Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Table of Contents
step 3: Braga!!! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
step 4: Distilling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
step 5: filtration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
step 6: testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Advertisements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Whiskey-still/
intro: Building a Whiskey still
I will be explaining how to "theoretically" make a distiller (Whiskey Still). (this Instructable is for learning purposes only as I am not sure of your local laws. i take
no resposibility for your actions!)
The still shown below was given to my grandfather as a gift, but it is a fully working still which would theoretical create distilled water, alcohol, etc (we never really tested
it). It may not be homemade, but it is perfect for explaining the basic process.
Once you have the braga, you will place it into into the container which is heated. The braga will boil, causeing the alcohol (which has a lower boiling point than water) to
evaporate, go up the tube, and into the "Zmeevik" (curly tube in the refrigerator, aka the condensator). In the zmeevik, the alcohol condensates (do to the lower
temperature caused by cold water in the refrigerator) and drips into the cup (or bucket if your makeing a lot).
Make sure the thermomiter never goes above 90 degrees(centigrade) (at 100 degrees (centigrade) water starts to boil; if this happens, it means there is no more alcohol
in the braga).
Congradulastions! You have made your first "Samogon" (which means self distilled or moonshine).
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Whiskey-still/
3. cup 3. burner
4. Condensation tube.
5. Decerative copper backboard
First, you need drill a hole in the lid of the kettle. Into the hole, insert the thermometer and glue in place with a thermally resistant glue, making sure that the glue forms an
air-tight seal around the hole.
Now you have to make your zmeevik. Take the copper tube, find a larger round object, like a fire extinguisher, and wind the tube around the round object. Remember to
put sand in the tube so that it doesn't bend flat. Leave a length of tube at the beginning and end of the tube (end A & end B). It should be a spiral.
Drill a hole with the same diameter as the tube near the bottom of bucket.
step 3: Braga!!!
This is probably the most important part of your samogon. Without it you cannot make your moonshine.
To make whiskey you need a braga made from mashed up barley (the process is much the same).
step 4: Distilling
Put the prepared kettle onto the stove (or hot plate). insert end A of the zmeevik into the kettle spout and seal it. (to seal holes, use a "dough" of water and flour, (not too
wet) and smear it over the holes, then wait for it to dry.) Pour your braga into the kettle and seal the lid onto the kettle. Put end B of the zmeevik through the hole in the
bucket, seal the hole, and fill the bucket with cold water. The bucket should be on a stool or table or something so that the zmeevik isn't strained. Put the bottle you
prepared earlier under the opening of end B, to collect the spirit that will flow from your still.
Now you can light the stove (turn on the hot plate), so that the braga starts boiling.
Make sure that the thermometer never goes up to 100 degrees centigrade. At 100 degrees centigrade water startes boiling and instead of booze you get water vapors.
The first 100 ml of ever liter and last 300 ml of ever liter of your samogon should be thrown away (poured down the drain) because the contain harmful chemicals.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Whiskey-still/
Image Notes
1. BRAGA!
2. Alcohol
3. Refrigerator
4. Funel
Image Notes
1. BOOZE!!
step 5: filtration
When your pure-ish alcohol from your braga has been distilled the first time, you have to filter it.
Take natural wood charcoal (without lighter fluid), grind it into a powder, and place it into a bottle with you samogon. Close the lid and start shaking the bottle. when
afterwards take a clothe or bangage and filter the concotion ( this is just to keep your still clean) and pour it back into the kettle. Repeat the distilation process.
For really pure alcohol you ned to do the distilation and filtration process 3-4 times.
step 6: testing
To test the purity of your alcohol you need Potassium Permanganate (KMnO4).
Take a little of your alcohol, put it in a seperat glass, pour in a tiny bit of KMnO4. If the Alcohol turns pink/purple it is "unclean" and should be distilled & filterd again. if the
alcohol becomes slightly pink or stays clear, it is safe to drink.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Whiskey-still/
Image Notes Image Notes
1. Very good pure alcohol 1. unclean crap that should be filtered and distilled again. DRINK THIS AND GO
BLIND!!! or die
Remember, you have to dilute the alcohol so that only 40% of your drink is alcohol (you about 100% alcohol from your still). Mendeleev, (the guy who made the periodic
table of elements) researched vodka, and discovered that 40% alcohol is the best proportion.
P.S.: to make whiskey you need to use barley braga and keep the resulting alcohol (diluted to 40% alcohol) in an oak barrel for at least 3 years. (I'm not sure, but I think
the filtration method is the same).
