Manifest
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Distilling Ethanol
Hello, I am obviously new to this so go easy on me(please?)
I'm looking to distill ethanol from a mash which I had fermented for use as a fuel and a solvent.
However, I do not have alot of equipment to do so.
A setup that had worked for me was a pint plastic milkjug where I poked a hole in the lid and stuck a pipe in it.
I put the milkjug in a waterbath with a pot lol
This was not efficient at all 
I got a drop every minute or so which sucked.
However. It was flammable.
I figured a better setup might be to get a pot and pour my solution in it and then float a bowl in that and finally to turn a lid upside down and put
ice on it.
While this was (a bit?) faster it was not much better.
And it wasn't flammable which defeated the overall purpose.
I have maybe got a meter of plastic tubing(9mm wide)
Can somebody help me with a better setup? Pictures would be really helpful. Thank you
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smaerd
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Using a plastic container to heat from is a bad idea. I have seen very ghetto designs of ethanol stills that utilize pressure cookers and copper
tubing with copper condensers. I have no comment as to their efficacy as I haven't bothered doing it and didn't care to look into it.
What you are referring to is called a WOK still, this will concentrate alcohol. It's remniscent of how some emergency solar stills work. There's
plenty of information about these on-line. It may be the cheapest route for big brews, but I wouldn't think of it as the most efficient nor the
safest. Then again I'm not seasoned on ethanol distillation..
The real question is, what percent alcohol are you trying to achieve? I have turned 20% mouthwash past 50%(tested via flame outside) with one run
through a vigruex condenser(all glass set-up). I believe people usually use the solutions specific gravity to determine actual percentage, this would
be something worth looking into. It still contained the volatile additives however that's another matter altogether. I only needed it to clean some
glass-ware and didn't feel like buying any liquor, so it sufficed my needs.
Also if you are planning on making a liquor of any kind for drinking beware of methanol(a natural toxic compound formed from fermentation that made
the old moonshiners go blind), and learn to remove the majority of it before indulging.
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Manifest
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Quote: Originally posted by smaerd  | Using a plastic container to heat from is a bad idea. I have seen very ghetto designs of ethanol stills that utilize pressure cookers and copper
tubing with copper condensers. I have no comment as to their efficacy as I haven't bothered doing it and didn't care to look into it.
What you are referring to is called a WOK still, this will concentrate alcohol. It's remniscent of how some emergency solar stills work. There's
plenty of information about these on-line. It may be the cheapest route for big brews, but I wouldn't think of it as the most efficient nor the
safest. Then again I'm not seasoned on ethanol distillation..
The real question is, what percent alcohol are you trying to achieve? I have turned 20% mouthwash past 50%(tested via flame outside) with one run
through a vigruex condenser(all glass set-up). I believe people usually use the solutions specific gravity to determine actual percentage, this would
be something worth looking into. It still contained the volatile additives however that's another matter altogether. I only needed it to clean some
glass-ware and didn't feel like buying any liquor, so it sufficed my needs.
Also if you are planning on making a liquor of any kind for drinking beware of methanol(a natural toxic compound formed from fermentation that made
the old moonshiners go blind), and learn to remove the majority of it before indulging. |
I'm not interested in moonshine.
I'm looking for alcohol as a project to maybe stick in a lawnmower and mess about and use it in lamps for heating stuff.
I cannot get access to copper tubing, it's far too expensive.
I'm looking to achieve 40 and up at least for flammability.
nor can I afford a condenser or stillhead.
So I need something like I had except more efficient.
I was wasting all that gas for about 5 ml of alcohol in 10 minutes -,-
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smaerd
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if you only want 40% or 40 proof a WOK still would suffice your needs. Not too sure about putting the stuff in a lawn mower though. 40% also will not
burn in a lamp. It would likely be cheaper to just buy denatured alcohol or rubbing alcohol for such purposes. I invite you to do some more research
on this, as I'm sure there's likely already dozens of threads on ethanol distillation on this forum.
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Manifest
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| Quote: Originally posted by smaerd | | if you only want 40% or 40 proof a WOK still would suffice your needs. Not too sure about putting the stuff in a lawn mower though. 40% also will not
burn in a lamp. It would likely be cheaper to just buy denatured alcohol or rubbing alcohol for such purposes. I invite you to do some more research
on this, as I'm sure there's likely already dozens of threads on ethanol distillation on this forum. |
I need a higher concentration then :/
When I did the WOK still thingy I didn't even get 40%. It wasn't even flammable.
I already checked. There is no threads on it.
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smaerd
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You aren't looking hard enough
http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=21924
http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=19543
http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=12018
http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=8835
http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=7379
https://www.sciencemadness.org/whisper/viewthread.php?tid=14...
http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=13064
http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=17496
http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=4039
http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=14506
http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=17958
http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=4885
Jeesh googles result for "Sciencemadness ethanol distillation" and clicking on the pages yielded over 10 pages of results.
Woah a google search for WOK still turned up a whole forum called "HomeDistiller".
