Alchemy A power or process of transforming something common into

something special; an inexplicable or mysterious transmuting

TheAlchemistCopperStillManual

INDEX

Title
Page

AboutthisCopperStill...............................................................................................................................3
Theparts....................................................................................................................................................3
Assembly.....................................................................................................................................................4
Howtorunthisstill.....................................................................................................................................4
Troubleshooting..........................................................................................................................................5
Howtocareandclean...............................................................................................................................5
AddOns.....................................................................................................................................................6
1. EssentialOilExtension...................................................................................................................6
2. HeatControllers.............................................................................................................................6
Howtoreadaccuratetemperature.........................................................................................6
3. CopperParrot.................................................................................................................................6
Whatdoesaparrotdo?............................................................................................................6
HowtomeasureABV................................................................................................................6
4. Extensions......................................................................................................................................7
Howtouseasapotstill.............................................................................................................................7
LiquidManagement.................................................................................................................7
Woodfire,PropaneorElectricOptions?....................................................................................................7

TheAlchemistCopperStillManual

ABOUT THIS COPPER STILL

Figure#1CopperStill

Thisstillcomesinthreesizes.2,3and4inch.Forthismanualwewilljustfocusonthe2inchversion
withtheplainelectric15gallonboiler.Butallofthemaresimilarinassemblyanduse.ThisAlchemist
canbeusedasapotstillaswellasreflux.Thisstillismadefromallcopperwithsomebrassfittings.The
solderismadeofleadandcadmiumfreesilver.Thesearehandmadewiththebestquality,madein
USAbuiltperorder.

PARTS OF THIS ALCHEMIST STILL

Whenyouunpackyourstill,thesearewhatyouwillfind.

CondenserCoilThishasadoublespiral.Inthethreeinchstillithastripleandfourinchtowerhas
quadruplecoil.Iusecoilsbecausemoresurfaceareahascontacttothevapor.Itturnsthevaporintoa
liquid much more efficiently without using too much cooling water. This comes with a cap with flair
brassplugthatlookslikeinsecteyesonacoilwithahat.

Tower This is the longest part of the still. This is where the ethyl alcohol runs up the still, when
evaporated.Ethylalcoholhasthesamenameasethanolandvodka.Moonshineisanamegiveninthe
1920'swhenmenmadealcoholbythelightofthemoon.

Condenser This long thin piece of tubing cools down the vapor to a liquid. It has two hose
attachmentswhichcomewithit.Thebluecolorcodedoneisforcoldwater,onthebottomandthetop
hoseattachmentisredforexitofwarmwater.Thereisanopeningforyourthermometerwhichcomes
with this still, as well. You place this just below the condenser. The condenser is also called limbic
condenser.

TheAlchemistCopperStillManual

Copper Mesh You will find in your order enough copper mesh to stuff your tower with. It comes
stuffedfor you.Thisis forfilteringandcleaninguptheproduct.Coppermeshcanbeusedoverand
overandcleaned.Youwillseeastainlesssteeltriclampincluded.Thiswillattachthestilltothekeg
boiler.

TheElectricKegboilerThiscomesfittedwithelectricalelements.21500watts.Theypluginbothto
heatupquicklyoronetoheatupslower.Thekegboilerneedstobefilledbeforepluggingin,sothe
elementsdonotblowout.Ithastobefilledwithaminimum10gallons.

GasketsTheselittleblackrubberythingsgoinbetweentheferruleclamp,(ferruleclampiswelded
ontothestill)andtheboilerkeg,beforeclampingdown.

ASSEMBLY

This still comes assembled. All you do is make your mash. Here is a simple mash recipe for a sugar
wash.Thisisperfectforbeginners.RECIPE

There are also how to videos of this on Youtube under Rainier Distillers account. As well as
running,assemblyetc.Icanalsomakeyouavideoifyouask,withyourstillpurchase,ifthereisnota
videooraclearoneforyouthere.

Sitthekegboilerupwardsandfillwithyourwaterorwhatyouhavefermented.Thenmakesurethe
copper mesh is packed in the tower. Put a gasket on the keg boiler. Place your tower on top of the
openingofthekegboiler.ThenclampthisdownwiththeSSclampandtighten.

Thenattachthecondenser.Thisattachestotheflairfittingthatcomesoutofthetower.Screwthison.
Theonethathasa45degreeangleistheonethatconnectstothelimbiccondenser.Thereisaflair
fittingforthethermometer.Pleaseplacethisinit.Thehosefittingscomeattached.Attachyourgarden
hosethatrunswatertotheblueinletfemaleonthebottomofcondenser(femalemeansthescrew
partisontheinsideandmalemeansitisontheoutside).Theredhosescomeattached.Thetopoutlet
youneedtoconnectasparegardenhosewhichisjustadrain,intoyourlawnorgroundoutside.

