15.7 Pot still

The simple pot still comes to us from simple roots buried in antiquity, but consists of a vessel that you can boil liquid in, and a condenser that condenses the steam given off back to a liquid.

I outline alcohol recovery stills in 9.4.7.5, which includes this simple design, but I’m also including it here for continuity:

This design is based on a stainless asparagus steamer for the still, and I used copper coils in an ice bath for the condenser. I provided controlled heat by placing the asparagus pot in a Cuisinart electric fondue pot of hot oil.

I already had the asparagus steamer, stainless salad bowl, and fondue pot, as well as fasteners, so only had to purchase the copper tubing, bulkhead fitting, and compression elbow.

Likewise I repurposed an empty plastic cat litter bucket to support the condenser over a 1.75 liter Everclear bottle, by cutting reliefs in the sides and top.

Here are the components required to convert the asparagus steamer:

Still components.

Note O-ring on lid. The wooden beam is a piece of oak I had in the woodpile, as was the ¼” all thread and wingnut. I drilled the beam as well as both the handles on the steamer to accept the ¼” all thread.