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I was looking around online and found that a couple companies have produced both a thumper from a half gallon mason jar as well as a gallon carboy. Has anyone here tried this? I have a 2 gallon pot still and primarily only get low wines around 40% to the most 55% abv. I think this would both help me increase alcohol and bring forth more flavor to my spirit. Thoughts? Thanks!

You should trust your gut feeling to post this in “ Not what to use “ .

Don’t do it .Sure it may work . Hell you may even get away with having a fag while you fill your car at the petrol station .... but its high risk and shit does happen .

Hot glass is highly susceptible to shattering, and you won't find much support for using it here.
Stay safe, sttifyd35!

You will not find not much support here for that. Which does not mean it can't be done. Just take very much care!

Safety is our utmost concern as mentioned about glass and another consideration is the recommendation that a thumper is a minimum 1/4th the size of the boiler.

No.

There are other options, so don't use something that is arguably, and demonstrably unsafe.

I use 3 of them in a row.
My recommendations...

Do not use anything but tempered glass, this means NO pickle, olive or other soft glass.

ONLY use glass(tempered) with flameless heat(electric)... If the jar does burst, you want the nearest flame at least 1000 yards/meters away... Seriously...

Wear safety glasses and a face shield. Just do it.

Wear leather or denim long sleeve clothing...

Remain at the still at all times, (all around general rule)... Don't even turn your back on it...

Subsonic Instability wrote:I use 3 of them in a row.
My recommendations...

Do not use anything but tempered glass, this means NO pickle, olive or other soft glass.

ONLY use glass(tempered) with flameless heat(electric)... If the jar does burst, you want the nearest flame at least 1000 yards/meters away... Seriously...

Wear safety glasses and a face shield. Just do it.

Wear leather or denim long sleeve clothing...

Remain at the still at all times, (all around general rule)... Don't even turn your back on it...

Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk

Warning....do not advocate the use of glass here...it will get you a “time out”, or more.

And please turn off the “tappa crappa” tag. It is unwelcome advertising on this site. You will be spanked if you don’t heed this warning.
ss

still_stirrin wrote: Warning....do not advocate the use of glass here...it will get you a “time out”, or more....

Must depend on who you are? Nothing but accolades in this post. viewtopic.php?f=50&t=23962

I don't think it matters who you are.

Any thermal cycling application of non-borosilicate glass provokes nervous feelings. All it takes is one error and the facial/upper body burns 'caused by an illicit moonshine still' make their way into the newspapers, and worse, onto the internet. Bye-bye legalization.

Me thinks someone has been watching too much unreality TV....

steelmb wrote:

still_stirrin wrote: Warning....do not advocate the use of glass here...it will get you a “time out”, or more....

Must depend on who you are? Nothing but accolades in this post. viewtopic.php?f=50&t=23962

You do notice that post was from 8 years ago. Times change and people learn what is safe and what is not. Just my thoughts though.

corene1 wrote:

steelmb wrote:

still_stirrin wrote: Warning....do not advocate the use of glass here...it will get you a “time out”, or more....

Must depend on who you are? Nothing but accolades in this post. viewtopic.php?f=50&t=23962

You do notice that post was from 8 years ago. Times change and people learn what is safe and what is not. Just my thoughts though.

the other thing about that post, is that Mash Rookie was a professional glass artist before his passing, he made his living doing

extraordinary things with glass. and like many of us here do, some things get done or built simply because it can be done not

because it is safe or practical.

cob wrote:

corene1 wrote:

steelmb wrote:

still_stirrin wrote: Warning....do not advocate the use of glass here...it will get you a “time out”, or more....

Must depend on who you are? Nothing but accolades in this post. viewtopic.php?f=50&t=23962

You do notice that post was from 8 years ago. Times change and people learn what is safe and what is not. Just my thoughts though.

the other thing about that post, is that Mash Rookie was a professional glass artist before his passing, he made his living doing

extraordinary things with glass....

So it does matter who you are. Thanks for proving my point. So 8 years ago it was OK to use regular glass with rough cut holes in it and today it is not OK to use unmodified mason jars that are designed to be used for canning? I.e. have hot contents poured in them, dunked in boiling water and left there for hours and then removed and put on the cold kitchen counter. I am not advocating the use of glass, I just do not like the double standards around here and non moderator type people threatening "time outs" and the like. I will not be sucked down the rabbit hole here, so this is my last post on this thread.

steelmb wrote: So it does matter who you are. Thanks for proving my point. So 8 years ago it was OK to use regular glass with rough cut holes in it and today it is not OK to use unmodified mason jars that are designed to be used for canning? I.e. have hot contents poured in them, dunked in boiling water and left there for hours and then removed and put on the cold kitchen counter. I am not advocating the use of glass, I just do not like the double standards around here and non moderator type people threatening "time outs" and the like. I will not be sucked down the rabbit hole here, so this is my last post on this thread.

