New to distilling

Cruisaire · Post by **Cruisaire** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 5:29 pm

Good Evenin' from down South!

I'm a former DME and liquid malt homebrewer of ales and porters. Light on the hops and specialty grains and heavy on the malt. I still have my basic gear for beer, but I am reading and reading everything I can find on still design, assembly, and operation. I like all liquors and am open to just about everything. I'm looking at a 2 to 4 gallon pot still design to be run in a basement area using a mid-high watt electric hotplate (1,000 watts). I don't have the space or dollars at this time for some of the fine setups I have seen on this forum. Nevertheless, you fellers put out some pretty cool rigs. Anyway, I have a new hotplate and a really cheap SS 16 qt in my truck now. It seems a keg is better as is a gas burner, but I can't have either just yet. I'll continue reading and look forward to any suggestions, advice, or general info.

Take it easy,
Cruisaire

CoopsOz · Post by **CoopsOz** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 5:42 pm

Good afternoon from even further south. Hope you enjoy your stay.

Butch50 · Post by **Butch50** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 6:04 pm

junkyard dawg · Post by **junkyard dawg** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 6:12 pm

fun town there... spent a few weeks back when the olympics were in town...

18 hour workdays for 3 straight weeks....

a hell of a time.

Cruisaire · Post by **Cruisaire** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 6:17 pm

Butch50 wrote: I highly recommend keeping it simple in the beginning.

That is exactly what I learned in brewing! A soon as I tried to go to a full grain sparge setup, the fun and the end product went right in the crapper. I'll keep it as simple as I can and just have fun.

Cruisaire · Post by **Cruisaire** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 6:19 pm

junkyard dawg wrote:fun town there... spent a few weeks back when the olympics were in town...

18 hour workdays for 3 straight weeks....

a hell of a time.

Yeah, I dreaded the traffic and crowds so much I worked out of town for 2+ weeks.

Post by **HookLine** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 7:41 pm

junkyard dawg wrote:18 hour workdays for 3 straight weeks....

Many years ago when I was a young fella, I once did 14 hour days for 9 weeks straight, without one day off, and pretty hard physical work too. Left home before sunrise, and arrived home after sunset. Made some good money, but will never, ever, ever do it again.

Cruisaire · Post by **Cruisaire** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 4:11 am

Butch50 wrote: I have a pot still made from an old cast aluminum pressure cooker and a piece of 3/8" copper tubing, a cheap thermometer and an alcoholmeter. Very very simple, but quite effective.

I have an old but solid aluminum (seems some folks like these and others say avoid aluminum) 8 qt pressure cooker and 10 feet of 1/2 copper line. Maybe I'm closer than I thought.

As-Ol-Joe · Post by **As-Ol-Joe** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 4:59 am

I use a 16 gt ss stock pot and 3/8" tubing.

Keep it simple and cheap until you find out if this what you want to do.
3/8 tubing and a few fittings at Lowe's is ~$29
digital thermometer at Walmart ~$14

If you take some cardboard and wrap your pot twice, use some bailing wire to hold the cardboard in place, about 2 or 3" from the bottom of the pot. This will help insulate the pot andreduce heat loss. The cardboard works great for an electric heat source, not sure I would so it using propane.

1000w hot plate will work, but it will be real slow. Not a bad thing for beginners. You can preheat your mash on the stove, up to about 130f before placing it on the hot plate to save you some time.

What kind of condenser do you have in mind?

Cruisaire · Post by **Cruisaire** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 6:49 am

I didn't plan to go past a simple coil (worm) in a bucket at this point in time. The thermometer is one thing I haven't procured just yet. I do understand, though, it's best used in the vapor stage and not the pot. A little creativity will be required to get it into the tubing and not have leaks.

A coworker tried to sabotage my "keep it simple stupid" plans yesterday by bestowing (4) 1-foot long pieces of SS threaded pipe. Thick walled 2" diameter stuff that's gonna have to sit in the parts pile for now.

punkin · Post by **punkin** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 10:22 am

I don't reckon you need a thermometer for a pot still.
A couple runs of your still and some tasteing and cutting practice will tell you everything you need to know if you're using an epprouvette and an alchometer.

Can pick the cuts on a spirit run within a couple hundred ml, and i'm only a rank beginner.

Cruisaire · Post by **Cruisaire** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 4:31 pm

Thanks to all. I'm making progress at a slow, but steady rate.

Butch50 · Post by **Butch50** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 9:20 am

Cruisaire · Post by **Cruisaire** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 12:08 pm

I figured that if the aluminum isn't in constant "year round" contact with the alcohol, it shouldn't be that bad. I do environmental sampling of soil and groundwater (looking for chlorinated solvents, petroleum, metals, etc.) and typically I'm required to use only glass, stainless, or teflon materials to avoid interference. I understand now what your use for the thermometer is, thanks. Understanding cuts sounds like a bit of "art" more than science so I'll enjoy learning more.

Cruisaire · Post by **Cruisaire** » Sun Dec 16, 2007 12:33 pm

I just bought the cheapest, flimsiest SS stock pot known to Man!! $5.99 for a 16 qt and it'll likely fold up like a lawn chair if I give it any pressure.

Ricky · Post by **Ricky** » Sun Dec 16, 2007 4:23 pm

my experiance with an aluminum pressure cooker was scary. the boiler was clean when i started and black when i finished. nuff said. read on here every chance you get. get you a boiler with a worm or liebig condenser. get yourself a decent alcohometer and hydrometer and learn to use them and you will be alright. good luck to ya!!

Butch50 · Post by **Butch50** » Sun Dec 16, 2007 4:45 pm

As-Ol-Joe · Post by **As-Ol-Joe** » Tue Dec 18, 2007 7:09 am

Cruisaire wrote:I just bought the cheapest, flimsiest SS stock pot known to Man!! $5.99 for a 16 qt and it'll likely fold up like a lawn chair if I give it any pressure.

Pressure is no-no.

Post by **Uncle Jesse** » Tue Dec 18, 2007 8:18 am

As-Ol-Joe wrote:
Cruisaire wrote:I just bought the cheapest, flimsiest SS stock pot known to Man!! $5.99 for a 16 qt and it'll likely fold up like a lawn chair if I give it any pressure.
Pressure is no-no.

if your still or column come under pressure you've got big problems.

Post by **MudDuck** » Tue Dec 18, 2007 11:09 am

Sounds to me like he was talking about pressure from the outside, for example by leaning on it.

Cruisaire · Post by **Cruisaire** » Tue Dec 18, 2007 4:55 pm

MudDuck wrote:Sounds to me like he was talking about pressure from the outside, for example by leaning on it.

Sorry about confusion I caused there. Yep, MD, that's what I meant.

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