Pics of my still (+some translated german explanations)

[Hydroxyethan]

Hello from Europe,
I enjoyed this forum very much so I thought why not giving back something "for the ones still to come and searching for exemplaric constructions". i call this monster in german the "hydroxyethylrefluxrektifikator V2.0" and it has served me very well till now. The costs were appr. € 190, a few weekends to build (my better half hated it) and some parts from my local scrapyard dealer. I will add beneath the photos some german text giving some background explanation. If there is interest, I can try to do the same in english, although I may lack the special vocabulary, so have mercy.
Edit: the Mod was so kind to insert a babelfish(?) translation, the outcome was gruesome and gave me a good laugh so I translated it myself, hope this is better. Feel free to ask questions, if something is not clear. There are some more Pics of details lower in the thread!

Oh, and if you are interested in a photo gallery collected by an Austrian distilling board, check out this link!
http://www.schnapsbrennen.at/anlagen.php

Total view

Whole still, burner casing opened

Detail view of counter-wound reflux coil

Here are some pictures of my "Hydroxyethanrefluxrektifikators V2.0", homebuilt, that till now served me very well.
Evaporation, reflux and condensation can be monitored and adjusted due to the glass tubes very well. (no regulative oszillation, additionally i added a digital thermometer with min/max temp. alarm function and an alarm counter, so you dont have to monitor it that closely when firing up and when the temperature rises because of tails.) Glass also has the major advantage of a low heat dissipation value in the column, that leads to a better separation of the virtual plates in relation to the length of the column and thus to a more efficient rectification process.
The counter-flow liebig condenser (more a cooling finger) is turned "inside out" to make condensation observable. I roughened it in order to provide maximum condensation surface. For reasons of symmetry / appearance (and for the formerly installed dephlegmator circuit ,see below), it is somewhat overdimensioned by the factor of 5, the product almost "crumbles" out frozen at the bottom with cooling water supply temperature. Materials used were only copper, V2A stainless steel (the boiler/cooking Pot in 50 liters with a clamping ring, simple disasembling and cleaning) glass, lead/cadmium free solder and PTFE (Teflon) for sealing.
I use a well controllable 10kW propane gas burner with piezoceramic ignition and safety-shut-off as a heating element. I cased it for energy efficiency and wind resistance reasons. The whole rack is on wheels (i had to reinforce the lower shelf board with a sturdy plywood board, the wole thing comes close to 100 kg when running) and can be easily disasembled for cleaning reasons.
For autarcy reasons (in case no running tap water is available) I have an additional similary boxed cooling unit consisting of a car battery, 12v garden pump, car cooler and eight 12v computer fans, that can be interlaced in the cooling circuit in 2 seconds via gardena garden hose connectors.I don´t use it frequently, since I have my own well and water supply free of charge.
Warning: NEVER use a car radiator as a condenser unit directly, even if this is highly effective. These contain heavy metal (lead/cadmium) solder (probably due to better flow properties?)and form soluble extremely poisonous salts with acids that will end up in your destillate and eventually in you! In South America and the Caribbean a common and known problem!
The stainless steel pot scrubbers that I use now in the column (with better efficiency than self-cut glass raschig rings) as packing can be easily removed via a recessed stainless steel wire for producing aromatic spirits.
The counter-wound reflux cooling coil was originally thought as a temperature-controlled (via cooling water run-on) dephlegmator, however, brought (because of reduced vapor cycle frequency) worse results.
A tiny disadvantage is the electrically conductive connection of the stainless steel lid/tank via the threaded rods to the copper part, this lead over the years to superficial electric corrosion of the not so noble/precious(?) material soldered seams.
By the way, I prepare my wash in my 120 L stainless steel honey extractor (being a bee keeper). The wash gets directly pumped/transferred to the still using a pump attachment for my accumulator drilling machine. No more using buckets, no mess. The wash can be stirred by the already existing spinning gear.
Well, that's some background to my construction, the total cost amounted to about 190 € with all parts, the stainless steel keg (originally used to produce apple wine) being the most expensive part with appr. 100€. A lot came from my local scrap dealer. It is unbelievable what gets disposed of, some parts even still in original packaging and brand new (!) (ball taps for example). I shot The glass tubes for incredible € 9 plus shipping on Ebay. The working hours you can imagine cannot be counted (calculating, (DO the Physics, increase efficiency!), planning and constructing). Perhaps my "monster" gives a few inspirations to people wanting to build their own, with a friendly greeting,
"hydroxyethane"
who doesn´t want to break the secret in which part of Europe he exactly lives, since his local tax office could break his neck...

