Homemade glass stills or gadgets?

[RamblezMarblez]

I was wondering if anyone had made a glass still or maybe a glass hydroponics unit? The self moving glass engines at Corning Glass Ny are very impressive. So is what's going on in Cornell in Ithaca Ny hydro green house. Ever make anything scientific?

[Pogo]

don't think glass would be an ideal hydroponics planter... can think of numerous reasons why.

ironically enough you see handblown glass "hydro" units often... think that as-seen-on-tv product AQUAGLOBE
import glass hahaha.
Hydroponic = "working" "water"

[BlueBeard]

yeah I've made a few stills. one for personal use and several were made for laboratory use. the ones that were made for a lab are way to efficient to make booze with. the alcohol would just keep condensing back into the boiling flask. if you use a simple vigruex (sp) column as your condenser it should work just fine. depending on the type of alcohol your want to make there are different set ups. you wouldn't use the same set up for rum as you would moonshine. if your looking them up look for "distillation head" this is the lab term for a still. if your just making booze the work isn't hard but larger boiling flasks get pretty expensive. pm me if you have any questions.

[themoch]

www.homedistiller.org

and i'll just leave that right there....

having no had no experience with this i can tell you that a simple 35-40mm standard wall tube with copper pot scrubbers shoved down it would work best.

i also wouldn't know that you can get by absolutely fine with just a $12 aquarium pump from your local pet supply store, or a handy faucet hookup to be had at a hardware store for $5 + hose.

and instead of trying to get a 20-30L flask you shouldn't go to target and get a $15 20L stand pot and drill a hole in the lid...

i'm just saying, i have no idea what i'm talking about....

[dorkeedude]

The sad thing is I know all the terms that have been said, and what they mean. Also are we talking about building a completly glass still, or just part of a still? I think a table top glass still would be cool! Would it be electric, or heated by flame?

[themoch]

Electric stills are bad news unless you have a very expensive controller. Flame is the way to go.

[RamblezMarblez]

a simple 35-40mm standard wall tube with copper pot scrubbers shoved down it would work best...A pic would help.
20L stand pot ...what's that? Why not use a large glass flask and stay all glass?

I was thinking of making a complete glass still but the heat source be electric with a temp control so I could dial in the correct temp for alcohol evaporation. I have a really good MoonShine book with a cartoon guy on the front so I'm not going into this totally blind. Flame+ethanol= Boom

the alcohol would just keep condensing back into the boiling flask....Why would it do that? I was going to purchase a graham condenser (400mm roughly) and heat the wort in a boiling flask. I was going to distill cider that's been fermented with just a ballon on top or I was going to buy a liter of AppleJack liquor and distill it 35% until I had strait shine in the collecting flask.....Slick

[dorkeedude]

Have you ever tried freeze distilling? I've only heard of it, but what you do is ferment your mash, then just freeze it, and the liquor stays on top because it wont freeze! You will still need to figure out how to get rid of the methonol from fermentation, but if its only a small amount you can do it on the stove, by putting your shine in a small pot that has a dish floating in it, then turn the heat to the lowest setting. Put the lid on the pot upside down, and fill the lid with ice. The Methonol will evaporate and condence on the lid, then it will drip into the dish.

[bzglass]

I have a really good MoonShine book with a cartoon guy on the front so I'm not going into this totally blind. .....Slick

One of the best things I've heard all year.:dieslaugh:evilLaugh

[donaldo]

reflux column, it's copper not glass but informational.

http://www.moonshine-still.com/page15.htm

[dislexei]

Apple jack is actually freeze distilled. They would have apple cider fermenting then as the fall progresses and freezes set in then in the morning they would come by and pull the ice out. Reducing the water content.

[RamblezMarblez]

In the back of the moonshine book, it says just buy a liter of applejack and freeze that. I heard it's quite rough and needs several months to even out.

[BlueBeard]

"the alcohol would just keep condensing back into the boiling flask....Why would it do that?" if you make your condenser way to efficient like say a jacketed coil condenser the alcohol vapor will keep condensing on it and dripping back down. something has to be able to get past the condenser to get to the runoff tube. this is for reflux distillation were the condenser is right over the boiling pot.

[RamblezMarblez]

don't think glass would be an ideal hydroponics planter... can think of numerous reasons why.

ironically enough you see handblown glass "hydro" units often... think that as-seen-on-tv product AQUAGLOBE
import glass hahaha.
Hydroponic = "working" "water"

Thanks for the advice bluebeard! ^^^ Now I gotta make one....Maybe a just a seed/clone starter....something small. Imagine little glass jars with scientific glass on glass bottoms. Fill the jar with your plant and soilless mix and run a thick wick through the glass on glass part. The wicks would lay in a flow tube undernieth the jars. Hook up a timer with a pump and a resevour and BAM and see through hydro unit. When the clone is big enough for transplant, pop off the jar and shake loose.....I got'z some orders to fill though so I'll just draw a pic in my notebook and leave it at that until I gotz a light.....Slick

[HOSS]

Imagine little glass jars with scientific glass on glass bottoms. Fill the jar with your plant and soilless mix and run a thick wick through the glass on glass part. The wicks would lay in a flow tube undernieth the jars. Hook up a timer with a pump and a resevour and BAM and see through hydro unit.

