Hello from Thailand

[Tacotruck]

Heya folks,

First off thanks for all the great info in this forum, I'm learning a lot already.

Just to Introduce myself, I am a native of Northern California currently living in Pattaya, Thailand. Not working, so I have good amount of tinkering time on my hands.

I have a couple of friends already into this hobby and I have been thinking about trying it out for a while, but my kitchen sucks. Now I'm about to move to a place with a much better kitchen and I think the time is ripe to give this hobby a try. I love to tinker and I love to cook and I love the mad scientist aspect of apparatus with bubbling pipes and stuff. I'm not a big drinker but I do enjoy an adult beverage now and then, and I have a lot of friends who enjoy them almost endlessly. My goal is to be able to make a nice rum, seems a good choice for my tropical digs. Or maybe some Mango brandy. We will see as things progress. I'm sure I will try some different recipes as I go along

I know I'll be asking more specific questions later after I dig through all the reading already laid out for me, but I do have one question off the top of my head.

The ambient temp here generally hangs between 25c and 33c (77f and 91f) and the humidity is failry high. I'm guessing this is gonna keep my yeasts more active and get them do their thing a bit faster, but is there anything else I should be aware of with the warm and wet climate here? Seems like it might be a good idea to have some idea about that as I study up on the subject in general. And I will be studying, I'm not a shortcut taking kind of guy, if I cannot do this right, well, I'll just do something else.

[Bushman]

Welcome to HD, my suggestion would be to start with a recipe from the tried & true section here then venture out. Seems like in that climate you should have some fruits for a great brandy drink!

[Tacotruck]

Thanks bushman for the welcome. Been enjoying my time here learning and relearning some stuff I already 'knew'. Can't say I really know all that much about distilling since all my knowledge is pure theory. I'm good with the Fermenting stuff, I had a buddy back home I would help out with his homebrew beer and wine all the time. Closest he ever came to distilling was this freezing process he would do with his spiced hard cider sometimes. It was good and fairly strong but it was sure to leave your head aching the next day. Knowing the theory I have now I am pretty sue why that was.

After more reading I'm less concerned about the ambient temperature thing. It seems fermenting has been done in just about any climate humans live in so It should work.

As I move along my big question is becoming Pot or Reflux. Seems the boiler is what it is gonna be so the question becomes what kind of head do I want to put on it?

The Samohan type seems pretty easy to build. The Bokakob type seems more complex to build, but not massively more complex and seems like it would give me a lot more flexibility in what I wanted to do as it can be run as a reflux or a pot.

If I had a workshop I'd probably build a Samohan first and play with it while I built a Bokakob, but I don't have that luxury. I have a friend (also a distiller) who has some workspace and some tools, but he works 5 days a week and has his own projects. I also have access to lots of metal shops where I can get work done cheaply, but cheap is still money out of pocket and anything I get done in a shop is a 'security' risk to some extent.

With all this in mind I'm thinking once I have one built, it's what I'm gonna have for a while, so I want to be sure it's right.

Any thoughts?

[Samohon]

Welcome to HD Tacotruck...

Depends what you want to make;

Whiskey/Rum = Pot still
Vodka/Gin = Reflux (Boka)

(bear in mind that the Boka can be detuned to act as a pot still...)
The Pot Still plans hereon HD will help you and the build is ver easy to put together.... Clicky...

Take it slowly and have fun learning. All the information is here on the boards of HD...

Be safe man...

[Tacotruck]

Depends what you want to make;

Therin lies the rub. I'm not sure what I want to make, or what I might want to make down the road a bit. This is why I'm leaning toward the Bokakob as it seems to be the best balance between a relatively simple build and the versatility of being able to be run in reflux or pot mode.

On the other hand it seems I could go with a very simple build and simply re-distill my end product to get something closer to neutral if I wanted it.

It may just come down to what I can find the copper for. Copper pipe is not used here much at all. I have seen copper pipe at hardware shops, but never seen any installed for water pipe anywhere. Almost all plastic, a little steel here and there. I'm gonna guess copper pipe is imported and so is most likely subject to the 100% import tariff levied on essentially everything not made in Thailand. May even be possible i'll find stainless to be cheaper, lots of steel work done here...

Luckily I have time and patience. I'm not gonna rush out and do something without a solid plan. That's part of why I love forums like this, access to helpful knowledgeable folks who don't ming bouncing ideas around, helping the new dude get his plans dialed in.

[Tacotruck]

Well the severe lack of copper has me thinking if I can do this at all It will have to be a pot still. I have yet to lay my eyes on any copper but I have leads. I also have learned that 1/2 inch will probably be the very largest I can hope to get my hands on. About the only thing copper seems to get used for here is to run coolant lines between the inside aircon blower unit and the outside condenser. So off to hit up aircon shops when I get on the next hunt.

On the plus side I have found a couple different induction hotplates that seem like they should work well and a nice pro kitchen grade 19 liter SS stockpot that my test magnet stuck to so it will work with the induction plate. Right next to the stockpot was a lovely SS bowl that fit perfectly for a domed lid.

While I was at the place I saw the stock pot (Makro it is called, sort of like a cash n carry, lots of pro kitchen/bar/hotel supplies) I saw some big ass coffee urns and I thought hmmm... A big SS pot with a heating element already built in. Anyone ever made one of those into a boiler?

