Home Distiller

Well, hello HD.

I decided to make my own pot still because, well, why the heck not.
However, i made a terrible mistake, given that my budget is next to none and my skills are limited. I did not read enough, so my still doesnt work.

I have a ~10L SS pot (around 2,6gal) with a worm with 4 turns in a bottle of around 1,5L, no water circulation.
As you can guess, in a water run within 5-10min the condenser had heated up to about 70°. I turned it off because in no time the bottle would start to boil as well.

Some drawings on this site recommend using a condenser of about 50% of the vol of the main pot, with ~7 turns and a water flow.
So my question basically is, does it worth it to add a water flow system to what I already have or should I start over?

Pic related, my not so nice still.

First post should be made in welcome center but this fit here so well .Welcome to hd .

I am thinkin hit the welcome center and start over. Sorry I know that is not what you want to hear. Maybe start watching craigslist or scrap yards.

Put the worm in a bigger container and make sure all the turns are all covered.

Be careful not to get any more kinks in it and tweak it so that there are no uphill sections.

If it gets too hot, change the water.

Rest assured, you aren't the first new member to build first and then do research and ask questions later... If you're going to do it right, scrap the 3/8" copper and go with 1/2", even for a smaller boiler... Then go with a flake stand (worm bucket) as big as you boiler, considering how you will quite likely move up to a bigger boiler at some point... We say 1/3 - 1/2 for keg sized boilers but when scaling down the flake stand should have a decent volume of water so those proportions don't scale down linearly...

Im not sure if I'll use 1/2 or 3/8 for the worm, but I guess that a paint bucket (~7L maybe) and 7 turns will suffice then.

Or should I try a Liebig?

Asedefecio wrote:Im not sure if I'll use 1/2 or 3/8 for the worm, but I guess that a paint bucket (~7L maybe) and 7 turns will suffice then.

Or should I try a Liebig?

Go big or go home... If you're going to need to circulate fresh water into your flake stand you might as well go with a liebig... Hence the reasoning behind my previous post...

I went with the go big or go home option on my worm. 21 feet of 1/2" OD tubing for my 12 gallon pot still. But I never have to worry about knocking down vapor. And if I ever build a bigger still, I know I don't have to worry about another worm/flake to build (within reason). Even at a trickle from my hose (any slower and I wouldn't get water flow) with pure cold water my distillate has come out at 46f. I regulate to have it come out at no less than 55 though. I'd in doubt, build bigger than what you think you need. Pics in my thread "need advice on first build" of my worm.

moosemilk wrote:I went with the go big or go home option on my worm. 21 feet of 1/2" OD tubing for my 12 gallon pot still. But I never have to worry about knocking down vapor. And if I ever build a bigger still, I know I don't have to worry about another worm/flake to build (within reason). Even at a trickle from my hose (any slower and I wouldn't get water flow) with pure cold water my distillate has come out at 46f. I regulate to have it come out at no less than 55 though. I'd in doubt, build bigger than what you think you need. Pics in my thread "need advice on first build" of my worm.

If you can regulate the output to 60F you will have the calibrated temperature of most alcometers... That way, if you decide to run a parrots beak, you wouldn't need to use a correction table...

rad14701 wrote: If you can regulate the output to 60F you will have the calibrated temperature of most alcometers... That way, if you decide to run a parrots beak, you wouldn't need to use a correction table...

I do have a proof / tralle hydrometer calibrated at 60f but don't use it yet until after I have done my blending. I want to get used to running using the senses first. Eventually I'll be building a parrot so I'll be adding a small valve to help regulate water flow into my flake, but not until I am happy with how well I have developed the senses for my product. Appreciate the tip though. Thanks rad!