Moonshine Filter

Intro: 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?

STEP 2: Cut the Bottle Cap

This first step cuts the hole in the cap where the filtered liquid is going to leave.

You need to cut a dime sized hole that does not go all the way to the edge of the cap. It is required that there be a lip around the top of the cap to hold the filter in place (you will see what I mean).
The filter is not going to work faster if you cut a bigger hole. One the size of a dime is perfect.

STEP 3: Cut the Coffee Filter

Now you must cut a circle of coffee filter that is small enough to fit inside of the cap, but big enough to rest on the lip that you left earlier... You left a lip, right?

The closer you cut the filter to the actual size of the inside of the cap, the better. When you place the filter inside of the cap and then screw the cap down onto the bottle, the filter gets compressed between the two. This keeps the filter in place, and only gives the liquid one path to exit the bottle.

To get the closest size filter, take the cap off the bottle and put it upside down on a piece of filter. Trace with a pen or pencil and then cut out. Make sure to cut on the inside of the line as so no ink or graphite makes its way into the moonshine.

Next, take the circle that you just cut out and see if it fits into the cap. If it does... congratulations. If it's too big... trim it. If it is too small.. start over.

I cut two sheets at a time, and place both in the cap. Like a double filter.

STEP 4: Slice the Bottle

Here comes the easiest part. Just cut the bottom of the bottle off so that you can pour your moonshine into it. This is where the unfiltered liquid is going to enter.

STEP 5: Add Any Filtering Agents and Filter

I did not take any pictures of the filter being used with activated carbon, but this is where that step would take place. Just take a couple of tablespoons of the carbon, prepare it to the specifications on the container, and dump it into the top of the filter. The little carbon rods will just settle onto the filter and just sit there eating away at the bad smell, bad color, and bad taste.

All that is left to do is pour the moonshine into filter and let it sit over a jar or other collection utensil. It goes rather slow, so in the meantime you can make yourself a mini 35cent pizza by following my other instructable.

STEP 6: Done!

At this point it is your decision whether to filter additional times or not.

It would be advised in order to create a cleaner, better smelling, and better looking moonshine.

Like I do when the jar I use leaves some particulate floating around, just run it through the filter with no carbon. It only takes a couple of minutes, while making it 100x prettier.

Enjoy your filtered moonshine, and remember that I am not responsible for anything that you do to hurt yourself or your friends.

Comments

[JohnM590]

Please people, DO NOT USE AQUARIUM FILTERS.go to a home brew shop and buy the good stuff. Read anywhere else they say do not use this filters or the charcoal inside.

[peepshowpv]

the plastic on your set up is fine because it has no contact with the alcohol you built a very long flexible libeg ( not sure exactly how its spelled) and very cool BTW id love to know how you built it parts etc. but if anyone is worried use food grade silicon hose its pretty cheap and nonreactive to alcohol up to 500 degrees.

[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.

[rodgerbooth]

thats a pretty sweet idea, but in theory couldnt you start the vinyl jacket higher on the copper tube and eliminate the aluminum and coil all together?

[MarcC2]

you'll have to rinse the carbon pellets first, otherwise the carbon dust that!s on them gets in your moonshine. paper filter or not.

[roblovestosing]

if you drill a hole in the bottom of your water container, put a tube attached to a water tap in the hole and seal it. then drill an over flow hole near the top with a tube leading to the sink, turn the tap on slow and you will have constant cool water at all levels of your cooler.

[haj81]

can't keep it cool!!!!!

[wnestor]

What're those fittings (plastic) you've got there? It looks like you've used them to jacket the copper coil in regular polyvinyl tubing.

[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

[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.

[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.

[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 :)