I'm almost 2 years late to the show, but better late than never.... I always admire people that are able to think of ways to do things... So simple but yet not something I would have figured out. After watching this, I don't know why there are thumbs down. Just ignore them George.... Content is spot on, some humor.... Alexa, give this guy 5 stars please.
Been following your channel for about a year now and wanted to thank your for the tremendous amount of both theory and practical information you pack into your presentations and your great light hearted presentation style. It is soo refreshing to have someone provide an easy do it your self using easy to aquire parts to do a project! I am in the process of purchasing 4 used 5 gallon stainless steel 'stock pots' and now excited about making them into a still! Just the process of attemping the build is exciting. Thank you for sharing your time and expertise. Garth, Nova Scotia
George... Everyone knows you should never cover up those terminals... Remember you have to leave them bare so you can stick your tongue on them to test for voltage.
Jim Allen too funny! I just had a flashback of the Beverly hillbillies episode where Jethro sticks his tongue into a lightbulb socket to see if it works! LOL!
I'm glad to hear your getting the voice on the meter. You are the Man. I'm always referring people to your fantastic video library. Watching your videos gave me the confidence to build my setup. Thank you for providing all this information to our community.
Man! You do such a great presentation! I don't drink any fermented beverages, but just watching your videos leaves me with the desire to build a still...just because!
Thanks George for this video. As you recall I phoned you about the size of the cord that would work for a 2000 W element. This really is a neat video because I thought it was kind of funky looking also with these two screws just hanging out and I didn’t know if I should tape it up or whatever, but I decided to leave it alone and Wala George comes up with a solution way to go George nice going thank you.
Great revisit in detail. Going to add electric soon so your last two videos will be referred to a lot, along with the PID controller video. The no weld bulkhead will make it very affordable. Thanks
Thanks George! Another option, for the guys who have some extra 1” schedule 40 PVC laying around (which I am one), is to replace the 3/4” coupling with a short piece of that.
Excellent video, the only problem I have is the cord flopping around. Cut the cord off and place a male plug 🔌 exactly on the end. Then make a short extension cord to plug into the Pid or whatever you are using to control the power input.
Hi George Happy New Yr , I`ve taken my Hot Glue gun and made a complete ball covering over the end of power supply systems that have been stripped or need a casing like when people pull on the cord instead of the plugin it`ll bare the wires at the plug just separate them and make a casing around them when cool its perfect again , If they crack or seem to have moved again reheat with a torch a little .
Another home run George great way to get there without draining the bank account. Would love to see a video on building a pulse width modulator that's my next project and I'm sure you have a better way then a dimmer switch. Mine is going to be 240 with two elements.
oh my. while i was watching you step-drill that pvc cap, i was contemplating what that thing would do to the inside of your hand if you slipped! i do appreciate the info as always, and i hope you keep making videos, so please be careful.
Hey George it's probably easier to just heat up the PVC with a heat gun it will make the PVC soft and you can just push it on when it cools down it will harden and keep that form
Waiting to see when you might do a video on Dephlegmator vs Reflux. Pros and Cons or proper application. I have seen a few posts with this interest asking. Happy New year's George!
Question for you, would the still not become deadly if there were a ground fault in the heater, and nothing is grounded? Do you think grounding the pot would protect against that, or would one need to ground the heater as well? Thanks!
Yes it is possible. I just took 2-in PVC pipe with a 2-in cap cut a hole in the cap place the heating element through the cap leaving the exposed leads inside the tube connected a 240 volt dryer cord to the wires to it since I didn't have any other wire and hook the other end to 110 10-volt 20 amp replacement plug only hooked up to the leads there's no ground. Placed it in the 5 gallon bucket and turned it on and within 2 minutes it went from 60° to 85°, after about 10 minutes it had reached 140°
Hello, just wondering if you could reply with an Amazon or ebay link for the nut that you would use to fit that into a kettle? I know you've probably mentioned it, but I can't find em anywhere. Trying not to have to buy a weldless fitting to save money if you know what I mean.
if I wanted to ground the green wire inside the housing on something like a bolt with a nut to hold the wire in place. would that be enough? or would the entire housing need to be made of metal?
Hi George. Interesting topic although outside of wiring a chandelier I stay away from things that shock. But I wanted to ask you, if you can discuss gravity vs. Brix scale? A lot of people ask me about that. Also, maybe a brief overview of bacterial contamination and how it inhibits yeast growth and fermentation. Thanks...Oh... I completely agree with you about thumper kegs. Why do people think they are absolutely necessary?? Unless you have some tails that you suspect still contain a significant amount of ethanol, it is just something else that can go wrong.
