My first still

[Tasgrasshopper]

Ok went with a pot still to begin with and i'll learn to drive this critter first before attempting to build a plated column.

[ravi]

nice one!!
congrats))
cheers

[Twisted Brick]

Good looking still, Tasgrasshopper. Once you get started building it's kinda hard to stop.

Twisted Brick

[Tasgrasshopper]

Thank's Looking forward to the next step.
Cheer's Tas G

[Saltbush Bill]

Nice Build Tas, the one thing worth considering is that if you intend using gas to heat the boiler you might want to get the business end of the condenser further away from the flames.
Still fires are NOT FUN !
Great to see some support under that condencer

[Twisted Brick]

Nice Build Tas, the one thing worth considering is that if you intend using gas to heat the boiler you might want to get the business end of the condenser further away from the flames.
Still fires are NOT FUN !
Great to see some support under that condencer

Great advice. Installing ferrules and a tri-clamp between the two 2" 90's will allow you to angle your condenser to whatever degree you wish.

[Saltbush Bill]

Great advice. Installing ferrules and a tri-clamp between the two 2" 90's will allow you to angle your condenser to whatever degree you wish.

Normaly I would agree but in this case that could cause pooling / smearing where the thin tube joins the large diameter.
Might be easier to just put more bend in the thin tube before the union fitting.

[Twisted Brick]

I overlooked that, Bill. Thanks for pointing out my error. I should remember to employ a 2" reducer to the diameter of the vapor tube unless one runs a 2" shotgun.

[Tasgrasshopper]

Thank's Gent's for the info, yes i will be using gas to heat the boiler.
As it is at the moment the outlet is 2' away so if i double that to 4' away should that be enough to be safe.
Yes it's easy to bend the half inch and extend the support. (Thank's for the hand holding) Tas.

[Saltbush Bill]

Ive read on different forums over the years that 6 foot from the flame is considered safe minimum distance. Not sure who came up with that figure or why. Ive used it as a guide with my stills.
These days electric is very popular so this issue doesn't come up as often.
Having said that I love my gas and will probably never go fully lectric.

[Tummydoc]

Salty, come to the spark side!

[Tasgrasshopper]

Ok Bill, 6 ft it is then!

[Tasgrasshopper]

Extended to 6ft, fill port fitted not long now!!

[Tasgrasshopper]

Ran the still yesterday with vinegar to clean and check for any leaks and then ran some not so good white wine as a sacrificial run.

[Saltbush Bill]

Salty, come to the spark side!

Kinda half way there buttttttt...quite happy with LPG for my big still.
Little Gin still " T500 boiler" is lectric...so is my other boiler...50L keg that the 3 inch Boka sits on.
Nice work Tas, good to get the booze away from the flames

[Yummyrum]

Yeah Tas , that looks like safe distance to me

Saltys 6’ rule ... not sure where it come from .. but thats about where I find a happy happy feel safe distance too


BTW ..Salty . .. I’m gonna blame the camera angle , but .. does your shed look a bit busier than mine

[Saltbush Bill]

Its a mess atm Yummy.

[Tasgrasshopper]

Thank's Gent's!! I don't think i would be too popular if the shed burn't down for the cost of an extra bit of half inch copper.

[Deplorable]

SBB, Tell me about that water manifold in the picture above? It looks like you've built some sort of water manifold to control all your cooling water from one spot.

[Saltbush Bill]

Will do at some stage Deplorable.....wont hijack this thread with it.

[Tasgrasshopper]

I would be interested as well Bill, and also how you built your 3" Boka.

[Saltbush Bill]

and also how you built your 3" Boka.

There's not a lot to tell Tas, its pretty much a bog stock slant plate Boka but in 3 inch.
There is a heap of plans, photos, build threads and other information around the forums telling how to build one.
It is fully insulated and has 61 inches of packed column, 2 centering rings to stop spirit channeling down the walls, Packing is copper mesh. Thats all topped by a double wound reflux condenser. it also runs a good quality stainless needle valve.
I supplied most of the materials for it and another distiller did 99% of the fabrication, we used it on a share basis for a few years, lately its been living at my place.

[Tasgrasshopper]

Thank's Bill, At the moment i'm like a sponge reading and taking in a lot of information and trying to understand the nuts and bolts of it all.
As you pointed out there's a lot of info and builds on Boka's on the net and am tossing up if its the way i should go to make neutral spirt or to build a plated column like Olddog's Magic Flute.
I'm aware that i am only starting out and need to read a hell of a lot more and that choosing what to build is personal choice, i may build both the Boka and the Plated column only time will tell. Now back to more reading!! Thank's again Bill.

[Tummydoc]

Tass, a plated column is usually intended for a flavored spirit... like your pot still. I'd suggest a packed reflux column as your next tool after a pot. That way you can recycle the feints into a neutral spirit (vodka and gin base). The plates are sexy, but with a pot you can still do whiskey or rum and approximate a plated column result. But nothing really beats a packed reflux column for a neutral on the hobby scale.

For packed you have lots of options. Liquid management (boka), vapor management (valved VM or CCVM), or coolant management with a dephlagmator.

[Tasgrasshopper]

Thank's Tummydoc, for the heads up!! Look's like some more reading to do.

[Tummydoc]

Thank's Tummydoc, for the heads up!! Look's like some more reading to do.

There always is with this hobby and this site!!

[Tasgrasshopper]

Tummydoc, I like to understand how things work and guess the only way i can learn how is to read as much as i can.
The hands on stuff is the easy part i find, but if you are not willing to spend the time to learn the correct way i can not see the point, and besides whats the hurry!!

[Tummydoc]

[emoji106]

[Tasgrasshopper]

I ran a Birdwatchers stripping run last night took longer than i thought as the reg is a low pressure one, high pressure one on the way.
Collected around 2 Litres keeping 100ml of fores seperate.

[Saltbush Bill]

High pressure regs rated 0-12 ish PSI work great from my experience.
Regs rated at higher are a pain in the arse and way to touchy to adjust.