|
Asante
Mage


Registered: 02/06/02
Posts: 86,795
|
The Olliver Still -- distilling your own alcohol... without a still ! 1
#5197977 - 01/19/06 06:23 AM (18 years, 13 days ago) |
|
|
Every so often you see requests for quality solvent alcohol for extractions or tinctures.
It's usually a problematic affair: Solvent alcohol contains toxic adulterants, some of which leave residue in your product upon evaporation. If you buy 190 proof Grain alcohol (such as Everclear) that IS suitable for consumption you can expect to pay through the nose for alcohol you're going to evaporate off anyway.
An option often recommended is to distill small batches of your own, but what's often ommitted is that you usually have to build a designated still or buy a still head which in many locations isnt practical.
Well this is a problem no longer! Check out the Olliver Still!

An Olliver Still can be put together from unmodified kitchenware in one minute and disassembled just as quickly. The design above works thus:
1...put a cooking pot on the stove 2...fill 2/3 with fermented alcohol mash or previous destillate 3...put a small bowl or drinking glass in the center of the pot 4...put a Chinese wok on top of the pot 5...fill the wok with icecold water and turn the stove on
What will happen is that alcoholic vapours will evaporate before the water boils (at 80'C instead of 100'C) which will then condense against the bottom of the wok, trickle down the bottom of the wok and drip into the drinking glass.
This concentrated alcohol can then be re-stilled until you, with very careful stilling, arrive at the Holy Grail: 95%/190 proof spirits.
An alcohol mash can be created by boiling 2 lbs sugar with a liter of apple juice, then diluting to make 5 liters, and ferment this with a good handfull of beer yeast in a bucket covered with a cloth (the way Pomb? is made) and then use this as a starting point for stilling. This will form about a pint of 95% alcohol, but you won't be able to get all of that out. Still, half a pint of 95% alcohol for the price of two pounds of sugar and a bit of apple juice is truly a bargain.
You can vary on the theme.
For instance you could take an ordinary teapot warmer like this:

and convert it to a candle-powered tabletop Olliver Still by plugging the spout and replacing the wok with a small glass bowl or a watercooled bowl of aluminium foil held in place with a rubber band, and a small glass in the teapot to collect the distillate. A tin can or mayonnaise jar may substitute for a teapot here.
Acetone and ether can be recycled using an airtight version of the tabletop Olliver, which need no heating below, only cooling above.
Thanks to designs as simple as the Olliver Still and sites like homedistiller.org nobody has an excuse to not use safe cheap alcohol for their extractions.
Warning: alcohol fumes and spirits over 50%/100 proof (and especially ether and acetone) are highly flammable, know your risks and protect yourself accordingly.
-------------------- Omnicyclion.org higher knowledge starts here
|
Konnrade
↑↑↓↓<--><-->BA



Registered: 09/13/05
Posts: 13,833
Loc: LA Suburbs
Last seen: 8 months, 25 days
|
Re: The Olliver Still -- distilling your own alcohol... without a still ! [Re: Asante]
#5197999 - 01/19/06 06:53 AM (18 years, 13 days ago) |
|
|
Well that was most informative, and very practical!
This should be a sticky
--------------------
I find your lack of faith disturbing
|
Young_but_cool
Stranger


Registered: 08/16/02
Posts: 1,726
Loc: Old Europe
|
Re: The Olliver Still -- distilling your own alcohol... without a still ! [Re: Konnrade]
#5198007 - 01/19/06 07:03 AM (18 years, 13 days ago) |
|
|
Yeah, good post
|
hnc


Registered: 07/11/04
Posts: 145
Loc: Maine
Last seen: 7 days, 21 hours
|
Re: The Olliver Still -- distilling your own alcohol... without a still ! [Re: Asante]
#5198050 - 01/19/06 07:45 AM (18 years, 13 days ago) |
|
|
My girlfriend uses this same thing to make rose perfume. You can also just invert the lid that fits on the pot and fill with ice, also helps if you throw a brick or something similar in the pot to hold your collection dish out of the mash. Helps avoid reevaporation.
|
psychedelic_sam
Life is shortenjoy

