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Cakicen
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Hello all

Post by Cakicen »

Hello. I am Cem. New hobby. Never distilled yet. I ordered a pot still very basic setup from İnternet. It just arrived. I am now waiting my wash to be ready. I did clean the still with vinegar lemon juice water mix and waiting impatiently for the first sacrifice run. Thanks for accepting me.
Saltpork
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Re: Hello all

Post by Saltpork »

Welcome aboard. Be sure your new still doesn't have any forbidden substances.
Have fun and be safe.
It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance -- Thomas Sowell
Rest in peace R.L.K. & R.H.L., my biggest influences and men I miss dearly
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bcook608
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Re: Hello all

Post by bcook608 »

Welcome!
What did you end up getting?
A picture will help us understand what you're working with for when you're looking for advice or have questions!

Good luck, be safe, and have fun!
Cakicen
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Re: Hello all

Post by Cakicen »

bcook608 wrote: Sun Nov 27, 2022 7:16 am Welcome!
What did you end up getting?
A picture will help us understand what you're working with for when you're looking for advice or have questions!

Good luck, be safe, and have fun!
Hello, sorry for late reply, i just saw the message. I attached my setup pics to this message. It is very simple pot still SS copper worm conderser. I plan not to make big runs. My mashes are in 10 lt PET bottles. I make 3 mashes at the same time each containing 2 kg of sugar (from beet), 20 gr bakers yeast SC, for feeding them a handful of chickpeas (I saw this advice on a youtube video and don't know if it really works), for lowering ph to around 4.5 -5.0 I use one lemon juice and enough water to make this mash 1080 sugar ratio.

I plan to get around 2 lt of %40-45 ABV from the first run. And i will dispose first 50 ml of this run. Then in the spirit run I will dispose first %15 heads (again i get an advice in youtube that 50 ml per kg of sugar is a rough estimate for heads). Then I will get whatever I can get until the ABV drops to 45-50. I plan to get pure hearts, not interested in heads or tails. Maybe this will be a rather expensive experience but I want to try it.

Thank you and cheers!
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Cakicen
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Re: Hello all

Post by Cakicen »

Saltpork wrote: Sun Nov 27, 2022 6:07 am Welcome aboard. Be sure your new still doesn't have any forbidden substances.
Have fun and be safe.
Hello Saltpork,

There are 3 points that i suspect about safety of my still:

1. teflon tapes around the copper wire for insulation
2. silicon gasket inside the lid that the producer used for thermometer sockets insulation. they say it is heat resistant but not anything about ethanol resistance
3. the plastic-like tube at the output of the condenser. I dont know which material i can change this with.



Cheers!
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Steve Broady
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Re: Hello all

Post by Steve Broady »

I’m sure others will chime in here as well. I don’t think the Teflon tape will be a problem. The silicone gasket is. Either replace it with Teflon, or possibly just remove the thermometer entirely. Fill the hole with a cork, or solder a copper plug in place. At the very least, wrap the silicone in Teflon tape. And yes, get rid of the plastic tubing. I’d use copper tube, if you can’t simply collect straight off the spout.
Learn from the past, live in the present, change the future.
Cakicen
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Re: Hello all

Post by Cakicen »

Steve Broady wrote: Wed Nov 30, 2022 5:17 am I’m sure others will chime in here as well. I don’t think the Teflon tape will be a problem. The silicone gasket is. Either replace it with Teflon, or possibly just remove the thermometer entirely. Fill the hole with a cork, or solder a copper plug in place. At the very least, wrap the silicone in Teflon tape. And yes, get rid of the plastic tubing. I’d use copper tube, if you can’t simply collect straight off the spout.
Hi Steve,

Many thanks for the advices. The spout is so short so getting the distillate will not be easy from there. But i will try your copper tube opinion asap. Also i will have silicone gasket replaced with teflon at the pressure cooker repair shop.

Best.
Saltpork
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Re: Hello all

Post by Saltpork »

You can wrap silicone gaskets with Teflon tape, just ensure good coverage.

Cheers
It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance -- Thomas Sowell
Rest in peace R.L.K. & R.H.L., my biggest influences and men I miss dearly
Bradster68
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Re: Hello all

Post by Bradster68 »

Welcome 🍻
I drink so much now,on the back of my license it's a list of organs I need.
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Steve Broady
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Re: Hello all

Post by Steve Broady »

Cakicen wrote: Wed Nov 30, 2022 7:54 am The spout is so short so getting the distillate will not be easy from there.
I looked more closely at your picture and realized that your spout is a brass barb. A lot of people, myself included, try to exclude brass from the vapor path in case it contains lead. You may want to consider the same at some point. If you wish to use what you have now, I can think of three possible options.

1. Set the condenser high enough that you can fit a collection vessel beneath it. You can collect in fairly small cups or jars and decant into something larger after making your cuts. This is the cheapest and easiest option.

2. You can buy PTFE tubing. I don’t know how easy it is to work with, but you should be able to find some which will fit over that barb. This may be the most expensive option.

3. It is easy to solder copper tubing onto that brass fitting. Use lead free solder, of course. That would allow you to add as much tubing as you like, and to bend the end to fit your needs.

If it were me, I’m a cheap bastard, so I’d go with the first option. Put a couple blocks of wood, a pot, whatever underneath the condenser and have just enough room for a small jar beneath the spout.
Cakicen wrote: Wed Nov 30, 2022 7:54 am Also i will have silicone gasket replaced with teflon at the pressure cooker repair shop.
I suspect you won’t have much luck with any repair shop, as our needs are different from those of your average cook. You’ll probably find fairly quickly that you have to modify or build things to suit your own needs and desires. It’s one of the things I enjoy about this hobby, because the sense of accomplishment from building my own tools is far better than anything I get from just using tools that I’ve bought.

This is the gasket material that I’ve used:
PTFE Sealing Tape PTFE Expanded... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KLXY2WC?re ... b_ap_share
Learn from the past, live in the present, change the future.
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