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4022
I'd keep going but I feel like you should put in more effort before I do the same  .
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Manifest
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Lolwut
I used the search function and searched for ethanol and not much came up.
Thank you though, I'll look through some stuff although they don't give me what I initially wanted. A decently efficient distillation setup.
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mnick12
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Back in junior high for a science fair I managed to make about 500ml of alcohol (not sure of the concentration but it burned) from a still I made out
of two paint cans some poly tubing and some copper pipe.
A good resource for this type of thing is youtube.
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Hexavalent
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Our search function on the forum is not very powerful, and tends to be quite ineffective. In the future, you may wish to consider Googling for "search
term + sciencemadness".
| Quote: Originally posted by Manifest |
Back in junior high for a science fair I managed to make about 500ml of alcohol (not sure of the concentration but it burned) from a still I made out
of two paint cans some poly tubing and some copper pipe.
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Did you not distill it in a glass apparatus afterwards? 
[Edited on 3-1-2013 by Hexavalent]
"Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm." Winston Churchill
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Manifest
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You guys don't know how much this frustrates me...
My newest setup! Tada
I have tried and tried and got nothing. I got a few droplets on the side of the straw.
The plastic is pretty resistant.
Please don't laugh......
 
[Edited on 3-1-2013 by Manifest]
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vmelkon
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You should distill multiple times. This means, filter your mash and then distill. Use that to distill again. Use the result to distill again.
Every time you distill it, the purity goes up and then you hit the azeotrope limit (95% by weight, 89% by molarity). In order to get past that, use a
drying salt. I used CaCl2.
It is important to have some tools. A thermometer to measure the vapor temperature. A scale and graduated cylinder to measure density (or use that
hygrometer or whatever it is called). When you know the density, you can look at a chart to know the purity. I just googled for the chart.
Here is my video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_Nv1gnzYWs
Note: I use lab glassware.
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Manifest
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| Quote: Originally posted by vmelkon | You should distill multiple times. This means, filter your mash and then distill. Use that to distill again. Use the result to distill again.
Every time you distill it, the purity goes up and then you hit the azeotrope limit (95% by weight, 89% by molarity). In order to get past that, use a
drying salt. I used CaCl2.
It is important to have some tools. A thermometer to measure the vapor temperature. A scale and graduated cylinder to measure density (or use that
hygrometer or whatever it is called). When you know the density, you can look at a chart to know the purity. I just googled for the chart.
Here is my video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_Nv1gnzYWs
Note: I use lab glassware. |
Nice video, however I don't have any equiptment at all and I'm not shelling out £80 for a distillation kit.
Anyway. I need to ask, why do you distill multiple times? if you keep an eye on the temperature you should only need maybe 1 more distill.
Also you said it took you 1 year to make 2 litres??? Bullcrap.
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blogfast25
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If you're not willing to invest something you're unlikely to ever make any decent alcohol at appreciable rates. The Tinkerwebs are chocker with good
designs for decent stills that will yield 95 % ethanol from fermented mash but they all cost something, even home built.
Placcy things held together with glue, paperclips and staples will quickly collapse and be a liability.
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Manifest
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| Quote: Originally posted by blogfast25 |
If you're not willing to invest something you're unlikely to ever make any decent alcohol at appreciable rates. The Tinkerwebs are chocker with good
designs for decent stills that will yield 95 % ethanol from fermented mash but they all cost something, even home built.
Placcy things held together with glue, paperclips and staples will quickly collapse and be a liability. |
No, I am looking for some ideas with some PVC pipe.
Not glue, paperclips and staples.
I'm not looking to make a brewery here. I am simply looking for a simple design that somebody else might have made themselves.
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blogfast25
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Well, here's something I cobbled together for distilling acetone out of nail polish remover:
http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=13959#...
Things like that one inevitably start leaking after a while but it was fun while it lasted!
[Edited on 8-1-2013 by blogfast25]
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vmelkon
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It's true. I was making small runs.
Why you need to distill in steps? I guess this depends on how efficient your vigreux condensor is. Some people fill it will glass beads but I don't
have any.
Here is a document I had downloaded that details building a still with copper pipes and various stuff. It is very efficient according to the doc.
Attachment: Ethanol_still_design.pdf (1.4MB)
This file has been downloaded 408 times
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cyanureeves
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i made more than two pints with a tin gallon can and 3 pieces of straight aluminum tubing no more than 10" long.i connected the tubing with silicone
tubing i got from old coffee makers.all coffee makers use silicone tubing for the hot water and the tubes dont have to be coiled either just suspended
and hung in the air with speaker wire. the undoubtedly poisonous ethanol smells delicious like rum and is more flammable than everclear.
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blogfast25
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| Quote: Originally posted by vmelkon |
Here is a document I had downloaded that details building a still with copper pipes and various stuff. It is very efficient according to the doc.
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I've seen that design before. It's one of the best on the net.
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Manifest
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Thank you!
This is exactly what I wanted. Cudos to you!
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