SUPPLIES
- At least 7 feet of copper tubing
- Glass jar
- Clamps
- Drill
- Reciprocating saw
- 2 beer kegs
- Soldering kit
- Rubber stoppers
- Thermometer
- Pocket knife
- Heavy-load iron campfire cooking stand
- Second stand, with a couple feet of clearance beneath it
- Grain mash
- Ice
- Firewood or charcoal
Overview
The alcohol still is an ancient example of technology. It purifies liquids by boiling the desired substance into steam, and then condensing and collecting it, separating out and leaving behind undesirable impurities. As with most ancient inventions, the technology is simple to master, and can be made at home with a couple of beer kegs and a handful of other parts.
Step 1
Cut the copper tubing into two sections, using either a hacksaw or bolt cutters. One should be about 2 feet long. The remainder is whatever is left of original tubing, roughly 5 feet. This will be enough tubing for a 5 or 6 gallon keg, but tubing will need to be longer for a bigger keg.
Step 2
Use your glass jar as a brace for bending the longer section of copper tubing into a coil. The clamps will prove to be handy tools for doing the bending. Leave several inches of unbent tubing at both ends, and be sure not to bend the tubing so sharply that it blocks or cuts open the tube.
Step 3
A simple still design. This guide substitutes stainless steel beer kegs for the two glass beakers.Open one hole in the top and the bottom of one beer keg with the drill and reciprocating saw. The hole at the top should be large enough to admit the copper coil into the keg, which will be wider than the tubing. The hole in the bottom should be large enough to permit the tubing to extend out of the keg.
Step 4
Insert the copper tubing into this keg, so that the ends protrude from the holes you cut.
Step 5
Solder the bottom hole shut so that it seals up the keg around the tubing. Do not solder the tubing itself shut. Place this keg right side up on a stand that has enough clearance underneath it so that a glass jug can be placed under the tubing protruding from the bottom of the keg, to catch the alcohol that will drop out of it.
Step 6
Take the larger piece that had to be cut from the top of the keg to admit the coiled copper tubing, and drill and saw a hole in it to fit the upper end of the copper tubing.
Step 7
Slide this piece down on the top of the copper tubing coil until it mates with the keg top. Solder this piece to the keg, and then solder a seal around the piece and the copper tubing. The copper coil should now be sealed inside the keg, with straight tubes extending from seals in the top and bottom. From now on, this keg is the "condensation keg."
Step 8
Cut holes with the drill and saw that are sized for your rubber stoppers into the tops of both kegs. The condensation keg will receive one new hole. The keg that has not been worked on, which from now on will be called the "kettle," will receive two.
Step 9
Cut holes through the rubber stoppers with a pocket knife. One hole should be sized for the thermometer, and the other for the copper tubing.
Step 10
Put the thermometer into one end of the rubber stopper, and the 2-foot-long section of straight copper tubing into the other.
Step 11
Put the kettle onto the iron campfire stand.
Step 12
Bend and connect the two sections of copper tubing by soldering them together.
Step 13
Put the grain mash into the kettle keg, and fill the condensation keg up two-thirds with ice. Put the rubber stoppers into the kettle keg. Place a glass jar below the open tubing at the bottom of the condensation keg.
Step 14
Build a fire under the kettle keg, and boil the mash to between 173 and 200 degrees F. The alcohol will turn to vapor, be pushed down the copper tubing, condense in the condensation coil, and drip into the glass jar.
TIPS AND WARNINGS
- TIP : Beer kegs are made of stainless steel, so the alcohol made should be safe if it has been made from the right grain recipe.
This guide bypasses using the existing tubing inside the beer keg. Those with the necessary hydraulic skills can refit this tubing for their own purposes, bypassing the need to install a copper condensation coil into the keg.
- WARNING : Distilling alcohol without a Federal license is a serious offense.
Resources
