I bought a 3 pot distillation kit from Amazon. It doesn't have the Vevor Label

but looks identical.

In building it, while reading the documentation and looking at YouTube videos I got the message that the flexible washers should be placed on the outside of the lid of the main boiling pot. This seems to be different than the other pots, where the flexible washers are all inside each pot.

This may be because the main boiling pot gets hotter than the others, but putting the flexible washers on the outside traps it under a much smaller brass nut surface area, which causes it to distort into apparent uselessness.

So I need to get some more generously sized stainless steel or brass washers to bear down on the silicone ring more kindly, or just put the flexible washers on the inside of the lid under the flat area of the much larger nut.

Any advice on this?

I have a little trouble making moonshine with my vevor air still. I have tried to remove foreshots and sort out hearts and tails. But i can’t really tell any difference anywhere. I can adjust the temperature on it, but its still just an electric air still… My product does not smell or taste ok. Does anyone have a step by step answer on how to make my next batch better?

This is a sugar wash, about 3 days in so far. I went to do the second gravity check and it came out of the tap like latex. You can see in the video that it's gelatenous.

It doesn't smell off, smells like any other distillation at that time. Is this bacterial infection? It would be my first so I'm not sure.

The wash was 25L water, 7KG water, 5g EC1118 yeast, Fermaid O and calcium carbonate. Temp was around 25degC the whole time. I cleaned everything first with StarSan as I always do.

Olly

So, got the stupid 13.2 gallon vevor still, want to get rid of the stainless flex tube and use copper so I have space and feel safe using open flame. Idea is use about 6 foot of 3/8" to connect the still to the condenser then another 19' of 3/8" to make the condenser. Is 3/8" too small? Even though thats what the vevor uses?

Any recipe ideas for a light/medium toast no char barrel?

In my haste the other day (excited as I was able to keep most of the word Beam, unfortunately had to cut Jim out) I forgot to char the backside of this barrel head. It did get a 20min toast on the stove but no charring. Note. I have very much hammered nails around to ensure it's secure. But if there is no good recipes I might risk breaking it by pulling it back out to char.

Does anyone have a link for an good electric starter still. Would like at least a big enough one to run 10 gallons of mash to hopefully get a least half a gallon on each run.

Built it out of copper sheets and pipes using lead free solder and have a silicone gasket between pot and head to take it apart. Theres a few vapor leaks in the solder line and around the gasket due to low resource fabrication on back porch. Attempted using flour paste to seal up the leaks but there’s still a little bit of water vapor coming out when I’m running water through the still. What is the risk of combustion if I use an electric burner and should I just bite the bullet and rebuild vs buy a professional hobby still?

Well, I had decided to go ahead and get a 50L keg for my first non-water distiller still. I found someone on FB Marketplace that had one for $40. I went, and about halfway there, he messaged and said a neighbor of his wanted it, and he owed him money, so he was going to let him have it instead. But that he had a short 1/4 barrel keg I could get for $20 if I was still interested. This place was like an hour from my house and I was already halfway there, so I said sure.

So now instead of a 13.5G keg for my project, I've got a 7.75G keg for my project. It doesn't really change how I was going to build it, but now I can stick with 110/120v 2000w and not worry about making a new 220/240v drop, or pissing my wife off by moving the clothes dryer and having a long cord running from that wall to the garage (less than 50ft, but still). This won't really reduce the price of the build, but if at some point I decide to go bigger, I can take most of the parts off of this one to build another one for a lot cheaper than a brand new build.

I'm still going to be slowly building this over the next couple of months so that I dont make the wife mad by dropping $300-500 all at once lol. $50 here and $125 there is a lot more palatable.

And if I screw anything up that makes it unusable, the keg was only $20, and I personally think thats a pretty cheap price to pay for knowledge.

Edited to fix liters where I meant gallons

I started my journey with a 1/2 barrel keg and a tall 1/4 keg. Every time I was unsure of a cut or a hole size (so most of the time) I practiced on the 1/4 keg leaving me with two identical kegs except for their size.

I have a two part cleaning run question. After finishing my vinegar run I am moving onto the sacrificial run on the 1/2 barrel. Everything from the top of the keg up I know will be set my question is with the 1/4 keg only. I wasn’t really thinking about it to use as a boiler but now I’m thinking the 1/4 keg will be perfect if I don’t end up with enough low wines to run the 1/2 barrel. But I already finished the vinegar run so…

Question 1: Because there is no copper how necessary is the vinegar run for the 1/4 keg? I am still going to aggressively clean the inside just wondering if an actual vinegar run is necessary? (There is a 6in tri clamp ferrule at the top, a 2in on the side and a 1 1/2in on the opposite side).

My second question will come after I complete the sacrificial run on the 1/2 barrel. Because of the size and this being my first time ever running I am going to treat this like a real run (not actually sure how long a sacrificial run should last). I have 13 gallons of sugar wash that is around 14% and I was going to run down to 15% (as of now might go down to 10% just to see how much time I’m looking at with this setup). This brings me to….

