When in Virginia...

[wscrst]

Hello, all. Here is my introduction. I am originally from New Jersey. When I lived in New York City, I ate different foods and went to some museums. When I then moved to Minnesota I bought cross country skis and hockey skates. In Wisconsin, I should have gone ice fishing but I never did. I regret it. Now I am in Virginia and I plan to be here for a while. I do not remember what it was a month or so ago, but I just thought that I should make some moonshine. I had once thought about making gin (because it's my favorite!) but it seemed pretty complicated at the time. My initial goal really was to distill as a novelty. I would give my Jersey friends a jar of moonshine or show them my still. However, after reading about how nuanced, scientific, and compicated distillation can get, I have new ideas...I would not say goals...just excited by the myriad of possibilities that come with distilling. My still is in my basement and I hope to use an old wood burning stove as my heating source. I have never lived in a rural area before so my copper still and fire make me feel like I am an old time Virginia moonshiner. I have yet to do a run using the wood burning stove so we'll see how hot I can get it and try not to burn down the house. Cheers.

[Aussiedownunder01]

Hi and welcome i and all the others would love to see photos of your setup

[Samohon]

Welcome to HD wscrst...

Have fun and if you get a moment, some piccies would be nice...

[Bushman]

Welcome to HD. Years ago I canoed the boundry waters and fished and the bugs about ate me alive.

[NcHooch]

I'd recommend you don't distill in the basement on a wood stove until you get some really good seat time with both the stove and the still....and know how to control both to avoid and/or deal with, the possibility of over-heating the still.

(even then, not sure it's a great idea)

Welcome to the forum Virginia.

[rad14701]

Greetings, wscrst...

I'm going to agree with what NcHooch said... I've heated stills with wood/coal and would be hesitant to run my first batch through a still in a basement using wood/coal heat...

Good luck and stay safe...

[MitchyBourbon]

Welcome to HD wscrst,

I don't know why but I do love Minnesota. Especially the boundry waters, Bushman. wscrst, if you decide to attempt a whiskey let me know how it turns out.

BTW, the Minnesota state bird is the mosquito. ;(

Good luck and stay safe.

Cheers
MitchyBourbon

[wscrst]

Thank you. I did not expect advice on the welcome page. My still does not fit on my kitchen stove. If I do not use my wood burning stove, what do you all suggest I use for a heating source? Thanks for the help.

[rad14701]

Thank you. I did not expect advice on the welcome page. My still does not fit on my kitchen stove. If I do not use my wood burning stove, what do you all suggest I use for a heating source? Thanks for the help.

An internal electric element or propane are the two most popular heat sources for good reason... However, in a basement, propane isn't really the best choice either... So what does that leave as the safest means of running in a basement...??? An internal electric element...

From a safety aspect, consider this... How would you plan on throttling back the wood stove heat almost instantaneously if you have a problem or a leak...???
We're just giving you the best safe advice and whether you heed it or not is up to you...

[NcHooch]

Thank you. I did not expect advice on the welcome page. My still does not fit on my kitchen stove. If I do not use my wood burning stove, what do you all suggest I use for a heating source? Thanks for the help.

Doesn't everyone on the east coast and south of PA have a propane powered turkey fryer ?

[BareKnuckles]

Thank you. I did not expect advice on the welcome page. My still does not fit on my kitchen stove. If I do not use my wood burning stove, what do you all suggest I use for a heating source? Thanks for the help.

Doesn't everyone on the east coast and south of PA have a propane powered turkey fryer ?

That's what I use

Welcome to HD.... These guys know what they're talking about.....

[skydivemd]

Doesn't everyone on the east coast and south of PA have a propane powered turkey fryer ?

That's rhetorical, right...

[hwy419]

my turkey fryer does a lot more than just fry turkeys! The folks that only use their fryers for frying turkeys aren't getting their money's worth. Welcome to HD!

[wscrst]

Well, it has been quite a while since I have been on the site. Good news: the wood stove in the basement with the copper pot still on top has worked wonderfully. I have made some great corn whiskey and some gin. The gin was later distilled on my stove using an asparagus steamer pot and the same still head/worm that I use for my large still after the spirit had been flavored. I love the mystique and history of all of this and that is why I like the wood stove. They didn't have turkey fryers back in the day. Soon I plant my corn to see if I can actually ferment something that I grew myself. Now that is cool stuff.