Adelaide wine column

[southpacific]

Hi All,
After brewing beer for sometime in Salisbury, SA, Im trying out this still thing. I Enjoy DIY, so envisage a SS keg, with electric element heater. Having perfected the art of making glass cylinders from wine bottles, Im planning a reflux 1.5m-ish glass column with pot-scubbers & copper top/condensers, and as an elec. eng, full electronic control.
Hoping to finish early next year, although its coinciding with big house build, so may get delayed ( or be a welcome distraction :)
Thanks for all your useful links and comments.
Dave.

[MacStill]

Welcome to the forum... :handgestures-thumbupleft:

This will be interesting :D

[Sam.]

Welcome to the forum... :handgestures-thumbupleft:

This will be interesting :D

:text-+1: :text-lol:

[Zak Griffin]

Using wine bottles to make a still: $0

Using your existing knowledge to make that still 'automatic' :$0

The look on the insurance agent's face when it is discovered that an illegal still in the shed cracked while you werent looking, and started the fire that burnt your new house down: priceless.

Welcome to the forum! :handgestures-thumbupleft: I'm glad you found us

[MacStill]

.... seems there's a lot of interest in automation in stilling lately, interested to see where it goes but in all honesty I don't care much for it :handgestures-thumbdown:

Where's the hobby going to end up benefiting in this type of setup ? my answer is nowhere because people are getting lazy and wont want to attend their rigs because they'll be relying on a device or explosion to alert them something is wrong.

Where's the passion for the art of distillation gone ?

When I go commercially legal I'll be relying on my senses to run the rig, not some automated gadget that's for sure.

well there ya go, I finally bit...... but that's how I feel about automation.

A big no from me ;-)

[Whiskyaugogo]

:text-+1: Mac

I love adjusting and all the little nuances in this craft/hobby, it's only way to get your product great (and safe too) :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[woodduck]

I found with a bubbler i only need to play with the 1 tap half a dozen times, once when i start up to make sure it is open, once to bleed fores, once to get it to take off rate, once more to strip the tails plus the odd bit of tweeking. In just the few runs I've done I've noticed a difference in each run, depending on weather, type of wash etc i recon that sort of stuff would be hard to automate but good luck with it, way too hard for my brain 8-} . Like my dad always says "keep it simple stupid" not saying anyone is stupid but that's how i try to do things. So in my opinion get yourself a bubbler and have some fun playing with it :laughing-rolling:

Oh and on the wine bottles, I'd be real careful with that. theres a fair bit of wight hanging of that glass especially if you run a packed section and i don't know how glass bottles would go with temp changes. Have a look at the 5 star site, macs got some good quality glass tubes going at a good price at the moment.

Anyway, welcome and hope you enjoy the forum :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[southpacific]

Great responses thanks. Automation doesnt mean non-attendance... I guess its more about getting consistent and logged behaviour so I can more effectively tune and improve.
Temp changes should be slow and even enough to avoid glass-cracking stresses, and I realised ( albeit only a few weeks ago ) that the weight means the glass will have to sit under rather than support the top.( which will be supported by dowels or metal or something . Ill post photos when I have something worth looking at so you can all groan / laugh some more :))

[Zak Griffin]

Temp changes 'should' be even... It only takes one breeze to crack a glass and all of a sudden you've got 95.6% ABV alcohol pissing out of your still.

Get yourself some lantern lenses, or the glass tubes that Mac has in the FSD store here

[woodduck]

They'll be slow changes until, a gust of wind, get a shower of rain, kids squirt it with a hose, your mate spills a drink on it, a hose blows, just a couple of examples, accidents do happen. I'm not trying to lag on your idea or put you down i just want you to get as much info as possible before you start building something, that's all. This forum is all about keeping this hobby safe. I understand that you want to use the wine bottles because you made them and that's great but would it not be better to invest into something you know will handle it and will last. Remember a bubbler will outlast you and probably your kids so why not do it right to start with.

Just some food for thought, good luck :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[BIG D]

Hi bud and welcome please understand many of the people here have had, seen or heard of in depth a still fire .The only reason for these responses is genuine concern for you and love of the hobby or art if you will. We would all like to see you become successful in this hobby and enjoy it for many years to come, just gotta get the foundation right. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[bt1]

Hello south,

Have built a couple of glass stills strongly suggest you take a look at borosilicate rather than plain glass if I'm reading your posts right. Temp change is one issue another is weight it needs to support when heated.

No a big change in for your stated plans but we know it works without hassles.

cheers
bt1

[stretch69]

Hey, welcome mate!, I live in Salisbury too!, there's plenty of SA guys on here!.