Heating

[Mary B]

Well I am set for winter! 4,500 pounds of corn now in storage and my corn stove can run off 12 volts so I am okay during a power outage too! Bought an auger this year to make it easier on my spine to get it into the storage bin. Auger came as a bare tube so it was up to me to make a frame for it,

Couple 2x4's and 2x6 pieces, 4 cheap ratchet straps and I was good to go!



Shed I store corn in has a piece of 3" PVC pipe attached to the roof via a toilet flange. I made a funnel from a cut off 5 gallon buck and another toilet flange. Presto I have a tube to pour corn in! Inside the shed it hits a chute that directs it towards the center of the bin which is a 10x10 Arrow shed with 4' inner 2x4 walls to form the bin. About half full, if I put in 2 more truck loads it would be almost full and would easily last 1 1/2 years or more. Or leave me with the fixings for some moonshine!

[SparWeb]

I'll be careful what I order, next time I'm in the Pub!

[Bruce S]

just let me know when you go looking for recipe 

[Frank S]

  Be sure to include a few apples and some potatoes in the sour mash
 I'll bet that Bruce S knows that recipe as well.

[Mary B]

I need to build  a new still. I had an all glass one years ago including a water jacketed cooling coil. Small batches, 3 gallons of mash.

[Bruce S]

Frank S;
Yup!! I even know why .

Mary B;
that's old school! I use solar, plastic and time for mine. I usually go the route of about 5gals of mash for a good run.
While in Saudi Arabia , A German a Swede and I collaborated on a low-n-slow then freeze method.
Which is why I normally do mine in the winter.
BUT first get your shed done , cause it looks like winter is already knocking on your door step!
Cheers
Bruce S   

[ruddycrazy]

Hi Mary and Bruce,
                              When I first read this thread I was slightly assumed about the moonshine then when Bruce said he used plastic for making it the alarm bells rang out. Only 3 things should EVER come in contact with the shine and thats wood,copper and SS. High proof shine in plastic will leach the harmful chemicals out of the plastic so be aware if you want your shine to have that metho taste use plastic.

                             Now with that much corn one would have get some sprouted and make some malt then also grab some barley and malt some too. Going the All Grain route for shine is the way to go for a top shelf drink and don't forget unless using a reflux still do a stripping run on the wash then a spirits run no higher than 40% as going higher proof can and will lead to an explosion.

                           As far as recipies and still builds over here in Oz we have a forum that is second to none for quality and safety doing this hobby. Just google 5 star distilling and all will be revealed.

Cheers Bryan

[Bruce S]

Ruddy;
So so true on the plastic side, BUT since it's not legal here to make your own shine without a ATF permit (which I have had since '79).
I make mine in plastic , then it's run through an old galvanized fence post that makes it poison in 2 seconds flat.
Anything else , I make is still made in the plastic, but never ever exceeds 160P at normal atmospheres.
However,,, as I taught a few back on the old forum w-site there are others ways to finish that off .
I can certainly send you via email the hows-n-whys  .
I leave it off here to keep the kiddes away from such an easy task. I like our area's ATF people, and staying out of jail.

   

[Mary B]

Glass was great, no added off flavors ever! We never needed much, it was to take out ice fishing and sip now and then to stay warm! Added cinnamon extract to it for a 160 proof schnaps!

[ruddycrazy]

Hi Bruce,
              Yea mate over here the govt has this excise thing where anything made MUST be paid, well thats for the legal stuff but there is a growing trend over here where the home hobbyist is left alone apart from the few that sell the stuff and make a bad name for the rest of us. I was never a spirits drinker but after 12 months of researching I knew that 2" pot still I made just had to be tried out. Well the rest is history and the few that have tried my stuff reckon I should go legit and especially with my whisky no-one gets a taste apart from me as I want to age it so it will be the best drink one can have. After watching a you tube on the way the Scots do it and the way they smell then smell again to get the senses flowing of 30 yr old stuff or older, the way i learnt small scale 12 months with these toasted oak sticks ( the best that one can get) my gear is already smelling like a top drop. I am making a copper 4" bubbler that will do top shelf stuff in one run then get some small oak barrels so it can age for 10 years. My idea is make 3-4 a year and in a decade have enough to last a lifetime. The cost of a good drop over here leaves the wallet empty so making one's own does have that appeal and if I can share the right way I will as too many use that dreaded turbo yeast.

[Bruce S]

Mary B;
Fist and foremost: Apologies for taking this heating thread in a different route! Tho one could say it is "heating" in a sense .
There is something awesome about using a glass column still! There's such a clarity that it is hard to describe. I had not thought of using cinnamon ! I had once or twice used peppermint candy as a flavoring.

Ruddy;
Here there is a license one can get to make alky fuel tax free, but also must send a form to ATF requesting a license and possibly a bond ( I had to way back when I obtained mine).
Moonshine ( as the drinkable kind is lovingly called ) is still NOT legal, and any of that stuff I make; used to be made in pure copper and glass throwing out the first gallon (actually it went into the fuel based alky) .
White oak is my preferred aging casks, but I get them from a vinegar shop.
I've heard of people using that "turbo yeast" . I do not , no real reason to do so. Time is on my side, I'm in no real hurry. Besides good ole bread, a little cheapo sugar, a little time is all I ever use.

[clockmanFRA]

Here is a photo of a Welsh man getting very excited about our local travelling still,.......... here its on show at the local town apple fair, here in Normandy, France.

No problems here about the Spirit stuff, Calvados 20 years Oak cask, just not allowed to sell it without a licence.

A good Calvados is up with the best Scottish malts.

[Mary B]

Now that is nice! USA is backwards and afraid they will not get a tax dollar! But I know many distill for their own use.