Anyone built something similar to this?

[MrCat]

That's not a bad thought, is this the solution you chose?

Nope - I've got a T500 but I got that idea from a book entitled Making Pure Corn whiskey that not only has plans and ideas for stills but has a few very intersting pages on the history of whiskey making in the US.

When I get round to a self build it's likely to be a setup like this

http://www.artisan-distiller.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3045

[Still Not There Yet]

AAAGH 54mm, of course OD measurements. THANK YOU....

I converted 2" to metric = 50.8mm and have been searching for that size fittings / pipe all day wondering why it was so hard to find ANY supplier let alone cheap / local.

Right, time to get serious.

[YHB]

In the good old days this type of pipe was quoted on the internal size ie 2"

When we changed from metric as well as changing to millimeters - they changed from quoting the internal to the external diameter, which is where the 54mm comes from. The physical size never changed. This is fine for drainage pipe ( which is the common one ) and its fittings, but it is possible to come across 2" pressure fittings that will not fit 54mm pipe, just keep an eye out for it.

I am paying £19 a meter for 54mm copper pipe from my local plumbers merchant. Or try the custom exhaust sites for nice shiny stainless its cheaper and stronger - they can weld a flange on one end for you as well.

[YHB]

This is my leading contender for things to be converted into a boiler.

http://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=221

Can either fit an internal element or sit it on a hotplate.

What do you think?

[Still Not There Yet]

Brilliant! Yes that pot is similar to something I had in mind if I construct my own boiler. But, you can get them for about half that price at Indian supermarkets. There are loads of them about in Yorkshire in the obvious areas. I was actually thinking about using a similar size pressure cooker which you can get stupidly cheap but obviously that has a brilliant seal. I would recommend shopping at a few different places as the quality can vary somewhat but I've been eyeing these up for years whilst picking up my cheap spices, rice and veg.

Your build looks great so far, love that jig you built for the slants.

[YHB]

I would like to bet that the stock pots that you have been drooling over in the Asian supermarkets are Aluminium not Stainless Steel.

I also would like to use these because they are easier to work on than stainless, but I have been talked out of using them by the clever people who claim that;

1) Aluminium has been linked to Alzeimers desease
2) Alcohol will pit (dissolve) Aluminium causing it to weaken and perhaps increase the chances of 1)
3)The Aluminium gives the distillate a metallic taste.

Having said all of that there are many people who have been using converted Aluminium pressure cookers for years, the choice is yours.

I am trying to stick with either Copper or Stainless where ever possible.

If I am wrong and they are stainless then please let me know and I will be on the next train down to get one.

[Still Not There Yet]

Yeah they're definitely aluminium. Bugger!

[YHB]

Maybe I have changed my mind.

Coincidently, there has just been a disscussion on the Yahoo distilling group about the use of Aluminium stock pots for boilers. A result of which is that, I am having a rethink about using one.

Everyone has an opinion but it is trying to establish what their opininion is based on that is the difficult part. Sometimes opinions are based on proven facts and experience, whilst others on hunches and hearsay.

I followed the thread on Yahoo and did a bit more reading and now it is safe to say that I am back to sitting on the fence. If money was no object, I would use Stainless. If it was easier to work with, I would use Stainless.

Safety wise? - I have convinced myself that I would drink the spirits made in an aluminium boiler. Taste wise? - there are a lot more people using aluminium pressure cookers and stockpots than there are people claiming that the spirits produced in them taste metallic.

Have you given them any more thought?

Does anyone else have any experience of Aluminium boilers?

[Capt-Cudellez]

Can't claim any experiance with aluminium boilers, but I have drank out of an Alu mug and don't care for the taste. Can't say if this would affect the spirit, but the price saving does make it a tempting option.

That connector is great, if going down the stockpot route, have you given any thought to how you are going to secure the lid?
I have seen bulldog clips used for pot still conversions, but a long column is a different story. When the boiler heats up, you will get column ossilation, the column will act like a big leaver. If using a light clip, you may want to secure the collumn to a wall or roof if that is easily done in your stilling area.