Not really a good idea to put most kinds of plants in a clear or even semi-transparent container. This is because light is bad for the roots, slows or stops their growth and it will also grow algae.

Lots of interesting ideas here on the distillers tho...

[dorkeedude]

I think it would be cool to make a all glass still just big enough to make a couple shot at a time, you know like something that could actualy be built with just a torch. It would be almost pointless, and hard to heat evenly so not to break the glass, but it is plosible! Anyone here have pictures of something still related that they have made?
:poke:

[themoch]

a simple 35-40mm standard wall tube with copper pot scrubbers shoved down it would work best...A pic would help.
20L stand pot ...what's that? Why not use a large glass flask and stay all glass?

read the book, copper pulls out a bunch of the nasty taste



I was thinking of making a complete glass still but the heat source be electric with a temp control so I could dial in the correct temp for alcohol evaporation.


i tried using a thermometer on the first go and found that it's much easier to just adjust the flame so that there's no steam coming out the condenser. electricity takes a while to cool off even when it's not on... the temperature goes up and down, up and down, up and down... flame is much easier to control.



I was going to purchase a graham condenser (400mm roughly) and heat the wort in a boiling flask.

make a liebig condenser... much easier and better flow for beginners.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/LiebigCondenser.jpg


Have you ever tried freeze distilling? I've only heard of it, but what you do is ferment your mash, then just freeze it, and the liquor stays on top because it wont freeze!


this works but you get a lot of impurities that wont freeze with the water



You will still need to figure out how to get rid of the methonol from fermentation, but if its only a small amount you can do it on the stove, by putting your shine in a small pot that has a dish floating in it, then turn the heat to the lowest setting. Put the lid on the pot upside down, and fill the lid with ice. The Methonol will evaporate and condence on the lid, then it will drip into the dish.

i wouldn't even try this... not knowing
how much alcohol you actual have can be dangerous when calculating exactly how much methanol to take off.
methanol is the first 2.5% that comes off the still, if you don't know how much is coming off, when do you stop collecting?



I think it would be cool to make a all glass still just big enough to make a couple shot at a time, you know like something that could actualy be built with just a torch.

you can build one with a torch and by hand that's much bigger... also at a good collection rate (depending on the size of your column) it can take as long as 15 min to collect 50ml and it's warm... so that's a lot of time to wait for something that might taste gross.

[Pogo]

Not really a good idea to put most kinds of plants in a clear or even semi-transparent container. This is because light is bad for the roots, slows or stops their growth and it will also grow algae.

Listen to hoss.. algae was one of the numerous reasons.....

Although starting seeds/clones generally doesn't require enough light to foster algae growth, by the time the kids are ready to take off they are going to want LOTS of light (during the day cycle). Some sort of Opaque device would work (sorry that your see-through idea won't) but then you would be spending lots of time and money on something that couldn't compare to an aeroponic bubbler that could be built from home depot for under $10, and have something potentially hazardous for an indoor garden... (glass shards from accidents?)

I do think that your GonG fitting starter is an efficient design (although wick systems have the slower growth rates when compared to non-passive hydroponic systems...) and encourage you to read about the many many forms of hydroponics available today... take those ideas and make yourself something that is cheap and easy to use, and you will be handsomely rewarded for your efforts. (Think year round produce.)

Every system has advantages and disadvantages... you'll find systems that rely heavily electricity that have excellent growth rates (aeroponics, bubblers, etc.) but fail catastrophically when the power goes out and drown your babies (lots of folks are unaware that a plant's roots require oxygen.)
You'll also find systems that can go for longer periods without maintenance but suffer a slightly lower growth rate.... the choices are all yours...
google xxxxx growing forum (where xxxxxx is the type of plant you wanna grow) and read read read.

PM me and I'll recommend some good reading (I think i know what your goin for hehehe). If you research on your own, get a book published after 2003. The name of the game in hydroponics is constantly changin'. Also, even though i told you look for xxxxxx growing forum so you'd find peers with the same crops, remember that ALL plants grow similarly, and any current book on botany will help develop your understanding...

As for alcohol, i don't drink or research it, although with the reading I've done at this forum, i would believe just about anything moch says about homebrew...

Lots of research and experimentation leads to successes in whatever you are trying to do (why do you think my post count is so high for a newb??? I gotta learn that glass, baby!)