HOW TO RUN

Whenyouareready,itsfilledandassembled,plugthisinthewall.Wait,howeverlongittakes,toheat
up,dependingonwattage.Whenthethermometerreads120degreesF,thiswillgiveyou23minutes
beforeitgivesyoutemperaturetogiveoutyourproduct,soturnonyourgardenhoseslightlytrickling.
How you know to turn this higher or lower is by gauging the temperature of your product coming
throughtheredhose.Feelit.Thishasamalegardenhosefitting.Youcanfeelwithfinger.Ifitstoo
hot,youturnthewaterhigher,iftoocool,lower.Youdonotwanttowastewater.

Startcollectingtheproductinajarorvase.Youhavetothrowoutthefirst100mlsifthisisbeverage,
ifyouareamicrodistiller.Thesearetheacetones.Youwillsmellit.WoodAlcohol,notedible.Ifyou

TheAlchemistCopperStillManual

aredistillinggasforyourcarwithyourfreeethanolpermitthenyoudisregardthis.Thisisenoughfor
youbeginners,rightnow.

TROUBLESHOOTING

Fewthingsthatcangowrongandsimpleanswers.

I have burned out the heating elements. Answer This happens when you plug it in without any
washinsidethekegboiler.Thereneedstobeaminimum5inchestocoverbothelements.Agreatway
to judge how muchyou have inside if to use a wood pole and mark where the elements are on the
outsideofthewood.Thenpourwashinside,andthenstickyourpoleinandseehowcloseyouare.The
liquidwillshowitslevel.Ifthishappens,whereyouburnouttheelements,Icansendyouelements
youcanweldonyourself.OryoucanbuythematHomeDepotorLowes.Wearealwaysavailablehere
foremail,phonehelpandevenrepairsifyouabsolutelyneedit.

Myalcoholbyvolumeorproofisnothigh.AnswerThishasmanyvariables.Butthesimplestanswer
isaboutthefermentationyouputinside.Ifyoudidn'tkeepthebucketwarm,theyeastwilldie.Ifyou
boughtabadbatchofyeast,thisalsocangiveyouabadwash.Overtimeandtrialanderroryouwill
learnwhatagoodfermentationlooksandsoundslike.Turboyeastsaresimpleandaggressive.

I am sitting outside in 32 freezing weather and my still is not working Answer you need to be in
warmweatherorinside.Youareworkingagainstnatureinthatcoldweather.Theroomforyourstill
shouldbelike60degreesFisnice.

IblewafuseAnswerBreakersinyourhouseareoverloaded.1500wattistheelementImostuse.I
can always change this to what am page you have in your house, if you understand this. But most
houseshave15ampplugsand1500wattsaregoodforthese.Howyouknowisyouopenupyourfuse
boxanditwillsaywhetheritisa15or20...etc...Ampandwhereisthedesignatedspot.

HOW TO CARE FOR YOUR ALCHEMIST STILL

ThiswholeAlchemiststillisapieceoflabequipment.Donotdrop.Treatyourstilllikeagoodbottleof
Brandy.Wrapitupinacottoncloth.Getverythick80%wooland20%cottonsocksandsewbuttons
likeeyesonthem,thendrapeoverbothendsandbutton.No,justkiddingaboutthesocks.Butthisis
exampleofthecareyoumusttakeforyourstill.Youwantittolastforever.Iamavailableforrepairsif
youdroporbend.

Somaintainingacleanstill.Youwilldothisafteryouaredonewithyourrun.Itsasteamwash.Dump
outtheusedmash.Youcannotreusethis.Put7gallonsofhotwateroutofafaucet.Itshot,because
thistakeslesstimetoheatup.Assemblestill,seeabove.Plugin,andwait...runlikenormal.Thenturn
offthewatercominginanditwillsteam.Youarepurgingwithsteam.Dothisfor5to10minutes.Turn
waterbackontocooldown,andturncondensationbacktoaliquid.Tastethewatercomingout.Ifit
comesoutblandwithnooffflavors,youhavecleanedyourstill.

TheAlchemistCopperStillManual

Thisisthesameprocesstodistillwater.Distillingtakesout99%ofheavymetals,meaningallradiation
andfluoride,poison,medications,toxinsetc...SeemyarticlesonthisonmyblogsatBLOGtoexplain
more.

