Yesterday a friend and I got to looking at a steam juicer and realized that they can be used as an improvised small still. The size we have would distill somewhere around a ½ gallon at a time. Larger ones would do more. This could be used to distill water for batteries, to desalinize sea water or to make small batches of alcohol for medical use.
A steam juicer comes in three major parts, the top section which contains the fruit, the second section that collects the juice and the bottom section that contains the water. To use it for a still all you have to do is leave the top section off. Put the product to be distilled in the bottom section, put the second section with its drain tube in place and put the lid on. Heat the liquid in the bottom section and it will turn to steam rise into the collection area, recondense and run out the drain tube. The trick is not to get the heat to high on the bottom section, just enough to create steam. But not so hot, it prevents the steam from recondensing in the collection area.
It is not the most efficient still, but it will work in a pinch. If you have trouble getting the steam to condense put wet cool cloths on the lid.
Howard
Howard,
This is so creative. But for folks like me can you add more specifics like suggested ingredients, amounts times, and how do you know when the liquid is safe to consume? Thanks
Laurie
Water and sea water are pretty self explanatory. Unless your water is contaminated with a chemical that boils at a temperature lower than water, whatever is in the collection area will be safe to drink. As far as making alcohol, that requires that you make a mash of grain, yeast and sugar. There are many different recipes, you can look them up on the internet. Be aware it is illegal to turn the mash into alcohol without the correct permits.
Howard.
I would pipe the output through a carbon filter to reduce any volatile oils for distilling water. Alcohol boils at 173 degrees F. Closely monitor the temperature of the mash for best results. 175 degrees will cook off the alcohol without too much water.
Creative. I want to get one on this.
Amazing. Very creative. I never seen anything like this.
Where did you get your juicer? I haven’t seen porcelain ones before, just aluminum, which I don’t want to use, and stainless, which is very expensive.
Thanks,
Mad Dog
That one came from a garage sale.
Howard
I like your idea. Saw this one on youtube. Looks like a possibility.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7_JxJY-BjM
How can I use this to extract essential oil from mint leaves
Can you convert this to extract essential oil from mint leaves?