jimmyjames1981 wrote:Yes I can find every size imaginable, I purchased a 120"x 5" piece of dwv copper pipe for $100, last week I purchased a 71" piece of 3" type L for $61, a couple weeks back I purchased a 48" piece of 2" type L for $29, if you have patients you can find anything you want, I'm good at sourcing stuff and am a fabricator by trade, all of the plates for a copper column can be made with scrap pipe and a hand drill, now if your not a handy person or good at sourcing stuff and order every single piece for your column brand new than yes it would be expensive, but with a glass column there's nothing cheap about it, and there's no "glass scrap yard" you can buy used Pyrex borosilicate tube from, and then cutting or drilling it is out of the question , not too mention almost all borosilicate tube is untempered with a rated temp between 375-400 degrees and is much more prone to braking than its tempered like which is about 5x the cost, also borosilicate tube isn't rated to have thermal differences, the bottom of the column will be 200 degrees plus and near the deflag is could be under 100a decrees causing the glass to expand and contract more in different areas creating stress in the tube, that will make it even more prone to breaking. Like I said a proper glass column could be made for a ton of money, and I have to disagree about the argument that labs use Pyrex everyday and its safe, well labs use beakers and peetree dishes and not 60" tall glass columns on a daily basis, I go by Murphy's law that something will happen, like prairiepiss stated, It would take nothing short of a ball bat to even cause visual damage to my still
Guys, Please stop using baseball bats around your stills!!! LOL and none of the pipe you mentioned was under $50 except the 2" inch witch is to short for what I'm building. and why in the world would you need glass tempered to 375-400 i run my stills under 212F. agreed we both have expenses and dangers.
Thank you again for your input and lets both still safely!! hope yours works good and I'll keep posting about mine. have a good day!
In your post you said I couldn't get a 2"x4' piece for under $50 which I did, the 3"to doesn't count for your argument, if it was 4' long it would have been under $50 but it was 6' long... id like too see this build, start posting up pictures of your glass that you have, id like too see it, I see far too many build threads that never turn into anything but talk
I know this is a sore subject, but I really think that a 1000 or 2000 mL glass still could have a place in a laboratory setting if you really needed it. I think it's applications are practically limited to recipe development of herbal macerations like gin, absinthe, aquavit, etc., and operated on a laboratory grade (epoxy resin or similar) counter top with a marine or no-drip edge, and a fire extinguisher handy (one that you know how to use before you need it). The point is that unless you are extremely anal retentive or are trying to develop formulas for a commercial distilling operation, a small still wouldn't be of much use to anyone. Even then, a 2-4L copper alembic can be had or made for around the same cost as a full glass setup, with copper generally be considered to be a safer alternative (although a lot of doubt has been cast on the quality of the most widely available Portugese copper alembics). I think it's personal preference but you can't shrug off the safety concerns or any of the other pertinent information on this site that is available to address all other distilling concerns.
"A little learning is a dang'rous thing; Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring: There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain, And drinking largely sobers us again." - Alexander Pope
Bottom line is that it can be done in glass - there are plenty of Universities out there with 6" and bigger glass columns.
However, for home use glass does not have any significant advantages over copper and stainless steel. The big glass stills are demonstration peices for educational purposes and they are managed with great care and bucket loads of safety features.
You can use glass if you have a specific requirement to do so. There is 1 firm producing distillation components where each part is double skinned, evacuated, and silver lined. Nice but very expensive.
Personally, and for home use, I really can't see why I would ever use glass in prefference to copper.
It's simple. People can't stand to be told what they should and or shouldn't use. So some have to do everything they can to prove you wrong. Even if it isn't in the best interest of the big picture. Some of us can look at the big picture and say. Um yeah that's really not a good idea.
Everything has its place. Some may not like it. But that's the way it is.
I'm not a big picture person, I'm a finely granulated details person. But I will say definitively that no novice should be using a glass apparatus, and I doubt none but the most advanced distillers should even be able to find a purpose for it.
"A little learning is a dang'rous thing; Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring: There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain, And drinking largely sobers us again." - Alexander Pope
Do you want the drill, or do you just want a hole? The still is a means to an end.
If you want a glass still, go ahead, but take on baord what Rad and others said about this site.
If you want to make something to drink, or replace a dependancy on buying stuff from a store, we can help with that.
I don't particularly want to have to wear saftey glasses for a whole run, and I guess you would need one of those white coats too. Well every lab still I've seen has a dude in a white coat, wearing glasses.
And you probably won't want to make essence's/oils out of a drinking likker still. You can do it, but it will taint one or all products though.
You design it, I make it. Copper and Stainless. Down under. PM me.
eworthin wrote:I'm not a big picture person, I'm a finely granulated details person. But I will say definitively that no novice should be using a glass apparatus, and I doubt none but the most advanced distillers should even be able to find a purpose for it.
I agree that it is not a task for a novice, or for the clumbsy or unsafe. the purpose is the same as yours! make good stuff and look good in the process!
