Welcome, Guest

Author Topic: moonshine still  (Read 51793 times)

Offline hankdog1

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 849
  • Gender: Male
Re: moonshine still
« Reply #40 on: August 28, 2011, 10:53:34 pm »
Someone mentioned and don't know if it's true or not but you can register your still with the ATF and produce a few gallons a year.  Although I'm sure that with fees and what not it would be cheaper to buy the stuff in the store since it requires inspection.
Take me to the land of milk and honey!!!

Offline Sparky

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 804
  • Gender: Male
Re: moonshine still
« Reply #41 on: August 28, 2011, 11:02:19 pm »
Her is a good place to read info. about types and laws.
http://www.coppermoonshinestills.com/

Offline Sparky

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 804
  • Gender: Male
Re: moonshine still
« Reply #42 on: August 28, 2011, 11:04:34 pm »

Offline hankdog1

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 849
  • Gender: Male
Re: moonshine still
« Reply #43 on: August 28, 2011, 11:16:19 pm »
ooooh if i only had 500 bucks laying around that would be my new toy
Take me to the land of milk and honey!!!

Offline BlueBee

  • Galactic Bee
  • ******
  • Posts: 4587
  • Gender: Male
Re: moonshine still
« Reply #44 on: August 28, 2011, 11:55:15 pm »
$500?  This looks like a $25 coffee pot from a garage sale and a few parts from the local hardware store :-D

Offline hankdog1

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 849
  • Gender: Male
Re: moonshine still
« Reply #45 on: August 29, 2011, 02:37:50 am »
$500?  This looks like a $25 coffee pot from a garage sale and a few parts from the local hardware store :-D

Yeah but you can't buy the beads for the reflux in the hardware store and unless you buy them in bulk you can't get them and they are expensive.  You can sub small copper tube but it's worth 500 for me to not have to spend the time cutting the stuff up into little beads.   :evil:
Take me to the land of milk and honey!!!

Offline Southernsun

  • Brood
  • Posts: 1
Re: moonshine still
« Reply #46 on: November 15, 2011, 06:37:58 am »
$500 is steep.  You can buy a nice complete setup online for $300.

I used to do some home distilling just for personal use years ago (mostly as a challenge/hobby) with a little stainless and copper stove-top still I built with plans I found online.  It was a reflux still and turned out some pretty potent stuff.  Up to 190 proof.  The "Going Blind" hype is ... mostly hype.  According to what still you go with, (Go with a Reflux) and the rate of flow, you throw away the "heads" which is a small amount of the first amount of your batch, and it eliminates all of the hazardous chemicals.  Remember that when moonshine was being produced way back, they were adding all sorts of bad stuff to it to increase yields for sale, and cooking in lead lined or soldered equipment, etc.  People were dying because they were drinking formaldehyde and other garbage.  

As long as you're not selling it to your buddies or telling your neighbors what you're doing, having a small (easily broken down and easy to hide the parts) still isn't a huge deal.  Yes it's illegal, just don't run your mouth and don't be dumb.  It's like growing pot, if you have 1 or 2 plants for your use, you'll probably get away with it.  If you have your entire attic filled with plants and a $3k electric bill....  another story.

Everything you need as far as thermometers, filters, etc. are on brewhaus.com.  I recommend reading a lot and understanding the entire process.  It's mostly simple math, but everything you could ever want to know can be found on forums and online literature.

It was a lot of fun for tinkerers such as myself.  

And for legal purposes; I have no stills or even the parts to them anymore.  It was a fun hobby.

Offline slacker361

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 772
  • Gender: Male
    • Thank You Honey
Re: moonshine still
« Reply #47 on: November 15, 2011, 06:59:55 pm »
$500?  This looks like a $25 coffee pot from a garage sale and a few parts from the local hardware store :-D

Yeah but you can't buy the beads for the reflux in the hardware store and unless you buy them in bulk you can't get them and they are expensive.  You can sub small copper tube but it's worth 500 for me to not have to spend the time cutting the stuff up into little beads.   :evil:

stainless wool....... that will work too......

Offline zippelk

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 52
Re: moonshine still
« Reply #48 on: November 15, 2011, 09:03:11 pm »
If you want the cheap way to do this just freeze the Mead and drink what didn't freeze.

freezing (aka jacking) is also distillation, also illegal.

