie's Simple Sour Mash) recipe on Tried and True Recipes Topic. I gotta tell you, this is a fine simple recipe. I have made around 8 or 9 batches now and they have all turned out good. You just keep it going over and over with the same grain. I don't even add any more for the next ferment. I run once through a pot still, get the hearts at around 130 proof and air them for a couple days and then nuked on JD chips and wow! See thread (Nuclear aging) viewtopic.php?f=4&t=38991. I now know that what I will eventually want in a still is the ability to do 10 gals at time so I get more hearts per run and then rerun my heads and tails on a separate feints run. I only signed up here a couple days ago and am amazed at how good this whiskey is and how much good info there is. I also saved some for long term oaking. I love this hobby.

[Swedish Pride]

So I made the fist Sac run yesterday, it was great to see the rig working as intended. I have 25 l of AB and ran about 8 liters to collect just over 1 liter at 50% combined ABV.
I stopped collecting when I was not able to light the likker on fire on a plate and no bead when shaking a bit of it in a shot-glass, i could see the last of the output was coming out like a a bit oily in the carboy so I assume that was the tails.
I did the whole rubbing likker over your hand and constantly testing is as Tater advises here http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... =15&t=6857, damn it burns when you get it in the cuts in you fingers...
Over all 20 min heat up time, 30 min run to collect over a liter, about 1hr 20m from start to everything was cleaned up and tidied away, good for me as I would not have time for a big rig.

A couple of questions to the more knowledgeable crowd here.

Is one sac run enough even with a small scale still like this or should it be run through multiple times?

I had a lot of spitting out of the condenser as I collected the likker, it only started after 10 min or so, I suppose its the huffing that others refer to, to wards the end of the run the whole rig was shaking from the huffing.
Any advice on how to eliminate it?
I have a pump circulating the water so I was expecting huffing to start from the get go as that's when the water was at the coldest, initially the water was quite cold but towards the end it was lukewarm and there was still huffing :/.
The cold water feeds the bottom of the liebig as intended.

[bellybuster]

As long as the distillate was clean coming out the single sac run should be good. Mine took more than 1.

Lower the angle on your condenser and turn the cooling water down and the huffing will stop.

Stove tops cycle on and off, this will be an amplified effect having a small still. I love small stills by the way, run into tiny collection vessels in order to make decent cuts.
Don't buy into the need to have bigger pipe, after all, you are just moving vapour from a hot place to a cold place. It is that simple. 1 1/4 is a fine size for a pot still and with appropriate power applied can be plenty fast enough.

[Swedish Pride]

yeah the likker was clean as anything, so I suppose I'm ready to go?
will turn down the speed of the pump hope that helps, was no huffing during cleaning runs though.

feels a bit surreal to be at this point after a 6 months journey, feel like there should be more prepping to do as all I have done to this point is prepping.
I suppose I'll just take the plunge and try to make something palatable over the weekend (wive/ kids allowing of course)

Will strip the rest of the AB I have and then a spirit run, so exited at the moment. you guys get it, the wife is just "meh, whatever, just clean up after you.."

[bellybuster]

"meh, whatever, just clean up after you.."

this is a good thing, a very good thing

[Swedish Pride]

I suppose it is.
I was expecting a bit of excitement that's all, but I could be much worse that the lack of excitement for sure

[SassyFrass]

You want excitement from the SOH? Make what she likes to drink, then show her how it saves money.

I am lucky. My SOH comes from a long line of folks that made their own.

She has helped out when it's needed, but mostly just leaves the cooking to me. Her area is flavoring with fruit and bottling for gifts to friends. We got just about as many jugs of her fruity concoctions as I have of oaked, put back.

Bad part is that she likes using my brandy to mix with fruit, and I like the brandy as is. Guess who loses out on that.

Good Luck and have fun.

[W Pappy]

Well Sass on the matter of using good brandy for that, this hairs what Pappy gots to say on that matter.

Sow in the spring reap in the fall bury the wife when the corn is tall.

[DAD300]

Get a shirt dude...

