Vevor still setup newbie questions

[fruit owl]

I just got my first still - a 50l Vevor: https://www.vevor.com/alcohol-distiller ... QXffmheYiv

I’ve been searching around, trying to figure out how to set it up.

There’s a lot of useful material for stills in general, but I haven’t been able to find a lot of Vevor specific stuff.

So if anyone has a good tip or an article/video on any of these topics, that’d be much appreciated And apologies if this was already covered on the forum, I just am not able to find it.



A. Cleaning

I’ve been watching YT videos for a while, and the general approach I tend to see could be boiled down to 3 general steps:

1. Clean by hand (dish soap or water and vinegar);
2. Vinegar and water steam run;
3. Sacrificial alcohol run.

My problem is that the Vevor condenser is way too narrow, curved and long for me to scrub it thoroughly with the tools I have (that’s step 1). I did soak it in vinegar and water solution over night, and rinsed all the copper parts, but I’m not sure if that’s enough.

I’d like to be on the safe side and am I bit worried that my inability to reach the majority of the condenser length could leave some parts uncleaned, even if I do steps 2 and 3 correctly.
Has anyone tackled the same problem? Am I being a bit paranoid?



B. Heat source

Originally, I planned on placing the still on a simple electric cooker. But then I saw the warning on the pot, saying that it shouldn’t be placed directly on the heat source. Should I buy some sort of a grid to raise it over the stove? Or maybe go for a portable induction stove? I’m not sure if it’s ok to lay it on induction and if it’s a good idea to place up to 50l of liquid over something relatively small.


Any help is much appreciated

[subbrew]

The vinegar and sacrificial runs should clean out the areas you can't brush.

Search the forum for Vevor. You will find several threads on things that can be easily changed to make them perform better. Here is one viewtopic.php?t=89172

As for heat, 50l is a lot for a stove or hot plate. I would consider gas, like a turkey cooker burner. Since it says not to place the pot on direct heat I have to assume it is rather thin and the worry is scorching or burning. Probably expensive unless you have some scrap but a sheet of quarter inch steel between the flame and the pot would help solve a scorch problem. Cheaper, redneck, solution is to find the thickest bottom pot of about the same size at goodwill or other second hand store and then cut the sides off, just keeping the bottom as your flame shield.

[Steve Broady]

Congratulations on getting your first still. I guarantee that it won't be your last, unless you get so fed up with it that you give up. I started with one similar, and quickly decided that there's plenty of justification for the criticisms here.

The vinegar and sacrificial runs will clean the inside of the condenser. That's the entire purpose of them - to reach all the areas which you cannot clean mechanically.

You can absolutely use that pot over direct heat. It could potentially warp the bottom if you overheat it, and it WILL scorch if you put anything other than liquids in there. Been there, done that.

Now that your questions are answered, though, there are some significant issues with that still. Again, I know, I started with one too. The good news is that they're solvable, the bad news is it takes a little ingenuity or a fair bit of money, or maybe both. Have a look through this thread as one place to get started.
viewtopic.php?t=89172&hilit=chinese

{posted as the same time as subbrew}

[fruit owl]

Thanks both, much appreciated!