Offline ShaneJ

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 530
  • Gender: Male
Re: moonshine still
« Reply #49 on: November 15, 2011, 09:25:20 pm »
Hey guys, in a past life  :roll: I did a bit of stilling. You will find plenty of good information on this forum: http://homedistiller.org/forum/

I started off with one of those stills you buy from the home brew shops etc and it was ok, but it was expensive and didn't work as good as a cheaper home made kit. When I started learning more I built a new still from a beer keg and some copper pipe. For the packing in the column the best material is copper mesh as the more copper in your still the better the outcome.

Anyway, if you are interesting in stilling, check that forum above.
Shane

Offline VolunteerK9

  • Super Bee
  • *****
  • Posts: 1647
  • Gender: Male
  • Gamecock fan in UT land.
Re: moonshine still
« Reply #50 on: November 18, 2011, 10:03:46 pm »
« Last Edit: November 19, 2011, 12:11:50 pm by VolunteerK9 »

Offline buzzbee

  • Ken
  • Global Moderator
  • Galactic Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 5930
  • Gender: Male
    • N Central Pa Beekeepers Facebook Page
Re: moonshine still
« Reply #51 on: November 19, 2011, 10:40:10 am »
k9
Post this recipe here too if you don't mind.
http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php/topic,25520.0.html

Offline Vance G

  • Queen Bee
  • ****
  • Posts: 1170
Re: moonshine still
« Reply #52 on: December 01, 2011, 10:04:54 pm »
Good plans at monshine-stills.com with answers about most of your objections and cost concerns.  You can also buy a re-jiggered water distiller for a couple hundred bucks for extracting your essential oils or water of life in small quantities.  I have 12 gallons of mead and many gallons of homemade wine that I just don't get drunk.  Appears like I should at least reduce the volume of what I have sitting around not getting drunk.  As far as breaking the law, we the people have allowed government to pile so many on us that we are all guilty of something and jailable anytime they want our property. 

Offline donr

  • Brood
  • Posts: 2
Re: moonshine still
« Reply #53 on: December 02, 2011, 04:09:38 am »
i read in past entries about stills though not legal also need to worry about heavy metal poisoning. i had a glass still with a stainless steel temp. gauge. that poisoned output


Offline Wits End

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 101
  • Gender: Male
Re: moonshine still
« Reply #54 on: December 02, 2011, 10:07:30 am »
I make my own wines from our blueberries and scuppernongs. This year we had excess pears so I made pear wine but I don't care for the flavor. So it would be nice to distill it down to some homemade brandy instead of throwing it out. The wine doesn't taste bad there just isn't much flavor to it and we like to be able to taste the fruit. I am going to try again next year but let the pears soften a bit first. they were ripe but a bit firm. I just hate to see five gallons of any wine go to waste!
Jeff and Kellie Houston
Wits End Blueberry and Bee Farm
Greenwood Mississippi

Offline buzzbee

  • Ken
  • Global Moderator
  • Galactic Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 5930
  • Gender: Male
    • N Central Pa Beekeepers Facebook Page
Re: moonshine still
« Reply #55 on: December 02, 2011, 08:39:34 pm »
WitsEnd,
Letting wine age a bit will often allow the flavors to come to the front.

Offline beee farmer

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 387
  • Gender: Male
Re: moonshine still
« Reply #56 on: December 04, 2011, 11:18:13 pm »
WitsEnd,
Letting wine age a bit will often allow the flavors to come to the front.
Or turn to Vineger lol
"Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do"  Benjamin Franklin

Offline Vance G

  • Queen Bee
  • ****
  • Posts: 1170
Re: moonshine still
« Reply #57 on: December 08, 2011, 01:57:11 am »
moonshine-stil.com  has a fine set of blue prints and a tutorial.  ethanol production is not exactly rocket science.  You just throw away the first cup full of the run and that is about the end of the bad stuff if you are a competent brewer.  If you make wine and beer that doesn't hurt you, it is not much of a step up.  On the other hand the fool killer is always available and actively seeking fools.  Some of these folks that worry so much must have a whole lot more to live for than I do!  You just can't worry about everything. 

Offline kingbee

  • Queen Bee
  • ****
  • Posts: 1083
  • Gender: Male
Re: moonshine still
« Reply #58 on: January 23, 2012, 04:13:49 am »
$500?  This looks like a $25 coffee pot from a garage sale and a few parts from the local hardware store :-D

Yeah but you can't buy the beads for the reflux in the hardware store and unless you buy them in bulk you can't get them and they are expensive.  You can sub small copper tube but it's worth 500 for me to not have to spend the time cutting the stuff up into little beads.   :evil:

stainless wool....... that will work too......


 

anything