Bryan’s mini pot still

Pot still design and discussion

Re: Bryan’s mini pot still

Postby RuddyCrazy » Fri Jul 27, 2018 11:55 am

G'day Guy's,
Well got the burner finished and working nicely, now for safety incase of a blow back in the burner I made a cover for the top opening and it does make the flame more consistent.

copper burner.jpg


Now this is the first time I've made a burner and it has been a bit of fun trying out different pipes and making small frustums to aid in the air/fuel mix. Looking the spec's of lpg they reckon around a 25:1 air lpg ratio for the ideal burn. In one of my tests I moved the injector back away from the frustum and got a good blue burn. On measuring I was around 30mm short so just cut a longer length of 3/4" and soldered that inplace. Now the frustum at the gas end is a 3/4" to 1-1/2" and I found after drilling holes wasn't enough air to cut the top and bottom off got a heap better but still not good enough.

So I drilled 3 off 1/4" holes on the underside of the pipe and found the flame was much better but still had the yellow flame. So I cut the 2 holes to make a slot and tried it again and found YAY :happy-partydance: found the right air/fuel ratio to get the most out of the lpg with a good clean burn.

Now to start making burner one has to start at the gas input end and make the injector nozzle. I grabbed a 1/8" to 1/4" bspt fitting and found the internal hole was a tad under 5mm. So wacked a taper 6mm tap thru for the injector thread. This meant I could just use a M6 sockethead cap screw and drill a 0.7mm hole. Why 0.7mm well thats the smallest carbide drill I have :laughing-rolling:.

To hold the bspt fitting I used some 3mm brass plate and drilled/tapped a 1/8" bspt thread. Also I was able to hard solder the brass plate to the copper frustum.

Now the burner ring is 3/8" copper tube and I used my small tube bender to get a 60mm ID bend. I drilled a heap of 0.8mm holes on a 5mm spacing angle slightly in so the flames would point in to concentrate the burn.

For the legs I just used some 7x5mm copper and hard soldered them on.

As soon as my tax return arrives I'm buying an oxy bottle as LPG/Oxy will be way better for heating than the small propane bottles.

Cheers Bryan
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Re: Bryan’s mini pot still

Postby bonifazius » Fri Jul 27, 2018 4:01 pm

hillzabilly wrote:I used ta snoop on a site called schnapps brennen,they had a few little pot stills like that,and used little camping metho burners to heat them,but they often had a worm,plus the site was in german with the google translater helping a lot .cheers hillzabilly Look at https://www.distilling-fermenting-semin ... destillen/

There is a English version,just look for the little flags on top and bottom of the page. :-B
Cheers bonifazius
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Re: Bryan’s mini pot still

Postby RuddyCrazy » Fri Jul 27, 2018 5:06 pm

Why bother with a foreign site when this build will be a site to the world on what an Ozzie can do :music-deathmetal: . With getting this small burner to work and I did get the ratio right. So the next project is a spiral burner maybe a 4 or 6 ring burner working off a single jet.

I am semi retired so if my efforts in providing a product then in the end game I will get there. With store bought burners well they just lack the BTU grunt. So if my trials prove right then I will provide the build details so guys can make them or sell a complete unit.

This is an Ozzie forum and as such our idea's are ours and the world can look in awe.

Anyway I am going to torch the worm idea and instead make a liebig that comes off the thumper. That way theres only 2 clamps to undo when the run is over and the unit will still be fit to be infront of a distillery, maybe mine.

Cheers Bryan
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Re: Bryan’s mini pot still

Postby EziTasting » Fri Jul 27, 2018 8:07 pm

Love your work Bryan!

Keep it up! :text-thankyoublue:
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Re: Bryan’s mini pot still

Postby RuddyCrazy » Fri Oct 12, 2018 7:05 pm

Well decisions decisions decisions to make a thumper or just chuck a liebig on there. I have made up 2 frustums 1/2" to 1" and cut some 1" pipe 5"'s long to use as the liebig.

