Newbie to the forums.

[Cooraf]

hi everyone,

i'm a recent addition to the forum from australia, i'm about to purchase a reflux still column to convert a 50L keg to a still. (still deciding whether to use my gas burner i have laying around or making it electric...

looking at getting this: http://kegking.com.au/Downloads/Keggoma ... ochure.pdf

will that be suitable for making vodka/scotch/bourbon

i've been doing a bit of beer homebrew for the last 18 months including full all grain mashes, fermentation fridge etc...

hope to find some usefull information here. Like the whole corn thing... i'm yet to to fully understand what type of corn and how you use it (or can dextrose be a easy subsitute??)

[blanikdog]

A reflux is good for neutral spirits but most in here will suggest a pot still for whisky and other flavoured spirits. I'd suggest that you have a really good read of the parent site before paying money for a commercial still which may not do all you want from it.

Another essential read is the Reading Room which you will find in the board index. Oh, and welcome.

Most importantly Stay Safe

[olddog]

I would be reluctant to buy one of those stills, its a CM (cooling management) still which can be hard to control, you would be better off with a LM (liquid management) or a VM (vapor management)
If you have soldering skills, why not build yourself a Bokabob which only has 2 soldering joints. If you can't build one youself, tell us which state you are in, I am sure someone here could help.

OD

[kiwistiller]

Yup I'd avoid that still. How much are they asking for it as a matter of interest? Also, they got the azeotrope number wrong and if that could get 95% I'd eat my hat. It's a big hat, too. Sounds like you want a pot still to start with for your burbon / sctoch, then you can always look at a reflux column later. Or get both sorted at once

[Cooraf]

cheers for the replies everyone.

have been doing som reading (still alot more to go) and thinking that i might possibly go a bokakob design (given that i can source some 2" copper piping) as i already have a 50L keg as my boiler and a gas burner for it...

does anyone in western australia know where i can source some in a small length?

there asking $320 for that reflux still.

cheers

cooraf

[olddog]

You could build one for less than half that price.
BTW what bits are you after? I should be able to direct you.

OD

[Cooraf]

thinking of making this one:
http://homedistiller.org/image/drawing_ ... e_EL-2.jpg

so i basically will be needing:
2" dia CAP
2" dia X 21'
1/4" OD tubing for condensor
2" connectors X 2
flat plate (or could use pipe hammered flat)
and possible some 90degree angle connectors for the condensor possibly.. depends upon how easy the tubing is to coil.

cooraf

[olddog]

Thats a Bokabob, which is listed in column still designs in the main menu. you don't need the two inch cap on the top of the column, all the copper bits are available at Trade link or Galvins, If you go in in work clothes you will get trade price. Do not go to Reece plumbing as they will not give you trade price and they will charge 3 times the price. BTW you would probably find 1/4" tubing easier to coil for the main condenser, make sure it is annealed tubing like the use for airconditioning, coil winding is not the easiest job, and someone like Hookline can wind one for you, the rest of the build will be easy then.


OD

[Cooraf]

is there any advantages of having the cap not there?

is this bokakob design allow me to make whiskys without loosing flavour?

will have to give tradelink and galvins a shot cheers

cooraf

[LWTCS]

If you go in in work clothes you will get trade price.

If you really want em to think yer a plumber just dig around in your nose with a greasy finger making sure to leave a dark circle around only one nostral<<<<<,,,,,hahahahahaha Oh man I'm i'm sorry for that. kept thinkin bout a plumber on the job when I was much younger.Hahahahahhahaha. Don't know why thats so funny............

Sorry tater. I'll grow up in a sec

[olddog]

is this bokakob design allow me to make whiskys without loosing flavour?

A bokabob is a reflux still which is really designed for making neutral spirit, (vodka), if you want to make flavoured spirits, Whisky, Bourbon, Rum, Gin etc you will be better off with a potstill.


OD

[rad14701]

While a Bokakob dual slant plate reflux column can be detuned for use as a pot still it will still strip a fair amount of flavor... Best to consider having both a reflux column and a pot still... The pot still would also come in handy for doing strip runs which will reduce the amount of overall stilling time... Run multiple strip runs through the pot still and then combine those and run them through the reflux column if neutrals are desired... If you want flavored spirits, just do a spirit run through the pot still with the collected strips so you can make proper cuts...