Home Distiller

got a very traditional backwoods setup. 5g pot + 1/2g doubler & coil, not much too it... just the way i like it... simple, but EXTREMELY effective. regularly get 3-4 quarts @ 75%+ on a single run of BW. since it's BW (& high test ;->), not much flavor to it (unless aged or infused), but it's always got some sweeeeeeet tails! just wish i didn't have to hide out in my garage...


[ps. if anyone knows a trick to rotate images in posts, lmk! scoured the form & searched, no luck]

dragon9874 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 11, 2021 9:21 am [ps. if anyone knows a trick to rotate images in posts, lmk! scoured the form & searched, no luck]

I use an app called “resizer” to crop, rotate, and resize.

Cheers!
-jonny

This is my Big Girl. She is very easy to run and has a very large sweet spot.

first time putting it together

After 9 years, went from a 4 gallon stock pot on a cadco hotplate to a 8 gallon pot on propane last spring.
This winter learned that does not work in an unheated unplumbed garage in Ontario so followed Jimbos electric thread and now happily run a 16 gallon pot with 5500watt 220v volt element with 10,000 watt EBay scr controller.
The 8 gallon is now convertible to a thumper or can run stand alone Must thank everyone who supplies the wealth of information on this site.
Rod01

Toxxyc wrote: ↑Tue Feb 08, 2022 10:44 pm

Shadowride69 wrote: ↑Tue Feb 01, 2022 6:22 am 20220130_134724.jpg first time putting it together

What's on the inside of those hoses connecting the kettle to the thumper, and thumper to the condenser?

Well as of now the only hose is the one going from the thumper to the condenser. I replaced the other one with copper . But they look to be stainless.

Remember, I live where it's hard to get anything and my ex gets $3,000 a month from me. I scrounge as much as possible and do everything I can myself.
I didn't post my column, I figured you folks would already know what that looks like.
Edit: for those interested, the cold finger w/ double helical coils was done by filling with water at pressure to not kink.
Edit2: yes, that's a unit for a refrigerated water fountain on the output of the condenser.
Edit3: since the post on proper numbers for HEX's(heat exchangers), I'm starting to gather for a shotgun. Sorry SBB, I love that detailed $h!t. Now I have a good idea how far I can deviate from "ideal".
Edit4: with my job, I've managed to only spend about $160 American dollars on this whole setup. ?

I made another stock pot potstill the past week or 2. This is the finished look:
It’s 1-1/2” type M copper with a 1-1/2” to 1” reducer and copper union (for disassembly). The product condenser is a 7 tube (3/8” OD soft tubing) in the 1-1/2” copper shell with a 12” long tube bank. It’s plumbed to work with a pond pump from a water reservoir.

This is the stock pot attachment to the riser (5 gallon stock pot): It is a mechanical attachment (not soldered), although I added a flange soldered to the male adapter to seal against the stainless lid. See this detail: It’s clamped up in compression with a few copper washers and a nut on the inside of the lid. Good mechanical joint with a pressure tight seal.

And the heat source is a modified Cadco hotplate. Here’s a “stuffed” look inside: I’ll do an update to my build thread to show how and what I did with the off-the-shelf hotplate.

Here’s the “dressed” view (power on-fan on-heat element power turned down): It’s all ready for the cleaning protocol now: steam —> 50/50 vinegar & water —> sacrificial alcohol (I have a jar full of feints ready to run). Hopefully, we’ll get these run this weekend.

This build is for my nephew who loves my Special K bourbon (see recipe linked in my signature) and wants to learn how to distill.

Total investment for equipment and materials is about $400 USD. Some of the prices have escalated since I built my stock pot potstill and hotplate. I believe I built mine for just a little under $300 USD a few years ago.
ss

(plastic for collecting vinegar)

Admiring my setup…

This is my gin setup

B

Modified my big girl to run on propane while I buy/assemble the pieces to get her running on electric. Waiting on some pieces, but she's coming along just fine

With and without thumper.

You boys are putting me to shame with your nice shiny and painted stills and boilers .

My beat up and dented boiler boasts a sooty bottom while the once shiny copper Potty new proudly wears a dark brown patina .

Here's something new to laugh at but she puts out. Im still getting stuff moved in & setup as I need it. I will need to lift the thumper up so I can get it to drain better with a siphon.

The smallest of my stills:
Good for 250 - 500ml batches of gin. In a poetic twist, the alcohol burner that I'm using is filled with fores and heads from previous runs. Nothing goes to waste.

A little slow to run and the cooling water requirements are so small as to be difficult to manage, but it does the job better than having a smear of liquid in the bottom of a 5L saucepan.

Test#1

Added a bit more copper to the dragon!! Lol

I called it the dragon cause I'm starting a steam clean and leak check.

I can't draw a circle without it looking like an egg, but I will do my best to explain ( after 10 ounces of rye whiskey).

this is a puke box notice how the arm from the column going into the box is lower than the arm out of the box to the condenser?

sometimes your wash/mash may "puke" if you run it to hot. Meaning the wash could boil up the column and though the worm shooting out through your distillate. The "pukebox", because the box is lower than the arm of the column, the "puke" that will boil over will fall to the bottom of the box, the valve is there so you can drain it before it comes out the worm.

If making a whiskey I place a roll of copper mesh in that pukebox. the vapors go through it removing some of the sulfates (because i have a stainless steel pot I need copper somewhere to remove sulfates).

I could replace the copper mesh with a ginbasket. A stainless basket that can hold botanicals (if i am making spiced rum, or infused gin, or infused vodka)

this basket goes into the "pukebox", I got a gin basket that fits its dimensions.
The ethanol vapor passes through the botanicals in the gin basket picking up flavor becuase the basket places the botanicals in the path of the vapor.

I have ordered a sight glass to add to the column so I can add copper mesh/nuts to remove sulfates when I use a gin basket.

so I either add copper mesh, or a ginbasket in that chamber every time i run my still. Hope that helps.

if not PM me and I will explain more.

Added a sight glass

Ugly Betty lives!

First run on this bad boy, MD 3" dual-purpose tower and a electric keg boiler got from a friend. Scr controller with input/output power displays

First time in this configuration