StillSmart

Finally received my burco, and after hours of fun making a hole in the lid to attach an endcap, and gasket (cardboard wrapped in ptfe) so I could attach the riser for my pot still, it was time for the first run.

I ran through a 60/40 solution of vinegar and water, and was surprised at how quickly the product came out the end of the liebig. One minor leak where the gasket didn't quite seal properly, but everything worked really well.

For the next run I threw in some cheap box wine (disgusting stuff I couldn't even give away!), and some tails from a previous run on the EasyStill. I patched the leak using some flour paste.
Again, really surprised at how quick product appeared compared to the easy still. This time no leaks, although I nearly had a heart attack when the doorbell went! Luckily they soon went away.

Tomorrow I will be running a cleared birdwatchers wash, and try to learn how to drive my new toy ! It feels like a massive jump from the easystill, and learning all over again, but I'm looking forward to the journey.

Once I have a few runs under my belt I will be looking to make some Rum. Does anyone have any good recipes, with ingredients that are easy to get hold of in the UK?


-Happy Uber

Well done that man !!! I am really pleased for you.

How about some details of the Burco? There are are a couple of other members still undecided about some of the alternatives that you have managed to get past. How did you seal the lid? How did you connect the column to the lid?

Rum, the only thing that you cannot get from the supermarket is Molasses. It is available mail order or you may be lucky and have a horse feed supplier near you.

Thanks Brian

I have a 30Litre Burco with a sealed element. When turned up to Max, it provides a constant boil. I have one of these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10000W-220v-Adjust-SCR-Voltage-Regulator-Motor-Speed-control-Dimmer-Thermostat-/181048405275 On order, so until that arrives I am limited to doing strip runs.

To seal the lid on the burco, I made a gasket using cardboard wrapped in PTFE tape. This is then held to the lid using several spring clamps. These compress the lid and hold it completely flush. I can even pick the boiler up by the lid when its full!. The clamps don't look too aesthetically pleasing, but it gets me by until I can come up with a neater solution.

The column is held to the lid with a 54mm copper end cap with a hole cut in the middle. The same size hole is also cut into the burco lid, between this is another cardboard/ptfe gasket and the endcap is held to the lid using some M3 Nuts and bolts. This holds the column very firmly.

I shall post a picture when I get chance which should explain it better!

There's some good info about rums and other spirits if you register at both the new distillers and distillers groups at yahoo. Plus the modern distillers forums is worth a look too.

You may also need to get a number of jars to collect the distillate as "cuts" then you can separate then out by time or quantity. Then by numbering the jars you can learn to identify heads, hearts, etc etc so you know which parts of the run will make up the best raw rum.