P.S.S.: Remember, THIS IS REAL ALCOHOL! the laws of your country, state, etc. apply.
Alcohol is not recommended for children younger than 18, pregnant women. Do not drink alcohol and operate heavy machinery. Read a vodka label for the full message.
Related Instructables
Advertisements
Make Magazine Special Offer
Comments
50 comments Add Comment
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Whiskey-still/
osgeld says: May 7, 2008. 4:22 PM REPLY
altho the making of the "mash" was informative why did you title this "build a still" spent less than a paragraph on it?
But i do understand why you want one, it would be delightful to make ones own spirits/moonshine.
Try not to shoot your brother, beat your wife or drive and you will be ok tommarow I promise.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Whiskey-still/
edugeek says: Sep 5, 2008. 8:55 AM REPLY
Question: Since Aluminum & now they have found COPPER are suspects in Alzheimers has anyone tested to see how much copper residue one would be
drinking from distilled products? Wouldn't it be better to build a still out of stainless?
And the distilled product is never 100% alcohol. Since the boiling temp of ethanol and water are so close, you're still picking up a lot of water in the
vapors. The best you can get in one distilling is gonna be about 95% and that's pushing it.
Good instructable!
oil companies
It still takes many passes (10 - 20) to get a purity of 199 - 200 proof, which is needed for fuel-grade ethanol.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Whiskey-still/
ogorir says: May 11, 2008. 2:35 AM REPLY
not exactly. you can run a 2 stroke on vodka, that I know from experience.
also, the maximum purity of ethanol in standard atmosphere (1ATM, 20C) is 96% and change. if you do remove more water than that, the alcohol will
absorb water from the air until it equalizes around 96%.
and additionally, 'fuel grade' ethanol is currently 70-85% ethanol with the remaining percent made up of various additives (mainly other
hyrdocarbons).
Fuel for a common gasoline engine needs to have less than 5% water in it to run well. Water sinks in alcohol, and if the fuel falls out of emulsion,
the fuel pump may draw in mostly water for a short period, causing the engine to stutter.
When you put vodka in your engine, did you make sure that there was absolutely no gasoline left in there? and is the engine designed to run on
an alcohol-based engine?
Straight ethanol already provides very little power in a gasoline engine, partly due to it's slower burn rate.
There are several problems with vodka neat as a fuel:
water makes up 60% of it - a lot of the heat energy from the ethanol's combustion is absorbed to evaporate the water.
water has a much high surface tension than ethanol - it does not atomize as well, thus hindering the fuel from atomizing properly inside the
chamber, and reducing the turbulence needed to provide a good fuel/air mixture inside the combustion chamber.
Also, you can very easily keep ethanol pure- just keep the cap on the container. The heightened pressure inside the container once the liquid/gas
mixture has reached the ideal state is a fraction of what a coke bottle contains before you even shake it up.
but, regarding fuel grade ethanol, the maximum concentration of pure ethanol in an open atmosphere is, as i said, like 96%. you need
additives to prevent it from absorbing moisture from the air at higher concentrations (like benzene*)
*the benzene is actually left over from the industrial distillation process, but it also keeps the almost 100% alcohol from reabsorbing water.
Alcohol vapors are flammable. A non-electric stove uses an open flame. A still on a stovetop of that kind puts those vapors close to that flame.
There's a reason that moonshine stills have a reputation for blowing up. Open flame heating is that reason.
Not only can a still shatter from such an ignition, but the shattering can spread the condensate, which can quickly cause a raging fire if it's strong enough. (IE
burn some or all of a home to the ground).
It's not as much an issue with your little setup there I'm sure, but if anyone gets too impatient or tries to scale this up, it CAN cause them to lose everything,
or even take a life in the worst case.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Whiskey-still/
Esmagamus says: Aug 5, 2008. 2:24 PM REPLY
You've got a beautiful copper work there. Not only it looks expensive, it also is expensive. Probably as much as my 30 L still. Great work, keep on it!
nice instructable
you have to dry your alcohol out with some drying agents, and then filter out the agents. but you waste alcohol with the drying and filtering so its not worth it
for that extra 5% unless you had a specific reason to use pure alcohol.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Whiskey-still/
densad says: Apr 24, 2008. 11:59 AM REPLY
I said "about" didn't I? it's just easier and safer to assume that its 100%
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Whiskey-still/