Home Distilling

[ColeGP]

Hi guys,

I have been toying with the idea for quite a while to distill rum / whisky at home as a hobby, and the lockdown has given me the chance to do the reading I needed to want to take the next step.
The problem is, whats available locally is either too big, or too expensive.
It seems very common for beer kegs to get converted into boilers / stills, as the collar ontop is 2" which is the standard size for the columns that can be bought (for reasonable coinage)
The problem is getting your hand through 2" to clean, so a lot of guys end up either putting a 4" hatch on the side, or replacing the top collar with a 4" fitting and then using a reducer to 2"
Does anyone know of somebody in RSA who already does this, or at least of somebody who supplies the fitting, which seems to be called a "sanitary clamp" fitting / ferrule which uses a tri clover clamp.

Thanks

[Let's Play]

https://www.4x4community.co.za/forum...-Mampoer-ketel

[jelo]

A Karcher pressure washer tip fit through the hole. That's all you need.

[ColeGP]

A Karcher pressure washer tip fit through the hole. That's all you need.

I guess that's a good point. I saw your still on the other thread, [email protected] , the other thread doesn't really answer the question I was asking.

[Miems]

So I did the potato peel, sugar, yeast and vodka thing. I think I succeeded in making potato coldrink. It smells a little like beer, is slightly gassy and does not taste like there's any alcohol in, it also does not burn.
Luckily I halved the recipe and did not make 9l of the stuff🙄

[ColeGP]

So I did the potato peel, sugar, yeast and vodka thing. I think I succeeded in making potato coldrink. It smells a little like beer, is slightly gassy and does not taste like there's any alcohol in, it also does not burn.
Luckily I halved the recipe and did not make 9l of the stuff🙄

Did you do some kind of distilling afterwards, otherwise you do basically have potato beer
What you can maybe try is what Jesse from Still It tried out in the below video to increase the ABV by doing what he calls "freezer jacking".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCKCg1grYv4

Alternatively just grab fruits and sugars and ferment, that way you more guaranteed a sweet beverage.

[ColeGP]

On another note, is there anyone on here who knows where to buy 2" copper pipe (hopefully by the meter because R2k+ for a length is a bit )

[Miems]

Did you do some kind of distilling afterwards, otherwise you do basically have potato beer
What you can maybe try is what Jesse from Still It tried out in the below video to increase the ABV by doing what he calls "freezer jacking".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCKCg1grYv4

Alternatively just grab fruits and sugars and ferment, that way you more guaranteed a sweet beverage.

I don't like sweet beverages, so I'm looking for recipies that produces the more dry tipe drinks. I don't really want to distill I'm to loazy for that🤣 I did come across a coffee mead that I'm going to try but that's a couple of weeks before one can drink it.

[Bugger]

Kyk op Brewcraft.co.za

[ColeGP]

Decided to start off small, so going to DIY my own still and condenser for now, ordered some ingredients and fermenting bits and pieces from ketel kraal, bit concerned though because they not responding to emails or whatsapps… Hopefully won't end up being a bad experience.

[WAJ]

Brewmart


Iets is nie lekker met hulle website nie - ek kan geen items sien of as ek op hulle kliek gebeur niks...

[spicydave]

Brewmart


Iets is nie lekker met hulle website nie - ek kan geen items sien of as ek op hulle kliek gebeur niks...

Maak eers mre weer oop vir bstellings

[ColeGP]

Brewmart online shop says it should be back up tomorrow.

[optics]

I've called Brewmart just now and they say they will only be open at L3.

[ColeGP]

Been busy trying to scrounge up the bits and pieces I need to get going, sadly not one supplier has everything needed in one place, and NOBODY has
any kind of decent alcohol meters available, be it a 0-100 or a triple set, which sucks.

The main reason I was thinking of getting into distilling the past few years actually is covered in the below video...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhArLWvEIJ4

[jelo]

Been busy trying to scrounge up the bits and pieces I need to get going, sadly not one supplier has everything needed in one place, and NOBODY has
any kind of decent alcohol meters available, be it a 0-100 or a triple set, which sucks.

The main reason I was thinking of getting into distilling the past few years actually is covered in the below video...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhArLWvEIJ4

Brewmart says: All kits, hydrometers and airlocks sold out... Hydrometers sold out internationally as well

[ColeGP]

Brewmart says: All kits, hydrometers and airlocks sold out... Hydrometers sold out internationally as well

Jelo do you have a contact there who said that?
I know they have taken down a ton of their stuff while they "catch up" but the boss said that they will have the normal site back up in a week possibly. (but not sure what will be in stock till then sadly)

I was thinking of trying to make my own hydrometer and calibrate it to water and something like vodka (40%), found the below link for a DIY one.
Time to go find my old glass cigar tubes!
https://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Hydrometer

[jelo]

The owner.

Jelo do you have a contact there who said that?
I know they have taken down a ton of their stuff while they "catch up" but the boss said that they will have the normal site back up in a week possibly. (but not sure what will be in stock till then sadly)

[plunger]

What is a perfect starter size still.? I would like to try make one .How hard can it be.

[ColeGP]

What is a perfect starter size still.? I would like to try make one .How hard can it be.

Hey Plunger,

Truth be told making a still (in theory) is not that hard.

I posted a bit of info on the below thread (#10) about some of the differences.
https://www.4x4community.co.za/forum...x-vs-Pot-still

Since you are a plumber it would be really easy for you to solder yourself a vapour column and a liebig condenser.
Keep in mind there are basically 3 steps to distilling
1. Making a mash / wash
2. Fermenting your "wort" (or wash if your base was not made with a mash)
3. Siphon the fermented product and distill (probably loose about 15% of the fermented product due to yeast sediment that you don't want in the still)

The process is not as "simple" as it may seem, you have to be very careful to keep your stuff sanitary especially in stage 1 and 2, and if you don't want your stuff to taste crap you also need
to try keep your temperature during stage 2 as consistent as possible but at the end of the day its actually a lot of fun.

I bought a 12L stock pot from bidorbuy as my starting point that can work on an induction cooker, and also bought a induction cooker.
Reason being that outside of having a proper boiler with a thermal controller and elements in the pot it is difficult to hit the "sweet spot" temperature wise, but I reckon with the 10 or so power
settings on the induction plate its the 2nd best option (gas was tempting but just too scary to put open fire next to potentially flammable alcohol vapours)

I had made a "everlasting gasket" which I was going to use to seal the stock pot to make it a boiler, but I found a manufacturer and rather ordered some proper PTFE gaskets.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=db9agg9MaKQ

My original intention was just to make a 26mm hole in the top of the stockpot lid and use a male brass fitting to 3/4 compression fitting, but decided to rather try and get a stainless steel plate from somewhere
and get a 1 inch sleeve welded into it, I am a bit pedantic and because the lid on the stock pot was a bit domed it meant that the vapour column would go off at an angle which I can live with if I have to but
have a few days left to figure out.