/diy/ - Do It Yourself

[Anonymous No.401977]

hey /diy/,
i am becoming interested in obtaining or even moreso fabricating
a home still, i am wondering if anyone here has any experience
pointers, tips, ideas etc that might halp me on my way to making some spirits.

[Anonymous No.401993]

dont let the elephant men destroy your purity.

[Anonymous No.402489]

Here might be a good place to start
http://homedistiller.org/

[Anonymous No.402529]

>>401993
is that a reference to this?

[Anonymous No.402532]

a few tips:
>use copper or stainless only for safety and flavor
you want weldless parts if possible. no plastic, no vinyl touches your brew until it is condensed... aside from fermentation vessels
>make a paste with flour and water to fill leaks in your lines and joints rather than any weld or plasticy films
>if you use a pot still
have the line out of the pot bend at 45 degrees rather than 90 and rather than a curve
>double or triple distill
>do this outside if at all possible. only do it indoors if you have an electric stove and make sure you have good ventilation.
>if you use copper
distill about a gallon of water through your system before you do any alcohol and only clean it with cleansers that wont break down the oxidation layers. so no oxiclean or one step cleaners unless you run another gallon or so of water through before every batch

dont tell anyone you dont trust very well either.

[Anonymous No.402568]

Copper requires a lot more maintinance than glass. but glass does tend to look like a meth lab.

[Anonymous No.402630]

>>402489
thank you

>>402532
is it better to use electric or traditional?

>>402568
what kinda maintenace?

[Anonymous No.403000]

[Anonymous No.403200]

I have built the one on this site with the Valved Reflux Still-Head
http://moonshine-still.com/

works realy IMHO

btw check out the forum on the homedistillers if you post stay on subject get kicked real easy

Be sure to follow Initial Startup instructions

[Anonymous No.403372]

>>402630
Saftey. The reason i recommended electric is because flammable ethanol fumes may escape from a homebuilt still.

having a gas burner rocking and some ethanol gas building up...you might get a fire or explosion.

[Anonymous No.403614]

>>403200
thank you, i appreciate everything i can get.
i have been inundated with reading material.
figuring out washes and numbers and materials etc.
still have a ways to go but one thing im finding a lack of info on is times. General times,
times for washes, times for distillation polishing cooling etc.
im wondering if you could throw anything at me on that?
id love to have all my bases as covered as possible before i delve into this.

[Anonymous No.403619]

>>403372
thats what i was thinking but i am green. thank you, may i ask if there is any upside or downside to electric as opposed to a burner?

[Anonymous No.404199]

[Anonymous No.404213]

>>401977

i have friends who made a still from a 5-gallon electric hot water heater. glass lined, heater, pressure relief valve, thermostat, rated for pressure and sanitary.

[Anonymous No.404235]

>>403619
There isnt too much of a downside.

All I can really think of is that your pot will get marks where the stove's elements touch the bottom of the pot. Gas stoves have a bit better support over the burners, so a thin pot may begin to warp or sag around an electric element with frequent use.

The electric might take slightly longer to reach the desired temp range, but it is rather minimal and shouldnt cause a problem unless you do large batches.

[Anonymous No.404237]

>>403614
>>403619
also I would recommend the book "the art of whiskey distilling" you can pick it up online or...acquire it as a pdf

[Anonymous No.404369]

>>404213
what do you mean by glass lined? howso?

>>404235
may i ask if you could give me any inference as to the upsides of the materials used. glass/copper/stainless?

[Anonymous No.404595]

anyone here suggest a double or single distillation for whiskey?

[Anonymous No.404606]

>>404213

hot water heater from home depot; they're all lined

[Anonymous No.404612]

I remember when I was young and asked my greek uncle how to make ouzo

how is ouzo made?
>Well, first you buy a large drum container thing. Okay
>then you get the grapes and squish them only getting their skins, okay
>then you get the skins and leave them forment, okay
>Then the police man come to your home and take you to jail

[Anonymous No.404664]

>>404612
you just won

[Anonymous No.404704]

>>404369
>Glass
good for distilling things that arent as flammable as ethanol. so if you were doing plant extracts, water, or the like. parts are cheap and small for the most part. However, glass can crack under direct heat and discolor. using glass with ethanol can be dangerous. dont bother unless your in a lab.

>Stainless
good. it is safe and easy to clean. requires less maintenance than copper. problems arise with welding (if you build from scratch). you need to use lead and cadmium free solders, and have a rig that can weld steel. most distillers and homebrewers would not recommend any stainless welds touching your brews. it is durable and pretty. many small setups use stainless pots because of everything above, and it is easily disguised.

>copper
easy to work with. copper naturally buffs out sulfides. thats why they pack the fractionating columns with copper mesh or small copper lines. the flexible copper tubes are great for small setups, you can seriously do an entire setup, minus the pot, with one continuous copper line.. requiring no welding or anything fancy.

Dont use anything that is galvanized or plastic. get a stainless steel stock pot with copper lines.

[Anonymous No.404717]

>>404704
thank u so much. this information is so helpful

[Anonymous No.404718]

> interesting
>indeed

[Anonymous No.405011]

>>404718

[Anonymous No.405175]

[Anonymous No.405197]

>>404704
'problems arise with welding (if you build from scratch). you need to use lead and cadmium free solders'

>welding

> lead and cadmium free solders

Choose one.

Welding=/= Soldering

[Anonymous No.405706]

[Anonymous No.405712]

>>405706
>not memorizing multiplications up to 100
>younger than 13
1

[Anonymous No.405729]

>>405706
MIND. BLOWN.

I never memorized my times tables! Thank you for this...I dare say it's kinda changed my life for the better!

[Anonymous No.405738]

>>405729

>I never memorized my times tables!

lol. i found those easy. it was the "goes intas" that i can't remember.