Elricko/John/Vodkadaddy/Rick ,and anyone else w/time to help,:

Ok, so after a failed attempt at completely building my own still from scratch ,w/too many 'cost-saving' corners cut,, a year of using an Amazing Still, and some serious thought on trying the EasyStill I have decided to build some of it on my own and buy some of the components.

Below is a complete ,I think, list of all my components i plan on using to build and operate my still. Any comments or suggestion or corrections of my errors are welcome.


from the bottom up:

,1, half-barrel SS keg
,2, 1' pipe size SS half coupling
,1, 1500W screw in H2O heater element
,1, 2000W screw in H2O heater element
,2, 8' 14/3 pigtail
,1, 1500W slide dimmer
,1, Essential Extractor PSII- Column w/ Connector
,1, Hose Pack for Distiller ,w/Raschig packing,
,1, 10+ gallon Coleman Cooler
** frozen 2 liters
,1, Submersible Water Pump ,via Brewhaus,
,2, Three-way hosing line splitter ,1/2' OD, poly,
,1, Thermometer for cooling sys. water ,in cooler,
** Already have all the setup for 'mashing'

the construction: a cooling system modeled exactly after the one Elricko has raved about on ,http://tvbeer.com/cool1.htm,. Electric heating system as posted here ,http://elricko.741.com/, by Elricko. I have several friends majoring in Mechanical Engineering who use welders/cutting torches/etc frequently and are willing to help with the keg modifying.

that's it! please let me know any gaps or items missing here that i will need. Look forward to joining the distilling community!

Thanks in advance!!

KansasRob

what gpm and ft hd capability would you recommend on the via aqua pump?? if you dont mind, would you be able to give me some needed lengths for hoses etc if i were to get them from home depot ,or a hardware store,? got to looking at my 'old supplies' and happened to find a digital thermometer, so i will use that in the column top. just the other night, i thought of the drain idea also. i was thinking about it because i was trying to picture myself cleaning out my keg through a little hole in the side/top using a length of chain... i decided there had to be an easier, more effective method. were you planning on making the drain diameter large enough for: your hand? a spray nozzle? other? also, would it be ideal to simply use another half coupling with a cap/plug? i dont know if there are any advantages/disadvantages to placing the drain anywhere specific on the keg......

also, if i opt for piecing the hose kit together myself, would you recommend getting copper mesh or raschig rings? and where from?

thanks for all you help and suggestions!

Kansas Rob

Rob:

I use the Via Aqua 2300 which pumps 609GPH and you can get them on Ebay for $19.99. It works fine for me, plenty of power and pushes it up 6 to 9 feet with no problem. It will probably push it further but I've never tried it so I can't say for sure. I know at 9 feet there is still plenty of push left. However there are other submersible pumps on ebay that shoot 900 gph for like $25. So it just depends on what you want. My buddy has one of those with a 3' column and swears by it. The ones they sell at most of the 'still stores' push 315GPH. I have heard from several people that they have problems pushing water more than 5 or 6 feet with it. That's why I opted for double the power for the same price.

Hose lengths depend on where you plan to put your cooler and what height your column is. If you put your cooler on the floor you will need longer hose than if you have it on a table. Mine sits on a table and so my hoses are only about six feet long each. You can look at the pictures on the pages I set up for the kind of hose I use. I like the heavy duty stuff because it holds up better. My column and condenser uses 1/2 ID. You will have to touch base with Brewhaus for the size on the Essential Extractor PSII. Also don't forget hose clamps.

Now for the drain I'm thinking something along the line of 1/2 to 3/4 inch. That way when you are done you can just open it up and let the residue go down the drain or driveway or wherever you let it go without having to actually try and pick up a hot boiler and turn it over and hold it while the stuff chugs out. I'm thinking just put a ball valve on it like homebrewers do. Putting a half coupling and a plug in there big enough to get yor hand in is an interesting idea, but may be a little big. Place the drain close to the bottom, you want to as much to drain out as possible before you have to turn it over.

As far as cleaning the keg. Unlike beer, as long as you clerify your wash prior to putting it into the keg you won't be building up a bunch of gunk in there. Especially since you are using electric instead of propane. I usually just rinse mine out a couple of times, pour in some star san, shake it around then rinse again. That's it, turn it upside down to drain and dry then put some plastic over the top so you don't get any bugs crawling in there between runs and you are ready to go. Oh, I also pull my coils out after each use and clean them as well with just a bit of soap and water.

I use both copper and rashing rings. I have the kind of column that breaks apart in the middle. I put a bit of copper at the bottom, then fill it with rashing rings up to about three inches from the top and put a bit more copper there. Then I attach the top half and fill with rashing rings up to the top of where the cross water pipes meet, just below where the vapor comes out to the condenser, then top that off with a bit more copper mesh. Pot on the top stopper with my digital thermometer on it and I am ready to go.

I hope this covers your concerns. If not let me know. You are in for a lot of fun!

Cheers

mr E, whats your user name on home distillers??
thanks, scott from tx

mr. E, i do not post on 'home distillers' although i do read most of the posts just to learn as much as possible....they seem to be a little arrogant maybe because most of the members are master distillers or at least think they are...have you ever gotten that feeling there ???
thanks, scott from tx

Elricko:

When you ordered from McMaster-Carr, what was the shipping on those couplings? ,if you dont mind my asking,

wow, that is unusual. i asked about the shipping cost b/c i couldnt find where to figure it before ordering online. and in this case, if it ends up being too high or just unsatisfactory, its a win-win for me... thanks!

Robert

I am not Elricko, but maybe I can help. Use a 1' NPT half coupling. The hole will be bigger than 1'. Measure the inside diameter of the coupling and cut the hole just slightly bigger. Some heating elements need the full inside diameter to fit through the boiler wall. Or, if you have access to a machinist's handbook, use the tap drill size to cut the hole. As far as the curve goes, some half couplings come with a bit of a curve. If yours is flat, you can grind a curve to closely match your boiler side, or tap the side of the boiler with a hammer to flatten the spot for the coupling. You do not need to stick anything through the wall of the boiler. That would make it more difficult to weld. Good luck.

Bill

You are welcome. I use two 1500 watt elements with good results. One runs through a 1500 watt rheostat, the other is just run straight to the receptacle. I start the boiler with both, when it gets to around 150/160 degrees unplug the one not on the rheostat. you can fine tune the heat input with the rheostat. You are definately correct in that some shops do not want to fool with small jobs unless you pay out the #*$ !!!

Bill

stephen,

first q: i would recommend using 16 gauge wire. the 1500W element on 120V circuit will draw 12.5A, and 16 gauge is good up to 18A as conductor ampacity rating. i used a 16 gauge cord and plug, three wire ,hot, neutral, ground, pigtail from home depot.

second q: what i did with the ground wire - nothing. if i remember right, a few months back there was a slight debate over how this should go. elricko, did you ever connect ur ground to the keg or anything?