Here´s the same text in german:

Hier nun einige Bilder meines "Hydroxyethanrefluxrektifikators V2.0" Marke Eigenbau, der mir schon seit einiger Zeit viel Freude bereitet. Verdampfung, Reflux und Kondensation lassen sich Dank der Glasröhren auch optisch hervorragend steuern. (Keine Regelungsoszillation, zusätzlich ein Digitalthermometer mit Minimax-Alarmfunktion - wenn´s Piept, ist es so weit). Glas hat weiters den Vorteil eines niedrigen K-Werts in der Kolonne, was zu einer besseren Trennung der virtuellen Platten über die Länge und somit zu einer effizienteren Rektifikation führt. Der Gegenstrom-Liebigkühler ist "auf Links" gedreht, um die Kondensation beobachtbar zu machen, der Kühlfinger aufgerauht, um eine maximale Kondensationsfläche zu schaffen. Aus Gründen der Symmetrie/Optik (und ehemals Dephlegmator, s.U.) ist er allerdings um den Faktor 5 überdimensioniert, das Edukt "bröselt fast" mit Vorlauftemperatur heraus. Als Materialien dienten nur Kupfer, V2A (Kessel mit 50l, Spannring,, einfach Entfern-und Reinigbar) Glas, Sanitärlot und PTFE. Als Heizelement dient ein regelbarer 10 KW-Brenner mit piezokeramischer Zündung, der zwecks Energieeffizienz und Windresistenz gekapselt wurde. Die Destille ist Fahr- und Demontierbar. Um völlige Autarkie herzustellen gibt es auch noch eine aus Akku, Gartenpumpe, Autokühler und 8 Computerlüftern bestehende, kompakte Kühleinheit, die in den Kühlkreislauf über Gardenakupplungen eingebunden werden kann und somit einen Wasseranschluss überflüssig macht. Achtung: NIE einen Autokühler direkt als Kondensatoreinheit nutzen, auch wenn das hocheffektiv ist. Diese enthalten im Lot (wohl aufgrund der besseren Fließeigenschaften?) zumeist Schwermetalle, die sich lösen und zu schwersten Vergiftungen führen können. In Südamerika und der Karibik ein häufiges und bekanntes Problem! Mich kostet (eig. Brunnen) das Wasser nichts, deswegen selten genutzt. Die Edelstahltopfreiniger, die ich jetzt mit besserer Effizienz als ehemals selbst geschnittene Glas-Raschigringe als Packung benutze, lassen sich einfach über einen eingezogenen Edelstahldraht zur Herstellung eines Aromabrandes entfernen. Die gegenläufig gewickelte Reflux-Kühlspirale war ursprünglich als temperaturgesteuerter (über Kühlwassernachlauf) Dephlegmator konstruiert, brachte jedoch (aufgrund geringerer Zyklenhäufigkeit) schlechtere Ergebnisse. Ein klitzekleiner Nachteil ist die elektrisch leitfähige Verbindung des Edelstahldeckel/Kessels über die Gewindestangen zum Kupferteil, dies ließ über die Jahre die (nicht sehr professionellen, ich geb´s zu) unedleren Lötnähte oberflächlich elektrisch korrodieren. Gemaischt wird übrigens in meiner nebenstehenden 120 L Honigschleuder, von der ich direkt über den Kesselzu/ablauf mit einer Bohrmaschinenaufsatzpumpe und Akkuschrauber umpumpe. Die Maische ist durch das Schleudergetriebe rührbar, kein Umschütten, kein Geknöse.
So, das wars grob zu meiner Konstruktion, die Kosten beliefen sich auf ca 190 € mit allem Drum und Dran, wobei die Brennblase, ein ursprüngliches Mostfass mit ca 100€ den Löwenanteil ausmachte und einiges aus dem Buntmetallkontainer des lokalen Schrotthändlers meines Vertrauens stammte. Unglaublich, was teilweise sogar neu und originalverpackt (!) entsorgt wird. Die Glasröhren habe ich für unglaubliche 9€ plus Versand bei Ebay geschossen. Die Arbeitsstunden darf man allerdings (berechnen (Do the Physics, Increase Efficiency!), planen und konstruieren) nicht zählen. Vielleicht findet der ein- oder andere geneigte Bastler mein Monster ja interessant und hilfreich, mit freundlichem Gruß, Ihr "Hydroxyethan", der lieber nicht verrät, in welchem Teil Europas er heimisch ist...

