Water still no really water still

[Teljkon]

Has any one forged a path on water stilling I have asked on other forums and the prevaling attitude is why not buy it. The reason its chearer to get th equipment and make your own with the amount I drink.

Let me describe what I want to do I have a 24/40 erlynmyere flask. I want to get a colum and a condenser my real question is what size is most effective to remove chemicals and additives added to public water. Does it matter if its 500mm or 300mm the only reading i could find on this is sales crap for little table top electric stills some company is trying to sell. Will the minerals remain in the first half would I have to throw away the heads to get rid of chemicals.

As I am sure you can tell I am no chemist so I am just shooting out ?'s If this has been asked in the past I request forgivness as I tried to search the forum but said the words are too common.

[junkyard dawg]

I don't quite understand. Thats going to require a huge amount of time and energy to distill water for personal consumption. Why do you want to do this? As to the equipment, I don't think there will be a huge difference? American science supply sells cheap lab glass. There is a lot of it on ebay also.

Wouldn't a couple of carbon block filters set up in line clean up your water enough? Why do you want to distill it?

[rad14701]

I'm no chemical engineer but is seems like reverse osmosis would be a better alternative than distillation... You can purchase reverse osmosis machines to use in your home so why not investigate that option...???

[Prairiepiss]

I'm no chemical engineer but is seems like reverse osmosis would be a better alternative than distillation... You can purchase reverse osmosis machines to use in your home so why not investigate that option...???

This would be my answer too. RO is a lot better for drinking then distilled water. I have one that will do 100 gal an hour. Love it. It does waste some water in the process. Like 2 gallons for every 1 gallon of good clean water. But the stuff that goes down the drain is some nasty stuff. And your going to have some to throw out after distilling too. Just sounds like more work then its worth to me.

[Teljkon]

Well the practicality or none practicality is not a matter I wanted to debate on I drink Distilled because it makes me feel better than drinking None distilled and RO requires pressure to operate a still require heat some thing alot easyer to make than pressure. The waste of RO has been mentioned as well. Secondly Distilling alchol is also alot of trouble why dont you guys just buy a http://graykangaroo.com/liquorfilter/index_age.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow and filter some cheape boose?? For that matter why dont you just drink the mash??

Not trying to be a dick or start a fight just saying.

@Rockchucker22
Where can I find schematics for a boca slant plate?? And when you say that it would work better than a comercial vapor still are you talking about my 24/40 lab glass as a vapor still or the store bought water stills as vapor stills?? Also I would like this still to pull double duty in a collapse of the system type situation so what your saying is perhaps I should buy another 24/40 erlynmyer flask for mashes. Is there another consideration i read some place you have to use copper chips as there is a chemical reaction that takes place but there was no explination on it beyond that. Is this true. My primary Goal though is to set up a good water still that will return clean distilled water. Behind that is flexibility of the still that is why i like the lab glass style set up If I put in this part on my still boom I have a oil still if I put in this part I have a ethenol still this part I have a, well you get the Idea.


@Junkyard

I could not find American science supply could you post a link? I googled it and got http://www.sciplus.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow.

[Prairiepiss]

The comparison of distilling water and alcohol is not a very good one if you knew anything about the hobby. But since you are so gung ho to do this. I would look into solar water distillers. Something that doesn't need your attention while it is working. It would be simple to make one or two to keep up with your addiction.

[Dnderhead]

if your distilling water then all you want is a pot still,anything more is a wast.
you can build one out of a ss pot and some tubing,a reflux still wont work right
they are made to separate different chemicals and water will stay in the pot.
that is what they are made for..
as for a electric some on here has bought them thinking they could distill
other stuff,i whould thank you could pick one up cheep.

"why dont you just drink the mash?? ""
some do they call it beer.....

[Prairiepiss]

Here is some food for thought about drinking distilled water. Do a Google on drinking distilled water you will find many more like this.


