Home Distiller

I've posted in several different areas about what I'm working on with my setup, but I thought I'd post here so I had something to link to if I wanted to show people what I'm working with.

I'll use this as a running timeline of the evolution of my home setup.

When I first started my journey, like many others I thought I could just get a cheap still from Amazon and dive in. Boy was that a learning experience!
This is what I started with:
As you can see, there were many design flaws with this setup. The flake stand and worm were way undersized for any meaningful, not to mention that when filled, it tilted to the side and threw off the slope of the worm. Additionally, the coils of the worm weren't evenly spaced or coiled at an adequate slope for collection. And on top of all that, it had a 1.5" tri-clamp fitting that transitioned directly into 1/2" copper.

To remedy this, I removed the flake stand and worm and build a liebig condenser.
For now, this will have to do. I thought about redoing the lid with a 1.5" tri-clamp and attaching a 1.5" x 12" riser before transitioning into the liebig, but then I saw this for sale on my local marketplace. And for $350, I couldn't pass it up as most kegs in my area are around $100 each and I still would have had to put in all the work! This one has everything I need to upgrade and increase my production.
This still has a 26 gallon boiler (2x13 gallon kegs welded together) and a 2" VM column (with a RC coil that is the height of the column) transitioning into a 7/8" lyne arm and then to a liebig condenser that is 7/8" inside of a 1-1/4" jacket. As of now, I won't be using the VM coil, I'll be using it in pot still mode. It also came equipped to be run as an electric still, but as I don't have the money or knowledge to run it on electricity yet I'll be plugging the element mounts and running it on propane. This led me to my next issue. Since it was set up for electric elements, the output of the Liebig would be too close to the open flame of the burner. I decided to use the pieces that I had and re-plumbed the lyne arm.


Now the distillate will be collected further away from the flame and I don't have to worry so much about stray drips or the collection vessel being too close to the burner. It's not fully operational as I need to order parts to plug the element ports and attach a 2" butterfly drain valve, but she's coming along nicely. She is affectionately known as "Ugly Betty" in our house but that will change. I picked up some sanding wheels and wire wheels and the boiler will be getting a good polish. Might even go crazy and buff it to a mirror finish on everything for shits and giggles.

I will keep this thread updated as I grow

Nice evolution, it's a shame to see the balancing flake stand on the wine bottle disappear though

Sporacle wrote: ↑Sun Feb 27, 2022 1:28 am Nice evolution, it's a shame to see the balancing flake stand on the wine bottle disappear though

It was brandy, ok?
Spirits helping make spirits.

Nice! I have enjoyed fabricating as much as using the stills that I built. Each step of the evolution brought marked improvement in product.

Sporacle wrote: ↑Sun Feb 27, 2022 1:28 am Nice evolution, it's a shame to see the balancing flake stand on the wine bottle disappear though

Haha! I thought the same thing. That’s putting faith in something.

But it’ looking real good Cook
The pursuit of a fine drop continues!

Heres an update on Ugly Betty

Got a new Hellfire 2 burner and all the plumbing so now she's ready for her cleaning ritual

Nice.

Jam a bit of sheet metal on the flat between your burner and boiler for a heat shield under your valve. Coffee can cut flat or what ever you have.

Propane can melt things up the side of the boiler if not shielded a bit.

Eventually everything is going to be wrapped in ceramic kiln insulation. I'll probably add a heat shield too for extra peace of mind.

Also, the liebig that came with this setup is wayyyy too small for the power. Would it be a terrible idea to have a 7/8" lyne arm to a 2" shotgun or do I need to redo the whole still head for 2" continuous?

bcook608 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 26, 2022 6:03 pm Also, the liebig that came with this setup is wayyyy too small for the power. Would it be a terrible idea to have a 7/8" lyne arm to a 2" shotgun or do I need to redo the whole still head for 2" continuous?