Registered: 11/13/04
Posts: 174
Loc: Hell in a bucket
Last seen: 17 years, 14 days
|
Re: The Olliver Still -- distilling your own alcohol... without a still ! [Re: Young_but_cool]
#5198065 - 01/19/06 07:55 AM (18 years, 13 days ago) |
|
|
very nice im gonna have to try that heres a pdf i found at the same place (homedistiller.org) using food grade buckets and a submersible heater www.geocities.com/millennium_botanicals/Amazingstill.pdf
--------------------
Nothin' left to do but smile, smile, smile...;)
|
lwo
Stranger
Registered: 01/09/06
Posts: 711
Loc: redland USA
Last seen: 17 years, 11 months
|
Re: The Olliver Still -- distilling your own alcohol... without a still ! [Re: Asante]
#5200606 - 01/19/06 09:36 PM (18 years, 12 days ago) |
|
|
I don't understand how the alcohol evaps off from the wine into the glass How do you get a drinking glass to float in a pot 2/3 filled with the alcohol mash... I don't quite understand the collection process
WHen making brandy from wine, how would I do this..
-------------------- Weed Love When the cherry is bomb, get it on.
|
Legoulash
Stranger

Registered: 09/07/02
Posts: 4,347
Last seen: 12 years, 7 months
|
Re: The Olliver Still -- distilling your own alcohol... without a still ! [Re: lwo]
#5200639 - 01/19/06 09:43 PM (18 years, 12 days ago) |
|
|
Use ur imagination.
You could have a wire rack holding the cup above the mash.
Or tie it too the lid in four places so it floats above the mash.
Im sure their are tons to differnt ways.. Make work with what you have.
Thanks for the link wiccin surfer. Iv had surplus home brew beer kits layin under the kitchen cabnets for years.. I think iv finaly got a use for them.
|
lwo
Stranger
Registered: 01/09/06
Posts: 711
Loc: redland USA
Last seen: 17 years, 11 months
|
Re: The Olliver Still -- distilling your own alcohol... without a still ! [Re: Legoulash]
#5200658 - 01/19/06 09:50 PM (18 years, 12 days ago) |
|
|
I have a bunch of copper wire that would be perfect for holding up the collector unit.. is copper bad for distilling?
-------------------- Weed Love When the cherry is bomb, get it on.
|
Anno
Experimenter



Registered: 06/17/99
Posts: 24,166
Loc: my room
Last seen: 19 days, 23 hours
|
Re: The Olliver Still -- distilling your own alcohol... without a still ! [Re: lwo]
#5201605 - 01/20/06 04:15 AM (18 years, 12 days ago) |
|
|
>is copper bad for distilling? No.
Simplify. Place a cup filled with water into the mash, and place your collector cup on it.
BTW, I tried the method Wiccan-Seeker postted yesterday, and it worked surprisingly well.
|
Asante
Mage


Registered: 02/06/02
Posts: 86,795
|
Re: The Olliver Still -- distilling your own alcohol... without a still ! [Re: Anno]
#5201739 - 01/20/06 05:45 AM (18 years, 12 days ago) |
|
|
Please tell us more, Anno 
How much liquid did you use, what liquid, and how much did you distill?
If it was alcoholic, was it combustible? (>50% = 100+ proof spirit) Was it tasty?
How long did the distilling process take? Were there much fumes emitted during the distilling?
-------------------- Omnicyclion.org higher knowledge starts here
|
Anno
Experimenter



Registered: 06/17/99
Posts: 24,166
Loc: my room
Last seen: 19 days, 23 hours
|
Re: The Olliver Still -- distilling your own alcohol... without a still ! [Re: Asante]
#5201967 - 01/20/06 08:33 AM (18 years, 12 days ago) |
|
|
>How much liquid did you use 750 ml
>what liquid, White wine with 11% alcohol.
>and how much did you distill? 210 ml
>If it was alcoholic Yes.
>was it combustible? (>50% = 100+ proof spirit) No.
>Was it tasty? Not bad, but not tremendous. It would need further fractional distilling to make a trully palatable and stronger product.
>How long did the distilling process take? 30 minutes
>Were there much fumes emitted during the distilling? Surprisingly not at all. The ice cooled wok seem to condense everything.
|
Anno
Experimenter



