Help My Boka Build + How I am Using Your Feedback For Still It
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- Опубликовано: 18 сен 2024
- This week things are a bit more relaxed. Im going to show you how Im going with my boka build and ask for a few pointers.
After that I want to share some of the feedback I have been getting so far, and how I plan on addressing it!
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I am in my mid 40's I been running since I was 13. you are on the right path. and a keg is the way to go.
+Royce Mills thanks, that's always good to know!!
I got really curious about your early stuff so I came to this vid.
You've come a long way since these days! ..... and the viewing punters, such as myself, are all the better for it.
Thanks Jesse.
Amazing how much has been developed in five years.
ok, just found you yesterday and loved the reasons to make distilling legal. i am a firm believer of the keg. I made one and works great. here are a few things I would say you should do if possible. Remember you can silver solder the stainless. worked for me. I'll start at the top and work down. go big on the top for your keg. i put on a 6" tri-clamp on the top. the reason for this was cleaning. makes it supper simple to clean. then reduced it down to 4" for the column. bigger column is easier to upgrade later if you want to. next put in a thermowell at the top of the keg on the sidewall. this way you can see what the steam temp is generating prior to the column top. I put a 4" triclamp in the center of my keg, optional, for cleaning and I'm kind of a geek I put in glass view. this way I can see my mash. then at the bottom of the side wall I placed 2 2" triclamps. originally I was going to use two heating elements. but found I could heat 13 gallons of mash to 100 degrees C in 50 min. with just a 5500 watt element. so, I attached a 2" dump valve on the other. makes it supper easy to drain. dont forget to put another thermowell immediately above the heating element triclamp. that way you can get a good reading on the temp at the bottom of the keg.
On your condensers, you could run them in series and they should work great. good luck
Wow!!
Thanks for writing all that out for me! Appreciate it! I'm thinking that is a pretty good summary of what to work towards. Its a bit out of reach right now, but I can always update and upgrade over time right!?
Out of interest where did you find Still It?
home brewers association sent out a facebook post yesterday on your vid on reasons to legalize. also, you could use your small pot as a thumper keg. should work well
Ah cool :)
Thanks~
np, im pumped to see your development. keep the vids coming.
I am not into distilling yet, and from what I am reading and seeing on these videos, it may be a far off project, I do have some questions on using such things as thumper and a parrot that is connected inline. if the bad or foreshot comes off first and goes into the thumper then it seems to me it will linger through the whole run.being that it is the lowest temperature product extracted from the run. Help me understand why what I am thinking is not correct.
other things to remember. size of the column. the longer the column, generally the higher abv. yes, there are exceptions, width of the column, packing, reflux plates. so, understand how you want to run your still. i prefer a 4 foot column with a 4" diameter and use copper mesh packing. i guess im to cheap to use reflux plates and in order to make them, i just dont have the time anymore. good luck. look forward to the rest of the videos.
First and foremost, great channel! As to your boiler situation, I'd go with a beer keg. It simplifies the build and is available for modifications later down the road if you so wish (electric elements, ball valve drain, etc.). If I may suggest something, I'd opt for a CCVM reflux still instead of a Boka. A CCVM is faster and easier to operate style of still. If you change your mind you can still use the coil you've already made.Keep up the good work. I'm looking forward to more videos from you
Thanks, appreciate it!!
Yup I have decided to go with the keg :) Thanks for the suggestion on CCVM, I think im going to see the boka through. Simply because its semi was done. But I may try to build in a way to switch parts out and make it a CCVM. Would be cool to be able to show that on the channel too!
I know you're way past this video but something i did, allegedly, to avoid resealing my pot still for every run was add a system of two ball valves. One up top to drain the backset and one up top to siphon in the next wash to distill. Then i can empty and refill my still while only sealing it once that day.
+David Hyland that's a sweet little idea dude! Would be totally worth it!
Compression fittings are what you are looking for to make your connections. I'm not sure of how good your selection is in NZ, but around here I can go to a Home Depot and pick up fittings to adapt from pipe thread (at the valve) to a compression fitting, at the copper tube. I'd advise against soldering direct to the valve.
Also, attaching the tri-clamp ferrules to the column isn't super fun. Generally the ferrules are a hair larger than the ID of the pipe, so you need to ream out the pipe enough for the ferrule to slip in. Then you are in for some stainless to copper soldering. I've done it, as well as the more challenging stainless to stainless soldering, and it is tough, even with the right flux and solder.
Loving the channel, good luck!
Awesome! I was hoping for something like that. But no such thing as home depo here :( And bunnings / mitre 1 0 just dont compare. I get DIY envy every time I am in the US of A!!
Guess I'm lucky, the ones I have fit snugly with a few taps of a hammer! I was hoping the near perfect fit would make that a little less impossible to solder haha!