Gravity vs Brix. Both measure the same thing but in different scales. There isquite abit behind this but essentially Europe uses the BRIX scale more than gravity and the US uses the GRAVITY more than BRIX. You will still find many who use both or are comfortable with both. They are essentially the same thing like C and F with temperature.
George I don't know what size the thread is on that cord connector but you could use a 3/4" female adapter and screw that connector into it and not use the cap.
Maybe I didn't explain it correctly replace the 3/4" coupling with the 3/4" Female adapter then screw the cord grip or "Gland" into the 3/4" Female adapter minus the locknut. It would eliminate the Cap. And yes there are a lot of ways to do it. Keep up the Great work! I am going to email you in a little bit I want to get a still and wanted some of your expert guidance as it will be my first. Been enjoying you and your channel for a few months now!!
Wow brother. Your parts are cheap. Here in Canada. Its gonna cost me about $50-$75 just for the element and another $20-30 for the rest. But great video. Ill definitely be using your setup. 👍🏻👍🏻
Hey George I have a question. Can copper mesh be put in the mesh with a heating element while distilling, I do have it in my column already just trying to clean it up as much as possible?
Thanks George just a quick question everyone is saying dont run T500 in pot still mode cause it will get to hot and leak at the top where the plastic is so is it safe or not ?
@@BarleyandHopsBrewing Hi George just thought i would let you know that i ran the t500 last night in pot mode it ran great it stayed around 66c and i got about 2.5 liters at 90% going to run a second one to night so thanks wont have done it without you advise
You said Mark was your mentor and you thanked him twice. I really didn’t catch what you said Mark did for you and I was wondering if it is something that would help in distilling or is it something for computers maybe you could explain very briefly what Mark did and if I could do it myself
Mark is a friend that I use Discord to help me with programming. He has multiple degrees in the hard sciences and is also an experienced (over 20 years) of programming. He is instrumental in developing and blending the code necessary to make the audible hydrometer work. When done the complete code will be available for everyone else. We share everything.
Much safer to put what ever you are grinding in a vice. That Dremel cutter would do a lot of damage to your wrist if it slipped. Could be nasty. Better safe than sorry.
Hi George and crew.. Longtime watcher and subscriber and first time poster... Just saw this video.. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not cut the ground... Attach it to the kettle somewhere,... It’s the only thing saving you from a life ending electric shock... 240V KILLS... 110V hurts. A lot....240V doesn’t usually give you a second chance.. Please connect the ground to a kettle.. better yet get an electrician friend to help out.. Happy Distilling
I don't remember you mentioning a GFCI to stay alive? I am building a 15 gal. brew pot for beer it is a 240v system. The most expensive part was the Brew Commander and the spa breaker (a GFCI ready to use system).
If all the electrical components of the heating element have no way to short to the body of the boiler do you actually need a ground/GFCI? Hot water heaters aren't required to be on a GFCI and their elements do not have space for a grounding conductor. Not a code expert by any means but the only threat I can see here is a dead short across the terminals, which the upstream circuit breaker would catch. Not being mean just had to add 10 cents to the convo :-)
I find it disturbing that the Still would be floating above ground. Perhaps the GFI breaker is sufficient. If there was a fault and the still became energized and you happen to grab it and a grounded object or pipe, well that could be bad. My other hobby is building HV Tesla coils. The rule there is anything you touch (controls, cabinets, etc.) that is conductive in operation must be grounded. I for one will ground my still out of habit for best practices. Just a thought... I'm building a 240V PID (3500w) for the head temp. I notice there is low ohms to the screw in portion of the K thermocouple. Does it need to remain isolated if screwed in rather than inserted in a bung if the still is grounded. Anyone know?
@@alexandriawinter3664 Perhaps the Cold Water pipe provides the ground protection needed for a household Water heater? PVC is dangerous in that scenario. My house is all grounded copper pipe (or galvanized ok) and connects to the service entrance ground along with the 8 foot ground rod wire which is code where I live..
It turns out that there is a floating thermocouple version and a grounded at the junction which is more sensitive do to the connection to the shell. There is some discussion of ground return problems. I would think it would be ok to ground the still if it shares the ground from the PID ground source.
George I just cut the green wire like you suggest in this video and there’s def a buzz/shock coming through when I plug it ...could this be related to it not being grounded?
Ok when I plug this into pid controller box I’m getting the buzz/shock before I switch the controller to on position would that lead you to believe wiring issue is a pid controller or something w heating element?
