If I had it all to do over again

[Fester]

over time I've fermented enough swill to fill a small swimming pool. distilled enough to make just about anyone happy. built many stills. and spent a boat load of time and money on this hobby. I've learned so much and really did not need to know most of it. so here is your place to sound off too....

If I had it all to do over again with what I know now:

i would only use a simple pot still
i would have valves on the top and bottom of my keg boiler fitted with electric element and a pintoshine controller
i would do ferments in multiples of 12.5 gallons, enough to fill the keg boiler (about 40 gallons at a wack is good for me)
i would have bought MUCH less distilling paraphernalia because most of it I don't use
i would strive to keep it as simple as possible
i would own more one gallon glass jugs and 6 gallon carboys
I would have backups on my backups of my alcoholmeter as i tend to break them at just exactly the wrong time
i would actually write down my secret recipe and stick to it when it is "perfect"
i would never have tried to acheive pure ethanol (just me, i don't need neutral spirits) so a column still is unnecessary
i would have started with a worm in a bucket instead of a liebig and saved an ocean of water
i would spend only one day each week stillin
i would have learned to make good cuts sooner and not been so greedy
i would wiggle my my way into dunder or goose eye's last will because they must have the good stuff
i would have built a "still house" so everything is in one place all the time and does not need to be broken down and set up
i would have rented a big truck and employed a few thugs and stolen the contents of a sugar warehouse
i would own some pigs, a goat and some cows if i wanted to make all grain likker
i would not ever never ever have tasted pure alcohol, and wont do it again
i would have started stillin 20 years sooner

so what do you have to add?

fester

[MuleKicker]

I would have started quite a few years earlier........
Good to see you back old boy. oh, and I liked the fester avatar better.....kinda fit ya well. Brad pitt?

[blind drunk]

Definitely would've started sooner and gotten some pigs and chickens to deal with the mess. The killer part is that my best friend in high school's dad used to make likker right under our noses and I didn't give a damn. Too busy smoking you know ... . bd.

[lake]

i think that everyone on here wished they started sooner.

[Fester]

its been a while but i never forgot about you malcontents and brain cell killers.
my older brother, brad, looks a little like me.
i am fester pitt, glad to meet ya.

if i had started stillin 20 years sooner i'd have antique/classic hooch by now. as it is, i'll need to go into cryo/deep freeze and be brought back to life in 2030. take a few notes while i'm gone and let me know if i miss anything important. i do so much for likker research because i am a serious stillin hobbyist.

[newerbrewer]

I would have never bought a still off ebay
I would have read here for 2 months solid before building
I would have started 10 years ago
I would have listened more to this site and less to the rest of the internet

[toofless one]

Too new to have any regrets. so far so great. HD was my first serious resource before i jumped in. helped me from making a lot of mistakes i would have made otherwise.


if i had to do it all over again...I WOULD...just sooner

[MuleKicker]

fester pitt....... or is that festerING pitt.

[goinbroke2]

I started sooner, around 1982 or so. didn't know squat about cuts etc and choked down some terrible crap as a teenager.
Years go by.
started a few years ago and could of started sooner, but glad I found this forum first or I wouldn't of wanted to start any earlier.

- Would of bought more property this time (and will next posting)
- Might try electric even though I like my propane..then I might wish..either way.
- i don't know..I've followed the rules and built a good pot still and worm the first time and am happy since...maybe I don't believe in regrets I guess.

[Fester]

yeah, goinbroke2, that was my number one biggest mistake... not knowing about this forum before i started stillin.
And I am proud to say that I made every possible mistake. My first still was held together with JB Weld and i even bought a crappy still off of ebay. At one time I thought turbo yeast was the future of the distilling arts.
It seems I had to write the book on common mistakes and misconceptions.
The members here set me straight pretty quick and I can laugh now at all the faux pas that I committed.

As I noted earlier in this thread GB2, you've got a sweet setup. I shamelessly copied your design and you would feel right at home if you had a chance to run it. Except that mine runs on electric instead of propane.

fester

[LWTCS]

Guess I would have liked to have been a little less intimidated by the bigger boiler.
I would have started right off the bat with the keg.

But beyond that, I've tried to be a good student and listen (and read) what the gents have to teach here. I believe they have saved me years on the curve.

When the collective wisdom says "This is what it is......." then I have faith that "it is so".
I think I have avoided lots of set backs due to the collective wisdom of this place.

Recon thats it. Just a bigger boiler off the bat.

[newerbrewer]

Can someone post a link to a good worm in a bucket design/setup?

[blanikdog]

Can someone post a link to a good worm in a bucket design/setup?

While this is an off topic thread, it's best to stick to the thread.

Have you looked in the parent site or used the search function? If you put coil in bucket in the search function there are 31 informative posts.

A coil in a bucket is just a coiled copper pipe in a bucket of water with a water inlet in the bottom of the bucket and an over flow at the top. You will get finer details in the search results.

blanik

[WalkingWolf]

When the collective wisdom says "This is what it is......." then I have faith that "it is so".
I think I have avoided lots of set backs due to the collective wisdom of this place.