Canada here, but for the most part we have the same big box stores.
for copper to stainless joints, you can use silver braze and MAPP gas, same as solder but you have to get it much hotter. I've used a product from Muggy Weld that has it's own stick flux and it worked pretty well but expensive.
just watched the show from apr 20th 17,help my boka build, good show i like it. and i too have a 2.5 gl. pot still, its ok runs hot, and it funto play with. now i want to move up to a keg still. you have given me the push i need to move up, thanks guy keep up the craft.
+richard y. Awesome man! Chase that craft!
Glad you found it helpful!
chase the craft indeed ;)
can't wait to get it going the old pots have done me ok but don't like using silicone .been using silicone tube made into seals but can only get about 10 runs and have to silicone back down.
Yeah, I am glad I didn't need to worry about them in the end. Thats for sure :)
Cheers from New England. Great work, keep it up. We nubies have to learn some how, and this type of forum works great. I've been at it about three years and make ok product some times. Need help making better cuts. As to the lid, it's very thin and will probably warp in use. if you really want to use that big pot it is going to require a much heavier top with a snug flange welded on. If you use neutral cure Silicone you should be able to fabricate a decent gasket then just use spring clamps to hold it down. Might be cheaper to use the though.
Thanks for your efforts.
Keep on keeping on then dude!!
Thats a dam good point my man! Just another nudge towards the keg huh ;)
So glad I found this channel. I am bouncing around and watching various videos, thanks so much for the content. I think as important as the distillation stages are the various beard stages as well. Cheers mate from the US.
Funny to see such an early video, I'm really interested in a Boka still and would love to see you run through it
Love the channel , I’m keen as to get into the hobby / craft , for me you seem to be covering a lot of the stuff I have questions about for getting started , cheers mate
+J & C Mining glad I could help out a little man!
I just started using a brew pot for my set up. It works well on gas, considering picking up the Clawhammer BIAB system to try electric
I do love the Claw hammer setup mate. And yeah, electric is the go IMO
Get a keg!! Haha, but if you do want to use the brew pot, a few wraps of ptfe tape around the lip of the pot, and the lid should have a pretty good seal. :-)
Yup the votes are in. The people have spoken. The newb has been put in his place.
Kegs will be acquired!
A beard on a man is like bright plumage on a male bird. Haven't shaved since 1990. Can't imagine scraping my face with a blade every morning. My wife calls it my thigh tickler ;-D. I am a retired master plumber and agree with the folks about the silver solder. The joints don't have to be killer strong just air tight. Still on mate!
Master Level Soldering Lesson because your soldering is hideous but I love your channel: Step 1. Clean your parts with fine sandpaper then wipe down with acetone to remove finger print oils. 2. Put on heaps of flux with a brush 3. Put on more flux than that. 4. Use MAPP gas torch to heat (hotter than propane which is good because copper tends to conduct heat away from the joint fast) from all sides until 95% of flux boils off/melts and oxides start to disappear revealing raw copper. 5. Use thin gauge lead free solder and dab a WEE bit on either side and watch it wick around the joint. 5. You're done , let it cool without bumping it.
Quite an oldie now. If you could give some advice on the you in the video all these years ago, what still would you recommend him getting/building?
i'm going to fire up my pressure cooker for the 1st. time this weekend. i've watched a bunch of vids on how to do it and came to the conclusion K.I.S.S.
it's been that way cause it works. just my 2cents
btw... i've done HVAC& P for 50yrs. you might want to remove the teflon tape from the drain fitting inside your pot. @4:20
tape. heat, alcohol don't mix.
Hey I've been watching a few of your videos thinking about what it would take for me to try distilling. I don't think its a hobby I can get into right now, unfortunately, but I think your channel could be really great, and I would still (pun not intended, but i'll take it) watch it if I never distill anything. I don't find your tone is off-putting, for what its worth, but I do think you are going to have to move beyond the confession-cam studio set up. Your beard is great, but I think viewers are going to want to see your topics in action. My guess is that you are planning this already and just don't have your still built yet, but one mustn't assume these things.
Yep, I hear you. Not an easy, fast or cheap thing to "just get into"!
That's exactly what I am planning! And pretty much exactly why I haven't done it yet. . . . . its coming . . ..
I see you only use your CCVM column. Never tried the Boka? I use a boka right now, but i am thinking about upgrading it to a CCVM or even a VM because it's modular, i soldered tri clamp ferrules in the right sport :D BTW, i found some great copper tri clamp ferules on Aliexpress, they are very easy to solder to the copper pipe.
if you are going to add the heating elements, then why wouldn't a hot water heater work, it is drink able water after it cools, they come in all kind of sizes, I don't think they are stainless steel but if they work for your kitchen cooking and such there should not be any harm/
+jbrunson1949 I ended up doing pretty much exactly that. I now have 2x 2kw elements inside a 50L keg. Works AMAZING!
use a 15 gallon stainless steel keg
Hey Jesse. Awesome channel. Ive watched about 30 odd of your videos in the last few days. Ive been wanting to start the craft of distilling for a while now but don't have the space or knowledge to build my own still (yet). I've looked at the plethora of affordable stills available online and as I am in South Africa the shipping is usually double or tripple the price of the still. I have finally located 1 of these affordable stills that is available in SA but there are seriously contrasting reviews online and im not sure if I should go for it. Do you have any experience with these affordable stills or know of feedback from your many trusted sources? The still that I can get is the ECO-WORTHY Moonshine Still 8 Gallon Stainless Steel Alcohol Distiller.
