opinions on my basic keg still

[Spar]

Hi,
Many years ago I built a reflux still, however I gave up before completion. I pulled it out the other day and thought I would try again. The still consists of a copper 2 inch column that goes up filled with marbles. Through the two tunes you can see is where the cold water runs, and there is a cork at the top with a thermometer through it. The longer pipe at the top is the outlet for the spirit.
I also have a copper coil that runs through a bucket of water which is connected to the water running through the still.

I was wondering if this is likely to be successful or not. I'm pretty new to all this.

[Yummyrum]

Spar...as a reflux still goes , it won't do a really good job .You might expect output @80%.
It will have lot of flavour in it that you won't want in a nuetral spirit.

It might make a reasonable pot still if you take out the marbles and dont use the cooling pipes

[Spar]

What would be the advantage of using it at a pot still and getting 40% over using it as a reflux and watering it down to 40%?

[Spar]

Also any ways to improve it would be appreciated.

[blond.chap]

If I were you I'd put in slant plates and a reflux coil on top and make it a LM (also called boka). Take a look in the "reflux stills" section for design ideas.

[dogbreath vodka]

Arrrhhh the memories.

I started with a very similar set up about five years ago.
Over on ..... another forum I got told the one I had just built wasn't all that good.

"But, but.... it said in the book..." :angry-banghead: :angry-banghead: :angry-banghead: :D



If you use it as a pot still it will be ok..... just slow.
When you get some time.... perhaps grab some 3" pipe and make a pot still out of that.
Much faster and you will be a lot happier with the results.

It's a good starting place to see how your ferments go and get the principles of fermenting/distilling down pat.

But .... an FSD 4" reflux is the go... or build one yourself
:handgestures-thumbupleft: :handgestures-thumbupleft: :handgestures-thumbupleft:

DBV

[Zak Griffin]

If you use it as a pot still, it will work somewhere near properly... If you try to use it as a reflux I fear you will be bitterly disappointed.

[C2H6O]

Ha ha mate i just finish pointing someone else to this link

viewtopic.php?f=17&t=3830

I had a still very similar, in the end i decided to modify it extensively, but in the thread there is some great advice.

Good luck

[Spar]

Thanks guys. I don't want to use it as a pot still as i was planning to make dark rum with it and use essence to flavor. I'm assuming for that I want as pure as possible. So my option is simple. I'm going to add some slant plates to it and an extension on the too with a reflux coil to cool the steam. This should make the condensing much much easier too I would assume. Just need to get a hold of some more pipe, a sleeve and make the coil.

[Yummyrum]

Spar...have you tasted edssences...as a Rum drinker I can tell you they all taste like shit....
They are so not like Rum it sucks.

You will be far better off making some real Rum out of mollasses and running it twice through a pot still than making a bad tasting nuetral and adding horrid expensive flavouring .

At the end of the day , both will get you pissed but I know what I'd prefer to drink

[Spar]

Haha damn I'm going around in circles now. That's what I really want to be honest. Make some rum that tastes good! And cheaper is better for me too. I will call around and see if I can get some molasses tomorrow and put down a batch to try. Why not... i have everything I need to do it already by the sound of it.

[bt1]

Rums hey...this might be of interest in that case...

http://aussiedistiller.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1648&hilit=hybrid+hybrid+pot

bt1

[Spar]

Been doing a load of reading now and know 200 times more than I did yesterday. Some things I'm trying to clear up though, if I run this as a reflux it won't perform for neutral, but if I run a rum wash and run as a reflux to get say 80% then wouldn't that be great for single pass rum? Age it in Oak and water down later etc.. sounds a bit easier than removing packing and running the rum twice as a pot still.

[bt1]

Yeh about on the mark.

But a single pass @ only 80% is going to be fairly manky and that's the point here. Hence the suggestion to pot it and run it twice =better outcome.

That hybrid kicks off in the mid 90's then down to high 80's for a fairly robust flavoured rum. 80's be way off my drinkable list.

bt1

[Spar]

Ok well I guess I'll try it as a pot still. I found a local store with molasses for $25 for 20L and will try out the simple recipes I found on this site . Thanks

[Zak Griffin]

That's a good price, mate, and will sort you out for a good batch of rum... Now you just need some toasted American oak :handgestures-thumbupleft:

You're about to have your eyes opened to spirits of a quality that you didn't know was possible.

[Spar]

I actually have two oak kegs there which I was thinking I could use to age the rum.

[Zak Griffin]

How big are they? Got a pic?

[Spar]

Off memory one is 2 L and the other is maybe 5 L. Will grab a pic later when I'm at me old man's where all this was stored.