"My still order was delivered at 10:30 am yesterday morning! and everything was there and packaged very well. I was like a kid again at Christmas opening and unpacking everything... The still and kettle are a work of art the welds are flawless and everything shines nicely... Thanks Rick and the crew at Brewhaus...


Here is a pic showing mostly everything unpacked and laid out on the table...






And here is my kettle with the elect heating element and the drain valve installed...






And here is the tower set up with the bung with temp probe in the top and the parrot and jar set up on the table... Also since I won't be using the defuser plate for a gas burner I can use it for a lid on the carbon filter system...




I'll be doing some cleaning runs later today one with just water and than a 50/50 vinegar and water... When I got the notice that my order was shipping I started a gerber baby food recipe using heelers gerber with pics thread and it's getting close to being ready and I'll use that for my first run..."

Hey Cap,
CONGRATS!!! Bet it was worth the wait. I would swap out the spring clamp hose connections for screw type hose clamps. I found that during my water run leak test as the water in the hoses heated up they started to leak. Also on your water run the column will heat up very fast, nothing like a spirit run. Another helpful hint is to attach some sort of a handle to the rubber bung. Once you kill your heat source the bung will start to suck down into the column. It will be very hot and hard to remove. I tried to use the temp probe as a pull handle and destroyed it. I used a small l bracket bent into a u shape with two screws into the bung, works great. Hope this helps you out.
Maddawgs

That's a great looking outfit. I wish I hadn't been so hasty to buy an inferior unit.

Hi MD,
Yes, It's been a long wait but defiantly worth it, the quality and workmanship speaks for it self. I had already purchased some hose clamps because you had mentioned earlier you had problems with the pinch clamps. I got a assortment box of hose clamps with plastic wing nuts on them for like $5.00, no tools required and they work very well... Thanks for the tip on the bung I'll get a handle on it today... I did the water test and than the 50/50 vinegar and water cleaning run, boiled the snot out of it and using the control box was for a actual flow run was fun, it sure is easy to control the flow with it, I didn't use tower cooling just the condenser cooling... What do you do with your cooling water valves just let them hang on the hoses or are the mounted to anything? I have a gerber wash I racked off yesterday and is clearing now that I'll use for my sacrificial run or is it necessary to use old or cheap wine and throw it out, I don't want to waste the gerber wash as I think it turned out pretty good, any thoughts on this anyone...
Captinjack

Hi Short Shot,
I can't remember, what did you get? I know it was a long wait for me but I'm glad I waited...
Captinjack

Hi Cap,
I'm a bit late on this response but I will second what Bushy said. Do a cheap wine run and save your gerber for a good run..
Maddawgs

Jack does your drain valve double as a drain for the carbon filter???

Are you asking if I am going to use the kettle for the container to drain the filtered product into? or use the valve on the bottom of the filter tube. Either way it's 2" so yes it does.

Hey RCR,
Good Idea I was just going to head out to the store, good timing on that... I could use a glass gallon jug...
Thanks Captinjack

Congratulations, ur gonna love it!