One more piece of info I had heating element on with out water in pot for a bit and it seemed to pop /over heat ....it looked ok from the outside but wondering if something got jacked up in the element itself that is causing this?
Please please please if you do this and cut off the green ground wire make sure you use a GFCI on it. There is no return if the element shorts out. Then you have a kill pot.
@@belczyk did it work the way you wanted it too? I used an 1 1/8 pic end cap and drilled a hole in it so it slides up and down the cord. It works for my needs.
I'm almost 2 years late to the show, but better late than never.... I always admire people that are able to think of ways to do things... So simple but yet not something I would have figured out. After watching this, I don't know why there are thumbs down. Just ignore them George.... Content is spot on, some humor.... Alexa, give this guy 5 stars please.
Been following your channel for about a year now and wanted to thank your for the tremendous amount of both theory and practical information you pack into your presentations and your great light hearted presentation style. It is soo refreshing to have someone provide an easy do it your self using easy to aquire parts to do a project! I am in the process of purchasing 4 used 5 gallon stainless steel 'stock pots' and now excited about making them into a still! Just the process of attemping the build is exciting. Thank you for sharing your time and expertise. Garth, Nova Scotia
George... Everyone knows you should never cover up those terminals... Remember you have to leave them bare so you can stick your tongue on them to test for voltage.
LOL
Jim Allen too funny! I just had a flashback of the Beverly hillbillies episode where Jethro sticks his tongue into a lightbulb socket to see if it works! LOL!
You have brightened my life considerably, ever since I discovered the channel. Great community.
I'm glad to hear your getting the voice on the meter. You are the Man. I'm always referring people to your fantastic video library. Watching your videos gave me the confidence to build my setup. Thank you for providing all this information to our community.
Anytime
Man! You do such a great presentation! I don't drink any fermented beverages, but just watching your videos leaves me with the desire to build a still...just because!
Same here, I don't drink alcohol, but I enjoy making it. It's a fun hobby and my friends love it when I bring over a jug. 👍 Happy Distilling
Thanks George for this video. As you recall I phoned you about the size of the cord that would work for a 2000 W element. This really is a neat video because I thought it was kind of funky looking also with these two screws just hanging out and I didn’t know if I should tape it up or whatever, but I decided to leave it alone and Wala George comes up with a solution way to go George nice going thank you.
Great revisit in detail. Going to add electric soon so your last two videos will be referred to a lot, along with the PID controller video. The no weld bulkhead will make it very affordable.
Thanks
Your amazing George, I keep meaning to give you a call but I haven’t had any free time this last month. Thank you for the new video!!
Hey George, great video as always. I used liquid electrical tape to cover the contacts. It works great and it’s cheap and easy!
And electrical tape will turn into a gooey mess. Then someday everything will get wet and when you touch it, something is going to fry. Probably you.
thanks George, I was thinking along that lines but it was nice to have the work done for me. lol
Thanks George!
Another option, for the guys who have some extra 1” schedule 40 PVC laying around (which I am one), is to replace the 3/4” coupling with a short piece of that.
Excellent video, the only problem I have is the cord flopping around. Cut the cord off and place a male plug 🔌 exactly on the end. Then make a short extension cord to plug into the Pid or whatever you are using to control the power input.
Love your videos I’m learning a lot thanks
Hi George Happy New Yr , I`ve taken my Hot Glue gun and made a complete ball covering over the end of power supply systems that have been stripped or need a casing like when people pull on the cord instead of the plugin it`ll bare the wires at the plug just separate them and make a casing around them when cool its perfect again , If they crack or seem to have moved again reheat with a torch a little .
George when you sped up the video with the Dremels it reminded me of a dentist drill.!!!!!!
Another home run George great way to get there without draining the bank account. Would love to see a video on building a pulse width modulator that's my next project and I'm sure you have a better way then a dimmer switch. Mine is going to be 240 with two elements.
I'll do this for you Chuck. Should be ready within a week or so.
oh my. while i was watching you step-drill that pvc cap, i was contemplating what that thing would do to the inside of your hand if you slipped! i do appreciate the info as always, and i hope you keep making videos, so please be careful.
Hey George it's probably easier to just heat up the PVC with a heat gun it will make the PVC soft and you can just push it on when it cools down it will harden and keep that form
George, Thanks for this Channel. You could all so use a 1" romex conn. on one end.
Waiting to see when you might do a video on Dephlegmator vs Reflux. Pros and Cons or proper application. I have seen a few posts with this interest asking.
Happy New year's George!
Awesome stuff George . Actually, My new still is now called George . Thanks to you.
