Saturday 20 November 2010

Still Waters....

20 gallons of cider which has been fermenting furiously for 16 days is about ready for the next stage in the apple-ethanol production test run. Today's frantic 'shop activity at Diplo HQ has been concentrated on getting the still built. The condenser is complete and ready for action. We made a decision to sacrifice one of the vast collection of assorted brand petroleum spirit cans. Scrap copper pipe is crudely bent to fit and soldered at both ends - we figured around six feet of cooling coil would do the trick. Garden hose tap connectors will allow simple flow of chilled water when required. The Aeroshell 5 gallon can is the mash container which is going to receive the fabricated copper reflux tube in the next 'shop session. We're also contemplating adding a reinforced heating plate to the base to prevent burn-through. The whole contraption will sit atop a gas burner and bubble away merrily. Keep you posted. MORE MOONSHINE !

2 comments:

Thud said...

I'm toying with the idea of a still myself...how is this going?

Diplomate said...

Thud - tests to date using water indicate we're going in the right direction. Diplo Jnr is home from school this weekend so we're going to fire up for the real thing !!!! More will appear on these pages I've no doubt - or in thre national news !!!!