Hi from Brissie!

Say Hi and introduce yourself

Hi from Brissie!

Postby Hefty » Sat Sep 01, 2018 9:33 pm

G'day all,
I'm an AG beer brewer from way back and I've always been curious about about home distilling but thought it was too complicated.
A renewed bout of curiosity hit me recently and I started researching again. I was looking at pot stills and bokakobs.
I'm mostly into rum, bourbon and scotch and I saw an idea for a pot still based on the top end of a bokakob column that I could run intially for rum and if things work out/the bug really bites I can add a packed column inline for reflux.
I recently rigged up this rims system for beer
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1K7O-GjeYg5bh0YQjPayiI7xFxMMIPOvM
and after my researching I realised I could shut off the valves to the pump, seal the column on top and there's my still!
So, I made this double coil from some gas line that was removed from an old camper I had(approx 6mm ID 8mm OD) but I don't know if this would be enough to condense a short 3 inch pot column. https://drive.google.com/open?id=13doav-Zj2YWWjw2v4XrPfOIW6VmvALYH
The coil itself is about 70mm wide so it will fit in a 3 inch column, but it's only 110mm tall (all the copper I had).
Can anyone give me some advice as to whether this would be enough to cope with a 3 inch column?
Cheers,
Jono.
Hefty
 
Posts: 9
Joined: Sat Sep 01, 2018 11:30 am
equipment: Building a pot still, I'm here for your advice!

Re: Hi from Brissie!

Postby RC Al » Sun Sep 02, 2018 1:49 am

Welcome mate,

That condenser looks great, the size of the heating element is the important factor for condenser sizing, you will need a power controller to dial back the amps if it turns out that it isn't big enough, let's you determine your speed on a pot too, pretty necessary for spirit runs

The boiler may work if you can seal the top properly with an ptfe or silicon seal, the lid would have to support the weight of the attached still securely.
The heating element is temp controlled? This would have to be bypassed/switched by/to a voltage controller as you can't really run any type still stably by a temp thermostat, plus the above reasons.

The humble beer keg is $50 on gumtree and a bolt in element from 5 star isn't much different, for the sake of $100 you Won't have to upset your mashing setup....

Have a good look through the electrical section :handgestures-thumbupleft:
Last edited by RC Al on Sun Sep 02, 2018 1:50 am, edited 1 time in total.
RC Al
Mentor
 
Posts: 1568
Joined: Mon Oct 23, 2017 4:58 pm
Location: Sunshine Coast Area
equipment: 3 plate 4" glasser
2" Potty

Re: Hi from Brissie!

Postby woodduck » Sun Sep 02, 2018 8:41 am

Hi mate welcome aboard :greetings-waveyellow:

I don't think that coil would cut it on a 3" pot still, too small unless you ran reeeal slow which would drive you insane.

Have a look through the pot still section to get some ideas.

I don't love the ern idea sorry mate. You would have to make sure it seals 100% before running alchohol through it, you don't want alc vapor getting out that would be a major safety issue.

If you were thinking of running it on a thermostat controller, it won't work.

Have a good read through the newbies corner before you get too far ahead, there is so much valuable knowledge in there that will answer a lot of questions and give you a good base knowledge to go from.

Enjoy the new hobby :handgestures-thumbupleft:
woodduck
Lifetime Member
 
Posts: 3497
Joined: Mon Jun 16, 2014 5:54 pm
Location: Good old country SA
equipment: 4 plate 6" copper bubbler, 6 plate 4" glass bubbler with 500mm packed section three way thumper sitting on a 50 ltr keg boiler with 6000watts, 2" pot still and a 2" boka.

Re: Hi from Brissie!

Postby Professor Green » Sun Sep 02, 2018 10:49 am

Welcome Jono.

I'm with woodduck. I think doing some more research into pot stills would be a wise thing to do. Starting off with a basic pot still is a very good and reasonably cheap way to learn about distilling and, given you are into brown spirits, would be an ideal way to go for you. Have a look at some of the pelican designs as they work really well for those smaller types of boiler.