@mr cat: those condencer managed stills are really cool, with a 2" BSP female connection on the bottom you could connect it straight onto the t500 boiler using the male fitting that holds the standard column on.
I did this recently with my extended pot riser, I was worried about the seal as the female connector isn't flared to take an O ring. But I cut a gasket from PTFE sheet and got a good seal.
Also thinking about putting a female half socket inside an inverted expandable triclamp fitting. This would give a flat surface to take a gasket, fits the round indent in the t500 boiler lid perfectly, and would give the option of using the collumn on a keg also. Just need to check the fittings will actually fit in side one another.

[YHB]

[quote ="Capt-Cudellez"]Can't claim any experiance with aluminium boilers, but I have drank out of an Alu mug and don't care for the taste. Can't say if this would affect the spirit, but the price saving does make it a tempting option.

That connector is great, if going down the stockpot route, have you given any thought to how you are going to secure the lid? [/quote]


Cap'n - I do not want to be accussed of hi-jacking "Still Not There Yet"'s thread so I will answer it in - Brian's Bokakob, tomorrow.

[Still Not There Yet]

Hi,

haven't looked at this for a week or so, been too busy enjoying the fruits of my labours.
With regards to having thought much about the alu pot recently I have. I'm heading down south in a few days and will be passing through Leicester. In the Belgrave Road area there are countless shops selling these stockpots and in the past I've definitely seen SS pots as well as alu so I'm going to see how they compare price and quality wise. A good quality 33l pressure cooker is top of my list, preferably SS but we'll see.
I'm not against using alu after reading quite a bit about it. I did not look for opinion from people in this hobby but looked at medical sites and Alzheimer charities etc. They all claim there is no relationship.
I think if you announce something is dangerous there will be a number of people who would rather avoid it no matter what contradictory eveidence comes out. That said, I'll still go for SS if possible and a part of that decision is the potential for 'new' evidence to come out finally saying alu is dangerous - I think it's human nature!
I shall update you once the boiler has been found, I'm still considering that green wort boiler though, pricey but it should save a lot of time.

[Still Not There Yet]

Hi All, been away for a while mainly due to work and a broken wrist hindering progress. Was chatting with Brian and he inspired me to start collecting bits regardless, which is what I did.
My bok will be all ready to start when the blasted pot comes off, although in a pain killer induced moment of bravado I started winding the coil and kinked and flattened my way through a couple of meters of 8mm. I have ended up with a reasonable looking coil (8mm single with cold finger) but it flattened considerably and the flow rate has reduced. I'll start another thread to update you all on my build and share my learning as I go. I've been taking pictures so when I get some time will get a good first post started.

[YHB]

Glad to see that you have started.

Did you pack the coil with salt? 8mm is still a good size for a coil even though it is elliptical. If you get a steady flow through it, it should not be a problem.

Since we last spoke I stumbled on a 3kW 6 Gallon Stainless Burco boiler for 25 pounds. The lid needs a bit of work but nothing that is insurmountable.

Looking forward to seeing your pictures.

[ant]

The Guardian recently reported on the autopsy of a woman who died after an aluminium sulphate overdose released by accident into the water supply. Her brain was massively crowded with the plaques associated with Alzheimer disease and it was concluded that this lead to her death. There have been links between aluminium leached into acid food like tomatoes and Alzheimers reported in New Scientist for a number of years. Wash/mash is acidic, it will leach aluminium.

You can take your choice but as a personal opinion informed only by science reports I have come across over the years I would not risk it myself.

The point is that poisoning of this type is slow and cumulative, it will vary between individuals and it will likely go unreported as having a link to aluminium use; everyday NHS doctors don't really dig that deep into cause once they have a diagnosis they can treat.

You might die of other causes before it becomes a problem but the fact some people use aluminium and haven't died yet does not prove it is actually safe. Just that if it kills you it does it slowly which would be what you would expect from the reports that have been made.

[Capt-Cudellez]

Welcome Ant - that case if I'm not mistaken was 20 tonnes of aluminium sulphate was dumped by accident into the water supply, this was not an erosion \ decomposition type incident.

Also I found this on the Alzheimers socity website

There is circumstantial evidence linking this metal with Alzheimer's disease, but no causal relationship has yet been proved. As evidence for other causes continues to grow, a possible link with aluminium seems increasingly unlikely

Full text is here http://alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=99

Can you let us know if you are interested in distilling, or did you find your way here by goggling something else? Just an interesting first post.


CC