[Frosteecat]

Uh....wow.

I have no idea what I am looking at, so I'm just going to say willkommen and nice job!!!

Did you use Babelfish to translate all that?

[pfshine]

I like the still in a box look I might do something like that.

[Hydroxyethan]

Thanks for the compliment , as promised here some additional pics of details....
Greets, Hydroxyethane

[Hydroxyethan]

And still some more...

[Frosteecat]

You know, they say that stereotypes exist because they are true...if that isn't an example of great German engineering, I don't know what is!! My paternal Grandfather was an emigrant from Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and that man could build ANYTHING!

[heartcut]

Nice rig. I like the packaging- have to carry mine around in parts. Hope the outlet tube is teflon. Thanks for sharing.

[Hydroxyethan]

Thats what I had to do before too (gave me a sore back and was time-consuming), so I came up with this Idea. Makes stow-away and camouflage easy, too and reduces the risk of breaking the glass tubes in the set-up process. I don´t know the exact material of the outlet hose i´m afraid. It is used for beer distribution systems around here though so it should be ok. And it´s transparent, that was important.
Hydroxyethane

[Frosteecat]

Unless the beer is 90+% alcohol, I'd rethink that tube. It will potentially break down over time and release carcinogens into your spirit!

[heartcut]

What frosty said. A piece of PFA (a type of teflon) tubing would be hi-proof alcohol safe and transparent.

[Hydroxyethan]

Yeah, you are absolutely right. After a burning- and quick Beilstein-test (lots of copper in the garage) I found out it is P-PVC. That means: PVC is etOH-proof, BUT it contains a large amount of plastifiers such as Phtalates. Those are bound in physically, not covalent or ionic, into the polymereic structure and CAN, depending on their "vapor pressure" (cheaper or more expensive ones) leak out through time/temperature/mechanic strain. The main problem with them is they ressemble chemically (polycyclic) very much pregnenolon-derived lipophil hormones (e.g. sexual hormones, some growth hormones ) and can bind to various receptors. Now: lipophil means: more a problem to the tails, since C2H5OH has only a short (C2H5) apolar rest, the OH is polar. So a very weak amphiphil. Furthermore leaking of Phtalates has a lot to do with surface structure. P-PVC is VERY flat, that´s positive. You shouldn´t scratch it though. (Same problem with Polycarbonates and Bisphenol A, by the way. Shouldn´t use mixers in those bowls). Fazit: Don´t use it for hot and oily liquids, don´t scratch. There are worse solutions and better ones, as the one you proposed. (btw: ever thought of the environmental recycling problem with fluorised polymers like PFA? )

Funny thing is: The tube discussion is more or less obsolete. I connected it just for one batch (where the photo was taken) because I didn´t want the open high-proof alc vessel next to the burner. I tend to spill things. Usually I have a copper parrot (is that the english word for "Vorlage"?) connected that leads out. Wasn´t happy with the design and am now reconstructing it, not finished yet. The wash had to be done though, ran out of booze. While looking for a snug design I stumbled over this Forum and thought why not share my still design and open a thread. So consider this tube not existent, please.

[Frosteecat]

No problem and thank you for sharing your obviously deep scientific knowledge. And yes, parrot is the correct term.

[Hydroxyethan]

Why is it named after an exotic bird??? I don´t see the similarity...

