What's In Your Still?

[billmcc]

It will work a treat providing its pure copper also copper wire threaded throgh the condensor coil does a good job
Cheers

[Almanac]

Just wondering if you had done any further testing on this cotton mesh-Air Still idea, since the last post here. Would be interested in your results if you had as I was thinking of playing with this a bit myself in my air still.

In the end I found that simple copper pipe cut offs, flattened with a pliers did a good job in the Airstill. In my 50lt keg the pot head and condenser are copper so I don't bother otherwise.

AM

[mikepiet]

Thanks Aidanmac,

I'll buy a small copper elbow, cut it into 1/4 inch sections, then flatten them in a vice and drop them into the next air still distill. I have a copper mesh bit, would it be worthwhile putting that into the output flow of the air still or does it have to be in the distillation - steam end?

Icefever - yeah, there are tons of good nuggets of info in here, you just have to go searching through all the thread methodically. :-)

All the best,

Mike P

[Cherry Yidaki]

I had the grandkids pick pennies out of the coin jar (pre-1980), then bend them in half with the vise in the garage. They work great and the kids had a blast doing them..Clean them up with vinegar and you're good to go.

Someone said the American pennies went to copper-washed zinc in 1981, so I double-checked the dates.

[mikepiet]

Hi Cherry Yidaki,

Your penny idea peaked my interest so I went over to Wikipedia and came up with the following re penny composition:

1793–1796 100% copper 13.48
1796–1857 100% copper 10.89
1856–1864 88% copper, 12% nickel (also known as NS-12) 4.67
1864–1942 "bronze" (95% copper, 5% tin and zinc) 3.11
1943 zinc-coated steel (also known as 1943 steel cent) 2.67
1944–1946 "brass" (95% copper, 5% zinc) 3.11
1946–1962 "bronze" (95% copper, 5% tin and zinc)
1962–1981 "brass" (95% copper, 5% zinc)
1982 varies: "brass" (95% copper, 5% zinc) or copper-plated zinc (97.5% zinc, 2.5% copper)[6] 3.11 or 2.5
1983–present 97.5% zinc, 2.5% copper (core: 99.2% zinc, 0.8% copper; plating: pure copper)[7] 2.5

Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_(United_States_coin)

I'm an ex-pat now in New Zealand - so all my pennies got left behind - has to be copper pipe cutting for me - but it is so damn expensive over here - thats why I said I'll get a small elbow and cut it down to ring size.

All the best,

Mike P

[Easydrinker]

Copper is expensive everywhere now.
Caught a price for scrap copper on TV last night of £5,000 a ton.
I was in a metal scrap-yard last year,and watched an International Shipping container being filled,weighed,and the padlocks photographed,before it left.
There is not enough copper in the world for China to wire it's homes as we do in the west.
I wait to see the solution to this.

In the meantime I save all copper offcuts and throw them in the boiler as boil pieces,despite having a copper head and long copper condenser.
And yes they come out dirty,so guess they are doing their part in catching sulphides.
Robert.

[Cherry Yidaki]

Yarg! I wonder if that bit of zinc is enough to impart off flavors? I may cut the pennies out of the equation after reading that. It makes me suspiscious of the settles I cut from heavy gauge copper wire, too... Is it an alloy? Is it coated with something industrial and nasty-tasting? Hrrrmmmm...

In sort of the same theme as "what's in your still," I was check a batch of cornmeal wash today and noticed a floating hunk. Actually it's been there from the beginning, but I thought it would eventually drop with the rest of the meal. Anyway, today I decided to break it up with the paddle - it wouldn't break. So I fished it out. Turns out it was the chunk of foam rubber they'd stuck in the bottom of the hydrometer's shipping tube. I'd wondered where that had disappeared to... heh Glad I didn't try to distill it!

[chill]

I use old pennies and have not noticed any off flavours from them.

[Phantom]

I use old pennies and have not noticed any off flavours from them.

Equally possible that small coinage in Canada is still higher grade copper......

Offcuts of copper plumbing pipe are usually the best bet as they will have the appropriate "standard"......

[Icefever]

Offcuts of copper plumbing pipe are usually the best bet as they will have the appropriate "standard"......

I'm off into the shed and cut me some as soon as I can see what I'm doing.
Daft Q...how many "ring size" for a airstill??

[Phantom]

Offcuts of copper plumbing pipe are usually the best bet as they will have the appropriate "standard"......

I'm off into the shed and cut me some as soon as I can see what I'm doing.
Daft Q...how many "ring size" for a airstill??

About a "handful" should work fine.....

[Icefever]

Cheers VT.
I want to get them cut soon, as I'm trying for a strip & spirit run today.