new still

shortbed454 · Post by **shortbed454** » Tue Jan 17, 2012 6:07 pm

i hope this is the right place to post this question.

I was searching arrount the internet the other day and i came accross this pot still.

my question is, do you think this would be worth building? arround here copper prices are through the roof and i cant really afford anything over 1" pipe and i really want to step up from the pressure cooker and 10 feet of copper tubing i have now. any input is welcome.

Post by **Prairiepiss** » Tue Jan 17, 2012 6:42 pm

Turbo stomper junk.

You could build one like that. But leave off the worthless accident waiting to happen jar thump thing. Oh and bending the column like that won't do much for you. And and and. Just do yourself a favor. Have a real good look around here. At what others use and build. Before you find stuff like this. It can be done much better then that. And there are plenty of examples and info around here to help you do it.

Edited. Is cants spells.

Washashore · Post by **Washashore** » Tue Jan 17, 2012 7:22 pm

+1 on Mr. P, check out pot distillation and design thread.

Post by **Bayou-Ruler** » Tue Jan 17, 2012 7:44 pm

Prairiepiss wrote:Turbo stomper junk.

You could build one like that. But leave off the worthless accident waiting to happen jar thump thing. Oh and bending the column like that won't do much for you. And and and. Just do yourself a favor. Have a real good look around here. At what others use and build. Before you find stuff like this. It can be done much better then that. And there are plenty of examples and info around here to help you do it.

Edited. Is cants spells.

Yup

RumBrewer · Post by **RumBrewer** » Tue Jan 17, 2012 9:34 pm

Prairiepiss wrote: Oh and bending the column like that won't do much for you.

The hell it wont!
That hunk of crap's gonna tip right over on ya if you don't angle to column to help balance it somehow!

Ha! That said, I'd sure like to see one-dem glass thumpermajigs in action if anyone has video!

Post by **itchy** » Tue Jan 17, 2012 9:57 pm

no it wouldnt tip over,,, you fill the pot first then seal on the lid and column,, then the weight of the wash will keep it nice n sturdy.... but definitely do away with the glass thumper

Post by **rad14701** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 6:41 am

I'd do away with 90% of that top end and just have enough riser for the liebig to clear the lid... Nice and simple...

Pop Skull · Post by **Pop Skull** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 7:05 am

The stockpot on that setup looks like my brew pot. If that's the case it's made out of some of the flimsiest, thinnest steel out there.

It must be balanced pretty well, because it it is the same pot as mine, I would expect it the lid to be flexing and bending big time.

That being said, it looks just an awful lot like the stills on the turbostomper web site(s).

Post by **Prairiepiss** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 8:38 am

RumBrewer wrote:
Prairiepiss wrote: Oh and bending the column like that won't do much for you.
The hell it wont!
That hunk of crap's gonna tip right over on ya if you don't angle to column to help balance it somehow!

Ha! That said, I'd sure like to see one-dem glass thumpermajigs in action if anyone has video!

Not if you get rid of the jar thump wanabe junk.

+1 Rad. KISS theory applys.

Post by **itchy** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 2:39 pm

it looks like you only have a 6" water jacket on that condenser where the lines go in n out...,,,, i dont think thats long enough to knock down any vapor output..

handymanherb · Post by **handymanherb** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 4:59 pm

OK I have the double thumper and we have made four runs since Christmas, I did silicone the lids to the copper after the water run, as the jars would slip down off the copper, Using silicone top and bottom of the lid kept the jars in place and made it easy to dump the jars as necessary.

So I haven't seen any danger except you need a rag to empty the jars as they are hot, but it is putting out good product, will even be better as soon as I get a ferment going with backset, I missed that some where, I may have read it and confused the backset with the faints, but now I have seen the light.

The still is a four gallon and puts out a quart and a half of 85%, 170 proof and catches most of the nasty stuff in the thumpers till you are running heavy tails after the run is over and your collecting faints.

For being just a sweet whiskey, it is still better than I have seen what I have seen for sale, my nephew was buying the apple pie crap and thought he was buying something, my brother and I couldn't even drink it, that why we ordered the still, now the nephew knows he was over paying for crap.

