Build a Whisky Still

Step 2 The Vat

The vat is the container in which you heat your mash. I would suggest the use of an old pressure cooker, as it has a seal around the lid to keep vapours inside the system, and is large enough to hold a reasonable volume of wash.

Comments

[seamaas]

it's called wort not wash

[lunitick]

For young BEER that has not been fermented it is called wort (vert) after the MASH has been fermented and is in the prosess of being distilled it is called WASH.

[Kiteman]

Actually it's "mash" - thanks for spotting the typo.

(Wort is part of the beer-brewing process.)

[seamaas]

you're right I forgot. i am an amateur brewer do i should now by now

[ustogether]

Is the pressure cooker you are showing for the vat aluminum?

[Evil_Steve]

When choosing between materials there are a couple of things to consider: Aluminum (and copper) are reactive metals and if you use a mixture that is slightly acidic (either in distilling or if you use your vat to cook other things in) it will corrode over time. Stainless is nonreactive and should last a lifetime. However, aluminum and copper are typically superior to stainless in terms of heat conduction and maintaining a uniform temperature.

[Kiteman]

It could be aluminium, or stainless steel, it's just a googled image, as I said at the start.

[canadachris]

Use any aluminum at all making your spirits and you will die. When the vapors and aluminum come in contact in your still they will produce some nasty by chemicals in you spirits which you will drink and signoff. Dont listen to this guy. Making some excellent spirits from simple sugar yeast fruits/veg is easy and fun if done right and horriffic if done incorrectly. Last thiing you want to do is kill yourself or worse somebody close you care about. Nothing is as safe as copper therefore I use only copper. Stainless steel tends to rust after a while, when copper never wil. Rule of thumb always stick to how OUR ANCESTORS did it in the old days. COPPER.

[lx2036]

Not really. The worst thing that happens is the taste is thrown off a little bit because of the reaction you're talking about. That's the main reason it's not normally used. The other reason is durability, aluminum is inferior to copper or stainless. However, I used aluminum (for the pot) when I was first starting out because it was cheapest and easiest to work with.

Nowwww, when making moonshine or whiskey copper is the best due to the reaction it will have with sulfates—reducing them which in turn improves taste.

It should be noted that when using a high purity reflux still, the reduction effect no longer matters, so most people will tend to move to stainless because it's substantially cheaper than a large copper pot, more durable, and easier to clean.

Two great resources for further reading:
Home Distiller
Whiskey Still

One more thing:
>always stick to how OUR ANCESTORS did it in the old days
Call me a radical, but I like air conditioning, modern medicine, and toilet paper. Just saying...

[Lithium Rain]

>Rule of thumb always stick to how OUR ANCESTORS did it in the old days.

Do I even have to say anything here?

Didn't think so.

[canadachris]

Listen everybody. Im still a novice at brewing but I was taught by longtime distillers and rules of law IS TO NEVER USE ANYTHING OTHER THAN COPPER, STAINLESS STEEL OR GLASS to distill alcohol. No ALUMINUM. IT WILL KILL YOU!!! Be safe use all Copper. Aluminum when in contact with vapors in your still will create toxinous poisons that are extremely harmful if ingested. Always toss the heads (methanol) and tails (acetone) of your batches. Always maintain a clean sterilized enviroment and procedures. Always dilute to %35 abv before congesting. Use hygrometer to test it. Never drink 180 proof. Do some research before beginning. Google is a great place to start.

[matt_and_nick]

actually, the chance of death from thusing aluminum is not as big as you say it is, but you will go blind after a little while.

[SwavetheX7Materboom]

Aluminum is SAFE to use as a boiler. Ive been making alcohol for 7 years and during those years Ive used aluminum boilers. If Aluminum leeched into the mash it wouldn't go anywhere as it wouldn't evaporate along with the alcohol. I don't even think that'd effect you if you were trying to do a sour mash as the aluminum is just going to stay put. I'd love to know what chemical alcohol vapors and Aluminum produce that will travel with he vapor into the distillate and kill you. The only consideration when using aluminum is that the acidity (yeast like a slightly acidic environment) of the mash will corrode it over time making it eventually unusable. Use copper for the lines coming off the boiler and you'll be golden.

[HAPPYCLASPER]

I know alcohol attacks alumnum,Ever hear story s about guy going BLIND from bad shine COPPER is only way to go

[mnadamn]

Blindness had nothing to do with the material used but the material distilled. Though I do agree copper is the way to go (it absorbs sulfates which effect flavor) stainless is another fine option.

The reason why people went blind because during prohibition was, the cheapest and easiest way to make 'shine' was to re-distill industrial alcohols stripping the Ethanol from it. To stop this, the US government made it a federal regulation to add Methanol (wood based alcohol) to the mix. Methanol cannot be seperated from Ethanol in Distilation or any other easily obtanable means. The best part is they never made it public until the freedom of information act.

When Methonal is digested it turns into formaldehyde (yes the stuff they use to embalm bodies). This then gets broken down into Formic Acid which is incredibly Toxic. This stops your cells from producing engery in effect shutting them down. The most sensitive cells in the body to Formic Acid would be those found in the optic nerve, causing blindness.

[Kiteman]

Google is not reality.

What are these "toxinous poisons"?

What does "toxinous" mean, anyway?

[lunitick]

It all depends on your threshhold of metals in your system. Even Stainless steel will still give off a level of free electrons and small amounts of steel in your system. Al, and Copper just do it at larger amounts. yes "IT WILL KILL YOU" but not at the level of what that guy was talking about.