The 7/8” to you shotgun should be just fine, though a little more mechanical strength is not a bad thing. Otis

OtisT wrote: ↑Sun Mar 27, 2022 10:22 am

bcook608 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 26, 2022 6:03 pm Also, the liebig that came with this setup is wayyyy too small for the power. Would it be a terrible idea to have a 7/8" lyne arm to a 2" shotgun or do I need to redo the whole still head for 2" continuous?

The 7/8” to you shotgun should be just fine, though a little more mechanical strength is not a bad thing. Otis

That was my next concern. I think I'll just start building a new still head that's modular and I can swap out condensers and change up the configuration as needed.

Until then I'll take the leibig apart and stuff it with copper packing to slow the vapor speed and encourage condensation. Should help enough until I can get the shotgun built.

Small update:

I stuffed the entire length of the condenser with copper mesh packing to slow the vapor speed and encourage condensation. I blew through it and the air moves freely with a noticeable difference in speed. It didn't take a whole lot of effort when blowing through it so I don't think I will have any issues with blockages, but I'll keep an eye on it for pressure issues anyway.

I'll be ordering the pieces for my modular 2" still head with shotgun condenser soon so I don't have to worry about it.

bcook608 wrote: ↑Fri Apr 01, 2022 7:55 pm Small update:

I stuffed the entire length of the condenser with copper mesh packing to slow the vapor speed and encourage condensation. I blew through it and the air moves freely with a noticeable difference in speed. It didn't take a whole lot of effort when blowing through it so I don't think I will have any issues with blockages, but I'll keep an eye on it for pressure issues anyway.

I’m not in favour of stuffing the product condenser. A small puke will change how freely vapour can move in a real hurry. If it plugs up you get a closed system making pressure pretty quick.

A Liebig condenser works fine open.

I'm going to play around with it.

I also have a RC that I am going to play around with to see if I can get things coming out at barrel proof in one run. Gonna be some experimenting and more reading. A LOT more reading...

So, my big still had to go into hiding for the time being and I've decided to convert my small still to electric so I can run it in a more discreet manner.
I am also going to be rebuilding the still head for a 2" slanted/offset column. It will be copper packed stainless steel with a 24" copper shotgun condenser. I know it's overkill, but I already have it so I figured I'd use it.

This is the rough design. It's not to scale, but it gets the point across.


Its got a sight glass above the lid to monitor for pukes and foaming. Then there is a 45* elbow to start the offset, then a 12" extension, 2 90* elbows, then the 24" shotgun. If needed, I can add a riser to allow for room to collect product, but if my math and spatial awareness is as good as I think it is, I should be able to place a 1 gallon jar under the PC output no problem.

More pics to follow as I make the modifications and get the controller/still head built.

Ordered the rest of the parts to make my little still into a 2" pot head like the design above. I will update this thread probably next weekend once everything is assembled and I start the cleaning ritual.

Well, ladies and gents, the time has arrived!


I present to you the (probably) final iteration of my pot still.
5 gal. Vevor pot (only salvageable piece of a Crapazon still) with a 2" sight glass, 45* elbow, 12" spool, 2x 90* elbows, and a 24" copper shotgun with 4x 1/2" innards.

The 12" spool and the 2 elbows are packed with copper mesh (just tight enough to stay in place and need a little effort to move) for copper in the vapor path, water lines are braided steel ice maker supply with 1/4" pressure washer quick connect fittings.

Internal element is a 6kw Dernord element (triple "u") because the wavy one I bought was too long .

Insulation is overkill. 1" ceramic forge insulation covered in reflectix tape. But I can hold the pot while it's running and I can insulate the bottom without stability issues so oh well. The only thermal leakage I have is where the tape is secured directly to the pot at the top 1/2" and where the hardware is riveted on but it only gets mildly warm as the heat dissipates quickly.

Heat up time with 4 ish gallons of water was about 33 minutes so I'm very pleased with the performance so far. Obviously wash will take less time for heat up.