Now as the weekend has arrived it may be time to start melting some copper so I can cast and machine up a 3 way valve out of copper and go a straight strip run then turn the handle and put some 90% TPW in for the spirit run.

So by using a 5 litre demi with the new product one can strip the wash then get enough to do a 40% spirit run.

I do have a SS drip tray here that is begging to become the new stand for the still and I do need to brush up my tigging skills for work. So this may happen but as I do have a few welding jobs and a huge jobbie of restoring that wood stove where I found a 1899 coin in. I scored some 100x150 angle iron so I have cut out the base frame and as it's cut at a 45 degree angle theres a heap of arc welding to do.

Also to power that 130 amp Lincoln arc/tig welder I need to setup the vege oil feed for the 16hp Listeriod as diesel is getting that bloody expensive it is time to use vege oil to run a diesel. It is easy just start on diesel until the exhaust is warm and switch a 3 way ( which I'll make) so it can run on pre heated vege oil. Vege oil is the same viscosity as diesel at 60 degrees. Now forget using one of new breeds of car as the computer in them won't handle the change. I mean why drive a new car when the older models let you do the servicing when a 90's car sill runs. After my beloved Land Crusier was sold I managed to get a 95 hilux ute thats only just broken in with 420K on the clock. I did look at converting that but finding a heat exchanger cheap as the hbo market has taken hold.

Well guys friday night and those apple ciders at a month old are starting to taste yummy. :obscene-drinkingdrunk:

Cheers Bryan

Now P.S. if you guys have a pain go see the chemist and ask the guy out the back for some Mersyoten. for a tooth ache this week these drugs have solved the date to a get a feral tooth out. So try them and think you don't have any opioids in the drugs
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Re: Bryan’s mini pot still

Postby RuddyCrazy » Mon Oct 15, 2018 8:13 pm

Well made the thumper and did a vinegar run tonight, no leaks found so tomorrow night a sac run then she's ready for the first run
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Re: Bryan’s mini pot still

Postby bluc » Mon Oct 15, 2018 8:20 pm

Sweet any pics?
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Re: Bryan’s mini pot still

Postby dans.brew » Tue Oct 16, 2018 8:48 pm

:text-+1:
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Re: Bryan’s mini pot still

Postby RuddyCrazy » Wed Oct 17, 2018 7:38 pm

Guy's pic's to come once I've given it the final clean. gotta get somemore citrus acid then give it all a good soak for a couple of days.
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Re: Bryan’s mini pot still

Postby RuddyCrazy » Sat Oct 20, 2018 9:13 am

Still gotta setup a cooling tank but here she is

mini potstill.jpg


This weekend I'll do the sac run then I'm thinking of soaking some licorice root in some 40% and filling the thumper with some 90% for the first run.
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Re: Bryan’s mini pot still

Postby woodduck » Sat Oct 20, 2018 9:27 am

Nice one Bryan, she's a little beauty :handgestures-thumbupleft:
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Re: Bryan’s mini pot still

Postby EziTasting » Sat Oct 20, 2018 11:16 am

That’s gold!

Love your work.
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Re: Bryan’s mini pot still

Postby bluc » Sat Oct 20, 2018 11:18 am

how much does boiler hold? is it for gin? :handgestures-thumbupleft:
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Re: Bryan’s mini pot still

Postby dans.brew » Sat Oct 20, 2018 11:50 am

Very nice indeed!
Should be able to make a nice drop with that little fella. :handgestures-thumbupleft:
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Re: Bryan’s mini pot still

Postby RuddyCrazy » Sat Oct 20, 2018 2:32 pm

When I made the thumper I did think with it raised it would be better and I decided to make that stand as that 2 ring burner was just made for the boiler and by using the needle valve on the gas input I can jet a nice small blue flame going. Now of course trying to make the outer ring out of flattened 3" pipe ends up being around 10mm too short :angry-banghead: so to get around the problem I just marked it out with a radius and cut the copper sheet wider. Then annealed it and started bashing. Rinsed and repeated a few times and got it straight enough to use. The legs are made from some 7x4mm copper welding transformer wire where I found burning the insulation then giving it a scrub with a scouring pad soon gets the bare copper.

Now after the vinegar run I did notice where the liquid that was left in overnight cleaned the copper just like the citric acid does, so filled the boiler and thumper up and left it for a day. Then they both went into that yucky green bucket I got outside from past citric acid baths with a bit more water and some citric acid pinched from SWMBO ( when she finds out it may be :violence-smack: too)

My original intention was to cut down that SS tub but as one can see it just aint wide enough :angry-banghead: So got to thinking now may be the time put that adjustable guide on an old 20" chainsaw blade. I do have a well seasoned redgum branch about 24" round out the back of the farm at the coffee table tree. As it raised off the ground it should make it easy to cut some slabs and make a redgum base for the potstill.

Now for the cooling on the vinegar run I just the windscreen pump and plastic tub but did find the water heated up too much so just set it up to drain and kept adding new cold water to complete the cleaning run. I will setup a 20 litre bucket for the sac run and see if 20 litres is enough to stay cool during the run. I am thinking towards making a radiator out of copper pipe and use a 12 volt computer fan. Then with the windscreen wiper pump have wrap a few turn of the plastic pipe around it to keep it cool.

Now as far as size the boiler holds about 2 litres and the thumper about a 750mls, the PC is 1" over 1/2" and I made 2 small frustums then hard soldered everything together.
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Re: Bryan’s mini pot still

Postby bluc » Sat Oct 20, 2018 3:00 pm

Sweet :handgestures-thumbupleft:
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Re: Bryan’s mini pot still

Postby RuddyCrazy » Sat Oct 20, 2018 4:53 pm

I made a mistake with the boiler capacity as it is 1 litre and not 2 litres. Anyway watered down a longneck of fients and rigged up a hose adapter out of 3 different sized copper tubes. Put 3 turns around the wiper pump of the input water so that should keep the motor cool. Anyway off to do the sac run and may just have to make a youtube too..
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Re: Bryan’s mini pot still

Postby RuddyCrazy » Sat Oct 20, 2018 6:50 pm

G'day Guy's,
Well did the sac run and just watered some feints to 40% and used that. It only took about 15 minutes to heatup and the output came out @84%ABV I distilled about 400mm and it was still 75% so I am wrapped with this mini and can't wait until the fruit trees produce some fruit then it's onto some brandy making.


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equipment: 4" copper bubbler with a setup for Neutral and a thumper for Whisky and my old 5 litre pot for doing maceration runs and MiniMe the baby pot still

Re: Bryan’s mini pot still

Postby dans.brew » Sat Oct 20, 2018 7:31 pm

Nice :handgestures-thumbupleft:
Glad she worked as planned. What sort of brandy you chasing?
Should turn out good using homegrown fruit.
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Re: Bryan’s mini pot still

Postby RuddyCrazy » Sat Oct 20, 2018 7:40 pm

dans.brew wrote:Nice :handgestures-thumbupleft:
Glad she worked as planned. What sort of brandy you chasing?
Should turn out good using homegrown fruit.


We have several varieties of plums and apricot and a mulberry tree and lets not leave out my manzano chilli tree thats pruned back and already showing the signs of another bumper crop. Also go several seedlings up so the plan is make a heap more chilli brandy and use a barrel for aging.

I'll use a 5 litre demi for doing the ferments then do 5 strip runs to get enough low wines to do a sprit run with some 90% in the thumper.

I do need to look on fleabay for some 50ml beakers to use as cut jars so I can separate the fractions and blend to my hearts delight.

Ok so I'm only going to get about a litre to put on oak but atleast each one will have it's own taste profile.
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