How to make moonshine

Step 3: The condenser

the pot was easy. the condenser takes a bit of finagling. whatever the inside diameter of your thermos is, you want to find something like a 20oz soda bottle or some suitable tube-like thing that is a bit smaller and wrap your copper tubing around it to make a neat little spiral (careful, copper kinks easily).  tube benders are available.  they are basically big springs that slide over the tube and allow you to bend without kinking.  filling the tube with salt, sugar, or even sand can work as well.  i was just really careful and bent slowly and it worked fine for me.

the bottom end of the spiral exits through a hole cut in the lower side of the thermos. the top will exit a hole cut in your thermos lid (see pic). seal the area around the exiting tube at the bottom. seal it well and let it dry completely before you use it. test it before you go full throttle, as well.

thread the top of the copper through the hole in the center of the lid (if it is a screw type, like mine, you want to be able to unscrew the lid to fill and empty) and attach an appropriate coupler that marries with the one coming from the pot. spend a little time in the plumbing department of your local hardware store and i'm sure you'll find something that will work (look at the pictures). just do not use anything that contains lead. very important!

anyway, let's learn how to use this thing.

Comments

[faked]

Do you have to have a thumper on a moonshine stil?

[notsogoodwitfire]

I used a coil from s coffee maker and also the thermometer that was apart of the coffee maker it works good b/c it mean u can boil the ally And not over do it to make it the best

[TANZMEISTER]

I've had good luck with small batch distillation (1.5gal and under) by utilizing marbles.  3 feet of 3" glass tube (Google is your friend) filled with glass marbles hasn't ever needed to be chilled to cause proper condensation.  In fact, I've had better luck achieving a higher proof in fewer runs then any other method I've tried. 

[pdub77]

I've heard of using marbles.  More surface area equals more condensation.  And while your marble condenser may not be 'chilled,' it is still at a much lower temperature than the vapors exiting your still, not to mention much more opportunity for heat transfer with it being so long.  Great idea, though.  Now google column or reflux stills and see where that leads you.  = )

Got a pic?  I'd love to see it!

[bertus52x11]

I have just posted an Instructable that could be helpful for you cooling (see under "classic heat exchanger".

[Squintz89]

You can also get a large spring that goes over the pipe that you can get from your local hardware store

[pdub77]

true. they will help keep the copper tubing from kinking.

[Squintz89]

It has to be the soft copper though right?

[pdub77]

i don't really know what gauge of tube i used. i got it in the plumbing dept. of lowes. it was 1/4 inch, i know that. i got it in a ten foot length that came coiled in a box. hope this helps.

[corradini]

That "large spring" is a tubing bender - usually found in the plumbing area where they have tubing cutters (also helpful), reamers, and other stuff for plumbers. I think I paid about $3-5 for one. A great trick for bending tubing without kinking, though: crimp one end w/ pliers, straighten out how much you're going to use, and fill it with table salt. You'll need a small funnel, preferably taped to the other end, and need to "rattle" the tube as you fill it to make sure it gets really well filled (an open-end wrench works great for this). Crimp the other end of the tube, bend it how you want it (best if you use some kind of rod or cylinder), then cut off both ends and dump and then rinse out the salt. DON'T use sand -- it's too variable in size, and salt has the advantage of dissolving when you rinse it out. Sugar's obviously fine, too, but I've found it's more likely to clump up with just tiny bits of moisture - which is a royal, royal pain. Just get a cardboard cylinder of generic salt - it's like $1 or 2. The copper tubing is just standard 1/4" that comes in coils for icemakers, etc. - you probably do NOT need more than, say, 5' (but you might as well buy 10' to have extra on the ends, and in case you screw up and kink it - which is more likely than you might think...)

[pdub77]

A true tubing bender is a good thing to have here, but I have used "large springs" made for other applications and applied them to this. As long as it fits somewhat snugly around the 1/4' copper, you should be fine. I've saved some money this way. They use springs like this in some storm doors and what not. The salt idea is a good one. Sand will work as well, though. It may not be totally uniform in size, but it works fine and can be found free if you look for a sandbox or something. I do really like the idea that salt will dissolve, though. As far as the tube length goes, go ahead and get the 10 footer. You will have a couple of feet left over, but 5' is just not long enough for this type of condenser and the tube to connect to the still. The coil in my instructable, if uncoiled, is quite a bit longer than it looks. A bit of leeway will help with any mishaps with bending, etc. as well. It's not much more cash either. Thanks for the comments.

[47professional]

very nice haha hey where did you find that rubber stopper because I have a tea kettle just like that

[optix]

You can fill the copper tubing with sand to make it keep a round shape. This prevents kinks, and makes it easier to work with.

[pdub77]

see KNOTTYMAN's earlier post. still a good idea.