Home Distiller

I have an electric still. Was wondering where does everyone run them? Outside ,garage etc

Unfinished basement / cellar. Also use 240V electric that I connect to the dryer 240V receptacle. I've got a two basin utility sink with floor drain that is quite helpful and walkout-door into the back yard to dump used grains into the compost. On a large 50 gallon ferment that's about two 5g buckets full of spent grains..

Cheers!
-j

In a dble door closet in my beer room

Anywhere the neighbours cant see, has water, power & ventilation...

Not in the house has many benifits unless your single

I usually run in the basement but have used the kitchen and garage in the past.

Backyard under pergola.

Windy days are a PITA

I have a 20’ x 30’ outbuilding with both a 10 and 12’ garage door opening. It faces the house so even with the garage door open nobody can see in. I am also all electric and I do my fermenting also in the outbuilding in an insulated cart.

A metal building that's seperate from other structures.
I figure when committing multiple crimes, safety and security are important.

In a second-floor bathroom.

On the one hand, it means carrying a lot of stuff up and down stairs. On the other hand, it means being able to run undetected while my wife has unannounced friends visiting downstairs.

46°04'45.05" N -118°21'31.90" W

Deplorable wrote: ↑Mon Nov 29, 2021 5:20 pm 46°04'45.05" N -118°21'31.90" W

Not sure if that's a military base or a prison
https://earth.google.com/web/search/46% ... n-t4lMW1LA


Nevermind... figured it out

Deplorable wrote: ↑Mon Nov 29, 2021 5:20 pm 46°04'45.05" N -118°21'31.90" W

Now THAT is a secure location....

I'm out in an outbuilding. Has a big sliding door, good fan and a wood stove. Perfect. Cold for fermenting but that's OK, I like slow ferments.

If I had a proper outbuilding, I'd use that, but it would require power and water. Since I don't have that, I do it in the garage.
Im getting ready to retire in the next couple years, and we plan to move to a place with a little more room and a lower cost of living. Room for this hobby is a must have for anyplace we purchase. SWMBO agrees I need a "He Shed" for all my hobbies.

Garage with a bespoke 220 installation, plenty of light, ventilation, and fire extinguishers. Wife’s car just has to wait its turn…

Kitchen for distillation, living / dining for ferments (wife also gets her wine, vodka, gin - so she's cool with it )
Nearest neighbour is 500 meters away - and he likes my product
We don't get many visitors - especially now with the lockdowns

My main stills are in a detached garage. Any major cockup won't affect my house or any neighboring houses.

My mini stills are very easily portable and can be run anywhere, on and off grid.

In a cupboard in a shed..

Laundry room.

Unfinished portion of a walk-out basement with electricity, a water supply from our well, a sink and a floor drain.
The

Detached garage. I use electric to heat. A 150 gallon bulk tank for cooling water.

Some day hope to buy the woods across the street so I can build an underground bunker......

Thank you to all that replied. Looks like the basement should be fine then. I’m running a 5 gallon electric setup.

Basement with a propane fired 15/15 boiler/thumper . 20" high volume vent fan and co detectors .

Mookie1 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 30, 2021 3:42 pm Thank you to all that replied. Looks like the basement should be fine then. I’m running a 5 gallon electric setup.

There is NO QUESTION: a separate shed or garage is best.... But do have good plan for fire suppression, water supply, and for ventilation.

See the safety section and all those measures just become 10 times more important.

Semi detached garage with the bay doors closed, I have a 1250cfm extractor on the roof and crack the man door. Sink for water in and out. Lots of smells and things, I prefer not to leave those smells in the house... they are delicious but no one needs to come in and get that smell. Plus I spend most of my time in the garage, so it's not like the neighbors notice anything different. Things get broken down and put in large cupboards before the doors open.

CO2 is heavier than air, so if you are fermenting in a basement, make sure the CO2 can't build up to a height that can kill more than rats.

NZChris wrote: ↑Wed Dec 01, 2021 5:03 pm CO2 is heavier than air, so if you are fermenting in a basement, make sure the CO2 can't build up to a height that can kill more than rats.

Good advice . that . Some wine makers recently died in Italy over a co2 buildup . Tragic .

I'm up a long dirt road. In my carport behind my truck. I've got a big sink outside with both hot and cold water

Outside, on the porch. Nobody gives a crap, and it's not illegal in my country.

NZChris wrote: ↑Wed Dec 01, 2021 5:03 pm CO2 is heavier than air, so if you are fermenting in a basement, make sure the CO2 can't build up to a height that can kill more than rats.

Good point. Always focussed on the still part of the equation: Maybe that's why I don't have a mouse problem any more. I sit on a hill side, so I should keep the basement door open a crack to allow any CO2 build-up to sink right out the door.

When I first started , it was an electric boiler . Would set it up in kitchen on stove , next to sink water supply.

Got smart are and figured I would light the gas burner under it to aid heat-up time .

Well that quickly turned to shit and nearly set fire to kitchen ( man nearly fainted blowing those flames out )

Moved to garage . Electric only .

Then moved outside under carport and got
Gas rig . Been there for maybe 8 years or more . Only when I got 4” packed column , couldn’t fit under carport so stuck that outside next to carport .

Don’t mind being under carport or even outside , but didn’t like it when Neighbour had Drone flying around .