Home Distiller

Hey their, I dont have a scanner or camera to put a picture of my still here.. however I did draw it out, and would really like some opinions on, things I can do..or just general ideas...please give some feed back.. you can see it here...my need to magnify the image to read it better..idk..
http://i51.tinypic.com/28mpyqr.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Rubber stoppers (you will need to explain more about these), thermometer, glass thumper, gun powder. ??????????????????????????

From a purely personal perspective, ie not as a mod, I think that you need to do a lot more research and I only did a cursary glance. Nice drawing though and one doesn't need a magnifying glass if one left clicks on it.

Good luck building this from this drawing..... This is a train wreck. BTW.. #7 isn't a thumper, it's a gin box.

yes, the rubber stoppers...I should note first that a few changes have been made since I drew up that image..first the rubber stoppers and the jar lids have all been replaced with 1in thick cork cut to the appropriate size...and Im really happy with how they are doing..but the rubber stoppers were the same ones you would find in a high-school science lab that would seal beakers and such...If I remember its called "Standard bio-hygienic" rubber the reason its used as beaker stoppers in labs is for its non-leaching properties.
Not sure why you mentioned the thermometer...I use it to record vapor temps at the top of the tower..simple as that. um...let see...the gunpowder..thats for proofing...put a few pinches of black powder down and pour your stuff on it..then lite it..it an older method of determining the alcohol content.

And thanks for the good luck Skoot..I'll take it...but this is a detail of my already built still...and it works fine, Im not sure what your calling a train wreck..I know my descriptions may not be the best..but thats my fault..not the poor stills it works great, and Im happy with it.. I just was looking input to improve the existing design..or other things to incorporate into it.
As for "Gin-Box" Im not sure what that is..I had thought No.7 was a thumper...I would like to know more about the difference of the two, if you could help me with that.

Your "gin box", #7, is too small to be considered a thumper... A good rule of thumb would be for a thumper to be 25% - 50% the volume of your boiler to allow for enough thumper juice and vapor head space to do its magic... A collection jar sized thumper will do little to improve the purity of your spirits...

A "gin box" is a small container, like your #7, which can be loaded with botanicals to add flavors and essences into your spirits...

As for the rubber stoppers, remember, you were never making anything in your high school science lab that was intended to be ingested... Now not all rubber is bad, but if you don't know the exact properties of the stoppers, and preferably have MSDS documentation, then you should not be trusting them... There are safer alternatives...

Take the advice to do more research to heart... Nobody is being mean to you when they make such a statement... There are areas in your design which clearly indicate that you do not have the required depth of knowledge required to be designing and building such an elaborate still... The fact that you are asking for input rather than explaining the logic behind your decisions only furthers this belief... Nice presentation just the same as it is evident that a fair amount of time was invested... Unfortunately it may have been time better spent researching and practicing the craft with a tested and proven design...

My mistake. When I look again it isn't a thumper at all.

I do understand the reason for the gunpowder, but we have come a long way since those days. There are better ways.

I also realised that the thermometer is there to measure the vapour temperture, but why? All it tells you is the vapour temperature. We are talking about a pot still here. You will find an entire topic on this in the Reading Lounge.

You have gone to a lot of work. I like your drawing. You should see some of the sketches we get in here, but I agree with rad that you really do need to do some private research, and, I reiterate that this is my personal opinion. Just Ignore the green jacket, I'm on holidays. And loving it.

Stay Safe

"The wise man will heed the knowledge of others"
Ok.. I took my old still down..I listened to everyone's advice and I did research... My buddies a plumber..and he had some big copper in his shop... got all the 2in stuff from him...then I went to the local recycle place here in town..they got like a 15ft tall pile of copper that you can crawl around on and buy for $6 a pound...NOTE: copper is heavy when your buying buy the pound.. anyway.. got lucky and found a 2to4 inch "adapter" <--dont know the real name..and then found a 4x4 sheet of copper their... I kept my old coil from my original condenser..and my digital thermometer...got back home and ordered a 2 in coupler...I flared the Bottom end of the 2in tower for preperation of the coupler..well my plumber buddy did that part..I got everything together and it looks great..haven't soldered yet..I did work the copper sheet..and got the 4in part done..and the 4in cap, Ive been busy and im pretty happy with the work so far..cant wait to geta digital camera to show how this thing looks in real life, however I did do another drawing of it..Now I just gotta wait on that coupler to get here...as before I still would like any input....the design is not mine of course..but its not spec to the original either..I had to change things around a bit based on the stuff I had to work with.
http://i51.tinypic.com/20u6990.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
If this works out like I hope..I think I'd like to eventually loose the propane and burner and look into water heating elements for the Keg..and advice on this would be great too.

gunpowder? thats proper oldschool!

not a gun nut, but isnt it all cordite now?

will that burn the same?

Cordite to the best of my knowledge is gunpowder.. I use black powder..the kind for muzzle loading rifles, over the years black powder still hasn't changed much..and reacts the same as the stuff in the ol'days with regards to the proof test.

