Home Distiller

Hi Guys... I'm very, very new to this game and am coming off a T500 (don't ask!! ). I wanted something that I could begin running some UJSM through and letting it sit on some wood for a while, and then progress from there. I also know there are a million ways to put a rig together so I went to someone who knows - no point reinventing the wheel! My main requirements were a setup that was simple to run and easy to store. So a little while later, a few questions answered, one keg dropped off... and here she is. All thanks goes to emptyglass for this custom build that suits my requirements.

So starting with the keg, we decided on a tap to empty the spent wash, no one wants to be lifting great amounts of hot liquid! It's also got level adjusting feet (a.k.a welded thread and adjustable nut) incase of a mildly uneven floor:
Around the back we've got a 2300W element as I was after an electric setup. I decided not to go for a heat controller at this early stage, maybe a little later. There are silicon gaskets inbetween the element and the keg, all held together via stainless clamps. It comes apart easily for cleaning:
On top is a removable head that starts out life as a 2" pipe, then bends and begins tapering down from there. It's connected to the keg via stainless clamp and silicon gasket. The Liebig is also seperate and connects to the head just before the 180 degree bend simply via pushing on with a hose clamp to hold it in place. This allows me to dismantle and store the rig in 3 pieces. For cooling my vapour, the liebig has standard hose fittings attached for inlet and outlet, and also a bracket that allows it to rest back on the keg. Emptyglass even made up a parrot to go along with it...
So basically, all I need to do is charge the keg, plug the inlet and outlet hoses into the liebig, push the liebig onto the head and the head onto the keg and off she goes!

The 2300W element does a good job of firing it all up, I've only run about 25-30L through at a time so far and the foreshots start appearing within about 30 minutes and it outputs at about 500mls every 4 minutes or so (% depending on what's in the keg obviously...)

Once it's done, I empty it all (keeping some backset for the next ferment), wash everything and dismantle it for storage until next time:
Thanks again to emptyglass, a great build with some great suggestions for me.

Cheers guys!!

congrats on a nice rig Damoz. You have what you need to make you some top-shelf hooch. Learn your craft, invest some effort. You'll think your hot-shit after your fifth batch but you'll only just be starting the learning process (you have to get the "exciting" runs out of the way.) Keep reading and taking notes. Having notes to reflect back on is helpful when staring out. Best of luck to ya.

That liebig is looooooong. looks like empty did a good job for you.
But you mite be wanting that controller before you know it. That's a lot of power for a 2" keg pot still. It takes less then half of that to run mine.

Congratulations and nice rig Emptyglass is an experienced builder and has shared his techniques so I know you have a good rig. Walkingwolf's description could have been referring to me, all good advice cut's are one of the most important aspects to making a good product.

Edit: posting at the same time as PP.

Good to see you kicking goals with it mate.
The leibig is that long as you have a few more watts than that. Closer to 3600w, so a controller would be a real nice touch for a nice slow stripping run. But you should be able to knock down anything you can make with minimal water consumption.
As WW said, a bit of practice on the cuts, and you're cooking.

For the others, Damoz breif was to be able to make a good whiskey with minimal fuss. This is what I come up with for him. He's a smart guy with a good grasp on the whole deal. Please share your knowledge with him, I don't think it will be long before he's helping others.

That's a very nice straightforward and it should serve you well. I particularly like the tapered lynearm. (emptyglass did you make the tapered cones to construct that?).

If you have some pics I would like to see the heating element setup broken down. I like how that looks and would like to do something similar. It looks like very ease of use for changing the element out should it break. Thanks.

I would also love to see a breakdown of the heater element attachment!

Usge wrote:That's a very nice straightforward and it should serve you well. I particularly like the tapered lynearm. (emptyglass did you make the tapered cones to construct that?).

No, it was formed over a sheetmetal spike, then TIG welded. Makes for a fast still.

Very nice.

onemarleyfan wrote:If you have some pics I would like to see the heating element setup broken down. I like how that looks and would like to do something similar. It looks like very ease of use for changing the element out should it break. Thanks.

Here are a few more shots of the heating assembly in pieces. This is the keg with the element removed so you can see the element seat / mount:
Here is the element itself removed:
Hopefully you can make out the components, you will see the silicon gaskets between each of the joins. All held together with stainless clamps.

Are the connectors custom pieces? If not do you know the site they were bought from. I don't recall seeing any double sided SS tri-clamp connectors, but I may not have looked in the right place. I am also somewhat unfamiliar with some of the connectors.

Looks awesome.... Nice work.

onemarleyfan wrote:If you have some pics I would like to see the heating element setup broken down. I like how that looks and would like to do something similar. It looks like very ease of use for changing the element out should it break. Thanks.

They are more expensive than a plain socket, but they are a bit sturdier than a plastic box. And they look nice.
There is a silicone seal on the side coming in contact with the wash, the electrical side is just plain rubber. There is a slot in the cap that should be mounted facing down, in the event of an element leaking (rare but possible), it wont fill the cavity.

The nice advantage to this method is you can take the heating element out when cleaning the keg. I went cheaper, but with my drain I do not have a problem leaving the cord in. For under $5.00 each I put in a 1" half coupler for both the drain and the heating.

Looks like a short 2" pipe with a ferrel at each end. I believe he said it was built custom by another member for him. Shouldn't be too hard to get made by someone who can TIG it together.

Heating Element Attachmemt Kit.

http://www.stilldragon.com/element-guar ... pters.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

What a great build

Very nice build.
I have a question, how do you clean the inside of your kegs after you TIG weld them?
I have a couple virgin kegs that I want to do something like this.
But I usually Have a 12 inch hole in the top of my kegs to clean real well after welding couplings on them for brewing.
I know back gassing will help with the weld and keeping things clean but there is still clean up that needs to be done.

I really like the idea of keeping the sankey fitting on top, I just don't know how you would scrub the insides after running the boiler.
Commercial brewers have heavy duty cleaners and spray heads to clean their kegs. And I have made one of those to clean my carboys and Corney kegs.
But I am not sure it would do the job on this.
Any tips?
Thanks

Hi, my humble proposal:
Take a drilling machine with variable speed. Connect a SS chain to it. Insert the chain and off you go! Variation of speed will vary the height. Brutal, but effective..
Greetings, Hydroxyethan

Very trick setup, I'm going to start my first build soon. I love looking at all of these designs and learning, thanks for the cool pics.