Arontius of Bygelswade

.....On Saturday my latest issue of Mother Earth News arrives in the mail. As I'm reading through it on Sunday, I come across this rather interesting article on 'Artisan Home Distilling'. I'm immediately intrigued by the picture of the apparatus displayed in the article:



.....Doesn't it look familiar? It looks a lot like the ceramic model that Gwenllyn built for some of us a couple of years ago:



.....I had tried Gwenllyn's distilling pot with some fresh mint leaves to see if I could distill a scent into an oil, but without a lot of success. So I put it aside for the moment. Things were pretty busy anyway and this was just another distraction. Plus, I hadn't had a chance to really dig into finding good information on the subject either. I had read some articles on distilling for essential oils and scents, and the background for small distilling for alcohols. But nothing really jumped out at me at the time on why I was having such difficulties in getting my small ceramic pot to work just right. I was at the point of thinking that sterno or heat from a candle was just not strong enough to get me the results I wanted. And that maybe there was something 'missing' or just not quite right about what Gwenllyn made.

.....However, this article really spoke plainly about the process in a way that made sense. It also pointed out exactly the issues I was having with the ceramic pot.

.....Temperature control is very important. But what you need can be achieved with a sterno flame (which actually surprised me). Although it is better with a spirit lamp or equivalent (which will still fit underneath the pot).

.....The other item that really jumped out at me was the sealing of the spouted lid to the body. In the copper kettle shown in the article, the reader is cautioned to take a flour-water paste to seal any gaps between any of the liquid containing parts. In the ceramic still, there are a number of gaps that probably greatly affect temperature. But none of the gaps are of such size that they can't be sealed sufficiently.

.....I'm a little curious as to whether the placement of the tube makes a big difference. In the copper still, condensation takes place in the tube itself. With the tube coming out the top of the still. In the ceramic still condensation starts on the sides of the lid and drips to a ledge that is then siphoned out the tube. Would it make a difference to put something cold around the tube end?

.....The size ratios between the pot and lid are reversed between the copper apparatus and the ceramic, so I'm curious if that makes any kind of difference either.

.....I'll have to ask Mateusz about the differences in how the two may work the next time I see him.

.....One more thing to play with when we have a little more time. :-)

.....Aaron / Arontius.