I don't have a video of it running yet but it is easy to run, you fire it up and when it warms up it will start filling the first thumper after it heats up that jar and has enough liquid for it to bubble the second jar gets a little in it, you have the water jacket filled but the pump not running yet, after it start producing you turn the pump on, turn the fire down till it stops, then slowly turn it up till you get a drip-drip-drip rate going.

You collect 50 ml of the good stuff coming out, when you get 50 ml you dump the thumpers and throw the first stuff collected in them away, put the 50 ml in the first thumper and you will be back producing with in minutes, the foreshots and the heads stay in the thumpers, that's what you threw away the first dump, they smell real bad, then you start collecting at 100 ml at a time to check the alc%.

We run into the tails till we start dropping off alc% around 150 or the tails get a stronger taste than we want and the rest goes to faints, you don't have to adjust anything after you get it producing, the temp will raise as the alc is removed, I changed to an electric temp guage and runs at 190 till close to the end.

Seems to be a great still for beginners, and I sipped plenty of the 170 stuff we made, goes down nice, tastes good for corn mash we are using without the backset,7 has a slight burn.

My other nephew made a wash using sugarcane, it must have been closer to rum,it had a cleaner taste, it would warm you up and the sight burn would go lower in the stomach.

But we are having fun learning, after reading for months, it nice to have something to show and drink.

But if anybody asked if they should make or buy a Turbo Thumper right now, I would say, go for it.

junkyard dawg · Post by **junkyard dawg** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 5:25 pm

Herb, you're gonna catch some flack for some of that...

You gotta lose the silicone. not safe. Thats one major design flaw. not to mention having them centered over the burner...

I don't know about that thumper charging scenario... sounds a little wacky to me.
Whats the point of all that? Unless I misunderstood, (likely), you seem to have some misconceptions about whats going on. Explain what you are putting in the thumpers?

Post by **rad14701** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 6:13 pm

The jar lid seals aren't safe either...

Not a good design at all...

Post by **Prairiepiss** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 6:40 pm

handymanherb wrote:OK I have the double thumper and we have made four runs since Christmas, I did silicone the lids to the copper after the water run, as the jars would slip down off the copper, Using silicone top and bottom of the lid kept the jars in place and made it easy to dump the jars as necessary.
Please explain dumping of jars? The jars shouldn't be removed while it is hot. And silicone is not good to be used for this.

So I haven't seen any danger except you need a rag to empty the jars as they are hot, but it is putting out good product, will even be better as soon as I get a ferment going with backset, I missed that some where, I may have read it and confused the backset with the faints, but now I have seen the light.

The still is a four gallon and puts out a quart and a half of 85%, 170 proof and catches most of the nasty stuff in the thumpers till you are running heavy tails after the run is over and your collecting faints.
What do you mean collecting the bad stuff? Thumpers are a second distillation point. Not a nasty stuff collector? And again why are you dumping it?

For being just a sweet whiskey, it is still better than I have seen what I have seen for sale, my nephew was buying the apple pie crap and thought he was buying something, my brother and I couldn't even drink it, that why we ordered the still, now the nephew knows he was over paying for crap.

I don't have a video of it running yet but it is easy to run, you fire it up and when it warms up it will start filling the first thumper after it heats up that jar and has enough liquid for it to bubble the second jar gets a little in it, you have the water jacket filled but the pump not running yet, after it start producing you turn the pump on, turn the fire down till it stops, then slowly turn it up till you get a drip-drip-drip rate going.

You collect 50 ml of the good stuff coming out, when you get 50 ml you dump the thumpers and throw the first stuff collected in them away, put the 50 ml in the first thumper and you will be back producing with in minutes, the foreshots and the heads stay in the thumpers, that's what you threw away the first dump, they smell real bad, then you start collecting at 100 ml at a time to check the alc%.
Holy moly. Really. Please take the time to research what you are doing. You just mentioned so many things that are wrong and unsafe in this paragraph. Please please do the needed research. And forget everything the crook turbo stomper guy told you.

