Home Distiller

I've been making wine and hard cider for a long time, but have never gone any further. Got offered an 8 quart, stainless steel pressure cooker with adjustable thermostat (so can set pretty exact temps). It's aluminum clad on the outside bottom (that's where the heating element is) but the entire inside and top is all stainless.

Now, I'm thinking about a simple pot still, using stainless steel tubing and swagelok connectors, but that rubber gasket that seals down the lid of the pot has to go. I've seen a few suggestions on here to replace it - cardboard, cork, filling the ring where the rubber seal was with bread dough, etc. - but wonderin' about the best way to go

What do ya'll think would be best? I just want small batches, at least to start off and get my feet wet, so the 8 quart is dandy for me (and it's a heck of a deal). Just wondering what ya'll would replace that rubber seal with.

Thank ya kindly

Zark

Since you will end up using flour paste dough.
Why not just start with it?

Flour /water make it like putty. Just like in kindergarten.

Flour paste is my god and saviour. What SC said, zark

blanik

And Welcome.

you will soon change your mind,, out of that 8qt (256oz) you will be able to put in maybe 6 qt ( 192oz)
now 192oz at say 12% =23oz total alcohol , now you do not git all that back and also you have to make "cuts"
so you probably end up with around 7-8 oz to drink.

Thanks all . . . I really appreciate the input. I've been pretty much devouring Leon's book (Alaskan Bootlegger's Bible) for a few months now. What a great read.

Dough it is. I'm know you're right about the small size and amounts of distillate, but the little pot is sort of a training wheels set-up for me. Kind of like playing guitar and such. Learned and practiced on a cheap instrument until I felt I knew enough to move up the ladder a bit. Bein' a hillbilly by birth (I live way out in the woods) I just don't get in much of a rush, which kind of seems like a good deal in this case (well , it's a good deal in most cases, now that I think about it).

Thanks again

Zark