Well hell this is what I was lookin for.
Good Job!
Thanks for the great video
‼️I like your style
👍😉😀
Question for you, would the still not become deadly if there were a ground fault in the heater, and nothing is grounded? Do you think grounding the pot would protect against that, or would one need to ground the heater as well?
Thanks!
Is it possible to buy an element to use as a submersible tub heater for taking baths?
Yes it is possible. I just took 2-in PVC pipe with a 2-in cap cut a hole in the cap place the heating element through the cap leaving the exposed leads inside the tube connected a 240 volt dryer cord to the wires to it since I didn't have any other wire and hook the other end to 110 10-volt 20 amp replacement plug only hooked up to the leads there's no ground. Placed it in the 5 gallon bucket and turned it on and within 2 minutes it went from 60° to 85°, after about 10 minutes it had reached 140°
Hello, just wondering if you could reply with an Amazon or ebay link for the nut that you would use to fit that into a kettle? I know you've probably mentioned it, but I can't find em anywhere. Trying not to have to buy a weldless fitting to save money if you know what I mean.
if I wanted to ground the green wire inside the housing on something like a bolt with a nut to hold the wire in place. would that be enough? or would the entire housing need to be made of metal?
I am wondering the same thing
I am also wondering this!!!! Please answer George. Lol
Thank you George!
Can I make it watertight too by adding caulking on the pvc connection to the metal on element?
You must get up at 4:30am like me, George.
What's the song in your intro called?
We can produce the replacement brewing heating element
Just hit the pvc with a heat gun. Go right on anything +/- .5" or so.
Lawd when you sped up the video you almost gave me a Heart attack I thought the Dremal tool kicked back on you..
How do you control your temperature so it won’t get too hot?
George has discord?? Would be a great idea to get a Barley and Hops discord channel going ;) :)
Hi George. Interesting topic although outside of wiring a chandelier I stay away from things that shock. But I wanted to ask you, if you can discuss gravity vs. Brix scale? A lot of people ask me about that. Also, maybe a brief overview of bacterial contamination and how it inhibits yeast growth and fermentation. Thanks...Oh... I completely agree with you about thumper kegs. Why do people think they are absolutely necessary?? Unless you have some tails that you suspect still contain a significant amount of ethanol, it is just something else that can go wrong.
Gravity vs Brix. Both measure the same thing but in different scales. There isquite abit behind this but essentially Europe uses the BRIX scale more than gravity and the US uses the GRAVITY more than BRIX. You will still find many who use both or are comfortable with both. They are essentially the same thing like C and F with temperature.
Sorry just found it in the library should have checked there first
George I don't know what size the thread is on that cord connector but you could use a 3/4" female adapter and screw that connector into it and not use the cap.
That is true but it would need to be threaded on both ends on the female piece. There are several ways to do this. I just demonstrated one of them.
Maybe I didn't explain it correctly replace the 3/4" coupling with the 3/4" Female adapter then screw the cord grip or "Gland" into the 3/4" Female adapter minus the locknut. It would eliminate the Cap. And yes there are a lot of ways to do it. Keep up the Great work! I am going to email you in a little bit I want to get a still and wanted some of your expert guidance as it will be my first. Been enjoying you and your channel for a few months now!!
Wow brother. Your parts are cheap. Here in Canada. Its gonna cost me about $50-$75 just for the element and another $20-30 for the rest. But great video. Ill definitely be using your setup. 👍🏻👍🏻
Ring terminals those are the best ones to use
Hey George I have a question. Can copper mesh be put in the mesh with a heating element while distilling, I do have it in my column already just trying to clean it up as much as possible?
Why would you do that?
Lol that's the answes I needed.
I don’t understand what your trying to do? How would you even do that?
Thanks for this...!
Thanks George just a quick question everyone is saying dont run T500 in pot still mode cause it will get to hot and leak at the top where the plastic is so is it safe or not ?
I have not had that problem and can't see how that is possible. The T500 has one temperature. Either on or off.
@@BarleyandHopsBrewing Hi George just thought i would let you know that i ran the t500 last night in pot mode it ran great it stayed around 66c and i got about 2.5 liters at 90% going to run a second one to night so thanks wont have done it without you advise
You said Mark was your mentor and you thanked him twice. I really didn’t catch what you said Mark did for you and I was wondering if it is something that would help in distilling or is it something for computers maybe you could explain very briefly what Mark did and if I could do it myself
Mark is a friend that I use Discord to help me with programming. He has multiple degrees in the hard sciences and is also an experienced (over 20 years) of programming. He is instrumental in developing and blending the code necessary to make the audible hydrometer work.
