Do-It-Yourself Stills For Alcohol, Essential Oil

Do-It-Yourself Stills For Alcohol Essential Oil FARM HOME Miscellaneous You can make your own brandy vodka or whiskey – as well as essential oils for flavoring and scents – with a wide range of stills from Ranier Distillers With sizes ranging from do-it-yourself home models up to commercial units Anthony Zaca says demand for stills has been growing rapidly especially for home-sized units
    “In the last 18 months interest in being self sufficient has increased unbelievably ” he says “Everyone from 20-year-olds to baby boomers are calling ”
    Zaca notes that once alcohol has been distilled from a mash it can be used for everything from drinking to fuel for cooking or transport He describes distilled spirits as a liquid asset with a ready market However in the U S it’s heavily regulated
    Alcohol distillation is taxed and regulated by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau Use of a still for alcohol for home fuel use requires a permit but is not subject to a tax Stills with capacity of a gallon or less can be used without permits or tax for water distillation and production of essential oils through steam or water extraction
    Legally producing alcohol with stills requires qualifying as a distilled spirits plant Commercial craft or micro-distilleries have been popping up all over the country producing regional spirits The American Distilling Institute says the number has risen from 50 to more than 280 since 2005 and they’re now operating in 45 states
    Zaca suggests getting a fuel alcohol production permit when first learning to use a still He offers a low cost air-cooled still for only $135 It’s a very basic unit made in South Korea where it’s largely used for water distillation If used for alcohol it requires multiple runs as the first distillation will produce 35 to 40 proof alcohol It can also be used for essential oils
    The company’s other stills are all handmade using traditional copper components Most are custom-designed for commercial operations However he also sells component parts kits and ready to go systems for both pot and tower stills
    “The Ultimus 2-in is a handmade copper still that can be used with electricity propane or over an open fire ” says Zaka “It’s priced at $545 and will outlast the owner It has no moving parts and if you can heat it you can run it ”
    Zaka also makes the Alchemist line of ready-made stills for micro-distillers It comes in 2 3 and 4-in sizes The 2-in Alchemist with a 15-gal boiler and distillation tower will produce a gallon of 75 to 80 percent alcohol an hour or a liter of 92 percent alcohol per hour which is the minimum needed for cooking or transport fuel It’s priced at $610
<     Although all the stills can be used for essential oil production Zaka also makes a still designed specifically for that purpose It can hold 6 to 7 lbs of herbs flowers or other plants
    “Regardless what you want to distill it’s simple ” says Zaka “If you can do pressure cooking it’s the same principle ”
    He warns readers that handmade copper stills require a minimum of 4 weeks for delivery The starter-size still requires only a week wait
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Rainier Distillers PO Box 7530 PMB 12 Yelm Wash 98597 ph 360 350-9177; anthony@rainierdistillers com; rainierdistillers com

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