Home Distiller

i was doing my full run water run was compleated then the vinegar run i got half way through and all of a sudden the liebig dropped nozzle height i thought ahhh sheeeeyt and then donk donk donk as it dropped off the column it was suspended at a 20 degree angle off the column i guess the weight is just too much for my solder.i tried to solder it back on but i guess the flux isnt liking the water and vinegar condensation....i got rid of little one today so i could run the water and the vinegar do the sacrificial run and then do the actual final stripping and alcohol run in one day/night but alas i have screwed it up grrrrrrrr guess now il fashion a holder of some sort to support the liebig its a beast the jackets 48" .if id of brought one when i won my money ive of been a fully fledged craft spirit alcoholic by now i guess my dream shall wait.

okay maybe dremeling the column and liebig at 00.56am isnt the wisest of ideas in a inhabited neighbourhood.
conversation:
what the fuck are you doing?
filing some stuff down sorry figured no one was at home this weekend!
well fuck sake file your toe nails tomorrow you wanker
yup my bad forgot the time.... night

guess theyll be my guinea pigs and be the first to try my batch of appologetic sugar wash neutral either way good or bad live or die its a result

You been drinkin'?

I would not use your pissed of neighbor as a guinea pig for your first jar of sugar shine, doubt that will help anything at all.

Also if the solder cant hold the condenser on it's a really poor solder job, i'm surprised it did not leak.
Make sure you clean the copper really good and use plenty of flux when you solder it up again, let the copper melt the solder and you should get a good bond.

Classic. Good luck with the repair markie

+1 Swedish, a pissed off neighbor is the last person I would tell about my hobby.

OVZ

well the neighbour usually has her music up untill about 3-4am blasting when her little girl isnt there there was loud music from that direction so i figured her little girl was away (turns out there was a wedding celebration about 1/4 of a mile away).
shes fine i patched things up she was just tired and grouchy,i managed to fix the arm back on but used a chair to prop it up better this time.with out water and heat it holds fine but under heat and water weight it tends to twist itself free it is a beast of a arm

ive managed to do the vinegar run again and last night done a 4 gallon sac run it didnt pull to much unfortunately only just over 2 litres (not sure if good or bad)i was monitoring smell and feel through out and noticed the smells and textures change from the first several drops of foreshots which then switched to the heads which was a sweeter but strong smelling (kinda like toffee apples) the smell died off after about 10mins i collected 100ml of fores and 150ml heads then worked into the hearts after refluxing for about 30mins was a more slippery and less dry feel then the heads but still smelt like toffee apples (caramelised apples).
ran this for a while got about 1.4ltrs then started smelling a card smell and the production dropped slightly,the alcohol wasnt as strong as before but i left it coming for about 30 mins it would still light and was still a significant blue through most of the burn far away from the still outside.
so im using the fores for cleaning using the rest in my camp stove (sac run) and awaiting my 50ltr wash to compleate .
ive no spirit measurement so unsure of the abv but it was strong and im really happy it went so well i cant wait untill i do the real run now.

That type of joint is notorious for being rather weak. I'd install some sort of permanent brace, and check it often. If it comes off again, find a way to pull a dimple on that hole, or flow drill it so there will be more mechanical strength.

That type of joint is notorious for being rather weak. I'd install some sort of permanent brace, and check it often. If it comes off again, find a way to pull a dimple on that hole, or flow drill it so there will be more mechanical strength.

What I did with my Boka was to take a piece of 1x3 and use a couple of U-bolts (one large, one small with wing nuts) to make a horizontal brace from my column to the Liebig. I also used 1/2 CPVC for the outside of the Liebig, trying to keep the weight down. My Liebig is a long piece of 1/4 copper with a couple of drilled compression couplings (gotta drill them out so that the tube can run through) at either end threaded into CPVC adaptors, so there's not a solder joint at all. CPVC tees and threaded barb fittings for the cooling water at either end complete the job. I use a 1/4 compression fitting to my takeoff valve, so I can remove the Liebig for cleaning and storage.

My original Liebig was a continual pain, so I revised it to work without solder joints.

Yeah, it was about $20 worth of Home Depot parts (note: you don't have to worry about lead - it's just the cooling water), but it hasn't leaked a drop since. You're going to have cooling water hoses hanging on the thing for hours, so it's best to secure it as well as you can.

Buy a couple of hydrometers and a couple of glass cylinders for testing your ABV as soon as you can (one won't cut it - they break when you least expect it). Brewhaus has them, or you can check fleabay.

When I do a run, I use about 2 dozen pint mason jars - filling each one about 2/3 full, and I check the ABV on every one. I also keep a log and use a pocket watch that sits on the notebook so I know how long things take. I have a thermocouple stuck in the vapor space below the tray and record the temperature when I switch jars as well. After a while, you learn how your still works and know what to expect, but it's great to have as much information as you can until then.

I spent most of my adult life working in an oil refinery, distilling world-class motor fuel from dinosaur squeezins, so those old habits die hard, I guess.