Registered: 06/17/99
Posts: 24,166
Loc: my room
Last seen: 19 days, 23 hours
|
Re: The Olliver Still -- distilling your own alcohol... without a still ! [Re: Anno]
#5201990 - 01/20/06 08:45 AM (18 years, 12 days ago) |
|
|
The resulting liquid has a density of 0.946 which results in roughly 30% ethanol.
|
ohmatic
searcher


Registered: 02/28/04
Posts: 6,742
Loc: europe
|
Re: The Olliver Still -- distilling your own alcohol... without a still ! [Re: Anno]
#5202047 - 01/20/06 09:06 AM (18 years, 12 days ago) |
|
|
Quote:
Anno said: BTW, I tried the method Wiccan-Seeker postted yesterday, and it worked surprisingly well.
Quote:
Anno said: >Was it tasty? Not bad, but not tremendous. It would need further fractional distilling to make a trully palatable and stronger product.
dont taste to good though .. well maybe im just a whiney bitch  peace ohm
--------------------
MONOTUB tek HEATBOMB tek RIP #cultivation! ....can't associate? well FUCK U !
Edited by ohmatic (01/20/06 09:07 AM)
|
blackout


Registered: 07/16/00
Posts: 5,266
Last seen: 2 months, 23 days
|
Re: The Olliver Still -- distilling your own alcohol... without a still ! [Re: Asante]
#5202078 - 01/20/06 09:14 AM (18 years, 12 days ago) |
|
|
Quote:
Olliver Still
I have never heard this term, it is always the wok still whenever I saw it. There are far better easy stills to make like the spiral stills.
Quote:
at 80'C instead of 100'C
incorrect, common misperception
Quote:
This concentrated alcohol can then be re-stilled until you, with very careful stilling, arrive at the Holy Grail: 95%/190 proof spirits
it will need to be redistilled about 15 times, aiming for a 1/2 pint due to losses is a bit optimistic.
The spiral stills can get 95% in a single pass with very little lost to the outside. They replicate what happens in a fractional column. I have been distilling for years and these stills caused a bit of a stir when they were first used and people reported the results. A lot of the "old hands" have still not made much comment about them, it is very odd that they were not discovered until very recently (maybe they were, but these guys are extremely knowledgeable and had never heard of them). They are so simple it is sickening, I have used one myself and got 92-93% with it, it was a poor practise design (by the way the difference in getting from 93 up to 95% is very hard, it is similar in a jump from say 40-70%) My still was extremely simple. A 50l beer keg full of 30l of 18% alcohol, a 3.5m length of 1/2" copper tube. It points up for 1.5m and then slopes down at 45 degrees for 2m into a glass gallon jar. It is heated with a power controlled element. I run at about 400-550W, this is the tricky bit the power control. You want it so the end of the tube is warm to the touch, meaning all the power is lost through heat loss from the copper tube. The vapours are rising very very slowly, cooling on the walls and falling down concentrating all the time. Once they get to the top they go down the angled tube and the heat is lost through the tube to the surrounding air. These stills are efficient and also heat your room which can be a bonus in winter! There is nothing to stop you connecting 10 of these tubes and running at a higher power. I made plans with a guy in the US to do it but never heard if he made it or not. Spiral stills output about 1 drop per second. If you have a longer down tube it is more forgiving and you can go higher power but it will be less %, a taller up tube will allow higher % in this case.
www.homesdistiller.org is hands down the best site, it is MASSIVE I still have not read all of it many years on. It has design calculators and a forum. Some of my designs and photos are on it but I would rather keep anon!
Edited by Wiccan_Seeker (01/20/06 11:31 AM)
|
Asante
Mage


Registered: 02/06/02
Posts: 86,795
|
Re: The Olliver Still -- distilling your own alcohol... without a still ! [Re: blackout]
#5202468 - 01/20/06 11:42 AM (18 years, 12 days ago) |
|
|
Quote:
I have used one myself and got 92-93% with it. (...) A 50l beer keg full of 30l of 18% alcohol, a 3.5m length of 1/2" copper tube. It points up for 1.5m and then slopes down at 45 degrees for 2m into a glass gallon jar. It is heated with a power controlled element. I run at about 400-550W, this is the tricky bit the power control. You want it so the end of the tube is warm to the touch, meaning all the power is lost through heat loss from the copper tube.
Wow! That's a very cool result for such a simple setup (copper tube - keg - heater) and you're even using air cooling! Quite a capacity still 
I'm very impressed, looking into it now!
-------------------- Omnicyclion.org higher knowledge starts here
|
blackout