We run into the tails till we start dropping off alc% around 150 or the tails get a stronger taste than we want and the rest goes to faints, you don't have to adjust anything after you get it producing, the temp will raise as the alc is removed, I changed to an electric temp guage and runs at 190 till close to the end.

Seems to be a great still for beginners, and I sipped plenty of the 170 stuff we made, goes down nice, tastes good for corn mash we are using without the backset,7 has a slight burn.

My other nephew made a wash using sugarcane, it must have been closer to rum,it had a cleaner taste, it would warm you up and the sight burn would go lower in the stomach.

But we are having fun learning, after reading for months, it nice to have something to show and drink.

But if anybody asked if they should make or buy a Turbo Thumper right now, I would say, go for it.
I would say go look at the 23 page thread about what a crook he is. And don't bother even thinking about buying one of those unsafe waky pieces of junk.

Please do yourself and everyone that may drink your alcohol a big favor. And research the safety issues that still has. And how to fix them.

handymanherb · Post by **handymanherb** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 8:25 pm

Do you have a link to them???, I haven't found it yet in the 1000's of pages to read, I would like to know if their a real safety reason, I'm reading all I can find on Turbo Stompers, on page 3 of it and still reading

junkyard dawg · Post by **junkyard dawg** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 8:42 pm

I would like to know if their a real safety reason,

You don't need any dang links to see...

Thats a dumb ass design and while I have no doubt it works, its a hazard and its not doing anything to improve the public perception of this hobby. Putting a good face on this hobby is important around here. Safety concerns take center stage, as they should.

Hanging glass jars of flammable distillate over a gas burner by a homemade silicon gasket is just plain dumb. Thats never ok.

That said, you're on the right track and in the right place to get it all dialed in. Good luck to you!

ozone39 · Post by **ozone39** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 11:48 pm

REALLY!!! come on....that's embarrassing...

Post by **Prairiepiss** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 12:11 am

handymanherb wrote:Do you have a link to them???, I haven't found it yet in the 1000's of pages to read, I would like to know if their a real safety reason, I'm reading all I can find on Turbo Stompers, on page 3 of it and still reading

Search works good. The Google HD search works even better. Here I will give you the 2nd and 3rd hits for glass thumper Google HD search for glass thumper. And I would also like to point you to the rules we live by. Rule #8 covers synthetics. Upper right hand corner of page. Clicky click.
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 17&t=26339

http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 37&t=11533

handymanherb · Post by **handymanherb** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 12:58 am

usage of plastics/ synthetics in distilling

I don't see either on my still, unless your talking about the foam tape, but that is easy to replace with a flour paste, but even if I wanted to order a mile high milk jug still, there are out of stock right now.

But we ate still trying to figure out what to build next

kurgan · Post by **kurgan** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 4:16 am

The synthetics they are talking about is your use of silicone.

A beer keg with pot still head is an excellent start, it's what I still run today. I've only just switched from a worm to liebig, and thumpers are easily added to this setup regardless of condenser type. I do not understand how folks can justify the money spent on a still seen in this thread. I might have $250 in my still, but that would be with the first worm, and new liebig figured in. Kegs are easily found, if you are patient. Why the hurry anyway? I started researching distilling in late 1999 or early 2000, found this site in 2009, and didn't build my first "real" still until 2010. I took the opportunity while waiting for a keg to become available to read and enjoy what others were doing. I'll admit, I was plenty eager to get started, but not so eager to run with a bad idea.

Post by **Prairiepiss** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 7:34 am

handymanherb wrote:usage of plastics/ synthetics in distilling

I don't see either on my still, unless your talking about the foam tape, but that is easy to replace with a flour paste, but even if I wanted to order a mile high milk jug still, there are out of stock right now.

But we ate still trying to figure out what to build next

You stated you used silicone. That is a synthetic. And foam would be one too. What is used for a gasket under the black pipe looking flange? I bet its synthetic also. Not to mention black pipe is not good.

handymanherb · Post by **handymanherb** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 9:54 am

it's a copper plated flange and under that is cork, silicone is non reactive with other products after cured, no black pipe used, all copper.