[heartcut]

In some parrot designs the outlet resembles a beak and the inlet tube the outline of a wing. The older term was a "parrot's beak".
Yes, PFA, PTFE are not environmentally friendly, but they're resistant to almost anything a refinery or a still can make.

[Stillbrewin]

Very nice job! I think this may be the most unique still I have seen on these boards. Not sure if it is a good or bad thing that I could look at this, and actually figure out what was going on with it. Congratulations on your build.

[NcHooch]

I love it !

[Hydroxyethan]

Thanks, what really confuses me is is the performance of some of the posted stills, people put a lot of work in complicated designs (Boka-style, or even flutes with actual plates and even bubble caps) and are happy if they reach 90+ vol% in AGES! (10 to 12 hours???). They are counting drops??? It takes me appr. 1/2 an hour to heat up appr. 45 liters of wash im full power mode, then another 1 1/2 hours for my hearts run in medium power/reflux constellation that gives me 95 vol% out of an ordinary estimated 15-17% wash. Can hit even 96 and a little if I am more patient. Satisfactory, I guess considering the fact, that more than 98 vol% is physically impossible, unless you dehumidify with concentrated sulfuric acid. Then 10 to 15 minutes (when I get below 90vol%) again in full power mode and no reflux for the tails. Takes me roundabout 1 1/2 kg of Propane per run. A real issue here, energy is expensive. A 5kg fill costs me nearly 10 Euro. Sugar is 0.84 Euro per kg. So I presume, that either a lot of peoples energy source is too low-powered or column diameter (in my opinion mostly too narrow and short), packing and reflux capacity are not matched. Or am I mistaken? Around here larger diameters of copper tubes are only a problem to get in the hardware stores if you go for water plumbing tubes above 2.7 cm outer diameter, 1 mm thickness, above that it gets expensive. Then the thickness and the weight rises. (Approx 6 Euro/kg). But why not use the (even copper welded! not folded!) rain drain tubes that are readily available in every hardware store at least here? They come in 10 and 7 cm diameter, thickmess only 0.6 mm. Serves the purpose perfectly well, since they don´t have pressure strain. Easy to work with, there are knees, tees and even caps available, too. Just a thought! My glass tubes adaptors and the outer cooling finger are made of these, by the way. So how are your performances and running costs?
your curious Hydroxyethane

[Odin]

Great build, H! Truly nice to look at. You get over high abv. How about taste? Or do you just run neutral sugar washes?

Odin.

[Hydroxyethan]

I usually do pure sugar washes to produce tasteless etOH, using turbo-yeast from Sweden (Prestige). Theoretically goes up to 20 %, comes with nutrients/salts, less yeast-taste than Alcotec yeasts. Very difficult to remove, even with activated carbon or re-distilling. Portwine or bakers yeast work fine, too. (lower temp, less yield, more time, have to add diammoniumphosphate,....)
I add (50L) additionaly 50mg Thiamine (B1) for mitosis (too much, but the i.v. phioles for humans come in that concentration), 1 tablet/pill of B complex (get it from work, but doesn´t cost much in the Pharmacy), 50 grams of thickened tomato pulp, 1 or 2 slices of whole wheat bread, a couple of apples or bananas or non-sulfured juice, what I have at hand, one teaspoon of citric acid monohydrate and 2 cat snack sticks (made out of yeast waste from breweries, my cat loves them! I usually don´t tell, people look at me weird when I do...) and stir it up. Makes the stuff explode almost instantly, always worked.
I tried aromatic spirits out of a pretty strong sugar-boosted fruit wash with no packing and no reflux too, comes out (full pot and additional fire extinguisher blanket for insulation at 60 to 79%, unfortunately still a little too high.) Could construct a pot still head that fits the lid easyly though. Something like scotch whisky would be a nice thing to try...but complicated... organise malt, sherry oak kask... burning in the pot...you know!
I have a problem getting cheap fruit here so I rather use the berries/cherries/plums... to produce liquor letting them rest for a few weeks in my fuel. Then diluting, sugar, some spices. Tastes nice! The girls love it! Before I fill the pot I clear the wash 24 hrs with kieselsol and chitosan, reduces by-tastes and I make sure not to get too much yeast inside, too. Good wash, good booze. Will try to attach some pics.
greets, Hydroxyethane

[heartcut]

Cat snack sticks, eh? Hmmm, didn't realize, gonna try them. Thanks.

