Home Distiller

I never knew this site existed was total suprised and happy to find it.
I am on the path to forfilling a family legacy as I promised my dad that I would teach my kids something he taught me and his dad taught him.
Saddly while I was living away from the homestead someone cleaning out his shed turned his equipment in for copper.
It was an oak fired copper heater boiler and built by my granddad in 1855.
It traveled from Maine to Colorado to Wyoming with grandddad who was a sugarbeet and tater farmer.
Upon his death his eldest son took it to Montana for his use.
Then when he passed my dad being the last of the 4 boys took it back to the east coast for his use and where he taught me how to use it(1970).
Made me VERY popular in high school, my nickname was Mason, for all the jars that got passed and returned for refill.

So I have to start over and as part of that I am building my first still. Reflux to start using this design http://homedistiller.org/first_StillMaker.pdf
Will post photos when completed.
I know from finding this site that its not the most efficent design but its my starting point and having all the tools and time to buld it. Lets call it "Gen 1".

I will also post something I havent come across on the site its a way to trap the first "essence" out of the batch my dad called it a "killer catcher" and its pretty simple something he added to the output tube as I remember about 1967.

Also I will be posting some copper scrapyard pic for anyone who may be looking for any oddball new england flavor in there builds.

Anyhow I've rattled on long enough......

Welcome to the forum! This is the best source of information and experience I've ever come across for this hobby. I can go ahead and tell you from first hand experience that that still is awful. It tells you about how it induces reflux and all of that, and it gives you very detailed plans and drawings to go off of which makes it an inviting build, but it just ends up wasting your money for parts, and ruining a good piece of 2" copper pipe. In the end, you'll end up cannibalizing that head to make something better. The only thing promising I can tell you about that still is that it will show you what you DON'T want on a future still. There are so many builds documented on here that with a little reading, you can produce something 10 times as good.

Welcome to the HD forums, still crazy...

That was an interesting story about the history of distillation in your family lineage... It's a shame you lost that family heirloom...

As pointed out by CountryHam, that design is not the best and is outdated by todays reflux column standards... You can build a better reflux column for about the same amount of money, for about the same amount of labor, and it'll be easier to drive... Have a look around these forums and ask questions before taking the plunge into building... We can save you some grief and disappointment...

Good luck...

Find it pretty amazing, seeing all the various rigs of so many cultures around the world for distilling-fermentation. People working their asses off and relaxing with a nice buzz. Ticks me off that governments take advantage and gouge with the taxes. 2000 % tax increase in ryo tobacco (phillip morris lobbyist) adds to the bs. Will be growing my own next year.