Are these stills as bad as some people say?

[Alkyholik]

I kinda made a mistake and went and bought a pot still off ebay . I can't go back and change time but can anyone tell me if they've had good times with one.
The one I purchased is the 30litre one. The guy has sold a hell of a lot of various kinds of stills but I only see a couple of negative feedbacks out of hundreds sold! Theres no lead solder,all welds are argon.and everything is stainless steel

[NZChris]

You can make just about anything work. That one hasn't got any copper in it, so best you add some.

What are the seals made out of? You might have to replace dubious seals, or at least wrap them with PTFE tape.

[Alkyholik]

Seals are all silicone and are distillation friendly seemingly.
About the copper. Wheres the best place and what's the best way to go about putting some in my still? Roll some up and put it in the piping coming from still? Any help greatly appreciated

[NZChris]

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1 ... 0450.x/pdf

What are the seals made out of?

[Alkyholik]

I stand corrected they ARE food grade silicon seals seemingly. Is this ok?

[Alkyholik]

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1 ... 0450.x/pdf

What are the seals made out of?

I have bought some copper mesh I will roll up and insert in the piping. Thanks for the advice chris. The seller just told me that the silicon is food grade stuff so hoping this is ok also yes?

[NZChris]

https://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtop ... 0#p7635338

[Saltbush Bill]

. The seller just told me that the silicon is food grade stuff so hoping this is ok also yes?

The problem with that is we are not cooking food here.....your going to have a mix of volatile solvents in that still.....things such as acetone, methanol, ethanaol ....just to name a few.

[Alkyholik]

. The seller just told me that the silicon is food grade stuff so hoping this is ok also yes?

The problem with that is we are not cooking food here.....your going to have a mix of volatile solvents in that still.....things such as acetone, methanol, ethanaol ....just to name a few.

Any idea where to buy ptfe seals then? Or are you guys on about tape?
Or some of these?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/292704137094

[Power_Man]

Those are the correct seals.

Other say that PLATINUM CURED silicone is okay.

The issue with PTFE is that it is hard. And isn’t malleable. That’s why a lot of people just use flour paste.

How much is that ‘still?

[Alkyholik]

£165 delivered. It's the 30 litre version. The seller is sending out a copper version of the worm for £20 delivered as I said I ordered the wrong one at the beginning. So I wont have to add copper mesh now

[cob]

Other say that PLATINUM CURED silicone is okay.

NOT HERE. its not ok same with every thing except PTFE or flower paste in the vapor path.

[Alkyholik]

Other say that PLATINUM CURED silicone is okay.

NOT HERE. its not ok same with every thing except PTFE or flower paste in the vapor path.

I'm just waiting to see what size of seals I'll need then I'll order those ptfe ones off Ebay, even though seller has sold hundreds all over the world and no bad reviews about quality etc.so heres hoping

[jayka]

I was going to buy one of these originally as a cheap way to get into it. I watched a few reviews and they seem pretty good.
silicone and PTFE aside. I see them as a good cheap way to have a dabble and see how you like it.
I ended up buying something from my local brew store but I think I would have been just as happy with something like this to begin with.
I think I was going to get mine for about $300 AUD which is probably about the same as you in BP.

At least with something like that all you need to do is a few clicks and wait a week and your making moonshine. better that spending a year rummaging through scrap metal bins and soldering when all you want to do is try out a new hobby.

Having said that I've been at it for only 6 months so far and I haven't stopped upgrading, but that's not a bad thing. Give it another 6 months and there probably wont be anything left of the original still. I'm also finding that I like rummaging through scrap metal and soldering, but at least I'm making whiskey while I do it!

[Alkyholik]

Ahhh jayka I will probably be the same Haha. When I get into something, I dive in with both feet. I already have my 25kg bag of crushed malted barley, sugar,Epsom salt,gypsum, DAP,hydrometers(both kinds), thermometers,2x 60litre barrels,2x30ltr tubs.i think I'll have a go at a simple sugar wash 1st though now.
I'm trying to read as much as possible right now before I begin and before my still arrives next week.
Thanks for your reply by the way.

[jayka]

I just made a sugar wash for my SAC run then got stuck into the malted barley. It's a little more expensive but I'm not a fan of sugar. Even a bad all grain will taste better than a sugar wash with syrup. Worst case scenario if it doesn't turn out great just give it to someone who likes to mix with coke.
60LT barrels! I'm jealous! I'm definitely going to be keeping an eye out for one of them now!

[Alkyholik]

What is this SAC? and what is this syrup you talk about?
Here are the barrels here:https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/282966824650

[jayka]

So a sac run is a sacrificial alcohol run used to clean a new still.
Basically you should first wash with warm soapy water. Then do a 50/50 vinegar run. Then a sacrificial alcohol run. This will ensure a new still is clean.

