Home Distiller

Hi everyone,
This is my first post on this forum.
I have been reading a few posts and got interested in building a still, I am based in the UK, I have a "burco" boiler, 33 ltrs and 2500 watts, it has a control which gives low medium and high, on high it gives a rapid boil for about one minute then clicks out (bi metal thermostat) for a minute. Would this work as the boiler for a still???, if not what mods do I need to make. I fancy the offset head column and could fabricate this with the exception of the condenser coil. Can I buy one of these to suit a 2" column ready made in UK???. Any info would be appreciated particularly sources for packing (pan scrubbers) and needle valves.
Cheers Alan

Welcome Alan!

Welcome wirdip. There's some people here that can tell ya how to bypass that crap but it ain't me. My stove does that and my solution was mass. My pot is a double lined rig and all the mass keeps the heat steady. I get a steady stream out of my coil even for low powered spirit runs. There also guys here that make and sell condenser coils. Look in Classified. Some members advertise in their signature space.

Big R

Welcome! Some people use high-power dimmers, or fit an extra element to drop power down to a constant simmer, this but can be a bit more work than just adding mass, which is a good way around the problem. Unless you have plenty of thermal mass to average it out, thermostatic type switching can be a bit too on-off, especially for reflux stills.

Scrubbers can be found in several places, with copper a bit harder to track down. Off the top of the head, the Amphora Society and Mile-hi are two common places, but in the UK, not so sure. Stainless scrubbers easier to get, although the composition needs to be checked to make sure it *is* stainless, and they often need a really good hot cleaning wash and rinse before use, to remove manufacturing odours.

Don't know what suppliers and scrap metal merchants you have in your area, but metal recyclers often have useful materials (inc refrigeration tube handy for coil condensors) at a fraction of the new cost suitable for kinds of still parts. If you're ok with the column and offset head etc, you may well be able to do the condensor yourself with a good bit of thick wall copper tube...

The parent site and forum sections have plenty of info, hopefully they lead you in the right direction! Good luck!

Welcome to HD wirdip...

Have a look in the New Distillers Reading Lounge...

Theres a few options for improving your boiler design there...

Have fun and stay safe man...