Distillation is the process in which water is boiled, evaporated
and the vapour condensed. Distilled water is free of dissolved
minerals and, because of this, has the special property of
being able to actively absorb toxic substances from the body
and eliminate them. Studies validate the benefits of drinking
distilled water when one is seeking to cleanse or detoxify
the system for short periods of time (a few weeks at a time).

Fasting using distilled water can
be dangerous because of the rapid loss of electrolytes
(sodium, potassium, chloride) and trace minerals like magnesium,
deficiencies of which can cause heart beat irregularities
and high blood pressure. Cooking foods in distilled water
pulls the minerals out of them and lowers their nutrient value.
Distilled water is an active absorber and when it comes into
contact with air, it absorbs carbon
dioxide, making it acidic.
The more distilled water a person drinks, the higher the body
acidity becomes.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Distilled
water, being essentially mineral-free, is very aggressive,
in that it tends to dissolve substances with which it is in
contact. Notably, carbon dioxide from the air is rapidly absorbed,
making the water acidic and even more aggressive. Many metals
are dissolved by distilled water."

[junkyard dawg]

Yes, thats the place. They often have glass columns and condensers etc. Good prices too.

I don't care to debate about what you drink... But drinking water with all the minerals removed is not the healthiest thing... Thats why I took out the RO filter under my sink and now have a 3 stage carbon filter. The water is great and still retains minerals.

You should know that water distilled from a copper still tastes like shit. You will probably need carbon filtering anyway... Don't know if glass tastes bad... Let us know what you learn!

[Braz]

Here is some food for thought about drinking distilled water. Do a Google on drinking distilled water you will find many more like this.
[balance snipped as a courtesy]

I use store bought distilled water to dilute my spirits to drinking strength (usually 80 proof). Based on this info, should I use some other water instead?

[Kal]

Here is some food for thought about drinking distilled water. Do a Google on drinking distilled water you will find many more like this.
[balance snipped as a courtesy]

I use store bought distilled water to dilute my spirits to drinking strength (usually 80 proof). Based on this info, should I use some other water instead?

No. A comparable situation would be if you only drunk alcohol - you are only drinking poison, but most people only drink it in moderation, so it is fine. If you only drunk distilled water there can be negative consequences, but in the amounts used for our purposes it makes no difference.

[Prairiepiss]

Here is some food for thought about drinking distilled water. Do a Google on drinking distilled water you will find many more like this.
[balance snipped as a courtesy]

I use store bought distilled water to dilute my spirits to drinking strength (usually 80 proof). Based on this info, should I use some other water instead?

No distilled water has its uses. And diluting spirits would be one of them. I just don't personal think drinking is one of them. But to each his own. I did a bunch of research on it about 8 years ago for my other hobby. I came to the conclusion RO was my best choice for what I needed. So that's what I got and use.

But if distilled water is what one choses to drink. I would use a stainless steel pot still. If you wanted to actually wanted to waste time and run one. I personally would make a still much like the pot with a bowl on top type stills. But I would have multiple buckets or barrels painted black on the outside. I would make a drip lid of some sort to center the condensed water drip into a funnel that was plumed out the bottom to a receptacle dispenser bucket. Place them in a glass front insulated greenhouse type thing. Face it south to get the most sun. And let the sun heat the buckets filled with tap water. When I collected my water at the end of the day? Morning mite be better? Drain what's left in the condensing buckets and refill with fresh tap water or whatever water you are using. If you put some plants in the green house with it they would produce oxygen. That could be beneficial for the water to soke up? These are just ideas. Take them as you want. The whole thing mite not work at all. But if I were after distilled water I would give it a go.

[Teljkon]

So common sense would say that I should probably use the smallest colum then to make distilled water not the largets. So i need a 300mm colum not 500mm colum. Other wise I would simply be letting all of the water fall back into the still thanks for the insight.

[Dnderhead]

id just make a pot still, one thing to thank of is what is in the water,
even with distilling you may/may not remove all chemicals. this will
depend on the vapor point of chemical. some mite even come off
before water,some after and some not at all.