[Hydroxyethan]

That´s how they look like... couldn´t take the photo without it trying to kill it. She knows the sound of the plastic unwrapping!
By the way: I like your signature, very funny and true...

[Hydroxyethan]

Hm... It is the first time that I can actually compare my outcome with others, used to be a stand-alone fighter till now and got unsure of my readings so I started a little research. Here is what I found:
1. I tested my aräometer/alcometer with bought 40% vodka and 95% denaturized etOH for ethanol stoves. It is well calibrated and working fine, BUT I found out that you have to read it BELOW meniscus, not ABOVE like the old one i had before and broke. In the high percentages that means my readings were appr. 2/3 of a percent too high. I obeyed the ambient temperature rule. Still extremely high. What else could be the reason?
2. The rim of the hole in my ss-lid (approx. 3-4 cm wide) is slightly bent upward (just came like that to make it easy to fit a plug inside). I didn´t bother to grind it off, that leads to a volume of approx. 20-30 ml to collect there between the rim and the glass tube. It may act as an unintended physical additional plate.
3. I use by far more ss pot scrubbers than most. (15, not all the same size, but each one treated by hand to make them "volume-homogenous")
4. Maybe (and that´s my strongest guess) it´s because of the glass tube.If you use metal columns, heat gets lost very fast (vertical), that crunches the virtual plates and makes the temperature curve (horizontal) very steep parabolic. If you insulate it using standard pipe insulation, the opposite happens, the virtual plates get very stretched and you might end up with hardly any. This is no problem for industrial scale production I guess, since the volume/ surface ratio there is by far higher. Difficult to take temperature readings in the inside unfortunately. An infrared thermometer might do the trick? I found out that a little wind on the collumn leads to almost instant equilibrium break-down. Not a problem for me, since i use it in a more or less confined area.
5. I use quite a lot of cooling water at fairly high (3-4 bar) pressure regulated at the end of the cooling system.I do this because of my water distribution setup with very different flow resistances (Hagen-Poiseuille-Law) Goal is high flow speed rates in the counter-wound 5 mm 3.5m (I think it was) reflux coil. High surface, windings touch to homogenize temperatures, vapor is pulled off in the upper inside. Has to go all the way past it.
6. I was wrong saying that more than 98% cannot be achieved through destillation, it is actually 95.58% as a homoazeotrop with water. (though we might end up with a little heteroazeotrop thinking of the fusals?...) Further purification is achieved in praxis with the use of Benzol, Toluol or Cyclohexan I learned. It "pulls" the water out in the heteroazeotrope. Useless to try that at home...

Well, I am happy with the performance of my baby anyway, seem to have hit the right specs at first shot. There is a german saying that translates to "luck is with the stupid", "das Glück ist mit den Dummen!"!

Greets, Hydroxyethane (who just today got hold of an offer of very nice smelling raspberries, guess, what happens next...)

[emptyglass]

If you like bourbon and cost is a big issue, have a look in the recipies section of this site for "UJSSM". Uncle Jessies simple sour mash. Its one of the most cost effecive recipies I've tried, and tastes real nice too.
But high abv might be an issue with this (and other flavored drinks) as you can strip too much flavor out of it. You may want to detune your still to run it.

But thats why not all of us chase azeotrope.

Some good rum and scotch recipies too, some sugar hybids, some all grain.

[Ayay]

Hydroxyethan your still is a work of art and science. It appears to be a Coolant Management (CM) system, that is, the amount of reflux is controlled by adjusting the coolant in the reflux condenser. I have no doubt your still can deliver 96%.

If you cut off all coolant to the reflux condenser then your still will work like a pot still for the natural flavour of the ingredients in the wash or brew. A pot still must be controlled by the heat input alone.

As emptyglass says there are good recipes here; they are found in "Tried and True Recipes".