But I bought it, it's works, might not be perfect, but it's all I have, till I can read for another year to figure out what to build or buy

Post by **Coaster** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 12:31 pm

@ handymanherb,

You appear not to be using any of the practicable information presented at the Home Distilling Forum.

Using glass Mason jars as thumpers in a Still is very dangerous – glass is easily breakable exposing explosive alcohol vapor to the open flames of your propane burner.

You are using rubber grommets seals around the copper tubing entering the glass thumper jars. These rubber grommets seals are exposed to hot alcohol vapor. This hot alcohol vapor is leaching toxic compounds from the rubber grommets seals and depositing the toxins into the alcohol sprits.

Silicone is not non reactive with other products after cured. Hot alcohol vapor is an extremely powerful solvent that will leach toxic compounds from the silicon depositing the toxins into the alcohol sprits.

In short like it or not your ‘double thumper’ is a dangerous Still and should immediately be removed from service. If you valve your health you would discard any and all sprit product produced in this particular Still.

Regards,
Coaster

mtdew_mn · Post by **mtdew_mn** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 1:15 pm

Silicone is not non reactive with other products after cured. Hot alcohol vapor is an extremely powerful solvent that will leach toxic compounds from the silicon depositing the toxins into the alcohol sprits.

Coaster,

The reason synthetics are not used is because this site promotes only proven safe materials. I think you are making a mistake by assuming that because a material isn't proven safe it is proven to be unsafe.

As far as I know, there's no independent studies publicly available that show that silicone in 95% alcohol at high temps is safe. However, I'm not aware of any independent publicly available studies that says it is unsafe. And what would these toxins be that could leach from the silicon? Silicon itself is rather inert.

So I think it better answer to handymanherb is that he can do a better and safer job without the silicone, by using those materials that are proven safe. By overstating the case you loose credibility.

Post by **Coaster** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 2:16 pm

mtdew_mn wrote:
.....Silicon itself is rather inert.....

@ mtdew_mn,

I would not assume that “Silicon itself is rather inert”. The FDA doesn’t assume that “Silicon itself is rather inert”. Silicon Brest Implants are an example where Silicon has proven to be problematic.

Regards,
Coaster

mtdew_mn · Post by **mtdew_mn** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 2:57 pm

Good, don't assume anything I say without verifying it.

The problem with silicone in breast implants wasn't because it wasn't inert. You do know that silicone is what glass is made out of, don't you?

Here's some sites that talk about the if silicone is inert:
http://www.rubbersheetroll.com/silicone_rubber.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
http://www.siltekco.com/silicone-benefits.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/f ... ing&id=275" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Just so no one takes what I'm saying wrong. I'm not saying go and use silicone in your still. It is an unproven material for use in a still. All I'm saying is it isn't proven to be harmful.

Post by **Prairiepiss** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 4:27 pm

I would like to point you to the rules we live by. Rule #8. This material has not been proven to be safe as far as this site in concerned. So #8 should be followed.

Post by **blanikdog** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 4:41 pm

Oh dear, Scarey stuff.

Post by **Coaster** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 6:10 pm

mtdew_mn wrote:.....You do know that silicone is what glass is made out of, don't you?.....

@ mtdew_mn,

That is Incorrect. Glass made from Silicon and not Silicone There is a difference between Silicon and Silicone. The difference between Silicon and Silicone is that Silicon is a natural chemical element while Silicone is one of several man-made synthetic products derived from Silicon.

In my two previous postings in this thread I have made typing errors. I have been intending to type the world Silicone but have inadvertently typed the world Silicon instead.

Regards,
Coaster

mtdew_mn · Post by **mtdew_mn** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 7:54 pm

Yes you are correct. We both have been making typos. What I was trying to say is that both silicone and glass are both made out of silicon. I wasn't trying to say that glass was made out of silicone gel. Though if silicon isn't what you were thinking would leach from silicone gel, I'm not sure what else would be of concern.

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