"Hi everyone! I designed a distiller after a couple weeks of research.

I still need to decide what to use as a boiler, what size pipe for the condenser, and how to connect/disconnect the condenser to the pot. :)

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Pressure cooker is overkill, unless that is just what you want. A cheap SS pot with a fitting attached to the lid would be fine. Make a flour paste for sealing & use some large spring claps (like the big ones for holding papers). Since the pot will always be open, though the condenser, there will be no pressure buildup. If still worried then drill a bigger hole & insert the copper tubing through a gum stopper & push the stopper into the hole. That will blow out a long time before the pot would explode. I'd look for 3/8" tubing, probably not a lot more than 1/4"

Lots of times a place like Ross or TJ Maxx will have large stock pots that are real cheap.

What stills could I get for 150-200 with shipping? I've been browsing and they all seem like over priced ripoffs. Is three a separate thread for selling?

aclambrecht hey the site big is talking about but to much hassel sorry big when i was getting mine i looked all over for a copper alembic that site you got to many charge atleast for us poortrash lol plus cusmteim when it hits the states not worth it to me. try this site it cost me 368.thats the still and shipping for a 5 gal they got bigger whiskeystill.com here big talking about rum later this month i going to be starting a new rum lol

good one big i wasnt looking there

"Here is how I connect my pot to the pipe.

"

Couldn't hurt. It's just money, right?

A real still? Your's is real cause you bought it? C'mon dude, i could make your still in an afternoon. Would it be real? This site offers quality products for those without fabrication skills or means. But whether you built it or bought it its still a real still. Try and tell Johnny Law that its not a real still cause you built it yourself, see how far that gets you.

I agree with you on the pressure cooker and lid. As far as attaching a bung i drilled and tapped a plate on a drill press then welded it to the inside of the lid where i already had my 3/4" hole drilled. Then used a copper npt fitting to attach the 3/4" column to the lid.

I also agree with BW that buying a new pressure cooker is probably a waste of money in the long run. If you can find one used on the cheap its cool otherwise you are likely better off to pony up the cash and buy one with a nice sealing lid as available from this site. If you have fabrication skills and means go to homedistiller.org forums and search for how to build a bok.

I used 3/8 for my worm. If i recall about 20'. My condensor will easily handle all the output a 2500watt element can throw at it which is over a gallon a hour.

6" is too short for your column. Try 15-18". Also have it centered on the lid. Use bigger pipe for your column, 3/4"-2" depending on what you can get your hands on. The bigger the better. Then you can use and 90 elbow and reducers down to your 3/8" condenser. No need for a straight drop before the worm. You can run an incline or decline to the worm, your call. And incline gives you a little natural reflux as the vapor cools and travels back to and down the column as liquid. With a decline the same thing happens but instead of acting as relux the condensing just eases the burden on your worm.
See the thing to consider is flavor. You need enough contact with the copper to remove the nasty sulfides. If you have a short column thats tiny your vapour speed will be so fast that you will get very little contact and you will unhappy with your end product.

As far as boiler size goes the bigger the better. Stove top you are limited as too much weight will collapse your burner. I use a 7gallon pot for cooking mash and put down pieces of steel under the pot on the stove to support the weight so the burner won't have to.

Yeah thats a perfect pot still. I used new sewer black 4"pvc for my condenser coil cooler. I messed around with a bucket at first but it was too much of a pain. The pipe is capped and sealed at the bottom and stands about 2.5'. Water inlet is at the bottom and the drain at the top. I used some npt to barbed fittings, drilled and tapped the holes and installed using a sealant.
I set it so the water just trickles out the outlet, barely a drip out of the tap. The 3/8 condenser coil can drop in from the top then a 90 degree elbow at the bottom of the coil to a straight tube going out a sealed hole in the pipe.
Any hardware store will have coils of 1/4" and 3/8" tubing. Make sure to test fit any fittings you buy at the store. Pipe is rated in id, tubing od, so sometimes a 3/8"fitting don't fit. You want the shiny stuff, not the dull stuff, its doesn't kink as easy when you bend it. I rolled mine around a jar of sundried tomatoes.


If you compare the price of an 8gal kettle off this site to some stock pots then consider the needed mods to the pot you will realize the kettle is a hell of a deal. I wish i had known about them before i wasted money a pressure cooker that cost almost as much and isnt as ideal. For my flute build i went with a 13gal milk can.