Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

Hey guys, here is another fun and cheap DIY build that I’ve almost finished. I built this dryer specifically for drying malted grain, for the oversupply of chili in the vegetable garden and hopefully for my hop vines around this time next year.

So many ways to do this so not a compete walkthough with all the dimentions etc... Just some pictuers and tips however let me know if you want any specifics.



I designed the box to be 350x350x400 so it could be comfortably cut from a 900x1200 sheet of 7mm thick ply (about $15), also used 2 x 2700mm lengths of 18x18mm pine ($3.50 EA) and a few meters of old 42x19mm pine that was laying around. 2 bayonet light sockets, 240V switch panel, 12V switch, fan, switch and socket.









Heat is generated by 2 regular house globes and you can experiment with different globes to find the temperature your after. Testing with 70W and 90W (equivalent) halogen globes the temperature on the middle tray is stable at 40C. You could also try different fan speeds or use a dimming switch and dial instead of the two switches. The dimmers are about $18 at bunnings.

Of course there are so many ways to make a dryer like this and I’m sure there are much better wood working techniques and practices but I hope this gives some ideas for anyone looking to malt their own grain. Post pics if you made something similar!

I really like it!

It a soln to an issue I've been ticking over for weeks...wd looks good.

btw I'm avg with timber do you do flat packs :D

bt1

Ive got one simmilar for making biltong with hanging racks to hang the meat on with stainless hooks works well in summer in winter just doesn't seem to cut it

Great Tutorial Phil, I might build one myself :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Cheers guys, the test run worked out well. Chilies came out nice, not cooked but well dried. Just stuck some coriander seeds in to see how that goes. Can't wait to do some more malting!

After steeping grain to keep it aerated yet moist while germinating I have seen a 20L plastic bucket tipped on its side with wooden slats glued like in a tumble dryer, this is on a roller system rotating each hour. Just runs on a small and slow turn electric motor but takes the space and hassle out of germinating. I haven't looked into this properly but that may be my next DIY.

A little off topic however I wanted to ask if anyone in Sydney has found a supplier for whole barley? I haven’t had much luck sourcing it so far.

Looks great mate :handgestures-thumbupleft: I imagine this could have many uses :think:

Your tumble dryer for the malt sounds interesting too. Feel free to post some pics and a run down on that as well.

Would be awesome to have a complete DIY kit for malting/drying, definitely something I want to be doing for myself in the future :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Yeap tumble dryers work well but finding a study enough bag that will allow the warm air to penetrate is a pain ;-)

Would a pillow case work crow? :think:

That's what Kimbo used, I'm impatient so I used I jute sand bag, hessian would have been better as some rootlets and grain escaped the jute. A cotton flour or sugar sack would do the trick too

Nice. :handgestures-thumbupleft: :handgestures-thumbupleft:

With the tumble dryer style using a 20L plastic bucket on its side I was thinking of a hole in the lid maybe 100mm diameter and just a bunch of 8mm holes on the base which would allow air flow and also keep everything inside. Set it on a timer to roll every now and again and squirt if it's drying out.