Swed...be happy there is no excitement. First time vapor starts venting, or the stove catches fire or the water pump stops, or you over hear the wife explaining your new hobby to someone you wish she wasn't,...

[Swedish Pride]

Doing my first keeping right now, she's huffing and puffing but for now I'm happy with something drinkable.
Will look ad mod to lower the arm when I have some stock for now I'm just happy that she chugs along

[W Pappy]

Yep the first time ya start seein vapor comin out and you got a open flame the OL mud eye starts to squintin perty tite!!!

[Swedish Pride]

Hopefully it won't come to that, keeping electric minimizes the risk, but sure, still far from risk free.
and if disastrer strikes I'm 2 feet away with a wet towel and sing full of water at my disposal, so at least I'm per-paired

[W Pappy]

You water should be steaming a little when it exits your liebig.And the top 10 or so inches should be hot play around with the water volume going in.
And you may have to adjust the heat also.She is cycling on you electric stove you need a metal plate between the boiler and burner maybe.
Just noticed that sorry thought it was gas.

[Swedish Pride]

thanks WP
will look at that after this run, can't see the controls properly when it's in the sink.
Think I may not be able to dial it down to low though, I got a pump with 6 feet lift capacity after going to small initially

[W Pappy]

This is my opinion thru trial and error with my rigs some will argue some aspects of this.
1.You have to have control of the heat source!
2.You have to control the water input to the liebig
3.This is where some will argue you have to control the water exiting the liebig
this will depend on water pressure.
With my kegs it is a must that is why I have gate valves on my liebig.
Not all rigs run the same.

[bellybuster]

even a pair of vice grips makes a fine cooling water exit controller. I'd work duct tape into it too just for that Red Green feel

[shadylane]

Wonder what the still will look like in another 6 months ?
Or should I be asking about what SP will make in the future ?

[W Pappy]

Yes what is your next step from here SP?I know the wheels are turning with ideas once started they don't stop.

[WalkingWolf]

. . . She is cycling on you electric stove you need a metal plate between the boiler and burner maybe. . . . .

Be careful with this. Putting a metal plate on an electric stove will concentrate the heat and can lead to failure in short order. She'll get pretty upset if her stove suddenly has a burner or two not working.

You recognize and have accepted the limits you are faced with in your present working arrangement -- that's good. Sometimes safety suffers when we try to get over creative (especially in our domestic environments). She pretends not to care but she is paying close attention to how things are going. Continued successes may lead to her being open to other (additional) options. I say this because I started out very similar. Small, stovetop rig being run in my kitchen. I now run an electric keg setup in my kitchen. My wife got more comfortable over time and came to realize this wasn't just a bunch of wahoooos shooting from the hip. Best of luck to you on your endeavors -- have any questions on the virtues of running indoors drop me a line.

[Swedish Pride]

Well for the immediate future I'll true to tune down the water flow from the pump, tried to clamp the hose midrun yesterday to slow the rate, the flow did slow down but the huffing was still present.
Looked at the dial on the pump as I finished up yesterday, Seems I turned it the wrong way to try to slow it down

Will try to get an other run in tonight and play with the water flow, if that fails I think a ball valve order from ebay is in my immediate future.

Its strange though, I had no huffing during the water or the vinegar run, nut sure why it happens now.
correct me if I'm wrong but there is no bi-effect on the likker from the huffing or danger of equipment malfunction, just annoying right?

As for new builds, I would obviously like to scale up , but I need a shed for that, can't really have anything bigger inside.
That's not for anytime soon though, with 2 kids and a 3rd on the way there are a few more pressign things to look after with the few bob i have left after the taxman and the bank have taken their share

My strip run yesterday of 7l AB mash at 11% gave me just over 2 l of 35%, kept 100ml from the middle to the side just to see what it was like white.
Not great yesterday, kept in airing overnight and much nicer today.
Looking forward to what the spirit run will be like after i strip the remaining 7l in the fermenter.

And yes, even after one strip run I see why 10l stills are not recommended, low yield for the time spent. Damn exacting though.

All the best