New to distillation, or simply new to the HD forums.
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hello all!
Well needless to say im new to this. Ive been intrested in shine pretty much my whole life haha well post 21 life.
finaly decided hell if some one else can do it I can to. so me and pops buit a still. still need a lotttttta help though haha.
still need a good thermometer. anyone know a good one to use and best place to install it?
and im also wondering about using my propane burner, think thats the best route?
anyways. just sayin howdy, Ill ask my other questions in the right fourm!
but heres a quick look at what I got put togather lemme know what yall think!
I think ya made a big mistake in pickin' the worst still design possible. I strongly suggest readin' and askin' questions here before spendin' more money or expendin' more effort.
hmm? like how big of a misake? is this a good still to start with and learn from? easy to use? or should I scrap it an start over? I could always build a new column and connect it to my pot. I just used those plans from moonshine-still?
anyhow. all or any tips and input is appreciated
Holy said it all, gator. It would be interesting to know how it goes. What exactly was your intention, pot still or reflux? What do you want to make? I wait with bated breath.
Simple potstiller. Slow, single run.
(50 litre, propane heated pot still. Coil in bucket condenser - No thermometer, No carbon) The Reading Lounge AND the Rules We Live By should be compulsory reading
nah it knows what it wants to be, thats one of the old cooling management designs. And yes, it isn't a great choice. It will 'work' though.
The problem with that design is that it relies upon those cooling lines through the column to generate reflux, and this is fiddly as hell to adjust. also, reflux is only useful when the reflux can mingle with the vapours that are rising, so that line at the bottom is waaaay to low, it lowers the effective height of the column to what looks like about 8 inches? I would recommend getting rid of those lines through the column (or rerouting water around them) and keeping the rest of it as a pot still. Then look up the VM or bokakob design. they will blow the socks off that current setup. and then you've got a potstill for stripping / flavours, and a good column for neutrals!
Don't be put off by the trial by fire you've been exposed to, whether deserved or not... It's easy to get wrapped up in the moment when you start out and make mistakes... I call it the giddy school girl syndrome... It'll pass...
What kind of spirits are you looking to make...??? Whiskey...??? Vodka...??? Rum...???
What you want to end up with determines where you need to start... As kiwistiller mentioned, that design will work, but it's not an easy design to learn with... If you haven't done so as yet it would be a good idea to read the parent site, preferably several times... It won't make much sense the first time through... The second time through things will start to gel and you'll start getting answers to questions you haven't even thought of yet... By the third read you might even have a "Ah Hah" moment... Then you can hit the forums hard... If it was easy then everyone would be doing this...
haha yeah... well damn I thought I was building a "World Class Home Distillation Apparatus" like the site said. guess not. owell, ima gonna go with it for now. and im not really the type that gets discouraged. I also am aware that this hobby is no walk in the park, and im ready to tackle the task! thanks for yalls input. im gonna read around a bit for a new plan but use this one as a steping stone. ill be sure to keep yall posted
Don't feel bad, a lot of people find that design first and build it. Then they find one of the online stilling forums, and start down the endless road of perfecting their stills.
You can convert that design to either a cooling management (CM) reflux still, or a straight pot still without too much drama.
CM stills are not the best, but they will work a lot better than that internal reflux design you built. Basically you gotta remove (or just cap) the line going through the bottom of the column, and add one at the top, next to the other cooling line, but at right angles to it. Also need to add some packing inside the column and insulate the column to do reflux runs, but not pot still runs.
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