New to distillation, or simply new to the HD forums.
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Hi my name is Yishai and Im from Brooklyn. i have never used a still before but i have read a lot about them . I am a Chabad Lubavitcher which means im a certian kind of orthodox Chasidic Jew, in terms of alcohol, chabad drinks a LOT of vodka
i would like to make a vm or lm still in the future but right know im a rabbinical student living in dorms so the lack of space is not conducive to brewing or construction. i wasnt raised in religious home so in my typical american upbringing i was drinking way back in high school then i experiment with tubo yeasts but since i had no equipment me and my friends would drink it straight while it was still bubbling!
anyway things are different now and im looking to get into it as a hobby. my table vodka is sobieski (i swear by it) but my fav drink is Johnny Drum "Private Stock"i would like to learn how to make a creammy vodka or a smooth bourbon.
"malt does more than Milton can, to justify G-d's ways to Man."
There is a famous story in which the Kaiser asks Bismarck, “Can you prove the existence of God?” Bismarck replies, “The Jews, your majesty. The Jews.”
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
Welcome aboard, it's good to see a Brooklyn kid on the forum, had a lot of friends form your neck of the woods.
That PDA1 looks like a nice rig to me but if I'm not mistaken it's a little on the expensive side. It's basically a well build LM column. I think you could do as well for a lot less, but if money is no object.....
Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen. John Steinbeck
Luber, I only potstill, but you will get more responses than you can cope with from reflux blokes.
blanik
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
The PDA is a pretty good column as far as purchased ones go. might also be worth while talking to Manu at stainlessstuff.net to see if he can build you up a VM (or LM for that matter) to your specs.
I don't think the constriction at the bottom of the pda is a problem, because it isn't packed the vapour can just accelerate through it. But yes rubberduck is right in that you could probably build something as good for less.
If you're into a creamy tasting vodka, I'd suggest DWWG (in tried and true) as a great recipe to start with. The wheatgerm seems to carry that creaminess to me.
What sort of vodka goes best with Mountain Dew?
In a dorm you might want to start off with beer or wine. For distilled drinks you need space for the fermenters plus the distilling rig. For homebrew you just need the fermenting and bottling gear. And there's a LOT less danger of explosion. A couple beer bottles explode, all you need is a mop. Igniting a batch of high-purity alcohol in a dorm could be hurt a lot of people.
A bokakob still could be a good start for you, easy and fast to built and will make you a good booze.
Talking about PDA1, does anyone know what's so special on the PDA2 still?
Joe
It's big, relativity cheep and it's available. Oh and apparently it will produce a good commercial micro vodka on a budget. It's basically a big LM column.
Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen. John Steinbeck
@ rubberduck manu does have a good reputation it all really depends on price if it is cheap and good then why not save the trouble.
@ rednose i agree about the bokakob... and the pda 2 is a 4 incher by 5 foot.... nothing crazy
"malt does more than Milton can, to justify G-d's ways to Man."
There is a famous story in which the Kaiser asks Bismarck, “Can you prove the existence of God?” Bismarck replies, “The Jews, your majesty. The Jews.”
rednose wrote:I saw that some micros are using it but would like to know what makes the reflux, packing or some kinda bubble plates?
Lubavitcher wrote:
@ rednose i agree about the bokakob... and the pda 2 is a 4 incher by 5 foot.... nothing crazy
I think it's some kind of structured packing. I could be wrong but at 4in cleaning all that packing would cost more time then the savings from buying the still.
Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen. John Steinbeck
Sorry Yishai, We inadvertently hijacked your welcome thread.
You will soon see that this happens a lot around here. You will click on a thread entitled grain and end up reading about reflux stills. It's all good though, we get a lot of mileage out of a post that way.
Once again welcome aboard, your among a lot of good helpful folks.
RD
Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen. John Steinbeck
rubber duck wrote:Sorry Yishai, We inadvertently hijacked your welcome thread.
RD
you didnt hijack nothing i wanted to talk about this... yeah the pda 2 is a simple LM bok (maybe slant plate) design
heres a guy who runs his mico with it http://www.sptimes.com/2006/05/17/Taste ... tion.shtml" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow see his stills they are the old style pda 2 before they got a makeover. smily's distilling still has the old ones pictures on their website for sale
"malt does more than Milton can, to justify G-d's ways to Man."
There is a famous story in which the Kaiser asks Bismarck, “Can you prove the existence of God?” Bismarck replies, “The Jews, your majesty. The Jews.”
. I am a Chabad Lubavitcher which means im a certian kind of orthodox Chasidic Jew, in terms of alcohol, chabad drinks a LOT of vodka 
