StillSmart

I have just started to think about making a still. I defiantly have the building skills to building pretty much anything from metal. I have access to the pipe and fittings required to build a Bokabob reflux still.
That being said I don't know much about distilling. I want a good clean product but will a reflux still kill the flavor? Which is more efficient and easy to run? Is ten gallons enough or too big? Do I need to distill the batch more than once to get a clean product? What yield can I expect? Any additional advice? Safety of the product is the most important thing.

Thanks

Welcome to the forums.

I want a good clean product but will a reflux still kill the flavor?

The cleaner the product, the less flavour and odour it has.

Which is more efficient and easy to run?

imo reflux is more efficient, pot stills are simpler to run but others may differ as what is easy for some isn't for others.

Is ten gallons enough or too big?

Not too big. It won't be 10 gallons of wash as some headroom is required.

Do I need to distill the batch more than once to get a clean product?

Pot still definitely. Many double distil with a reflux but I just take it dead slow and get a product that is acceptable to me after one run. (Reflux.)

What yield can I expect?

Rule of thumb, 1Kg sugar = 1 litre of Vodka.

Any additional advice?

Don't do anything complicated (until you're experienced) and don't try to squeeze every last bit of alcohol you can from a wash.


Safety of the product is the most important thing.


Sure is. Don't worry, you won't go blind. Worst case scenario is you have too much heads in the product (Bad head morning after) or too much tails (Bad guts the next day or 2.)

Thanks

I was just looking into a beer keg as a vessel. That would be about 15 Gal total with 10 gallons of wash. I was thinking about 24" of 2" copper up to the plates with some copper wool at the bottom, and going with a 12" long condenser made with 3" copper pipe and 1/4" tube coils at the top of the column. Does that sound right?

The description is a bit vague but it could be a very short slant plate boka. I know they work, but I do recommend that you look at alternatives before you start cutting copper.

Bulldog0192 wrote:Any additional advice?

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Build the boiler first the power controller next then the condenser and lastly the head.

By the the time you have made the first three you will have had more time to work out what you need for the fourth and after making the other pieces the shiny copper bits are very straightforward.

Thanks, I think I will. I think I'm going to go with the reflux still.

I have been looking at the mechanics of the head and found that you can over cool the condensate in the reflux still head. If so it seems that it won't re vaporize until it gets low in the column. I'll have to manage the cooling water flow to get the correct condensate temperature. Lots more reading to do. I know I can work well with the copper head once I know what I want to accomplish. Mean time I'll start scrounging up "copper bits"

I'm thinking 3 KW heater with a controller for the "keg still". That should give enough heat to get things moving but small enough to manage the power easily. I'll weld a stainless fitting to accommodate the heating element low in the keg and a thermometer tap below the fluid line to monitor the mash temp.

What do you guys thing about the heater?

Don't bother with the mash temperature in the boiler. Measuring it does not give you any information that you can actually use for anything. If you must put a temperature probe in the boiler, put it in the vapour space at the top - but even that is of limited use.

3kw is more than enough for a keg based reflux column in typical sizes. A packed 3" column will run on 2.5 to 3kW. A bit of surplus during the warm up is handy but not essential. For a 2" column you have more than enough.

Have to agree with Brian. Boiler, power control and condenser first. Then work out which column and head to build.

You asked a question about flavour but you never said what spirits you want to make. This is what dictates what type of still you need to build. I built a pot still and a VM before discovering that the VM or any reflux is of no use for the spirits I make? Surprised no one else asked

Have to disagree with some of my colleagues here on the thermometer question. I have a dial thermo below the mid point of my keg boiler, at the 20lt point, and this tells me when it's time to turn on the coolant and start monitoring the still closely.

AM

If you build one, make it so you can run it as either. It's nice to have the flexibility.

A thermometer in the boiler provides no advantage if using a column. If so, you should put one in the column below the condenser. I make my cuts, start and finish based on temp.

Bottom line - only you can decide on what works best for you.

Here's a very simple reflux that seems to work well, can get 95%.

http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 17&t=16053

There's a youtube link in there but just in case:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vJn0lp-IP0

I'd go for building a pot head first, with provision for easy changeover to reflux.

Manu who was developing this still tried various shapes of coils but eventually gave up on it because he could not get the degree of control needed.

Its a pity, because the concept looks great.

That simple reflux is worth looking into. Saves hight and loks quite functional.

As for the spirts I was looking at corn whisky AKA "moonshine" at first, then look into barrel aging for Bourbon style whisky.

I know that the traditional way is a pot still with a "thumper keg" but I was thinking it was the ease and volume of a pot still that drove the Shiners to a pot still. I am shooting for small volume and high quality.

Any more advice form the pros that have been helping me would be welcome.

A Reflux still removes all trace of flavour leaving a neutral product for making flavoured spirits other than Whiskey or Whisky

Moonshiners used pot stills because that still is so easy to build plus that's what you must use to make Whisky

I run a 50lt Pot Still with a small 6lt Thumper from which I make Bourbon Whisky, for me, and Vodka for SWMBO. The VM I built was efficient but I couldn't think of a single thing I could do with the absolutely neutral spirit I'd produced so I retired my VM and it's gathering dust in a box now

AM

Att[quote="Bulldog0192"]
I have been looking at the mechanics of the head and found that you can over cool the condensate in the reflux still head. If so it seems that it won't re vaporize until it gets low in the column.

And that is exactly what you want for a high ABV and clean spirit. My column for a spirit run is 4 times longer than for rum. The more work the condensate has to do the better it will be. That is also why you let the column reach equilibrium befor taking off anything.

YHB wrote:Manu who was developing this still tried various shapes of coils but eventually gave up on it because he could not get the degree of control needed.

Its a pity, because the concept looks great.

There's an Aussie built one on the Artisan Distiller forum that the builder is happy with. I'm having trouble finding the link though.

afaik, manu builds to sell. Perhaps design constraints are different for a retail product?