Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

Well this has been a while in the making so to speak

After loads and loads of reading and research I finally decided that a boka still was for me

Lucky for me I have a good mate who is a plumber and two of my brothers are electricians

So I scored a 2 metre length of 2½" copper. Bingo!

Also scored half a roll of 1/4 and half a roll of 3/8 copper tube from my brother. Again, bingo

Downloaded the template getting around and scaled it to suit 2½



Fast forward a few weeks :shock: and slanted plates and condenser done



Strangely I don't have a photo of my condenser. Not too exciting anyway but just a standard double coil thing about 170mm long.

As posted herehttp://aussiedistiller.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=5746 i build a keg boiler with a 5500 watt element

Built this control box



I used a solid state voltage regulator and potentiometer from here http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_30&products_id=353

Was a little suss on the Chinese ones on ebay but many here have used them.



What you can't see is a heatsink bolted to the back of the box for the relay

The control box is not finished as I am sourcing a digital voltage and ammeter. Not mandatory, just for monitoring purposes

First test run of the boiler was a success and got nice fine voltage adjustments

Made a parrot



You will see the shiny version of it later

Seeing i had plenty of 3/8 copper i decided to use that for my take off tube

Was a little unsure as to what to use for a secondary condenser to cool the product but went for 1/2 tube

For weeks I was lamenting over what needle valve to use and ending up getting one like this from ebay

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Hoke-1-2-Stainless-Steel-Needle-Valve-3812G8Y-Several-Avail-New-/131190260535?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e8b8c8337



As you can see in this photo I decided to use John Guest type connections for my cooling lines

Hooked up to the kitchen tap (excuse the shit in the sink)



Time for the first vinegar run. Yay!!!

Nice build DB :handgestures-thumbupleft:

That's a pretty looking parrot :clap: well it will be...

Very nice mate. You will be well pleased with that rig. You got some washes ready :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Thanks guys

I will get some more photos up. The parrot cleaned up well and after a clear coat looks good.

Do you guys do anything with the product that comes out from the vinegar run? It just smells like weak vinegar

Also your thoughts on a sacrificial run after the cleaning run (for which I have done two of now). The product that came out was very clean as you can see in the video.

I have a TPW that has been down for about 4 weeks now that i would rather drink than turn into cleaning product.

Always do a sacrificial run mate... A box of wine will do the trick.

Zak Griffin wrote:Always do a sacrificial run mate... A box of wine will do the trick.

Will do.

Water down the wine at all? Or should I get a couple of casks?

Cheapest Dan Murphy's do is about $9 for 4 litres

May as well get two, mate... Your sacrificial run isn't just for cleaning, you will learn a thing or two about how your still runs as well.

Fill your boiler with water until the element/s are just covered, and tip the wine in on top :)

Zak Griffin wrote:May as well get two, mate... Your sacrificial run isn't just for cleaning, you will learn a thing or two about how your still runs as well.

Fill your boiler with water until the element/s are just covered, and tip the wine in on top :)

:text-+1:

Excellent job all round........make sure you have a go at smelling the output too....recognize the fore shot smell , the early heads smell ....late heads and hearts will be hard to smell but when tails come ...you'll know .

Unfotunately this will be a smell only run ...as you won't won't to taste this stuff ....for safety's sake