I have done a few craft brews already, both extract and all grain so I have some experience in those feilds. I would like to get started as soon as I can hence considering the affordable still purchase but I also don't want to throw my money away. This still would be in the region of 400 NZD or roughly 4000 ZAR. I have looked at parts to consider building my own and in reality just the pot or boiler section will cost me at least half of that budget before I've even considered any other parts of the build. My gut tells me that getting into a purchased still will let me start the craft and get more experience so that down the line I will have a better idea of what I want from my home build still. Thats the way my mind is thinking.
Anyway I know this is a very old video and you are way more busy these days so if you don't get back to me thats cool I understand but I thought I would try my luck as you definitely have far more knowledge than me and in this video you are more or less where I am now.
If you already have a video on this specific topic then I am so sorry, I have searched but not found anything on it as of yet.
Fun fact, My wife is actually a NZ citizen and we are actually considering emigrating to NZ once Covid allows. Probably a few more years still, covid seems here to stay.
Anyway thanks for all the awesome content
Great video where do you buy the ferrules and tri clamps from in NZ
I hav been watching ur videos ...rite now i am having the same problems
Ur brewing great spirits but i highly recommend useing PID...u can thank me later. Its realy cool seeing it work.
Ha Ha, fair play my friend, that cracked me up! You know what? Maybe it WAS the scripting that freaked me out. This video was much better. Get on it and start showing me some slow dribbling white gold!
Haha glad you got a giggle!
Yeah, it felt better recording it. It actually takes a LOT longer editing though. I think the freestyle way will work better with practical things. Like actually distilling/mashing / building etc. I may still need to script a little when doing theory / explanation.
Cheers man :)
Just found your channel. Subbed.
I have a full beard lol! 👍
+charlie knight yeessssss
keg love flavor so pot still that can be changed as one grows..just got me 15.5 $8.00 at junk yard.
Wow, nice! that's a score!
@2:12 FINALLY!!! it took you 2 mins to go to the subject.
+mohammad Hossein Jafari or did the subject go to me? .......
+Still It =^)))) may that be the case! Anyway... cheers from Iran!
+mohammad Hossein Jafari haha. But yeah these early ones are a bit waffely. I think I got better though ;)
Cheers man.
Has anyone got any experience mounting an induction coil on the bottom of a keg?
I do not, but that would be rather cool!
@@StillIt It's going to be tough, but i'll let you know if it works out. Great show by the way.
You could turn your brew pot into a Hot Liquor Tank
Boka's are slow. Distillate will already be condensed at the takeoff valve.
The liebig you have will be able to cool the liquid ethanol more to whatever temperature you want it to be. If you run a parrot (for measuring the ethanol abv) the distillate coming out of the parrot should be at the temp your alcohol proof tralle is scaled for. Otherwise it will give a false measurement. The hotter the distillate, the greater the abv will false.
Bigger condenser: If you were running just a regular pot still and throwing the max power/heat you can at it, you would need a longer/larger liebig. A shotgun condenser would be a much better solution to max power/high heat (think stripping run).
Hmmmm very good point about the pot still and condenser!
Thanks for the help!!!
I would do a simple pot still to start and to practice with. I don't know why you don't want to use silicone. I'm using a keg with the top cut out and a bowl to seal to the column and I use pressure cooker gaskets. I would say just start with a basic unit then proceeded to the more advanced reflux stills. Also are you filling your copper tubing with sugar to keep it from flattening out while you bend it?
I would advise against using silicone in the vapor or collection pathways.
Copper, stainless, PTFE, and wood are the only materials I would use that come into contact with hot vaporized ethanol.
It's not about what hot ethanol does to the material. It's about what the hot ethanol takes with it from the material.
Some people would add glass, silver to the list of approved materials. But glass can break, and I cannot afford a silver pipe or tube.
Cheers!
Build both a boka and a pot still. If you find out it's the right hobby for you. Later focus on a thumper for the pot, and different column builds for high abv. Faster pure ethanol can be achieved from a Condenser Controlled Vapor Management column (CCVM). For speed, flavor and abv, a Flute with 5 or 6 plates.
It's a long road, I have yet to build a flute after 8 years of reading about them. It's all about the mash/wash and oaking for a good spirit.
Watch my new reflux condenser build my one and only design that I'll be showing on my channel , it's going to be interesting just before Christmas I'll have it uploaded. Cheers and happy distilling bro.
I love your chanal I am frome South Africa. But it is not easy to follow your videos please make it o follow in sequence.
That is the only thing I can fallt the rest is amazing
Dude
You waist too much time talking about you.