Moonshine Filter

While enduring the painful journey of the Moonshining business (its not actually a business), I have encountered many problems and created many solutions. Today I will show you one of my simple solution to get rid of any particles/discoloration/unnatural odor from your product (once again.. a product as in the resulting substance, not me selling it). Thanks to the Keep the Bottle Contest I got my rump in gear to show you how I recycle and purify my moonshine at the same time.

This filter can be used to clarify and purify moonshine (which is ethanol), in order to be use as fuel for mini stoves, lighter fluid, or even causing a warming sensation if consumed.

It really doesn't matter what color your moonshine is, or what it smells like, or even if there is crap floating around in it. You SHOULDN'T be drinking it. If for some God forsaken reason a sip or two accidental managed to plunge down your throat, it would be less disgusting having been previously filtered.

DISCLAIMER: I take no responsibility for anything whatsoever that results in the following of this instructable. Moonshine is illegal to distill and not intended for human consumption. This how2 is simply how to filter out any odors particles and abnormal colors.

Step 1 Supplies Needed

Lucky for you aquarium owners, you can probably find the needed supplies around your house.

-Soda bottle

I used a water bottle for demonstration, but soda bottles have a convenient blue seal on the inside of the lid which keeps everything in place. You can use an any size bottle that you want. Bigger bottles will be able to hold more moonshine to be filtered, so that you do not have to constantly fill them up.

-Coffee filter

You just need a piece the size of the bottle's cap

-Activated Charcoal

This is stuff that you are supposed to put in aquarium filters to remove organic odors and colors. If is clean and safe enough for your pets, why not use is for moonshine?

Comments

[dark0one]

you don't worry with temp or frac distillation?

[dark0one]

Drill the hole - several or one small one!!

[andybuda]

iv nocked a stil up my self now cant get enough of the taste.. beats any vodka iv tasted .... have put the colling tube in to a plastic storage container very strange feeling when i put my hand in the water after the thing has been on a while hot at the top and cold water at the bottom

[andybuda]

what are the pieces of foin for dose this aid in cooling

[HuggyBear]

ghetto heat sinks. yeah, they pull heat from the copper tube that they are wrapped around.

[Grumpy_Fish]

Your water-jacket cooler looks nifty. Mind describing what you used?

[HuggyBear]

I just went to Lowe's (like the home depot) and bought some 1/4 inch bendable copper tubing, and then a bunch of vinyl tubing (i should make an instructable on this huh). Then some pvc couplers. Your goal is to make a water tight connection between the copper tubing and the pvc. I juts drilled a hole in some end caps that the copper went through. The end caps fit on one side of two T-shaped pvc couplers (one for each end of the coil) then the other two holes of the coupler attach to the vinyl tubing that surrounds the copper, and the water pump that fills the tube.

[higgrobot]

Is that an aluminium pressure cooker? those white partials would be Aluminium Oxides, probably best to use a carbon filter

[HuggyBear]

Yes the pressure cooker is aluminum. Do you think that it is leaving traces of itself in the moonshine? I used activated carbon the first couple filtrations, but the white particulate showed up a day later. I knew it was not alive since it was floating around in 90% alcohol, so I wasn't worried. Filtering it through the coffee the day after took care of whatever was floating around.

[higgrobot]

I would say it's Aluminium and I also think the copper tubing combined with the aluminium pot makes it worse. You're not meant to have different metals together especially reactive ones like Aluminium and copper. Having said that, you should be able to get all of it out with activated carbon.

Have a look around http://homedistiller.org/ if you haven't already been there

[HuggyBear]

Yeah. That is why I am happy with the filter. It easily got rid of the particles with one filtration.

[lustreking]

"Have a look around http://homedistiller.org/ if you haven't already been there "

But they don't like talk of using plastic in the distilling process.

[higgrobot]

Why not combine your filter with activated carbon, You'd be able to clean out much smaller particles, volatile organic compounds and residual nasty flavours better than a coffee filter on it's own.

[HuggyBear]

Did you read the whole instructable?

[higgrobot]

I may have missed some parts because these eggs were obstructing my view :)

[HuggyBear]

haha

[HuggyBear]

what? the plastic is just used for the filter.

[lustreking]

I'm just saying that they get real twitchy at the mention of plastic. You don't mention however if you are filtering before or after you cut your spirits.

[HuggyBear]

im filtering the moonshine after it has been distilled and cooled. i don't think that the plastic has that big of an effect. why do they not like it?

[hellbilly007]

Plastic tends to add undesired flavors, especially when used with alcohol. Example, compare the taste of Coca-Cola in a can to Coca-Cola in a 20 oz. bottle.