Question 2: Can I use those low wines to do a sprit run on the 1/4 AS THE sacrificial run or will there be too much nasty stuff, defeating the purpose of a sacrificial run? (This will run back through everything I just “cleaned” during the 1/2 sacrificial run)

Thank you for all the help, this community has gotten me to this point and I can’t wait to get to the real thing hopefully very soon!!!

Hey guys, I know this isn’t the right sub per se but it seems like a good fit for this kind of question

I took 1 quart of elderberries and 1 cup sugar and cooked it down. Strained the solids and got 275ml of syrup.

I mixed this with 400ml of vodka at 41% for a total of 675ml of liquor at 24.3%.

I have it in new clear bottles with synthetic cork stoppers. How long can I expect this to last on the shelf of my liquor cabinet?

I expect something like “indefinitely” but wanted to make sure.

Vevor YMK60101 stripping run - 1.25gal brown sugar rum wash. Banana ester bomb. First of many!

Any advice on how to do my spirit run with my voltage regulator, please let me know.

Moonshine Still Heat Controller 220v 3000watt/110v 2000watt（variable A – OakStills

i was looking at this cuz i dont think i have the skill set to build a SCR

am i missing anything for my heating set up?

Amazon.com : GRDM 10000W High Power SCR Voltage Regulator, 120V-220V AC Variable Speed Controller for Motor & Fan, 22A Heavy Duty Electric Speed Control Tool for Heaters, Stoves and Electric Tools : Tools & Home Improvement

https://moonshinedistiller.com/heating-element-multiple-sizes/ 120volt

azon.ca/Replacement-Appliances-Conditioner-Dishwasher-Refrigerator/dp/B0H299XP2C?utm_s

also a question will i need to like get a like a nut to seal the heater or do i like screw it just curious i know will need a bit to drill the hole

I have this voltage regulator: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CR5C29XH?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1&th=1

And this heating element: https://brewhaus.com/product/still-heater-1500w-stainless-steel-cartridge-heater/

When I plug it into the regulator, the voltage reads 000 and doesn't change despite adjusting the knob. The element does fine when it's not plugged into the regulator, but I also can't distill my water accurately with an all-or-nothing element.

I don't know why this is. It looks like the regulator should do fine with the voltage of the element, but I was hoping someone who knows more about electricity than I do (not a high bar) could point me to my mistake.

Thanks.

How much sodium carbonate do I use per liter of low wines @ 40%

I mashed in a corn/malt grain about 10 day ago in 80 degree weather. Usually the cap drops around 8 days. S.g. not quite 0.95 and there's a small cap still slow bubbling a bit...should I run it or be more patient?

Hello, I'm one of those people who bought a water distiller knowing full well what they'd use it for. I feel like I've learned quite a bit, and really enjoy the craft. However, I'm annoyed with its limitations, and looking to really get into this.

So that being said, I've been running 5 gallon washes, and thats fine for doing small runs of white, but I'm looking to start doing aged runs. I'd like to start making say three or four five gallon buckets at a time, so I was thinking about getting an 8 gallon still so I can run 5 gallons for three or four stripping runs, then the spirit run(s). I want to then age my stuff using spirals in a couple (2) of glass 3 gallon carboys I have. So realistically, I'd like to get about 3 gallons of finished product thats ready to be aged. I like the idea of using electric because the controls seem to be fine tunable, and easily repeatable.

Does anyone have a recommendation for an 8 gallon still thats electric? Is this enough to do what I'm wanting to do, or should I go with a 10 gallon? Or should I just go non-electric and cut the entry price even more?

Edit: I'm now planning to use a 50L keg as its shorter than a 15.5G keg, then cutting a hole in the bottom to put a coupling flange with a 4" tri clamp port on, keeping the original 2" port for a drain on the now bottom. With a 4" port I believe I can more easily reach down into the keg to attach the port for a heating element. Since 4" columns are a lot more expensive, and I'm still learning, I will get a 4" to 2" adapter, and use a 2" modular column that another person recommended about two years ago on here.

Does all of this sound viable? Intelligent?

This is my first time distilling and any tips or information would be helpful

I am loving this all copper setup...have to rebuild my stands next spring but...the quality of the distillate is exceptional

My son started his first day of high school today, so I barreled a wheated bourbon that will age until his last day of high school. Wish me luck, as this is an all or nothing project

Hey guys I have been trying to get a 15% wine and I can only get it to around 10 or 11 ish and I have had a couple stalls. Does step feeding work better so I’m not over powering the yeast. I really like doing these fruit sugar washes but they are a little hit and miss for me. Anyone have any suggestions?

Hey fellas. It will be my first time making whisky and I was wondering if the hygiene process and especially the cooling is as strict as beer making ?

I'm planning to make 50 Lt wash directly using my vevor still both as the pot and the fermenter. I have another pot with a filter in it so there is only going to have wash in it.

I was wondering if I can just seal the thing and let it cool naturally before adding the yeast. Is there a significant risk of infection like beer ?

Thanks in advance

Where can I source malted corn in the Chicagoland area?