Still build

[TasSpirits]

I'm confused, is this part of the still you have bought or something you have made? :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Plumby]

I'm confused also, if you made this you could have made your whole still instead of buying it from the states. That's just my opinion though, :teasing-tease:

[Dig Brinker]

I thought it was being imported from the US... :think: it will either be a thumper or a gin basket. If it's a bubble cap type thumper then you'll need an insert to use as a gin basket, ie being so wide your botanicals may be spread too wide to be in contact with vapour.

That's if you're for real...

[copperhead road]

To clear up confusion it's a design change to my still. My imput in the build is by FaceTime video and the professional coppersmith is the hands on cutter and welder lol
The original still head did not function as a botanicals basket as well so after plenty of discussion we scrapped the original and went back to the drawing board and started from scratch. I desided to post pics of the build as it progresses.

[copperhead road]

I thought it was being imported from the US... :think: it will either be a thumper or a gin basket. If it's a bubble cap type thumper then you'll need an insert to use as a gin basket, ie being so wide your botanicals may be spread too wide to be in contact with vapour.

That's if you're for real...

Inside on the bottom of the still head wall there is a copper sheet plate with small holes drilled in every 5 millimetres square, to allow vapour to pass through

[Zak Griffin]

How many kg of botanicals are you planning on running? And are you going to build a reflux still so you can make gin out of neutral hearts?

Thanks for clearing up the confusion about the builder, I thought it might be the case :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[scythe]

What is the idea behind having the head so wide?
To fit as much fruit in as possible?
How do you plan to replace the botanicals mid run?
Or is the plan to stuff that with all the botanicals needed for a run?

And if you only have a perforated plate soldered between the boiler and this top section then how do you plan to use it as a thumper, as i can only see it functioning as a plate section (which is basically all a thumper is) with vastly reduced capacity compared to a thumper.
Also does it have a downcomer?

[azzman]

What is the idea behind having the head so wide?
To fit as much fruit in as possible?
How do you plan to replace the botanicals mid run?
Or is the plan to stuff that with all the botanicals needed for a run?

And if you only have a perforated plate soldered between the boiler and this top section then how do you plan to use it as a thumper, as i can only see it functioning as a plate section (which is basically all a thumper is) with vastly reduced capacity compared to a thumper.
Also does it have a downcomer?

I cant picture how it works, are there other parts we cant see? ie other ferrules? whats it look like inside?

It's going to have cap on top, there will be a copper grate on the inside and arm to consider from the side at top of wall. Pretty much it's going to be a 2 in 1 onion still head and gin basket

Im pretty sure its a gin basket/onion catyliser. ;-)
not a thumper if im correct

as for wider, slower vapour speed if im correct which is how onions work. more time to infuse but more time for heavier elements to drop also. like tails

[copperhead road]

What is the idea behind having the head so wide?
To fit as much fruit in as possible?
How do you plan to replace the botanicals mid run?
Or is the plan to stuff that with all the botanicals needed for a run?

And if you only have a perforated plate soldered between the boiler and this top section then how do you plan to use it as a thumper, as i can only see it functioning as a plate section (which is basically all a thumper is) with vastly reduced capacity compared to a thumper.
Also does it have a downcomer?

I cant picture how it works, are there other parts we cant see? ie other ferrules? whats it look like inside?

It's going to have cap on top, there will be a copper grate on the inside and arm to consider from the side at top of wall. Pretty much it's going to be a 2 in 1 onion still head and gin basket

Im pretty sure its a gin basket/onion catyliser. ;-)
not a thumper if im correct

as for wider, slower vapour speed if im correct which is how onions work. more time to infuse but more time for heavier elements to drop also. like tails

I'm not sure I'm not an expert at all but I have see a still in a craft distillery and it was the same concept (attached picture)

[Zak Griffin]

Anyone who builds a smearing parrot like that would be getting precisely zero of my dollars.

[azzman]

im assuming if its a pot still with a gin basket on top then it would get filled with neutral hearts as a pot still wont do neutral. Then i would assume parrot smearing is not an issue, even so how does that parrot smear? looks fine to me. maybe a bit of 1/2" adding some volume to it but they can drain it off between cuts with the valve. dump the parrot in between jars ;-)

Its the brass i dont like :laughing-rolling:

[copperhead road]

The picture was an example of still head being used as a botanicals basket, not who built it or the proofing parrot
Those are 2 separate issues.
My point was if a craft distillery was using such a rig for whiskey , rum and gin it can not be that bad.

[Zak Griffin]

To make gin you need neutral spirit though, which you can't* make with a pot still.

As for the parrot, look how much product will sit in the top 'cup' before it hits the outlet?

[bluc]

Parrot aside it looks like a sweet little pot :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[copperhead road]

To make gin you need neutral spirit though, which you can't* make with a pot still.

As for the parrot, look how much product will sit in the top 'cup' before it hits the outlet?

After a lot of reading I got the impression that a pot still was not the best weapon for a neutral spirit but was very surprised at a birthday party of mine when the owner and master distiller of Mt Tambourine Distillery told me and my parter that her LEMONCELLO won the award for best lemoncello in Italy last year. She uses a 300 litre full copper pot on gas.
Isn't the base a neutral spirit,Before adding the lemon peel ??????

[Plumby]

You can make neutral in a pot it just takes a lot of redistilling. That's why we use reflux stills as these multiple distillation's happen in the one run.
You will get very good neutral if you do a few striping runs so you get enough to charge your boiler with low wines below 40% and do a spirit run with a reflux still.

[TasSpirits]

To make gin you need neutral spirit though, which you can't* make with a pot still.

As for the parrot, look how much product will sit in the top 'cup' before it hits the outlet?

After a lot of reading I got the impression that a pot still was not the best weapon for a neutral spirit but was very surprised at a birthday party of mine when the owner and master distiller of Mt Tambourine Distillery told me and my parter that her LEMONCELLO won the award for best lemoncello in Italy last year. She uses a 300 litre full copper pot on gas.
Isn't the base a neutral spirit,Before adding the lemon peel ??????

It is, I haven't tasted their Lemoncello so I wont comment about it, I have however tried some other award winning Lemoncello, without exception they were all crap. Usually it is made with Everclear, which is 90% Grain spirit or high proof Grape spirit by Italians(my recipe came from my mates Sicilian Grandfather), I used a Pot for years and have never made a good neutral, even after 4 runs it was still very ordinary. Even now I am still triple distilling it through the bubbler to get it as neutral as possible. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[copperhead road]

Parrot aside it looks like a sweet little pot :handgestures-thumbupleft:

I agree bluc tidy little pot indeed :text-thankyoublue:

[Zak Griffin]

Every commercial limoncello I've tasted has been pretty average...

There's a fair chance they buy 'neutral spirit' in 1000L pods and just flavour it.

[azzman]

Every commercial limoncello I've tasted has been pretty average...

There's a fair chance they buy 'neutral spirit' in 1000L pods and just flavour it.

i think i saw a pic floating around here with one of those IBC's full of ethanol. read many people do this.

Has me wondering. if its stored in plastic and (ethanol ) is a solvent that strips chemicals and then you re distill it through a shit tone of plates or massive packed section will this remove what it has taken on from the plastic ? :think: