My little 2"

[guerd87]

Since Im nearly about ready to put down a wash I best be making a thread about my little setup.

Started with a package arriving from JayD :-D Also picked up 2 kegs from a mate. Not quite sure where he got them...or if I even want to know...

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Put an order in from Mac for a 2400w element and a 4" SSG kit. He was having some issues with the glass so supplied me a stainless cap. He was happy to send me a glass one when he gets some more but im happy with just a stainless one. If I had of known better I would have got an element guard kit at the same time. instead I sourced locally an alloy project box from Jaycar and fitted it to the element. I used a weldless element so I just drilled a 32mm hole in the project box and fitted it to the stack before doing it up.

Power comes through a 15A lead, through a waterproof grommet and powers the element. The box and keg itself are earthed in case anything nasty happens.

Not overly happy with the welding job I got done on the 4" port. Engineering shops were too busy for a little piece like this and wanted to charge $150 to weld it on. That seems a bit dear to me. I dont know maybe thats the price you pay. I put an add up on FB for someone local to do it who has the gear. Stated that It needed to be backpurged and was pretty obvious it needed to be stainless welded. Got it back and I dont think it was backpurged as there was flakey, gunky stuff on the backside of the weld. That came off with a wire wheel fairly easily. The top weld looks good, but its painted? Not sure why you paint stainless weld. I hope its stainless.. :( It cost me a carton of XXXX gold to get it welded on so about $40 all up. Hope he didnt finish the carton before welding it :laughing-rolling:

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As mentioned in the other thread i put it through a steam run to test it all out. Charged it with 20L of water and let it sit for few hours to test for leaks. Nothing leaking at all :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Turned it on and started to heat very quickly. Keg getting hot, tower getting hot and sound of boiling water. Nothing happening though :( By this time it looked like it was about to rain, I had my jacket on and it was fairly cold outside. Waited another 10min but it just wasnt working. Decided to take it inside to warmth and see what happens. Within about 30secs of being inside the tower filled up and I had liquid flowing out of the condensor :smile:

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I picked up 2 x 25L fermenters the other day so now im ready to lay down a wash and get things going. Big :handgestures-thumbupleft: to Mac and JayD for great service and products. Will continue once I get some ingredients

John

[JayD]

It was a pleasure to do business with and I wish you all the best in your journey to become a Master Craft Distiller...this pot has the potential to teach you all you need to know about the art before you move on to bigger and better things...Remember to keep safety your first priorty, do good cuts and reap the benefits... :handgestures-thumbupleft:

...We use and recomend Mac's Element kits... :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[philthy]

well done olmate, looken good :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Andy]

i love new stills. it casts my mind back to the excitement of the first run, the "holy shit it worked," and then the grin after of a wonderful first drink.

Very nice set up there :)

[Summie]

Congrats mate good luck. Lol thou I like the heading my little 2" lol good luck bud.

[bt1]

Clean, simple and well setup. The best teaching tool in the game...a simple pot.

Learn to drive these babies and the craft becomes your oyster.

bt1

[Jonno]

Mate it looks fantastic, that'll get you some nice drink :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[AussieDistiller1989]

Looking good mate can't wait till mine is done.
And the keg with the blue strip looks to be the new
Line of CUB kegs :laughing-rolling:

[Yummyrum]

Looking good mate can't wait till mine is done.
And the keg with the blue strip looks to be the new
Line of CUB kegs :laughing-rolling:

Thought I saw a small defect in that Keg .Its fine ......Hey guerd87 nice rig ...Those Pot stills might be the simplest of stills but you can never get sick of them ..Have some fun with it .

I like your element cover :handgestures-thumbupleft: Really do .would like to see whats under the bonnet

[baysidebogan]

:handgestures-thumbupleft: Looks great,in the process of the same set up. Younger brothers are tradies,so no problem about fitting element,they`ll do it for a slab :D

[guerd87]

Thanks for all the positive replies! :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Was so hard starting out wondering what type of still to go for, how much to spend etc etc. So many variables. So far happy with what I have now :-D

Finally get to use it soon after the many months of research and dreaming

[jdonly1]

Nothing wrong with that mate,its a little rippa :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[guerd87]

Still has been officially run in!

Done my cleaning runs last night. Good scrub out, vinegar run and then a cheap nasty ass vodka run. Still performed very well :)

My little station. Running 2 x 200L drums outside linked together for cooling supply.

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What my little man cave looks like, well half of it. Misses was having a great time on GTA 5 while I was fooling around and kids were in bed.

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All in preperation to run these

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Early this morning charged the boiler and prepped everything. Warm up seemed nor.al but still taking a long time to rise up the column. The bottom is too hot to touch and still takes half an hour to reach the top and start producing. Should I look at insulating the column?

300ml of fores pulled off and cut into 250ml lots. Ran out of jats at 4.25L so just ran everything else into demijohn down until 20%. Ended up with a total of around 7 L. Way more then I expected. Not lost though, will run with next batch.

Take off rate

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Still to do before next run:
More cut jars
Drain tap
Parrot. PITA taking readings otherwise
Heat controller!

Sorry for any bad spelling, posting from my phone.

Have the jars airing at the moment. first impressions smells good. If I get a chance to get on a computer I will rotate the pics unless someone can do it for me.

Cheers,
John

[forefold]

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Sent from my GT-I9210T using Tapatalk 4

[Rumbummer]

G'day fellas.I have just recently made this pot still.I have run two batches of 20 liter Molasses based wash through it.The first batch tasted awful,the second one was a very drinkable Rum at 30%ABV about 2.5 liters.
I'll keep reading to find out what I'm doing wrong.
As soon as I find out how to post Pics, I'll show my rigs. Busy with a VM reflux at the moment.

[Dusty_ben]

I keep seeing these cooling set ups. I brought a pump but it pumps way to quick. How many lph are you guys aiming for. Help is much appreciated.

[Muppet]

I keep seeing these cooling set ups. I brought a pump but it pumps way to quick. How many lph are you guys aiming for. Help is much appreciated.

You could plumb it with a tee and return line after the pump, on the feed line in. small valve and bleed of excess pressure/ flow back to tank before it gets to the inlet. I'm sure there's other ways but this makes sence to me

[Sam.]

I keep seeing these cooling set ups. I brought a pump but it pumps way to quick. How many lph are you guys aiming for. Help is much appreciated.

If your talking pot still, the quicker the better. Never really measured my output on a pot run, just let your condenser tell you if its enough ;-)