First time. Please answer a few questions for me

[stillsteamin]

Ok. I've been into brewing hard wines, ciders, beers, ect. Never done this before though. I'm looking at starting off with an electric coutertop distiller. I will probably move to stovetop eventually however I'd like some input. I want to be safe about it, however im not to worried about it now as i just read a post about someone who didn't even bother removing the head or tail for some time and there was no harm done. The counter top distiller is a waterwise 8800. http://www.promolife.com/water-purifier ... _1654.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow It distills, condenses and then pumps it through active carbon with a digital temp read out. When i do this should i just remove a portion (50ml) of the alcohol distilled prior to reaching the correct temp. distills 6 gallons in 24 hours. Is this really all i need to know? the fermentation is easy, i've done plenty of that. What are the negatives to using on of these distillers? is it just rate, or control over temps, or??? I appreciate any responses

[rad14701]

Welcome to the forums...

I think you're going to find that there is too much plastic and rubber in the vapor path with that unit... It sure appears that way at first glance... While plastic and rubber may be fine with water, high temperature high ABV alcohol is another story altogether... Personally, I'd steer clear of that unit... Safety first and foremost...

Even a caveman can build a simple pot still out of safe materials with only a few hand tools for a whole lot less... $400...!!! Actually, MSRP on their site is $499...!!! That's just crazy...

Do yourself a favor and have a read through the parent site as well as these forums and you'll see that you truly can do better...

Good luck...

[ScottishBoy]

I'll second that. With a 20 quart pot and a coil of copper tube from Lowes or Home Depot, you can put together a pot still and cooling unit for very little money and still have a better unit than that one. Hell even the copper tube is pre-coiled. Since it is made for water, the designers never put in tolerances for alcohol, alcohol vapor or even considered potential flashpoints. Any and all of these could end up as accident that has far reaching potential. Since you are not using the product as intended, your void the MFR warranty and their MFR liability. Since you are potentially engaged in a something illegal, your home owners insurance wont cover it if they figure out what happned.
I say spend the 40 bucks and do it right.

Be safe.

[CletusDwight]

Thirded.

If you can tie your own shoelaces, you can make a still - it's about that difficult. Like Rad said, there's plenty of suggestions and examples on this forum and the parent site for easy to make potstills. (Don't be tempted to make a reflux - Keep It Simple)

The process of stilling shine isn't as simple as distilling water. You need to be able to play with the heat. Most water stills just run flat-out making it almost impossible to separate heads, heart and tails. Save your money and do it properly.