As a first time builder, I'm planning on building the little tea kettle design pot still. If it works out as a convenient thing to do (I don't really have the time to devote entire days to the operation), I might build a regular one. My question is, is there any added value to having the condenser line run thru 2 milk jugs filled with ice, as opposed to just one? Seems to me the cooler the better, and since milk jugs and ice are essentially free, I see no reason not to do it, unless it is a waste of time.
Thanks
Using 2 condensers
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junkyard dawg
- Master of Distillation
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a condensor running through milk jugs full of ice is pretty much a waste of time. If you wanna do it simple then look at some of the old school methods. Like the old coil in a bucket trick... no ice, no extra buckets... the essence of functional simplicity. Really check out some of the still designs and pics on the parent site... You'll learn a lot. 
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jmc91199
- Bootlegger
- Posts: 105
- Joined: Fri Jun 16, 2006 11:35 am
- Location: Middle Managment..Just as i've always dreamed!
Boots:
We really don't mean to rain on your parade but I for one hate to see others fall into the same traps that I did. There is a tremendous amount of knowledge here and a great willingness to share it. This hobby is addictive, the process I mean and hopefully not the product.
The answer to your question is: you don’t need two milk jugs one should be enough. You’re going to want at least 4-5 coils in the jug. Be careful that there are no low spots in the coil where distillate will pool. This will cause back pressure in the system and cause the cork to pop out of the tea kettle spewing alcohol vapor all over the place. This is only a minor concern if you make sure that the condensed distillate is not forced to run up hill at any point. I would for go with the connections all together and run a continuous copper line form the kettle to the condenser out put.
Despite the fact that I think you should reconsider the tea kettle option I am honestly curious to hear how it works out for you. Good Luck and Gods Speed.
We really don't mean to rain on your parade but I for one hate to see others fall into the same traps that I did. There is a tremendous amount of knowledge here and a great willingness to share it. This hobby is addictive, the process I mean and hopefully not the product.
The answer to your question is: you don’t need two milk jugs one should be enough. You’re going to want at least 4-5 coils in the jug. Be careful that there are no low spots in the coil where distillate will pool. This will cause back pressure in the system and cause the cork to pop out of the tea kettle spewing alcohol vapor all over the place. This is only a minor concern if you make sure that the condensed distillate is not forced to run up hill at any point. I would for go with the connections all together and run a continuous copper line form the kettle to the condenser out put.
Despite the fact that I think you should reconsider the tea kettle option I am honestly curious to hear how it works out for you. Good Luck and Gods Speed.
Dave's not here!
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Boots
- Novice
- Posts: 62
- Joined: Thu Sep 28, 2006 11:34 am
Thanks, and believe me, this is just a test run, I'm not expecting greatness out of this set-up. I think I will go with the copper tubing, should be easy enough to do, and I can easily substitute in a larger bucket for the milk jug. Eventually if I decide I want to take it to the next step I can defnitely do a regular pot style.