Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

Hi All,

Just investigating the whole distilling thing and thought I'd join up and annoy you all with questions. :))

I've joined the HomeDistillers forum too but thought a more Aussie based view would be good too.
I've been brewing beer for years and my current setup is a Grainfather doing all grain brewing. I'm pretty heavy into the brewing thing growing my own hops etc.
I have no idea when it comes to distilling but I'm not one to rush in so have been reading the forums and getting to know the terminology etc.
My rough idea so far is to use the Grainfather as a boiler and look at a pot still design to get me going and take it from there. For myself I'd like to make some whiskeys but will want to do clear spirits for the other half.

Cheers folks.

Welcome lots of reading and lingo to learn. Pot still will see you right for whiskey/scotch/rum you will be needing a boka or similar for vodka. Unless of course your going all in. Then with a bubbler you can make both :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Gday mate, welcome to the forum.
A 4” bubbler is definitely the way to go. Might be mine expensive at first but will save you over time and gives you the flexibility to make anything you want.

G'day mate and welcome. You've come to the right place, we're way smarter over here than the yanks :teasing-tease: :laughing-rolling:

Your all grain history will serve you well un distilling. Take your time and have a read of the still threads and you'll work out which way you want to head.

Enjoy

Thanks for the welcome,

Interested in the bubblers, any links to a thread explaining how they operate and why they are considered so good?

Thanks

Try these

viewtopic.php?f=57&t=3117

http://aussiedistiller.com.au/viewforum.php?f=36

Welcome mate :handgestures-thumbupleft:

woodduck wrote:Try these

http://www.aussiedistiller.com.au/viewt ... =57&t=3117

viewforum.php?f=36

That's a good read, thanks.

Welcome fattima.

Your brewing skills will certainly come in handy with this hobby.

Using the Grainfather for your boiler will limit the size of still you can use. You probably won't be able to fit a 4" bubbler on it without it becoming dangerously unstable or more likely breaking the boiler due to weight.

You don't necessarily need to start off with a bubbler; something like a 2" modular pot still is a great place to start as it will give you a good foundation in stilling and can be expanded on with minimal waste of components should you decide to upgrade to a bubbler on a larger boiler later on. It will also fit nicely on the Grainfather boiler without making it unstable. This will get you making top notch whisky right away. Add a 2" boka to that a lttle bit further down the track (5 Star do one but don't have it on their web site) and you'll be set to satisfy the other half too.

Should you decide you really, really want to go with a bubbler, a 4" modular still like a Neutraliser paired with a 50 litre keg or milk can boiler is a great combo and will also serve you well for pretty much any spirit you want to make. Being modular, you can always start off with a 4" pot and a boiler and add the remaining components bit by bit if your budget doesn't stretch to getting it all at once.

Reasons for going with a modular 4" bubbler:

• Speed - they're much faster than 2" stills for the same quality of spirit you can do flavoured spirits in a single pass rather than a double distilliation (strip followed slow by spirit run)
• Verstility - You can vary the configuration to suit your needs.
  
  • Stripping run - assemble it as a pot still.
  • Whisky/rum - run with 4 plates.
  • Vodka - 5 plates and a packed section.

Reasons for going the 2" pot/boka route:

• Less room required to run
• Cheaper
• Can run on smaller boilers

The route you chose will ultimately come down to a few basic criteria:

• What spirits you really want to make
• How much time you have to spend distilling
• How much room you have in which to run your still. (5 plates and packed section will hit at least 2.4 meters depending on the boiler upon which they sit)
• Budget

If you're at all handy then there are DIY options open to you too.

Hopefully this all helps you!

Cheers,
Prof. Green.

Great post prof :handgestures-thumbupleft: :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Doubleuj wrote:Great post prof :handgestures-thumbupleft: :handgestures-thumbupleft:

:text-imwithstupid:
Sorry wj :laughing-rolling:

Thanks Chaps.

Cheers,
Prof. Green.

db1979 wrote:

Doubleuj wrote:Great post prof :handgestures-thumbupleft: :handgestures-thumbupleft:

:text-imwithstupid:
Sorry wj :laughing-rolling:

:text-imwithstupid: :text-lol:

Cracker post that! :handgestures-thumbupleft:

db1979 wrote:

Doubleuj wrote:Great post prof :handgestures-thumbupleft: :handgestures-thumbupleft:

:text-imwithstupid:
Sorry wj :laughing-rolling:

All good db, took me a minute to work out what you were apologising for :laughing-rolling: so, as my gran pappy alwayz saied “if the shou fits then that’s better than two birds in the bush”

Yeah, I'd had a few beers. A beer in the hand is better than two in the fridge. Or is it? Sounds like having cake and not eating it. I'm confused 8-}

Oh, and welcome fattima :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Thanks for the great reply Prof Green, really appreciate the time you put into the post and the info contained.

I thought I'd start with the Grainfather since I have it and if I enjoy distilling take it from there. I built my old brew in a bag setup with a keg king element so reckon I could knock up a keg boiler fairly easily. I'm in no hurry to get started and really want to learn from you guys before spending money and making mistakes.

At the moment I'm thinking a pot still like the pelican design to go on the Grainfather to get me started at a reasonable cost. If I'm enjoying the hobby (can't see why I wouldn't) I can then look at making a bigger setup. I'm not going to start for a while as I'm in the process of demolishing my old garage to build a new one, it will have plenty of room height wise since I'm building it to fit a car hoist.

Thanks everyone for the welcome, looks like a great community here.

Cheers
Bruce

You're very welcome Bruce.

Starting off with a pelican design on your grainfather is a very good way to start. I run that style on my little (15 litre) bain marie boiler for absinthe/gin runs and it works well and balances nicely on the boiler. Are you looking to go with off the shelf parts or build it yourself?

Cheers,
Prof. Green.

Not sure at the moment. I'm pretty good on the tools and once my new garage is built will have a proper workshop again, having said that I've never brazed copper before. I'll keep an eye out for any second hand gear too.

If your thinking of building, try these threads. They're all soft solder threads because I'm a soft solder fan. some prefer hard solder, totally personal choice. I won't go into pros and cons here, there are threads on hard solder too if you want to read them for your own benefit.

viewtopic.php?f=41&t=1237

viewtopic.php?f=41&t=76

viewtopic.php?f=41&t=11390

If videos are your thing there is a shotty build vid in the site donors area too.

So after a bit of reading I think I'll go for a 2" pelican on my grainfather to get me started.
I already own a mapp gas setup that I inherited from my Dad so will try my hand with some copper soldering.

Now to start scrounging some copper. I'll let you know how I go. Thanks again fro all the welcomes and hints, it is really appreciated.