AlsothecleaningofyourcopperstillIhavetogoover.Tryalwaystohandleyourcopperwithgloves.
This will ensure long lasting shine. It can tarnish, especially lots of fingerprints on it, over time. For
beautifyingandkeepingclean,onemustcleanthiswithcitricacid.Fillabathtubupwithwater.Add
2TB of citric acid and dissolve. Put your still down softly and let soak 10 15 minutes. Then you will
neutralizetheacids.Filltubagainandthistimeplace2TBbakingsoda.Dissolveandsetthestillinside
thewaterfor20minutes.Youarefinished.Itwillbeshiny.

ADDONS

1. TheEssentialOilExtension
This is sold separately. It is packed loosely with herbs, flowers and leaves. It is all about
extracting the essential oils, tinctures, spirits, essence of anything and leaving behind the
roughagestrippedbare.Yourunthisthroughwaterandthenlaterseparatetheoilwhichfloats
on top. You can flavor alcohol with this if you are a micro distillery, like Lemon Vodka by
runningthealcoholthroughtheherbs.Youcanmakemanymedicinesandtinctures.Youcan
extractTHCfrommarijuana,thisprocessonlyillegalintwostates.Youcanmakeperfumesfor
women,naturalbugrepellants,andgivesoapsasmell.Thiscanbeastartupsmallbusiness.
Youcanputyourbackyardinabottle.Withallthehydrosolleftoveryoucanbottlethesein
spraybottles.

Cedaroilfromleavesistheeasiestandgrowsalmosteverywhereforabeginnerlikeyou.We
dosellessentialoilstillsthatarejustpotstills,forprice.ButifyouhavetheAlchemistitisa
greataddon.Howyoudothisareyoupacktheextensionontopofthegrated"basket"loosely
withyourproducts.Thisfitsonthetopoftheboiler.Comeswithallclampstoconnecttothe
Alchemist.

2. HeatControllers
Thesemanipulatetheampageandthepowerthatgoesintotheboiler.Youcanhaveaquicker
turnaroundtimeforheatingupthepot.Youcanalsospeeduptherunofthestill.Someheat
controllersaresetitandforgetit.Meaningitregulateswhattemperatureyouwantit,justlike
anoven.Youcanwalkaway.Thisisformoreadvancedbutitcanbelearnedquickly.

3. CopperParrot
Thisisameasuringdevice.Lookslikeaparrot'sbeak.Yourproductcomingoutofthestillyou
wanttomeasuretheprooforabv,ifsomedayyouwanttoseparateheads,hearts,tailsofyour
run.Theproductcomingoutofthestilllandsinthecopperparrottopwherethereisanalcohol
meterfloating.Theproductthenpoursout of theparrots'beakintoyourcontainer.Thiswill
giveyouareading.Therearewaystogetfalsereadings.Baselineforalcoholis60degreesF,ifs
its reading 80 degrees F its going to give you a higher false reading, in proof or percentage.
Bewareofthiswhenyouseesomethingadvertised.
7

TheAlchemistCopperStillManual

4. Extensions
Eventuallyifyouwanttomakethisstilltaller,forhigherproof,withoutslowingdowntherun,
youcanbuyseparately.Youcantakethe2inchuptofiveextensions.

HOW TO USE AS A POT STILL?

Run it fully open. Meaning there a tap is located on the limbic condenser. I call this LIQUID
MANAGEMENT.TheAlchemistalwayscomeswithoneextension.Youcanaddonmoreofthesesold
separately.Torunitasapotstill,youjustminustheextension.Andthenwhenallattached,youturn
thetapopenlefttorightallthewayopen.Youwouldwanttouseapotstillwhenyouwanttoretain
theflavorsforarumbrandywhiskey.

WOOD FIRE, PROPANE, ELECTRIC OPTIONS?

Ifelectricitygoesoutyoucantakeouttheelementspermanentlyorjustcovertheelements,bymetal
plates.Itmustbeonastand.USECAUTION.

Tousepropane,protecttheelementswithametalplate.Ihavephotosonmyphotoaccount.Butfor
now,stickwithelectricity.Youdonotwanttousepropaneinenclosedarea.Thatiswhyelectricityis
goodindoors.Youwouldusepropaneonaspringdayoutside.Youcouldusepropaneandelectricity
bothatthesametime,butwithcaution.Youhavetouseprotectionovertheelementssuchasmetal
plates. You do this to speed up like a rocket the time it takes to heat up and distill. I recommend
expertsonly.Intheeventofpoweroutage.Youcanturnyourstillintoawoodfireorpropanestill,so
thatanswersthatquestion!

TheAlchemistCopperStillManual

TheAlchemistCopperStillManual