StillSmart

Got top and bottom of still at work awaiting my attention so now I'm needing an heat source.....
Would this be ok for £15.00 from feabay?


Any tips on what temp probe and fixings to get?? Do I need one with a pot still?
Where do I get a decent distillation hydrometer?

BB

Kindof depends on the size of your boiler.

Any particular reason you're not going for an immersion element?

I opted for an internal element because it's much easier to make sure the boiler is stable but then my boiler is a 50lt I'd need some hotplate for that.

My boiler is all but bolted to the floor. I didn't like the idea that, if it wasn't nailed down, it could be knocked over with all that hot alcohol inside - and with my luck it would

Good luck with the build anyway.

AidanMac

Yes if it was me building it I would definitely go for an internal element for heating .

Thing is for my first build I'm making a sealed copper pot still with a 22mm pipe with an height up to around 200mm then a 45 degree reducer bend to 15mm pipe connecting to a 300mm Liebig condenser that can be removed from the still for filling and emptying the wash.
The pot will 190mm diameter with an height of 350mm all copper with a domed top from the bed warmer I bought.
Any thoughts on this lads? Will it be ok for my first still to hone my skills!

BB

It'll certainly look nice and shiny once polished, could become a family heirloom in years to come

Your plan sounds fine, if a little small, just have to make sure the wieght / position of the Liebig when filled with water and cooling hoses attached etc doesn't make it unstable and tip over.

That was a concern of mine being unstable so I'll do a few dry runs with water...
Any thoughts on another type of condenser for a small still?

Taking shape....

Is the piccy working for everyone else ?

Clicking on it does nothing but it's looking good BB

What will the total volume be, can't judge as there's nothing in the pic to give an indication of it's scale?

Not sure what it will hold yet, tried to find a conversion chat on google but nothing turned up for small amounts.
Diameter is 63cm x 39cm height..

BarnsleyBrewer wrote:Not sure what it will hold yet, tried to find a conversion chat on google but nothing turned up for small amounts.
Diameter is 63cm x 39cm height..

get a measuring jug and see how litres of water you
can fill to

Magnu420 wrote:get a measuring jug and see how litres of water you
can fill to

Need to get it riveted and soldered first..
I guess the original solder seal of the top and bottom on the copper jobby I bought will not be lead free from 50+ years ago, could this be an issue??

Steampunk wrote:According to this calculator its 122 ltrs or 27 UK gallons
http://www.regaltanks.co.uk/calculator/

SP

Nar, it's not that big.. Did you put inches in instead of cm ?

Way to much, at a guess I'd say around 7L ?

630mm circumference x 390mm high..... My mistake, I put diameter.. Lol

Just checked again, should be able to get around 9L in allowing for head space to avoid puking!!!

Getting to know all the terminology now.

BB

J...it's double an airstill...you'll be ok making say 5/6 lts wash. You'll then have around 5.5 lts going into the still....plenty of room in there for that.
This still your making will let you "cut your teeth" on this amount....then you can start thinking about either build a bigger still, or buy.