[Buccaneer Bob]

Yeah, the 1/2 inch max deal is going to limit you, but you can still make a good still if that's all you can get. I'm guessing you'll probably want to make a "flake stand and worm" type condenser.

But try to do it like they show, with a system to circulate the cooling water. Otherwise, you will either need a really big bucket, or you will have to keep ladling water in and out of that bucket to keep the cooling water cool enough to knock down the vapor.

Just out of curiosity, do you think anybody around there has stainless tubing? There are always a few companies around that cater to the dairy/beverage/food industries that specialize in stainless. I don't know, maybe do a little snooping and see what you can find.

[heartcut]

Welcome. If copper is a problem I've seen some nice looking potstills made from bamboo. Might be something to check out.

[LWTCS]

Welcome Tacotruck

While I was at the place I saw the stock pot (Makro it is called, sort of like a cash n carry, lots of pro kitchen/bar/hotel supplies) I saw some big ass coffee urns and I thought hmmm... A big SS pot with a heating element already built in. Anyone ever made one of those into a boiler?

Yes of course. That system works best if you disable the thermostat and find a way to directly control your heat input.

[johnhopper1957]

Mate,

There a lot of places there that do stainless welding, take one of the drawings for a LM or VM to them and they will have it made in a couple of days and it will be done

[Tacotruck]

Mate,

There a lot of places there that do stainless welding, take one of the drawings for a LM or VM to them and they will have it made in a couple of days and it will be done

I have thought about that. But like in may places this hobby is um extralegal and I dunno how comfortable I am asking someone to build a contraband device for me.

On the other hand once he has built one, he may have a whole new sideline for his manufacturing business lol

[Buccaneer Bob]

I have thought about that. But like in may places this hobby is um extralegal and I dunno how comfortable I am asking someone to build a contraband device for me.

On the other hand once he has built one, he may have a whole new sideline for his manufacturing business lol

Tell the guy you have a vision for a new type of water heater that's based on biosynthesis, especially for people who live in the developing world, and you can't give him too many details about it because you're hoping to patent the design.

[Tacotruck]

I have thought about that. But like in may places this hobby is um extralegal and I dunno how comfortable I am asking someone to build a contraband device for me.

On the other hand once he has built one, he may have a whole new sideline for his manufacturing business lol

Tell the guy you have a vision for a new type of water heater that's based on biosynthesis, especially for people who live in the developing world, and you can't give him too many details about it because you're hoping to patent the design.

Hahaha probably could get away with telling the guy nam borisut mak mak 'water very very pure'.

The idea begs the question though, lots of decorative stainless tubing work done here for fences, gates railings and such. Would this kind of stainless tube be food safe? Do some kinds of stainless have have lead or other nasties that could leech into the product?

[LWTCS]

Need 304 SS

[Tacotruck]

Need 304 SS

Awesome. Thank you.

So I percolated the coffee urn idea and decided against it. I sort of like Alton Brown's concept on single purpose kitchen tools, avoid them when at all practical to do so. I want to do some other brewing besides brewing stuff to put through the still, so having a big ass stock pot that also happens to have a top which I can use to make that stock pot into a still boiler sounds like a better long term plan.

But it brings me to another concern I have about the induction cooker. A 19 liter stock pot is pretty heavy and if the cooker does not have structural strength to support the pot it could be very dangerous. Mostly they look a lot like this:

The solution I am thinking of going with seems like it should work pretty well. I'd need 4 bolts and 1 nut for each bolt. Big hefty ones. Then I get my local welder guy to weld the nuts equidistant around the bottom of the stock pot and simply thread the bolts into the nuts to make 4 adjustable feet. The stock pot does not actually need to be in contact with the induction plate to operate so I can adjust the feet where the stock pot has just a tiny gap below it and no weight actually resting on the cooker, but it is close enough for the magnetic field to do it's thing. Any thoughts?

[Just a Biker]

If you plan to use an induction hot plate the bottom of your stock pot must have a metal plate or cap on the bottom. Some do, some don’t. Try to stick a magnet to the bottom of your stock pot, if it sticks it will work if it falls off it will not work.

Another problem is many electric plates use heating cycles. They get hot then slowly turn off then back on again. This cycling will make it harder to keep a good steady temp on your rig. Not saying you can’t, but it will be more of a challenge.

[Tacotruck]

I have a magnet in my pocket I have been sticking on pots everywhere I see them. The one I'm planning on getting is a heavy gauge pro grade one from a restaurant supply place that the magnet stuck to firmly. The magnetic coil will excite the steel and cause it to heat up, and then heat whatever is in the pot. No extra metal plate needed.

The nice thing about induction plates is that they don't cycle on and off like electric resistor heating elements. When you adjust an induction plate you are changing the wattage running through the coil, not a thermostat controller. The coil is always transferring energy while it is on and stops immediately when you turn it off. In operation it acts a lot more like a gas stove than the typical electric range most of us are used to.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induction_cooking" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[Tacotruck]

I did some more shopping today. SS shop actually had a pretty good english speaker and and he totally knew what it was I wanted to build, but he said the furniture grade stainless they usually use is not gonna work for this project. He said he could do it but the price he quoted me was pretty freaking high. Probably 'Falang tax'.

At this point I'm thinking of just going ahead and ordering a pot still head from Mile Hi and getting a buddy to pack it in his suitcase for me next time he comes for a visit, or just reship it.

Kid of a bummer for the lost DIY factor but such is life.

Not sure about going with the traditional style or the more tower like style. Any thoughts?