First still sort of - and g'day

[Nd83]

Hi I currently have a home made reflux still I got from an old fella I know been playing around with it but it seems like too much work and a super long process. It's an old keg with an element inside then a column sits on top then a needle valve off the side of that then condenser off of that. The temp is ontrolled by the needle valve at the top as well as flow rate. Long story short it's super fiddly and takes the better part of 12 hrs. Old mate had it down to a T and used to start it late at night and let it run while he was sleeping. But he said it did make super clean stuff. Anyway it's all too much work for me so what's the best setup for making neutral spirits and possible in future rums whiskey ect. I sort of want to down size the whole setup too so was looking at those 25l turbo boilers and making a simple setup to sit on top. What do I make or buy
Cheers Nd

[Fishleg]

Hey mate welcome

Definitely don't run it whilst you are not watching, that is very dangerous and silly. You should be there all the time when it's running just in case something goes wrong.

Might be best to post some pics of your rig so some of the more experienced guys can see what you've got and help out.

Otherwise go to beginners section in the board index of the forum and read every topic start to finish........twice

If you want to make neutral, a reflux is the go. If you want to make flavoured spirits rum,whiskey ect. Then a pot still or bubbler is the go.

Cheers and good luck

P.s. Do NOT run your still when you are not around or asleep you could burn your house down or blow yourself up.

[Nd83]

Haha Na there was no way I would leave anything like that going at my joint while I wasn't there. The old cowboy thought otherwise. I think I'll buy a turbo boiler and make the rest but is there a certain size or length column that I should be going with. Or should I just buy one of the turbo 500s and save the hassle just seems fair few people bag them out a bit

[copperhead road]

Why not use your keg and knock up a copper pelican design pot still. You can find one to copie in the pot stills section.
Safety first then kiwis cuts guide in the newbie section second :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Nd83]

Well he did make this one to be used as a pot still as well you take off the column flip the condenser so it faces down and away you go but how do you control the heat without that needle valve? Or do pot stills just do there own thing. I also read that you may not use them for a spirit run is this right. He used to put his wash through the pot still first then connected the column with the needle valve and inverted condenser setup then run his spirit run. I'm just looking for an easy smaller setup

[Minpac]

Don't go and buy a T500 when you've got a keg boiler. You're at least halfway to a good setup.

Post some pics and we'll see what you've got.

Power is controlled by reducing the electrical energy going to the element - have a look here:

viewtopic.php?f=60&t=3241

[Nd83]

I see where you are going with this. I don't want to mutilate old mates still so maybe my best bet is to start from scratch does the column have to be copper or can I make a full stainless number.... my welding skills far outweigh my soldering skills.

[copperhead road]

Personally I would go with copper, I think it's the preferred material to use on a stainless boiler.
Others may disagree but I doubt it :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Nd83]

Oh my god as I'm just brand new to this forum I have just seen the pelican pot still. Just looks rad am I able to run neutral spirits through that. Do I have to make fancy washes. Can I pack it with stainless scourers. If I made one of them and attached a voltage control to the element would that do what I need it to.

[woodduck]

Stainless is fine mate as long as you have some copper in there somewhere for sulfide removal. So in a reflux use copper packing. In a pot still you may just need to put a bit of copper mesh in the riser somewhere.

I hate to break it to you but I'm not sure of too many reflux stills other than a bubbler that have very quick takeoff speed but i haven't run al types either. My boka used to take 12 hours to do a 50ltr wash but it was beautifully clean tastless spirit. This hobby isn't about speed it’s about quality. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Fishleg]

As minipac says you're at least half way to a decent setup, maybe even most of the way.
If your rig can be run in pot mode you've probably got everything u need already. Post some pics so we can have a look.

[Nd83]

I've only done 25ltr washes in the thing I was given but 12 hrs still seems excessive to what I have read on here. All I'm really after is something a bit more compact like the pelican and simple to run. How do you test temps with s still like the pelican. Also after the first stripping run do you add the spirits back into boiler with same amount of water

[Nd83]

This might sound mildly retarded but I'm no good on the internet so how would I go about posting pictures

[Nd83]

Nope just worked it out. So this is the setup and to run it as a pot still he gave me another attachment so you face the condenser downward and it attaches directly to the keg

[TasSpirits]

That's an interesting set up you have there mate :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Fishleg]

Wild looking bit of gear I must say. The more experienced guys can probs say better than me but looks like a crazy LM setup, same principle as an LM boka just a lot more spread out and long winded.

Looks like it would work ok.

Is the top end of the condenser open to the atmosphere to prevent pressure build up?

[Nd83]

Yep condenser is open. As I mentioned it works but takes sooooooooo long for 25ltr wash and is massive hence I want to make a new setup

[Fishleg]

I've only done 25ltr washes in the thing I was given but 12 hrs still seems excessive to what I have read on here. All I'm really after is something a bit more compact like the pelican and simple to run. How do you test temps with s still like the pelican. Also after the first stripping run do you add the spirits back into boiler with same amount of water

So the pelican is a pot still, only way to control takeoff speed with a pot is the amount of heat you put into it.
After stripping run you will have low wines, get yourself an alcometer and just make sure before spirit run that the %abv of the low wines is less than 40%

[Nd83]

So if I rock the pot still and have voltage control for the element and make sure I test the low wines..... It will come out as the same stuff that I can mix essences with? I'm highly interested in making decent whiskey and maybe even gun down the line. Am I headed in the right direction with a pot still.

[Fishleg]

So if I rock the pot still and have voltage control for the element and make sure I test the low wines..... It will come out as the same stuff that I can mix essences with? I'm highly interested in making decent whiskey and maybe even gun down the line. Am I headed in the right direction with a pot still.

Pot still is good for rum, whisky, bourbon, schnapps ect. For proper neutral you need a reflux still.
If you want to make rum and whiskey it's not difficult, check out in the recipe section macrum and CFW (cornflakes whiskey) both great recipes and not hard to whip up at all