Registered: 07/16/00
Posts: 5,266
Last seen: 2 months, 23 days
|
Re: The Olliver Still -- distilling your own alcohol... without a still ! [Re: Asante]
#5202591 - 01/20/06 12:22 PM (18 years, 12 days ago) |
|
|
It is disgracefully simple compared to some setups. With a compound fractional still with forced reflux (I have one too) you can get great cuts of alcohol and stabilize the vapour flows etc, giving you a very nice drink, far superior to any commercial vodka I have made. Cuts are harder to make with the spiral stills but it is still great stuff for drinking and can be carbon filtered to improve it greatly. Of course taste does not come into play with extractions. When distilling you get "heads, middle & tails" you keep the middle and throw out the heads and tails if you want. The heads come off first and contain ethyl acetate, which is pretty much as harmful as ethanol, it tastes and smells bad, sometimes it is nice I had a rum wash that stank of bananas! the whole house! there is methanol at the very very start in a grain wash, and a bare trace amount in a sugar water brew, so always toss out the first 50-100ml. Towards the end you get "tails" which also taste & smell bad. How much you collect in the middle is up to you. I used the heads for extractions in the past.
BUT forget all that stuff, you can make a extremely efficient extractor with a tiny volume still. I will post details about that soon. You can buy them online or make you own.
|
lwo
Stranger
Registered: 01/09/06
Posts: 711
Loc: redland USA
Last seen: 17 years, 11 months
|
Re: The Olliver Still -- distilling your own alcohol... without a still ! [Re: blackout]
#5203419 - 01/20/06 04:02 PM (18 years, 11 days ago) |
|
|
This thread is very helpful. Can anyone tell me, when making brandy, will the alcohol distilled off in the Olliver Still be later mixed back into the wine mash, for a higher alcoholic percentage? or, does the brandy flavor evaporate off with the ethanol and there is no need to mix some wine back in?
-------------------- Weed Love When the cherry is bomb, get it on.
|
blackout


Registered: 07/16/00
Posts: 5,266
Last seen: 2 months, 23 days
|
Re: The Olliver Still -- distilling your own alcohol... without a still ! [Re: Anno]
#5204185 - 01/20/06 08:08 PM (18 years, 11 days ago) |
|
|
some mix certain selections of early distilate back, it is a fine art of personal choice
|
lwo
Stranger
Registered: 01/09/06
Posts: 711
Loc: redland USA
Last seen: 17 years, 11 months
|
Re: The Olliver Still -- distilling your own alcohol... without a still ! [Re: blackout]
#5204529 - 01/20/06 10:01 PM (18 years, 11 days ago) |
|
|
Oh I get it.. I've read that properly mixed and aged ethanol(via an Olliver Still) can be quite tasty.?
-------------------- Weed Love When the cherry is bomb, get it on.
|
blackout


Registered: 07/16/00
Posts: 5,266
Last seen: 2 months, 23 days
|
Re: The Olliver Still -- distilling your own alcohol... without a still ! [Re: lwo]
#5206016 - 01/21/06 10:13 AM (18 years, 11 days ago) |
|
|
There is no real way to make good "cuts" with that still, you would want to carbon filter it. It is a poor design. The "amazing still" is far better. You can buy mini table top stills with fans for cooling. They look like normal kitchen appliances. get them at www.partyman.se for europe www.brewhaus.com sell good stills in the US, I would recommend modifying their design once you get it though. They also sell the mini stills
Edited by blackout (01/21/06 10:14 AM)
|
Asante
Mage