Wrong, mason jar glass and Borosilicate are two different beasts. Plus other than experimental stills his glass was used in the shotgun condenser which was the cooling stage not the heat-up stage.

Ive canned with canning jars for years .Have had a few break from drafts when cooling.Couple in caner while canning but dont know what caused them to break. Mash Rookies still was work of art more the a still for use.

I can in jars and there is a method to it. They are not made to have hot stuff poured into a cold jar, they are supposed to be heated first then hot stuff poured into them then submerged in hot water and even doing everything right I lose jars every year because the bottom blows out, usually in the canner. When you remove them to cool you never shock cool them, that is a sure way to break them. So using them as thumpers is definitely a sure way to blow out a jar.

Now as far as Mash Rookie's Muggles, who you are doesn't matter, what you know does. MR was a well known hot glass artist, he knew more about glass than just about anybody I can think of, and that includes Dale Chihuly. The glass in those mugs is around a half inch thick and I believe it didn't have as steelmb says "rough cut holes in it" I'm pretty sure MR was very careful with the cutting of those holes, just as I was on my poor imitation of it.

Yes I run a flute made out of dollar store beer mugs, I know a thing or two about glass and how it behaves, I can also tell you those dollar store mugs are way thicker and way tougher than any glass jar. I would also never use tempered glass for much of anything because when tempered glass fails it shatters all over the place. When mason jars fail the bottoms blow out and when a dollar store beer mug fails it gets a vertical crack that is still liquid and vapor tight.

My packed column is heavy walled borosilicate, which is the only thing that should be used for the type of stuff we do.

I notice that the OP hasn't weighed back in, and someone else seems to be poking folks to get a response.
We recommend against glass and many of us have reason to believe it's not safe. Time to let this go.

Pushed to the limit: viewtopic.php?t=67246

When I made wine I used to desinfect my large glass fermenting vessels by putting them on a pack of papers, put some water in them and than filling them with boiling water. Not in one pour, but slowly and shaking very hard in between pours, so they would heat up evenly. Until they were too hot to handle. Never ever lost one!

When making jam, I heated up the pots and the lids in a pan of water, until it boiled. Then took out the pots, put them on a pack of papers or a wooden plank, filled them with the hot jam and put the lid on them. Burned my hands and all, but never lost one jar. Wait till they got cooled, than washed off the spilled jam and stored them. Never had one spilled.

Yesterday I made a funnel out of a thick glass bottle by filing a line around the body on the desired height and then switching the bottel from cold to hot water until it cracked. Got a very neat cut and it even wasn't sharp to cut my fingers. Smoothed it with sanding paper anyway and now I have a very good glass for my mini-alcoholmeter.

On this forum talking about some materials or techniques is frowned upon or even forbidden and punished, just as in the real world distilling alcohol is forbidden and punished. (In most countries!)
It always surprises me when people who eagerly violate the laws of the real world, vigorously want to infringe the rules of this virtual world.
Even unto killing (= banning) people.

We all have choices. You get to make them. All you have to do is choose. The rules are clearly stated. If you want to play in this sandbox Welcome home. If not take your pail and shovel and play somewhere else. Do as you please in your own space don't bring it here. We will show you to the exit. You get to make the choice.

A small veggie/asparagus cooker, is the same size as a 1/2 gal mason jar and has a SS lid...they're only $20 to $25:- is it worth the risk when a SS pot is so damn cheap...

acfixer69 wrote:We all have choices. You get to make them. All you have to do is choose. The rules are clearly stated. If you want to play in this sandbox Welcome home. If not take your pail and shovel and play somewhere else. Do as you please in your own space don't bring it here. We will show you to the exit. You get to make the choice.

To many this is common knowledge, but a number of years ago, Corning Inc. sold its Pyrex brand to World Kitchens. World Kitchens promptly changed the formula for its Pyrex measuring cups and cookware from borosilicate to soda-lime glass, the same material Mason jars are made of (according to Wiki). Not long after the change, World Kitchens began suffering a raft of lawsuits as a result of its glassware exploding.

Not the best endorsement when touting Mason jars as acceptable for use around hot, flammable liquids.

steelmb wrote:

still_stirrin wrote: Warning....do not advocate the use of glass here...it will get you a “time out”, or more....

Must depend on who you are? Nothing but accolades in this post. viewtopic.php?f=50&t=23962

Firstly using glass or any other damn thing in the cooling system is a damn sight different to the vapour path, there are plenty of examples of pvc and lord knows what used and power to them if it works but cool water is slightly less flammable than hot ethanol.
Personally I think it is not so brave to question a dead man's motives knowing he can't respond and the in the context that post was quoted (even though it doesn't relate directly to this discussion) is for sure to question why he was able to post it without refutation
Uncool dude