Wanabe spirit maker

[1 2many]

Hi guys newbie to this subject , i have done some all grain beer mashes in the past and got some amazing brews but i
ended up stopping the amount of time doing the all grain mash was fun to start with but the bloody sterilizing of and
washing all those bottles did my head in. However i now have the bug to make a still i like making things and mucking
about in the shed .I went to rather "EXTREME" lengths and built a portable brewery witch will come very handy for
this new project,as i have all the brewing gear.Here are a couple of pics of my "POTBELLY BREWERY".
All i need to do now is make a still .Hope to talk to you soon.Cheers :wave:

Brewery 1.jpg

Brewery 2.jpg

Brewery 3.jpg

Boiler fork.JPG

Fermenter fork.JPG

[BackyardBrewer]

NICE. :clap:

I'm a long time brewer too, but have not put a beer down in nearly a year since finding this place and becoming obsessed with spirits.

You seem to have just the right level of OCD 8-} :)) you'll fit in real well 'round these here parts, welcome!

[kelbygreen]

that lifter is the best idea I seen in a long time :handgestures-thumbupleft: what are you planing to make?? this will be the leading factor in what still to build

[1 2many]

Thanks for the replies, I would like to be able to do a good neutral spirits one day but to start off i just plan on running a
pot still. I am thinking along the lines of a 50 ltr keg because i have a couple of near new ones and put a bok together
so that i can run both modes , This is the time i need some recomendations as to what to build because i am just starting
to look for the copper for the pipe not sure about 2 or 3" yet and were to get in melbournes western suburbs. As
for my first wash i think i will go with HD allbran recipe it looks fairly fool proof any sugestions very welcome. :smile:

[Cane Toad]

Hiya 1-2,welcome to the forum mate :handgestures-thumbupleft: :handgestures-thumbupleft: pretty good setup you got happening there,the all bran or what most people run,myself included is the TPW,can't go wrong :handgestures-thumbupleft: :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[googe]

Welcome mate, thought your house looked west melbourne, they all look the same lol. Thats a bllody nice setup you got there, very in order :handgestures-thumbupleft: . I get my copper from western plumbing supplies on kororoit creek rd. They seem the cheapest around that do 1 meter lengths, not very cheap for fittings though, i go to macanns plumbing suplies on fransis street yarraville for fittings, there by far the cheapest about that ive found. Not many scrap yards around willing to sell either, have to go to hoppers or ballarat rd area. Good luck mate

[Sam.]

Welcome mate :handgestures-thumbupleft:

If you are after nuetrel, I would go for a reflux still straight up, not much harder to make than a pot still.

There are plenty of designs on here to have a look at.

And as said, you cant go past the Tomato Paste Wash (TPW) for ease and results :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[1 2many]

Thanks googe , yes the house do look the same around here (west sunshine) just around the corner from you .
And thanks for the tips on copper supplies i know exactly were your talking about and have saved me a lot of
home work on that one. :handgestures-thumbupleft: .Hi sam_and_liv yes i thought that might be the recomendation
for a still and i will now do some study on the (TPW) that seems to be the go around here. Has anyone tried the
all bran recipe from HD it seems to be a very fast fermentor. :text-thankyoublue:

[CyBaThUg]

West suburbs must breed intelligent people haha I grew up in deer park

[1 2many]

~x( I am totaly blown away by the work you guys put into building these stills makes me :mrgreen: .I am still not sure
on the reflux type to go with yet that will take a shit load of reading and hopefully some advice from the greater
experianced, and yes i think my first wash will be TPW so cheap and simple. It seems i can do a 25 LTR wash for about
$12.07 if i have done my calcs right and thats not on special. :music-deathmetal: :music-deathmetal:

[kelbygreen]

mate my advise is build what you will want. You been brewing you will know what its like it will cost you a whole lot more stepping up to what you want then just going look I want this give your self plenty of time and build it as you can afford if you dont have the money behind you.

I wouldnt rush in have a chat with all the guys here and work out what you really want to build. There is so many options and really if all you want is a neutral then that will narrow it down but if you wanna make rum, bourbon, gin or any flavour drink then its a different story and you will prob end up with a bubbler, you can also put a gin section on it for gins and rock section on for neutrals and it will do 1 run flavour spirit :handgestures-thumbupleft:

There is alot of builds going on ATM so its about the easiest time to build one as you can see what is involved into it without looking at a still and trying to work out whats in it :D

[1 2many]

^:)^ Thankyou Mate thats about as clear as i need it . Seems like damm good advice to me as i do have time to study a hell of
allot before i build :-B .Just a quicky when running a potstill for stripping because your running it fast there could or will
be some pressure in the still is this right? If so you couldnt use slip joints before take off yes.it would really need a nut
or tri clover type connection. thanks

[kelbygreen]

there will be a little bit of pressure but not alot as it always has a way of escaping. Some stills (not sure what ones as I dont do neutral) you control the output of the vapor (think VM they are which is vapor management or something) so if you turn the valve off it will build pressure in the still.

For most stills there is nothing there to stop the vapor or pressure so unless it got blocked some how then it wont build to much pressure. But in saying that all joints have to work under pressure as any vapor escapes you are losing product and if you have a gas burner you have highly flammable vapor coming out of the still. Look at the safety thread of tickle and you will see this is nothing to look over.

All joints as you say should be soldered, have a tri clamp or similar or have a nut and seal so its not only water tight but air tight. Your condenser will knock these vapors down to liquid and after that you can have slip joints if you like as long as it doesnt leak. I put various slip joint extensions on the end of my condenser to get it closer to the collection jars I am using.

Oh and if you are doing neutrals I would not go with a pot build a reflux or something. If you want to save money and do a flavour drink once a year build a pot to knock one out by all means but if you want neutral a pot is not the best place to start unless you want to do 3-4 runs threw it

[MacStill]

A VM column needs a vent at the top of the column :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[emptyglass]

Welcome along for the ride 1 2.
Kelby was right with starting with what you want to make mostly, with consideration to what else you might want to make.

All stills must be vented. A pot still has a hole at the end, thats its vent. If you decide to go all grain there is some danger of a pot blocking up, but very remote, and chances are you will know more than enough by then.

You can always install a pressure relief valve if you are worried.

Anyway, good to see another victorian on board. I like your drum lifter too.

[1 2many]

HI guys doing lots of reading on this "AMAZING SITE" still trying to figure what i will build. I have a question about the size
of the opening in a standard CUB keg. What is the max size of tube you could efficiently use on this standard size using
a reducer thanks ? :think:

[Cane Toad]

Quite easily go 4",but a lot of people here just get a 4" ferrule welded on :handgestures-thumbupleft: :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[googe]

Hey mate, theres not many stills here or any other site going past 4' on the standard hole. Ive seen a few 6' but people dont seem to bother probably dues to heat required and going into commercial grounds. Most just use a 2' furrel and clamp, and reduce up from there. What size you thinking?. Heres some pics of a 4' to 2' reducer and 2' furelle and clamp, if you dont know already a 2' fuerrel and clamp fits perfect on a keg.

[1 2many]

:hand: I am thinking of going 2.5" to 3" on pipe i just thought going to bigger tube might cause issue with flow rate but
it will be ok for what i want .I am thinking of doing a hybrid. Example keg to 2.5 to 3" pipe up say 600mm with triclover
fitting on top so i can fit a pot head on or a reflux head any sugestions on this would be very helpfull. Does anyone
know were to get triclover fiitings in the western suburbs apart from aces engineering as i would be better of geting
them from geordi and paying freight. :greetings-waveyellow:

[googe]

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