Registered: 02/06/02
Posts: 86,795
|
Re: The Olliver Still -- distilling your own alcohol... without a still ! [Re: blackout]
#5206154 - 01/21/06 11:24 AM (18 years, 11 days ago) |
|
|
Whoa!
I bought a bottle of cheap ass-wine, 0.75 ltr of 14% vol alcohol. (105ml pure alcohol total) I set up the Olliver still using 2.5 liter of icecold water in the wok, letting it sit on a very low fire for 1 hour. I changed the water twice.
I retrieved a little over 200ml. The liquid has a density of d 0.905 which gives it an alcohol content of about 45%, and I got 85-90% of all alcohol out, all in all quite good.
The unavoidable taste-test proved it was absolutely stronger than the 40% vodka I'm used to, but also it had some aroma from the cheap ass-wine and some sharpness of what I think are the fusels. Still it didn't nearly taste as crap like the wine did.
All in all I'm pretty jolly. Using a cooking pot, a wok and a small bowl I have turned 14% into 45% with over 85% yield in an hour. It took an hour because I kept the temperature below simmering. With a bit of steeping w/ herbs I would drink this, which I wouldn't do with the cheap Spanish wine.
It's a very crude setup, and it might be damn difficult to arrive at 190 proof (if not impossible) but without any effort to mention and no apparatus whatsoever I got half a pint of 90 proof on my first try 
If I do this again I will definately put my Petanque balls into the freezer and then put them in the water of my wok. The freezing cold metal will assure I don't have to change the water during the process.
-------------------- Omnicyclion.org higher knowledge starts here
|
Konnrade
↑↑↓↓<--><-->BA



Registered: 09/13/05
Posts: 13,833
Loc: LA Suburbs
Last seen: 8 months, 25 days
|
Re: The Olliver Still -- distilling your own alcohol... without a still ! [Re: blackout]
#5206891 - 01/21/06 03:25 PM (18 years, 10 days ago) |
|
|
Quote:
blackout said: There is no real way to make good "cuts" with that still, you would want to carbon filter it. It is a poor design. The "amazing still" is far better. You can buy mini table top stills with fans for cooling. They look like normal kitchen appliances. get them at www.partyman.se for europe www.brewhaus.com sell good stills in the US, I would recommend modifying their design once you get it though. They also sell the mini stills
the stills I see shown do indeed look nice, but they are units of over $200 US (when you factor in shipping and taxes).
What kind of results do you think I would get if I merely used a 1L Ehrlenmeyer flask with a water-cooled graham's condenser? (shown below) 
The length of the cooling section (overall length, not accounting for the coiling) is 300mm. Would I have to fabricate an upwards-oriented coil coming from the flask that later connected to the downwards-facing graham condenser?
--------------------
I find your lack of faith disturbing
|
Anno
Experimenter



Registered: 06/17/99
Posts: 24,166
Loc: my room
Last seen: 19 days, 23 hours
|
Re: The Olliver Still -- distilling your own alcohol... without a still ! [Re: blackout]
#5209271 - 01/22/06 07:04 AM (18 years, 10 days ago) |
|
|
Quote:
My still was extremely simple. A 50l beer keg full of 30l of 18% alcohol, a 3.5m length of 1/2" copper tube. It points up for 1.5m and then slopes down at 45 degrees for 2m into a glass gallon jar. It is heated with a power controlled element. I run at about 400-550W, this is the tricky bit the power control. You want it so the end of the tube is warm to the touch, meaning all the power is lost through heat loss from the copper tube.
I would like tu build something similar: A thicker copper tube(~2 in diamter) of 2ft lenght filled with steal scrubbers as a rectification column and a thinner spiraled copper pipe as an air cooler.
Some similar designs are here http://homedistiller.org/photos-sm.htm
|
ohmatic
searcher


Registered: 02/28/04
Posts: 6,742
Loc: europe
|
Re: The Olliver Still -- distilling your own alcohol... without a still ! [Re: Anno]
#5209320 - 01/22/06 07:30 AM (18 years, 10 days ago) |
|
|
Quote:
Anno said: I would like tu build something similar: A thicker copper tube(~2 in diamter) of 2ft lenght filled with steal scrubbers as a rectification column and a thinner spiraled copper pipe as an air cooler.
Some similar designs are here http://homedistiller.org/photos-sm.htm
the results would be desastrous, hoooray to liquor  peace ohm
--------------------
MONOTUB tek HEATBOMB tek RIP #cultivation! ....can't associate? well FUCK U !
|
KaptKid
Spaced Pirate