As the others have said, you will definitely need to be careful with sealing in that boiler. Leaking ethanol vapour will create an explosive and therefore potentially lethal environment .

Cheers,
Prof. Green.
Professor Green
 
Posts: 2483
Joined: Fri Apr 17, 2015 1:10 pm
Location: Victoria
equipment: FSD 100 litre milk can with 2 x 2400W elements
FSD Neutraliser
FSD Carter Head
12 litre double boiler with 2400W element

Re: Hi from Brissie!

Postby Hefty » Sun Sep 02, 2018 12:37 pm

Thanks guys,
A further question:
I did a little more reading and found a few posts that talk about not being able to control the process by controlling the heating element. Does this mean you just run the element at full strength and the boiling point of each chemical/alcohol controls the temperature until it boils off and the temperature rises to the next boiling point?
(my wording is a bit clumsy but I hope that conveys my understanding) the urn is a 40L exposed element 2400w boiler. If I ran something like this on full, would it be too much? I'm not totally against the keg and bolt on element idea but if I can seal this, why not save some shed room and diversify?

Also, I've seen pictures of bokakobs with lids sealed with silicone gaskets and bulldog clips or similar.
I've moulded acetic cure silicon and cornflour to make seals in other applications and I'm confident I could do the same here. It is food grade, but would it be impervious to spirits or impart any flavours?

Cheers,
Jono.
Hefty
 
Posts: 9
Joined: Sat Sep 01, 2018 11:30 am
equipment: Building a pot still, I'm here for your advice!

Re: Hi from Brissie!

Postby woodduck » Sun Sep 02, 2018 2:23 pm

You need to be able to control the voltage of an element. You can't use an urn because they are thermostaticaly controled so they go on and off to keep a certain temp. Read the couple of threads in the newbies corner about controling a still by temp.

Dont use flour paste as a sealant, it just plain unsafe (yes they use it on that stupid show on tv but that doesn't mean it'sok). You have to remember your distilling a flammable liquid here not making a fruit smoothy. Please read the safety threads in the newbies corner to get a good understanding of what the risks are in this hobby. I'm not having a go mate I just want everyone to be safe while doing this hobby.
woodduck
Lifetime Member
 
Posts: 3497
Joined: Mon Jun 16, 2014 5:54 pm
Location: Good old country SA
equipment: 4 plate 6" copper bubbler, 6 plate 4" glass bubbler with 500mm packed section three way thumper sitting on a 50 ltr keg boiler with 6000watts, 2" pot still and a 2" boka.

Re: Hi from Brissie!

Postby Hefty » Sun Sep 02, 2018 3:42 pm

woodduck wrote:Dont use flour paste as a sealant, it just plain unsafe (yes they use it on that stupid show on tv but that doesn't mean it'sok). You have to remember your distilling a flammable liquid here not making a fruit smoothy. Please read the safety threads in the newbies corner to get a good understanding of what the risks are in this hobby. I'm not having a go mate I just want everyone to be safe while doing this hobby.

I understand, no offense taken and I'm keen to keep it safe. I don't mean a flour and water mix. I'm talking about literally mixing silicone and corn flour (chalk powder also works) as a way to make it more mouldable/shapable/controllable and give it a faster cure time. It's known in "Instructables" circles as "Oogoo" which is a DIY version of the commercial silicone glue called Sugru but at an absolute fraction of the cost.

I will keep reading the newbie section and the pot still section. (I'm already liking the idea of a pelican if I can get my hands on some 2 inch pipe and connectors)
I just added these questions here because they relate to my first post as well.

Cheers,
Jono.
Hefty
 
Posts: 9
Joined: Sat Sep 01, 2018 11:30 am
equipment: Building a pot still, I'm here for your advice!


Return to Welcome Centre



Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 18 guests

x