Lotsa luck in the garden,
Sands

[RamblezMarblez]

Thanks for all the input. I knew copper was important for something. It didn't even dawn on my that the roots wouldn't like light. Thanks again...Slick

[dorkeedude]

Wow lots of informational input here! very nice!
And the freeze distilling, then refining on the stove thing was just a un thought-out idea! I've never tried it, no was I planing to!

[Ben 'Spice' Crowley]

So yeah, I got a little bit of unusual inspiration from this thread and went out and made 20 gallons worth of Potato Mash (Got it fermenting in the Garage)

Anyone have any advice on using a 'Pot Still' I have seen one used but never built one and I figure if I fully understand it, that will better my building of the still.

[themoch]

you didn't leave the potatoes in it did you?

you're only supposed to boil the potatoes and keep the water without any vegetable matter in it.

also 7lbs of sugar in 4.5 gal of water works much better, has a much higher gravity.

pot still =

5 gal bucket from home depot
20-40ft of 1/2 or 3/4 copper tubing coiled up (get the pre coiled kind)
hole in side of bucket at bottom
a way to get cold water in the top of bucket and drain it out the bottom
pot with a hole in the lid
fire

at least that's what i've heard.

[Ben 'Spice' Crowley]

I actually used 9 Lbs of sugar as recommended by my uncle, he told me that I will get a higher % that way.


I strained it, so as to have the warm potato juices.

What if anything should I use to seal the tubing to the pot lid? and will a garden hose flowing into the bucket with drainage holes work for the cooling area? does the distance between Pot and Bucket matter?

Building my still in the morning, hoping the mash will stop bubbling sometime friday....

[Ben 'Spice' Crowley]

Also I've been told that the flaming spoon is not a viable test for methanol content? If so is there one?

I was simply told to run off 2 cups in the beginning and two at the end, some old addage goes "Never take the first or last"

[HOSS]

Here's (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvui5XBAq1U) a PRO still design for you to study. Starts about 3:00, but watch it all. Its edjamacational! ;)

"Allow me to explain the contamination process. Pine cones go in here, party liquors come out here. And proceeds to here. Fights begin, fingerprints is took, days is lost, bail is made, court dates are ignored, cycle is repeated."

[themoch]

Yeah so I let mine sit for 2 weeks. I also use a hydomete to tell when it's done fermenting. Just because it stops bubbling doesn't mean it's done fermenting.

The hydrometer is important because you know what % alcohol you you have. Then calculate the total volume of pure alcohol you have. Out of that 2.5 % of that is methanol. So if I have one liter of pure alcohol then there is 25 ml of ethonal. On a 20 L run I usually take off 300 ml from the top and finish collecting when I'm about 85% complete.

I use the spoon to tell that I still have alcohol worth collecting towards the end.

Then the good stuff goes to power th car.:D

[Pogo]

@hoss: way to go brother.. +rep for the squidbillies quote before i clicked the link... outstandin'er than hell

[donaldo]

buy and use a Turbo yeast.

A paste of flour and water does an ok job of sealing pipes.

For a pot still, you should look up how to make a dry box and a thumper keg. It'll save time as the distillate will be stronger.

An activated charcoal filter is good for filtering.

[dorkeedude]

Anyone ever distilled honey mash? Its basically Mead if you know what that is. I was just wondering if it would make for good moonshine?

[themoch]

mead is fantastic by itself... i have 4 cases of it that will be ready right around christmas.

you could go ahead and do that to it, but you're talking about a month of careful fermentation and racking, and then trying to put it through a still.

if you have no experience with a still then i recommend sticking to a pure sugar mash until you've figured it out.

[Ben 'Spice' Crowley]

I will be posting pics in the next few days of my triple run off pot still, I think I did alright, all three run offs lead to the same condenser chamber though, will that eb an issue?

[dorkeedude]

Would you realy need to rack the mead before distilling it?

[themoch]

well maybe just rack it into the still... but i would definitely take it off the nasty dead yeast and stuff at the bottom of the fermenter.

you don't want to be boiling that

[dorkeedude]

Yeah good point!

[Berto]

I designed these air-locks for the beer brewing process...

http://openlabglass.com/wp-content/gallery/random-photos-of-bert039s-work/fermentationbub.jpg

http://openlabglass.com/wp-content/gallery/random-photos-of-bert039s-work/fermentationbub2.jpg

http://openlabglass.com/wp-content/gallery/random-photos-of-bert039s-work/fermentations.jpg

Now I just need to start the brewing process...:D

[dorkeedude]

Very nice! How big are they? You could get real creative and make it all decrated with reversals and ther odd patterns!

[themoch]

I thought about making air locks. But the plastic ones are 50 cents. And it doesn't touch the beer so there's no flavor inclusion.

That being said, those are real nice air locks you made