Registered: 12/11/03
Posts: 6,252
Loc: Bright Side of the Sun
Last seen: 3 years, 11 months
|
Re: The Olliver Still -- distilling your own alcohol... without a still ! [Re: ohmatic]
#5209535 - 01/22/06 09:24 AM (18 years, 10 days ago) |
|
|
This has been a very educating thread. Thanks to all.
-------------------- Child of the 60's, Tripping ever since.
|
blackout


Registered: 07/16/00
Posts: 5,266
Last seen: 2 months, 23 days
|
Re: The Olliver Still -- distilling your own alcohol... without a still ! [Re: Konnrade]
#5209693 - 01/22/06 10:30 AM (18 years, 10 days ago) |
|
|
Quote:
Konnrade said: What kind of results do you think I would get if I merely used a 1L Ehrlenmeyer flask with a water-cooled graham's condenser?
Not great it is just essentially a pot still with a nice looking condenser.
Quote:
Konnrade said: Would I have to fabricate an upwards-oriented coil coming from the flask that later connected to the downwards-facing graham condenser?
That will help, so will the low power. but if you go low power like I did there is no need for a forced condenser.
|
blackout


Registered: 07/16/00
Posts: 5,266
Last seen: 2 months, 23 days
|
Re: The Olliver Still -- distilling your own alcohol... without a still ! [Re: Anno]
#5209715 - 01/22/06 10:37 AM (18 years, 10 days ago) |
|
|
Quote:
Anno said: I would like tu build something similar: A thicker copper tube(~2 in diamter) of 2ft lenght filled with steal scrubbers as a rectification column and a thinner spiraled copper pipe as an air cooler.
your 2" column should be at least 1.5m, I would recommed 2m, mine is even taller, it allows you to use higher power, and draw off quicker. Are you planning on drinking the alcohol? if so a full on vapour management system may be what you want. You need a lot of tools and skill to make a decent still. If it is just extraction alcohol you want I would go with the spiral stills.
If people are experimenting, a cheap source of alcohol can be mouthwashes. It usually says the % on the back. I can get 600ml 15% for ?1.50
Edited by blackout (01/22/06 11:03 AM)
|
Konnrade
↑↑↓↓<--><-->BA



Registered: 09/13/05
Posts: 13,833
Loc: LA Suburbs
Last seen: 8 months, 25 days
|
Re: The Olliver Still -- distilling your own alcohol... without a still ! [Re: blackout]
#5209737 - 01/22/06 10:43 AM (18 years, 10 days ago) |
|
|
Quote:
blackout said:
Quote:
Konnrade said: What kind of results do you think I would get if I merely used a 1L Ehrlenmeyer flask with a water-cooled graham's condenser?
Not great it is just essentially a pot still with a nice looking condenser.
Quote:
Konnrade said: Would I have to fabricate an upwards-oriented coil coming from the flask that later connected to the downwards-facing graham condenser?
That will help, so will the low power. but if you go low power like I did there is no need for a forced condenser.
Right then, I'll just go with a properly designed peice of tubing work... hell of a lot cheaper.
--------------------
I find your lack of faith disturbing
|
Asante
Mage


Registered: 02/06/02
Posts: 86,795
|
Re: The Olliver Still -- distilling your own alcohol... without a still ! [Re: psychedelic_sam]
#5216798 - 01/24/06 05:56 AM (18 years, 8 days ago) |
|
|
Wow! The "Amazing Still"http://files.shroomery.org/files/06-04/810598240-amazingstill_dotcom.gif>
If you are even remotely interested in stilling then get the free eBook at amazingstill.com !
If you want to make tinctures then the Amazing Still looks like the best way to go; One haul gives 35-40% and two hauls 55%. It's extremely simple and damn near foolproof! I notice how those submersible heating elements are also used in double-tub incubators, so shroom growers could buy two food-grade buckets and put out a liter of vodka-strength alcohol in a day 
Definately a good find, but getting to 95% = 190 proof would still require a traditional still.
Blackout - can you tell us more about coil stills and what are your thoughts on prepackaged Turbo yeast? (6kg sugar + 21 ltr water + baggie --24 hours--> 25 ltr 14% alc)
-------------------- Omnicyclion.org higher knowledge starts here
|
blackout