And some performance specs from the first water cleaning run:

bcook608 wrote: ↑Sun Feb 27, 2022 12:50 am 20220216_113628.jpg

Now the distillate will be collected further away from the flame and I don't have to worry so much about stray drips or the collection vessel being too close to the burner. It's not fully operational as I need to order parts to plug the element ports and attach a 2" butterfly drain valve, but she's coming along nicely. She is affectionately known as "Ugly Betty" in our house but that will change. I picked up some sanding wheels and wire wheels and the boiler will be getting a good polish. Might even go crazy and buff it to a mirror finish on everything for shits and giggles.

I came across your thread a while back when searching for something (can't remember what), and remembered the name of your still. Thought you might be interested in this...

There's also a still named "Ugly Betty" at Bruichladdich distillery in Islay Scotland. I noticed it when watching a youtube recently.

Video ID is GSd7MXjPeEE - starting around 17:10, showing the still house. Sounds like they use it for gin.

Cheers.

I want to add to this in case someone later reads the entire thread and sees the part about slowing vapor speed by adding some sort of mesh to a vapor path. That will not slow vapor, at least not for more than a few seconds while it resets to a stable speed. Vapor speed is totally dependent on pressure differential and cross sectional area. (yes there is a small factor on sidewall resistance but for vapor and short distance we can ignore that.). If you actually did slow the vapor, it would build up behind the object causing the vapor to slow. Assuming power is not reduced that leaves two options. Pressure will build until the still explodes. Or pressure will build until the differential is enough to increase the vapor speed to establish an equilibrium between vapor production and vapor condensation. Assuming the still does not explode, putting scrubbies or mesh in the vapor path will decrease cross sectional area and speed up the vapor velocity. For an example put your thumb over part of the end of a garden hose and see how much that slows down the water coming at the point of exit?

subbrew wrote: ↑Mon Oct 10, 2022 9:25 am I want to add to this in case someone later reads the entire thread and sees the part about slowing vapor speed by adding some sort of mesh to a vapor path. That will not slow vapor, at least not for more than a few seconds while it resets to a stable speed. Vapor speed is totally dependent on pressure differential and cross sectional area. (yes there is a small factor on sidewall resistance but for vapor and short distance we can ignore that.). If you actually did slow the vapor, it would build up behind the object causing the vapor to slow. Assuming power is not reduced that leaves two options. Pressure will build until the still explodes. Or pressure will build until the differential is enough to increase the vapor speed to establish an equilibrium between vapor production and vapor condensation. Assuming the still does not explode, putting scrubbies or mesh in the vapor path will decrease cross sectional area and speed up the vapor velocity. For an example put your thumb over part of the end of a garden hose and see how much that slows down the water coming at the point of exit?

Thanks for pointing that out!
Yeah, even since April when I posted that, I've learned so much about how to improve the efficiency and design of my pot still that I scrapped that head altogether and now will be using the modular head above on both of my boilers.

The next step will be to build a 220v controller and get an extension cord so that I can tap into the 220v behind our stove. Since we switched to gas, we don't need that outlet so it's a win win!

BoilerMaker wrote: ↑Mon Oct 10, 2022 8:51 am

bcook608 wrote: ↑Sun Feb 27, 2022 12:50 am 20220216_113628.jpg

Now the distillate will be collected further away from the flame and I don't have to worry so much about stray drips or the collection vessel being too close to the burner. It's not fully operational as I need to order parts to plug the element ports and attach a 2" butterfly drain valve, but she's coming along nicely. She is affectionately known as "Ugly Betty" in our house but that will change. I picked up some sanding wheels and wire wheels and the boiler will be getting a good polish. Might even go crazy and buff it to a mirror finish on everything for shits and giggles.

I came across your thread a while back when searching for something (can't remember what), and remembered the name of your still. Thought you might be interested in this...

There's also a still named "Ugly Betty" at Bruichladdich distillery in Islay Scotland. I noticed it when watching a youtube recently.

Video ID is GSd7MXjPeEE - starting around 17:10, showing the still house. Sounds like they use it for gin.

Cheers.

Nice setup mate!
The Classic Laddie is one of my all time favorites