When done the complete code will be available for everyone else.
We share everything.
Much safer to put what ever you are grinding in a vice. That Dremel cutter would do a lot of damage to your wrist if it slipped. Could be nasty. Better safe than sorry.
What about heat shrink tubing ???
could i ask can i just dump a kettle into a water bucket and hope for the best?
Ok so for 240 power should we cut the ground as well?
Hi George and crew..
Longtime watcher and subscriber and first time poster... Just saw this video.. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not cut the ground... Attach it to the kettle somewhere,... It’s the only thing saving you from a life ending electric shock... 240V KILLS... 110V hurts. A lot....240V doesn’t usually give you a second chance..
Please connect the ground to a kettle.. better yet get an electrician friend to help out..
Happy Distilling
I don't remember you mentioning a GFCI to stay alive? I am building a 15 gal. brew pot for beer it is a 240v system. The most expensive part was the Brew Commander and the spa breaker (a GFCI ready to use system).
If all the electrical components of the heating element have no way to short to the body of the boiler do you actually need a ground/GFCI? Hot water heaters aren't required to be on a GFCI and their elements do not have space for a grounding conductor. Not a code expert by any means but the only threat I can see here is a dead short across the terminals, which the upstream circuit breaker would catch. Not being mean just had to add 10 cents to the convo :-)
I find it disturbing that the Still would be floating above ground. Perhaps the GFI breaker is sufficient. If there was a fault and the still became energized and you happen to grab it and a grounded object or pipe, well that could be bad. My other hobby is building HV Tesla coils. The rule there is anything you touch (controls, cabinets, etc.) that is conductive in operation must be grounded. I for one will ground my still out of habit for best practices. Just a thought... I'm building a 240V PID (3500w) for the head temp. I notice there is low ohms to the screw in portion of the K thermocouple. Does it need to remain isolated if screwed in rather than inserted in a bung if the still is grounded. Anyone know?
@@alexandriawinter3664 Perhaps the Cold Water pipe provides the ground protection needed for a household Water heater? PVC is dangerous in that scenario. My house is all grounded copper pipe (or galvanized ok) and connects to the service entrance ground along with the 8 foot ground rod wire which is code where I live..
It turns out that there is a floating thermocouple version and a grounded at the junction which is more sensitive do to the connection to the shell. There is some discussion of ground return problems. I would think it would be ok to ground the still if it shares the ground from the PID ground source.
George I just cut the green wire like you suggest in this video and there’s def a buzz/shock coming through when I plug it ...could this be related to it not being grounded?
You have other issues.
Ok thanks for the response now to trouble shoot :)
Ok when I plug this into pid controller box I’m getting the buzz/shock before I switch the controller to on position would that lead you to believe wiring issue is a pid controller or something w heating element?
One more piece of info I had heating element on with out water in pot for a bit and it seemed to pop /over heat ....it looked ok from the outside but wondering if something got jacked up in the element itself that is causing this?
Please please please if you do this and cut off the green ground wire make sure you use a GFCI on it. There is no return if the element shorts out. Then you have a kill pot.
Im really curious, can ice cream be made into alcohol of some kind, it has sugar but would the milk in it spoil? What are your thoughts
www-theglobeandmail-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.theglobeandmail.com/amp/life/food-and-wine/wine/got-vodka-spirit-distilled-from-cows-milk-all-the-rage-in-britain/article34865435/?amp_js_v=a2&_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQCKAE%3D#aoh=15785178758453&_ct=1578517899293&csi=1&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&_tf=From%20%251%24s&share=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theglobeandmail.com%2Flife%2Ffood-and-wine%2Fwine%2Fgot-vodka-spirit-distilled-from-cows-milk-all-the-rage-in-britain%2Farticle34865435%2F
@@taitco257 so it can be done with the right yeast
I would say a kefir yeast might work
Sounds like a brave adventure. I'd be curious how to prevent it from curdling.
You may want to research some articles in fermenting whey.
How do you maintain temperature with that element
Louis, search George’s other videos for either a PID or PWM controller. He shows you the parts and how to wire it.
What size cable gland for 3 wire 10 gauge for 240 power?
Pg16
@@rayfox212 I had to go with PG21
@@belczyk did it work the way you wanted it too? I used an 1 1/8 pic end cap and drilled a hole in it so it slides up and down the cord. It works for my needs.
On snap, you are in the central texas area. I'm in killeen, how about yourself?
lol
Please cut the jargon !!!!!!!! Go straight to the point or it gets soooooooooooo boring