Registered: 07/16/00
Posts: 5,266
Last seen: 2 months, 23 days
|
Re: The Olliver Still -- distilling your own alcohol... without a still ! [Re: Asante]
#5221458 - 01/25/06 11:48 AM (18 years, 7 days ago) |
|
|
Turbo yeast is excellent, very cheap for what it is. You can get 18% stuff. The highest % I got in a brew was 21-22% which is very difficult and not worth the bother. If you want taste there are special potstill yeasts. I have reviewed them in the past for yeast developers, they send me prototype yeasts they are working on and ask me to brew and distil them out. They give a fantastic clean spirit, if distilled correctly they are drinkable immediately with no carbon filtering.
getting to 95% is difficult with a traditional pot still, getting to 90% is fairly easy and is probably ok for most people. The step from 90 to 95% is large, check out the interactive calculators at www.homedistiller.org The best book on still design is "the compleat distiller" available from www.amphora-society.com they also sell extractors. To say these guys know their shit is an understatement! they will really help you out in emails but I would not mention any illegal activity (other than simple distillation!) Their extractor design can be copied and I have always intended on making one myself.
I used to email the inventor of the "amazing still" quite a bit, he is a swedish guy and has come up with some amazing inventions and techniques for distilling. I was toying around with aircooled stills at the same time with just theoretical ideas, he was first to actually put air cooling theories in practise and came up with the spiral stills. We helped each other refine the ideas and a few others came up with more elaborate designs with engine cooling fins and fans in tubes.
The amazing still can get to high %. Many disregard it as a simple toy, it provides no real separation at all (needed for good drinking alcohol). Many use them as a "stripper", i.e. to initially bump up the % prior to putting it in a low volume high tech still to get out 95%. Stripping runs are a good idea. I used to brew direct in the still, heat the water up with the element and dissolve the sugar, brew to 18%, then distill quickly to get about 50%. Save 3 of these batches and have a 50l keg 3/4 full of 50% (hence the name blackout ) Then you do a one off slow distillation of this and get top quality drinking alcohol out.
Johan who invented the amazing still would probably advise to go for the spiral instead. If you have a large AA PC it is easily converted into a spiral still, it is actually perfect for it. Most would like to use them in distilling circles but they are too expensive, many have them here already. All your holes etc are already there! very little mods, the fittings and copper can be got easily.
In saying that many here would have most of the equipment already needed for the spiral still. If distilled once 18% gets to about 41%, put this in and it comes out about 60% with each step the increase is less and less.
Edited by blackout (01/25/06 11:56 AM)
|
blackout


Registered: 07/16/00
Posts: 5,266
Last seen: 2 months, 23 days
|
Re: The Olliver Still -- distilling your own alcohol... without a still ! [Re: blackout]
#5229890 - 01/27/06 03:39 AM (18 years, 5 days ago) |
|
|
Found a great link on the spirals, by the guys I mentioned already click on this link and in the third box down click on "build a spiral still" http://distillers.tastylime.net/library/Listings2.htm#Books%20Listings
other great links too.
|
Prisoner#1
Even Dumber ThanAdvertized!


Registered: 01/22/03
Posts: 193,665
Loc: Pvt. Pubfag NutSuck
|
Re: The Olliver Still -- distilling your own alcohol... without a still ! [Re: Asante]
#5238174 - 01/29/06 11:08 AM (18 years, 3 days ago) |
|
|
I've used something similar to this for several years, it;s a crude cold finger extrator by using a large beaker and a candle holder similar to this
http://www.garden-accessories-tools.com/gifs/glass-candle-holder.jpg
|
Asante
Mage


Registered: 02/06/02
Posts: 86,795
|
Re: The Olliver Still -- distilling your own alcohol... without a still ! [Re: Prisoner#1]
#5269832 - 02/06/06 03:11 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
|
|
Here's an update y'all likely want to read: using an Olliver Still (aka Wok Still) to convert 1.5 kg of sugar into two bottles of decent-tasting 42% Vodka using nothing other than supermarket ingredients and kitchenware 
It's half the proof I'd like it to have (84 proof) but a nice trick nontheless.
The Spiral Still papers are *very* promising.
-------------------- Omnicyclion.org higher knowledge starts here
|
mr_minds_eye
Disposable Wage Whore