I'm wit'cha on that one L-dub'ya. It's not like you can go down to the local library and look this shit up. Anything out there that is "legit" is so abstract that it makes smokin' mirrors look clear. I played around with beer making when I was a teen and made the wine-in-a-milk-jug-thing in the back of the closet, alst the while wishin and wonderin how to you get to the other side. Somewhere back in them years I just quit wonderin and life went on. Several months ago I made a couple batches-o-mead and there came that wishin-and-wonderin again. To stay on topic, this is where the 'If I had . . . ' thing comes into play. I wish I'd a found this place BEFORE I gave my money to the "double-thumper still.com fella". Other'n that, I've learned a lot and finally got some insight on 'how to get to the other side'.

WW

[Fester]

newerbrewer check out goinbroke2's thread: http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 16&t=10712
i think it should be required reading for pot still and worm in bucket design. i made reference to it but failed to provide the link. sorry for that my friend.

WW, your insight is spot on. i had the same experience as you. i bumbled around until i found this forum. i was so very proud of the shit that i made before joining here. after i was a member of this forum i was ashamed of the the crap i had made before. you learn so much so fast here. i even know stuff now that i don't need to know. lucky for me I can forget anything (especially special occasions and dates and time and people's names)

LWTCS, I've only ever used a keg except when playing around with "experiments". PLAYING is the operative word. I tried a 2 gallon pot on the stove trick and that sucked. a keg is so ideal for our hobby that i'm trying to get a patent on it so all of you bastards will have to send money to me. please remit $5 USD to my paypal account at festers_5dollar_scam__@SendMeMoneyForNothing.greed. thanks for your support.

fester

[WalkingWolf]

you' a shameless lad you are.

[Fester]

if i had to do it all over again...
i would have bought more copper when it was cheap
i would have labeled all of the stuff in the jars, flasks and bottles and not have relied on my memory as to what is in them
i would have "quick connects" on evey fitting and hose
i would have gone electric sooner
i would have made my "easy flange" years sooner
i would have not bought Ian Smilley's book and wasted so much time chasing all corn whiskey
i would have more friends that own fruit trees

[plonker]

I would have listened to the guys running pot stills.

I would have trusted that turbos are shit..

I would have listened to the guys running pot stills.

I would have built my VM long after a pot still, when I had some feints to run..

I would have listened to the guys running pot stills.

[rednose]

I would live in a country where stilling isn't illegal.

(It's not in EC where I live)

[Vodka_Master]

Well i cant say i would have started earlier, i started pretty much as early as possible.

I would probably wait till i found this site. Build my still using info from the book: Making Gin and Vodka by John Stone. Would have made a few things differently, probably would of used a keg rather than a modded water heater.
Also my first wash was sugar and yeast only, only if i found this site with all the recipes, would have gotten better yields and wouldn't have been so greedy.

[goinbroke2]

Fester, your making me blush...

Last time I blushed from something festering was...oh wait..different topic.

The KISS principal works well;
Keep It Simple Stupid

I guess in hindsight I could say doing it over I would make more effort to making tighter cuts and not being as greedy. But really, the first batch or two was not that bad, but there was heads/tails that I could taste a year or so later that I didn't notice at the time.

AHA! Got one, doing it over I would of got a huge propane tank sooner or a second tank sooner.
1) so I wouldn't run out during a run (happened twice now)
2) wouldn't run out while BBQing

(1) was annoying and I had to run to the store, (2)pissed mama off at suppertime having to finish the steak in a frying pan on the stove sucks! (And all the angry looks etc for the next two days)

[Fester]

Last time I blushed from something festering was...oh wait..different topic.

maybe your cheap ass will go electric someday?

[goinbroke2]

maybe your cheap ass will go electric someday?

Heyyyyy, is that a sexual thing about my ass? My ass is exit only, electric or not!

Ohh, I get it, you mean cheap...ahh...well then,

I'm so cheap I wouldn't fix the door bell, so now when someone pushes it I just yell DING DONG!

I'm so cheap I go to KFC and lick OTHER peoples fingers!

I'm so cheap my hearing aid has a solar battery

I'm so cheap I take off my glasses when I'm not looking at anything

I'm so cheap I married a skinny girl so I could buy a smaller ring

I'm so cheap I won't even tip my hat

I'm so cheap the guest room in my house has a pay smoke alarm

I'm so cheap My suits have been in style 3 times


Thank you, thank you, I'm here all week, tip your waitress....

[Fester]

goinbroke2, you are a man after my own heart. if i had any friends they would tell you that i am a cheap bastard.
when someone comes to my house i let them know if they want to use my bathroom that they should use both sides of the toilet paper.

fester

[goinbroke2]

Ah that's not cheap Fester, I charge them 50cents to get in the bathroom and a dollar to get out!

[Fester]

i disagree with you, goinbroke2, enforcing the "use both sides" policy is frugal. Charging 50 cents to pee is just plain mean.

well, everyone, i've bought almost everything that could possibly not be needed for this hobby and i figure i'm at about break-even. There are things I'd do different but I operate without a crystal ball. (My next business is selling crystal balls because it seems that everyone wants at least one. If only i knew in advance that it would be a good business....)

Its been a lot more fun than work and I've learned so much about making good booze. My thanks to all of you.
So, I guess if I has it do over again, hell yes, I'd do it. Mistakes and all.

Gotta go now and find some coins in case i visit GB2.

Fester

[WalkingWolf]

Reading back through the achives and I figured this one could get a bump. For all you folks getting started there'z insight from experienced stillers in here. Might take a few minutes and read through.

[ScottishBoy]

If I had it to do all over again...

I would have done Carla and her Mom when they offered...

Other than that, Im having a good time.