First pot still

[MGilbert3]

Heres my first pot still i finished up today, hoping to run some water/vinegar through it tonight to clean it all up. pay no mind to all the junk behind it its in my basement and I'm still moving into my new house. Don't hold back on any tips or recommendations to my still. I want to learn, and i know she's not pretty, but she's all there. The lids not securely on yet i just threw it on for the sake of the picture but i've got 1" c-clamps and a pressure cooker gasket to go around it. also, sorry the pictuers so big, still trying to figure that one out.

[Prairiepiss]

Don't hold back hmmm. Enamel coated pots are not good to use for a still. Stainless and copper is. Pressure cooker gasket. Not good to use. Find something else. Flour paste or find Samohon's everlasting gasket thread.

And the pic is to small to really tell anything.

How's that for holding back?

[MGilbert3]

guess the picture turned out a little small, on the preview it looked huge. i looked into a stainless pot but i already owned this one. why aren't they good to use?

[rad14701]

That enamel, as well as the gasket, won't hold up to hot high proof alcohol vapor and liquid... Please take the time to do some research and don't use your new creation... Probably not what you wanted to hear, but what you need to hear... We want you to be safe...

[MGilbert3]

eh, oh well, Rome wasn't built in a day. I'll do some shopping around tomorrow for something that will work better. Thanks for the advice!

[MGilbert3]

I got my new Stainless pot in and drilled the top hole out for my copper, i drilled it out small enough to thread it in than soldered it. As much as I don't want to because i feel like it'll be a mess and a pain i'll probably end up sealing it with flour paste and use those big black paperclips to hold it down. I also saw i could use teflon tape but I'm weary of that too.

[MGilbert3]

heres the improved version, I'm doing a vinegar and water run now, I'm using an electric cook top until I can find my propane cooker and I'm not sure if I'm not getting enough heat but it only spits out once every minute or so instead of just dripping or in a little stream like my smaller pressure cooker one did

[Prairiepiss]

Looks good. Your sacrificial alcohol cleaning run will run different. Then the water vinegar run. The steel and spitting shouldn't happen. PTFE tape will work. Like I said look for Samohons everlasting gasket thread its a sticky. You make one of them and you will be set for a long while. But if you are still uncomfortable with it. Stick with the flour paste. It works great too. Good luck let us know how it goes.

[rad14701]

Much better, but that tall small diameter pot column is of little to no benefit... Keep us posted on your progress...

[MGilbert3]

I was going to cut it down but couldn't find my pipe cutters and I was too impatient. Have some free time tomarrow going to pick up some small jars to separate it in stages and try a run. Thanks for the help guys!

[dakotasnake]

Much better, but that tall small diameter pot column is of little to no benefit... Keep us posted on your progress...

i have a small diameter column also on my potstill. it was 24'' tall. when i changed to a taller boiler i cut 6'' off the column so i could keep the same angle on the lyne arm. it seamed to reduce the abv by around 3 to 5% but overall the abv remained more consistant for a little longer. was there a little incidental reflux taking place. i like the way its running now, just wondering.

[MGilbert3]

Just fired her up to run, I made one of those everlasting gaskets and so far so good. now we play the waiting game, maybe this hobby will help me learn patients.

[Braz]

... maybe this hobby will help me learn patients.

It is good for that. I am coming up on 12 hours into a spirit run - about three to go.

[MGilbert3]

I've been writing notes the whole time and it took little under 2 hourse to start dripping 45 minutes to get 150 ml to discard. Right now I'm right in the middle dividing it in different jars an having the occassional test. ATM it burns on a spoon.

[rad14701]

45 minutes to get 150 ml to discard

Sounds like you're running your pot still too slow... I run a 2 gallon boiler charge off and collect about 1.75 quarts in that amount of time - as a spirit run...

[MGilbert3]

got the hint of what smelled like old cardboard and I made the executive call that the run was done. ended up with a few quarts total (only started with a hair shy of 3 Gal.) but I'm not really concerned on how much i save or throw. Gonna let them air out a bit and go in for the taste tests. should i let them sit with the caps off or cap them and just wait?

[fullhouse]

leave the caps off ....might want to put coffee filters on with rubber bands just to keep stuff out ...even paper towels if no coffee filters...id let em air for at least 24 hours

[MGilbert3]

When I was Doing my run I thought I was getting to te hearts because the sharp taste was fading so I changed out jars but think I got some tails in it because towards the en I got one oily drop that made the whole jar a little cloudy. Strained it through a coffee filter an it cleared it up a bit. I stopped collecting when I started to notice the old sock smell.

Thank you everybody for hearing and helping me through my run, I love this learning experience and hopefully someday I'll have advice to give

[Prairiepiss]

Sounds to me your trying to make cuts on the fly. As a new distiller I don't recommend you do this. I would recommend collecting in small jars. Like half pint jars only half full. Letting them air out for 24 to 48 hours then make your cuts and blend. Over time it will help you learn the cuts better with less bad cuts.

http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 46&t=13261