Hi from Winnipeg, Canada
Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 5:04 pm
Greetings.
I've been distilling for a few years now with reasonable success. I make vodka with a still that I now know from reading this great resource, could use some improvements.
My boiler is a stainless steel container that started life as a pressure vessel for dispensing Coke / Pepsi . It was a pretty good choice as a starting point as it was a) free and b) food grade stainless with a nice sealed lid and about the right dimensions. The column is 2" stainless tube, about 2ft tall with a 1" take off to the heat exchanger . The design follows some drawings I found online that I now realize are less than optimum - the cooling water passes through the column to the water jacket, then back through at a higher elevation and out to drain. it works, but there is now way to control the reflux.
I plan on removing the column cooling and replacing it with a coil and some control valves as per the information I've found on the wiki (the packed reflux column animation).
While my distilling skills and knowledge are basic, I do have some advantages in the fabrication area and perhaps can contribute some of that experience here. I am well equipped with a TIG welder, lathe, tube benders and other toys that all lend themselves to building stills. I'm a steamfitter by trade and now run an auto repair and fabrication shop. To be honest, I'm amazed by how well some of the folks here have managed to build great stills with a fraction of the tools I have!
I'll try and get some pictures up of my still in it's present form and the future layout when the modifications are complete.
For those of you in Oz and NZ I should point out that the temperature tonight is headed for minus 20C. Sounds bad, but my cooling water comes in at 7C ! (Gotta look for the silver lining!)
I've been distilling for a few years now with reasonable success. I make vodka with a still that I now know from reading this great resource, could use some improvements.
My boiler is a stainless steel container that started life as a pressure vessel for dispensing Coke / Pepsi . It was a pretty good choice as a starting point as it was a) free and b) food grade stainless with a nice sealed lid and about the right dimensions. The column is 2" stainless tube, about 2ft tall with a 1" take off to the heat exchanger . The design follows some drawings I found online that I now realize are less than optimum - the cooling water passes through the column to the water jacket, then back through at a higher elevation and out to drain. it works, but there is now way to control the reflux.
I plan on removing the column cooling and replacing it with a coil and some control valves as per the information I've found on the wiki (the packed reflux column animation).
While my distilling skills and knowledge are basic, I do have some advantages in the fabrication area and perhaps can contribute some of that experience here. I am well equipped with a TIG welder, lathe, tube benders and other toys that all lend themselves to building stills. I'm a steamfitter by trade and now run an auto repair and fabrication shop. To be honest, I'm amazed by how well some of the folks here have managed to build great stills with a fraction of the tools I have!
I'll try and get some pictures up of my still in it's present form and the future layout when the modifications are complete.
For those of you in Oz and NZ I should point out that the temperature tonight is headed for minus 20C. Sounds bad, but my cooling water comes in at 7C ! (Gotta look for the silver lining!)