[johnny]

+10 for your enthusiasm and dedication Hydroxyethanand and +10 for design and engineering, but sadly because your many light years ahead of me in distilling, I cant comment much more!!!
Thank you for sharing pictures and info, makes my still look like a junkyard dog, (but I still love it)

[Sungy]

That is one very nice looking machine. Love the clear column. Well done.

[Hydroxyethan]

@Emptyglass and AyAy:
Thanks for your kind words and the link to the recipies, will definitely try some out. (already found them...) Nice collection, it´s about time to try something new... And yes, it´s a CM system. As mentioned, I tried aromatic runs too, had a little too high ABV´s though even without packing and of course no reflux. I did not put in max power, though. Might try that next time when apples are getting ripe... And you are absolutely right, it´s not only the ABV that counts, taste (and subsequently the quality of your wash) is priority no.1! Lowering and rising percentages can always be done (diluting or redistilling), fixing taste is by far more complicated.

@johnny:
Remember: it´s like with girls! Looks only count in the beginning! It´s the inner values that make the difference! And: Jesus, those junkyard dogs CAN bite... Belive it or not: My still has 50% scrapyard genes, too

@Sungy:
Now you REALLY impressed me! I just finished reading an watching pics and videos of your still build. And I mean the whoooole looooong thread! AWESOME! What a project without ever having distilled before! I wish you were my neighbor, we could have a really good time together in the tool-shed! How did you get your wife to tolerate that? You make me dream about fully automated destillation, automated wash-feed, nuclear-powered heatsources, giving the still an IP and wireless access and control it via smart-phone app from -let´s say- the maledives, automated bottling and labeling of course or interlacing the cooling circuit into my central floor heating system, maybe voice-control.... ahh, I love this hobby, cheers!

By the way: The glass tubes approach has a nuber of benefits:
1. looks nice, great show-effect when running, and imagine it with cathode-tube lighting...
2. cheaper than copper, doesn´t need to be borosilicat glass like mine, they are end-pieces from industrial production for the chemical industry.
3. good heat dissipation value, inert and easy to clean (and you can always see when you have to)
4. You can see EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE happen and can react accordingly ( Creeping up of the vapors, liquid returning into the pot, reflux,cycling of vapors, condensation in the condensor, even starting of tails, the "condensation pattern" changes then...)
5. thus no need to build complicated sight-glasses

Disadvantages:
1. a "shattering" fact: They can break, if not treated accordingly I had to find out...what a surprise...
2. not as heavy as copper, but still...
3. difficult to cut if you don´t have the appropiate tools, so make sure to get the right length...
4. same rule applies to holes, but you get diamond glass drills for acceptable prices, if you need to, or go to the next glass shop, they can do it for you for small money.

Hydroxyethan, sipping his Hydroxy-Coke

[emptyglass]

Your enthusiasim is infectious.

Your skills are good.

But there is a great deal to be had by the collective knowledge here.

You have already found that your hose was bad, even though you know the chemistry beyond my understanding. Just don't use plastic and then you don't need to know the chemistry. Just need to know not to use it.

The guys here with plated columns fitted with sightglasses can get a pretty close visual on whats happening, as you can.

Even though we spell badly at times (this can be a symptom of drinking and posting) the message will prevail.

Welcome.

[Hydroxyethan]

So, I am done, pimped my parrot to 15mm, hope, that does the trick. Hope, I don´t have to up-size the center-tube too, then building a new one would have been less work. And I would really like to keep the volume down. Well, it will take a while, till I can try it out, since I need my honey-extractor for its original purpose the next weeks. It´s honey-time!!! I have approx. 80.000 virgins (bees) working for me in the backyard, and as it looks now, they did a good job... That means quite a lot of honey-liquor in the near future, we call it "Bärenfang, Bear-catcher" here! Sweet stuff!
So this will be the last Pic for some time, I really wish I would have found this forum 6 years ago, would have saved me a lot of time experimenting on my own. Really great resources here!!! Keep the good work up,
thx, Hydroxyethan

[Hügelwilli]

Hydroxyethan,
If you ever will be here again, perhaps you have an idea where to get such a borosilicate glass tube in European countries without spending much money.