You can buy an alcohol-meter for under $10

Tumbleweed wrote:"The wise man will heed the knowledge of others"
Ok.. I took my old still down..I listened to everyone's advice and I did research... My buddies a plumber..and he had some big copper in his shop... got all the 2in stuff from him...then I went to the local recycle place here in town..they got like a 15ft tall pile of copper that you can crawl around on and buy for $6 a pound...NOTE: copper is heavy when your buying buy the pound.. anyway.. got lucky and found a 2to4 inch "adapter" <--dont know the real name..and then found a 4x4 sheet of copper their... I kept my old coil from my original condenser..and my digital thermometer...got back home and ordered a 2 in coupler...I flared the Bottom end of the 2in tower for preperation of the coupler..well my plumber buddy did that part..I got everything together and it looks great..haven't soldered yet..I did work the copper sheet..and got the 4in part done..and the 4in cap, Ive been busy and im pretty happy with the work so far..cant wait to geta digital camera to show how this thing looks in real life, however I did do another drawing of it..Now I just gotta wait on that coupler to get here...as before I still would like any input....the design is not mine of course..but its not spec to the original either..I had to change things around a bit based on the stuff I had to work with.
http://i51.tinypic.com/20u6990.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
If this works out like I hope..I think I'd like to eventually loose the propane and burner and look into water heating elements for the Keg..and advice on this would be great too.

A pity you took down the old one, I was interested in exactly how pure it's distillate was.

That's the offset-head LM design. I'm building my own still to a similar design with a small change (90 degree elbow at 5, rather than the T). It's a tested design, you can definitely pull off Azeotrope with such a setup.

gunpowder and cordite are different, but more similar than i thought.

moot point really, i just looked it up, and apparently cordite is obsolete now.

shows what i know eh?

j

Gunpowder, even black powder, HAS changed over he years and should not be used for proofing purposes... You aren't proving anything by using this method of proofing... It's not safe and it's not accurate...

As for the new and improved design, you've managed to reinvent the wheel by drawing up the Nixon Stone valved reflux offset head reflux column... It's been done... It works... It's not the greatest design... You can do better for less effort and expense... Rather than going doodle crazy why not just research the tried and proven designs here on this site and go from there... Is your desire to doodle or build and run a still...??? We get novices here all the time who go this same route you are currently on, thinking they are breaking new ground... You don't need our approval if you stick with a design known to work, just build it and have fun...

You can get the same results, in a couple hours and for a lot less money, by building a Bokakob dual slant plate reflux column... But only if you are shooting for neutral spirits... However, the Bokakob can also be detuned for flavored spirits if you don't have the need for a dedicated pot still...

I thought the offset-head LM design was a proven good design?..i certainly did not re-invent anything..Like I said in my previous post..this is what im building because I have the material at hand to build it..my doodles take 10 minutes to do..only because I dont have the means to get a photo here, Ive been building it..its together now...just havent put the silver down on it yet...the past 4 days Ive spent with my hands smelling like a dirty bag of pennys from working on this thing..
the copper sheet I rolled the 4in stuff out of had alot of oxidation or "green" on it..I guess that oxidation..either way..should i sand that off? or leave it be?

I absolutely love my Nixon Stone, It'll make anything depending on how I run it. It just cost more to build than a Boka, and the boka works the same way, just the condensor is in line with the column instead of offset and the reflux is done by plates instead of a return tube from the condensor to the column.

A pity you took down the old one, I was interested in exactly how pure it's distillate was.

I could'nt ya the exact content...it could burn though..so had to be more than the store bought stuff, I would always take a shot off the line in the middle of a run..and the stuff would be warm and almost feel like its evaporating on your tongue..yumm!! Im sure its not recommended to take a shot in the middle of a run.

I absolutely love my Nixon Stone, It'll make anything depending on how I run it. It just cost more to build than a Boka, and the boka works the same way, just the condensor is in line with the column instead of offset and the reflux is done by plates instead of a return tube from the condensor to the column.

Yeah..Im happy with this design..and I was able to get the material to do it... I did look at the Bokakob dual slant plate reflux column like Rad had suggested..cuz I always listen to people on the toilet...and Im sure I'll be building one eventually but I personally might have had a harder time building it than the this one. it sure looks cool too!! Cant wait to get into town a pick-up more solder and get this thing all together

Tumbleweed wrote:.the past 4 days Ive spent with my hands smelling like a dirty bag of pennys from working on this thing..

dontcha just love that?

wash your hands before you roll a cigarette though.

learned that one the hard way!

j

wash your hands before you roll a cigarette though.

learned that one the hard way!

thats crazy!! whats the chances of that!!! I roll my own smokes too...and I know what you mean man!! I usually roll Bugler..but I'll buy Top if thats all they got.
Do people ever walk up to you and say "here man..have a real smoke".....and they got a marlboro in their hand?..its an insult..they think im rollin smokes cuz Im cheap!! they dont know that its really a better smoke than their pre-rolled junk.. I usually tell those people "No thanks..I got a real smoke right here"

hehe

over here in blighty, rollups are a lot more common.

ill smoke cigars, ill smoke rollups, but with "real smokes" even so called lights make me cough!

same reason i built a still. i can make better than i buy!

j

ps, and im running an offset lm rig too. just learning how to control it, but being able to break down into pot for stripping is convenient!

oh yeah. and remember to get a brush for the solder flux.

the mrs get kinda antsy when you use her pastry brush!

j