The syrups I talk about I think a better term would be flavours. But basically some people like to make straight sugar washes then flavour with them. That's what I think of when people talk about using sugar, and each to their own I just like to stick to traditional brewing. Whole grain all the way.

[jayka]

Just checked out the link. Yeh I thought you meant ageing barrels. They do look good tho. Try to get your hands on some of these. It adds even more fun to you whiskey making

[Alkyholik]

Ah ok. I'll be on the lookout for barrels like those. They look great where did you get them?
Yes I will do a sugar run to begin with but I like the thought of doing grain better. Can you remember your 1st grain run recipe? Was it easy to do? I mean I have a 25kg sack of crushed malt barley here so what could be done recipe wise with this?

[jayka]

https://youtu.be/C84jENc70tk
This is a pretty good tutorial on how to mash your grain.
It would be a single grain single malt whiskey which is a good start.
Once you get the hang of it you can start playing with different grains. Check out this link and they can show you what sort of flavours to expect. You can use it to build new recipes.
"Distillers malts - BESTMALZ | German b ... ers-malts/

Just have a good read up study on diastatic power. Won't matter so much with single grain only once you start playing with speciality malts

[NZChris]

Small barrels do come with their own set of problems, which is why I've never used them. Do your research before you spend your money.

[Corsaire]

Can you remember your 1st grain run recipe? Was it easy to do? I mean I have a 25kg sack of crushed malt barley here so what could be done recipe wise with this?

I sure remember my first all grain run. I used a brew in a bag an followed a generic scotch infusion mash. If you can heat water to a specified temp you can do this.

Here's the thread that I used to make my first mash
https://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtop ... 11&t=67180

If course Jimbo's recipe is in tried and true for a reason.

[jayka]

Small barrels do come with their own set of problems, which is why I've never used them. Do your research before you spend your money.

What problems have you had with barrels? My first was absolutely crap. Cheap crap from China. Every time I fixed a leak a new one appeared. Took me 2 months of emails to get my money back. Since then I have found a professional Cooper who is local so for only an extra $50 I get to support a local buy and they are absolutely awesome! 4 barrels full and haven't lost a drop except for the "angles share"

[Alkyholik]

What's the point of sparging? Just watched a video on YouTube and cant fathom out what benefits it does

[Bee]

Sparging washes the remaining sugar out of the grain.
You want to get every drop of product, don't you?

[jayka]

What's the point of sparging? Just watched a video on YouTube and cant fathom out what benefits it does

I asked myself the same question a little while ago. I had pulled my BIAB out of the wash and it had drained until it had basically stopped.
I poured 5lt of water over the grain and I tested it as it started to come out the bottom and it measured in at 1.060 (7.5%) the second 5lt measured in at 1.040 or 5%. That 10lt probably had an Avg of 6% in the end, thats a lot of wasted product if I hadn't of done it.

I now have a Brewzilla and while I love it I definitely cant run the same grain/water ratio as the BIAB due to wasted space.
So now I use my sparge to fill the Brewzilla for the second mash. this helps me hit my 1.080 target.

I start with 40lt and mash in 8kg of grain, after mashing I lift it out and let it drain. Then I pump it into my fermenter. I usually get 20-30lt out of it.

I then sparge with 40lt of water and this will be my next 40lt for my second mash.

Repeat step one but then second time around I only sparge with about 10lt or what I can fit in my fermenter.

[NZChris]

Small barrels do come with their own set of problems, which is why I've never used them. Do your research before you spend your money.

What problems have you had with barrels? My first was absolutely crap. Cheap crap from China. Every time I fixed a leak a new one appeared. Took me 2 months of emails to get my money back. Since then I have found a professional Cooper who is local so for only an extra $50 I get to support a local buy and they are absolutely awesome! 4 barrels full and haven't lost a drop except for the "angles share"

I've read enough about them on this forum to put me off wanting to use them. I want to age on wood for much longer than you can leave spirits in a small barrel without over-oaking.

[howie]

What's the point of sparging? Just watched a video on YouTube and cant fathom out what benefits it does

sparging gets all the fermentables out.
in all-grain beer brewing my 35l brewzilla has about 15l of water and 6kg grain at typically 67c for 1 hour with the pump running the whole time.
then the grain basket is raised out and locked in the top, then the grain is sparged(or rinsed) with about 15l of 80c water to get all the fermentables out.

[sambedded]

sparging gets all the fermentables out.
in all-grain beer brewing my 35l brewzilla has about 15l of water and 6kg grain at typically 67c for 1 hour with the pump running the whole time.
then the grain basket is raised out and locked in the top, then the grain is sparged(or rinsed) with about 15l of 80c water to get all the fermentables out.

Which has no big sense for distilling. I prefer to ferment with grains in. Then siphon beer out for stilling.