Registered: 01/22/02
Posts: 1,948
Loc: Samsara
Last seen: 11 years, 14 days
|
Re: The Olliver Still -- distilling your own alcohol... without a still ! [Re: Prisoner#1]
#5274421 - 02/07/06 06:07 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
|
|
Quote:
Prisoner#1 said: I've used something similar to this for several years, it;s a crude cold finger extrator by using a large beaker and a candle holder similar to this
http://www.garden-accessories-tools.com/gifs/glass-candle-holder.jpg
Forgive my ignorance, but how exactly does a cold finger work?
-------------------- Our quest for discovery fuels our creativity in all fields, not just science. If we reached the end of the line, the human spirit would shrivel and die. But I don't think we will ever stand still: we shall increase in complexity, if not in depth, and shall always be the center on an expanding horizon of possibilities. -Stephen Hawking
|
mr_minds_eye
Disposable Wage Whore

Registered: 01/22/02
Posts: 1,948
Loc: Samsara
Last seen: 11 years, 14 days
|
Re: The Olliver Still -- distilling your own alcohol... without a still ! [Re: mr_minds_eye]
#5285736 - 02/10/06 12:34 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
|
|
bump
-------------------- Our quest for discovery fuels our creativity in all fields, not just science. If we reached the end of the line, the human spirit would shrivel and die. But I don't think we will ever stand still: we shall increase in complexity, if not in depth, and shall always be the center on an expanding horizon of possibilities. -Stephen Hawking
|
hightimesreader
Half assed question asker



Registered: 07/18/06
Posts: 2,543
Loc: In the air conditioning
Last seen: 11 years, 10 months
|
Re: The Olliver Still -- distilling your own alcohol... without a still ! [Re: Asante]
#12329095 - 04/04/10 01:06 PM (13 years, 9 months ago) |
|
|
Wiccan, you said that you changed the water twice? So you changed it when the ice melted and water became hot or what? Im trying to completely understand the cooling idea.
-------------------- I'm hunting for The Following ethnos. For experiments, hunting finds and any other contributions, check out My journal. HTR A new leaf turned over.. I'm too old for this shit.
|
Cactusdan
Patecatl


Registered: 10/11/07
Posts: 7,024
Loc: Oregon
Last seen: 3 years, 2 months
|
Re: The Olliver Still -- distilling your own alcohol... without a still ! (moved) [Re: Asante]
#12330606 - 04/04/10 05:16 PM (13 years, 9 months ago) |
|
|
This thread was moved from The Ethnobotanical Garden.
Reason: This is better for the brewing section IMO, although, it is 4 years old...
|
Asante
Mage


Registered: 02/06/02
Posts: 86,795
|
Re: The Olliver Still -- distilling your own alcohol... without a still ! [Re: hightimesreader]
#12331117 - 04/04/10 06:39 PM (13 years, 9 months ago) |
|
|
4 years old, this thread is practically obsolete, there are far better ones by others & me in Chem & Pharm.
"Wok Still" is a good Search phrase as is "Turbo Yeast"
-------------------- Omnicyclion.org higher knowledge starts here
|
Yacub
Psychedelic Redneck



Registered: 09/05/09
Posts: 989
Loc: NOLA
Last seen: 10 years, 18 hours
|
Re: The Olliver Still -- distilling your own alcohol... without a still ! [Re: Asante]
#12356861 - 04/08/10 05:46 PM (13 years, 9 months ago) |
|
|
How do you seperate your heads, hearts and tails with that set up ?
|
Sleepingstar
Stranger
Registered: 10/20/20
Posts: 124
|
Re: The Olliver Still -- distilling your own alcohol... without a still ! [Re: blackout]
#27170749 - 01/26/21 11:40 AM (3 years, 2 days ago) |
|
|
Quote:
blackout said: “The spiral stills can get 95% in a single pass with very little lost to the outside. They replicate what happens in a fractional column.
I know this is a very old thread and apologize if anyone gets upset.
I hope Blackout or anyone can tell me more about the spiral still and if it would work for essential oils?
I am wanting to learn how to make the oils and would like to know more about this setup. I would really like to get a glass alembic one but am not sure if that’s something that I really want to order off the internet.
|
|