Thread: How to make ethanol

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Shhhhhhh Big Brother Is Watching!!!

Originally Posted by chevydrivin

Shhhhhhh Big Brother Is Watching!!!

Oh No, it's the Revenuers!!!!! Geez, What's that post supposed to mean? You can only make ethanol by distilling Corn, Sugar cane or some other grain or crop. This requires a still (see: Distilery.)

The basic ingredients:

corn meal
sugar
water
yeast
malt

The basic process:

Mix all ingredients together in a large container. After mixing, move the mixture, called "mash," into a still and leave it to ferment. How quickly this process occurs depends on the warmth of the mash.


Heat the mash to the point of vaporization at 173 degrees. The mash will produce a clear liquid, often the color of dark beer. You must watch this process with careful attention.

Trap vapor using a tube or coil. The vapor will be transferred into a second, empty container. The resulting condensation is the moonshine. It is then ready to drink or sell.

Keep mash in container. It is now called "slop." Add more sugar, water, malt, and corn meal and repeat the process.

Repeat the process up to eight times before replacing the mash.


Uh, you did ask how to make shine did'nt ya

I remember my uncle doing that in Al. many yrs ago. He never drank it just made it.

Originally Posted by viking

The basic ingredients:

corn meal
sugar
water
yeast
malt

The basic process:

Mix all ingredients together in a large container. After mixing, move the mixture, called "mash," into a still and leave it to ferment. How quickly this process occurs depends on the warmth of the mash.


Heat the mash to the point of vaporization at 173 degrees. The mash will produce a clear liquid, often the color of dark beer. You must watch this process with careful attention.

Trap vapor using a tube or coil. The vapor will be transferred into a second, empty container. The resulting condensation is the moonshine. It is then ready to drink or sell.

Keep mash in container. It is now called "slop." Add more sugar, water, malt, and corn meal and repeat the process.

Repeat the process up to eight times before replacing the mash.


Uh, you did ask how to make shine did'nt ya

now,we know what you do out there on that boat 30 days at a time!!!!

Originally Posted by lt1s10

now,we know what you do out there on that boat 30 days at a time!!!!

Shhhhhhh, keep it down

Several points of interest here. First I just read about ten days ago that there is some new law that allows you to distill "spirits" if you grow the grain on your own land. There was just an article in the Richmond Times Dispatch about a farm in northern Virginia where the owner bottles and sells his own moonshine with ATF approval by using corn grown on his land. I cannot give you the actual law but maybe you can search the archives of the RTD news and find that article. Second, the ATF is mainly interested in the tax dodge of private moonshine but the main problem for the consumer is that private stills often use old auto radiators for condensers and the lead solder in the radiators solwly dissolves in the alcohol and the lead carries over into the liquid and then accumulates in the spinal cord and brain stem of the consumer, ie lead poisoning. One sympton of lead poisoning is the production of dark black feces in which the body tries to eliminate the lead. I know this having worked for National Lead Dutch Boy Paints for only six months and just being around lead fumes without drinking lead containing liquids. The third factoid is that this technology is ancient and worldwide as I found out from a student from Ethiopia in my summer class. I was warning the students about lead in moonshine when he described a native still made out of a ceramic bowl or pot with a narrow neck holding about 5 gallons of any local fermentable grain. then he described a pipe made from hollowed out wood or bamboo for the condenser which doesn't burn because it is wrapped with cloth and the distiller continues to soak the cloth around the wooden pipe with water while stoking firewood under the pot to bring the mash up to a boil. Apparently there is no ATF in Ethiopia!

A note added in edit mode might be to remind folks about the cultural tie between moonshiners and souped up "delivery vehicles", reputed to be the basis for NASCAR talent in the rural South Eastern U.S. I am not endorsing development of illegal activities but apparenty there has been a loosening of the Federal law regarding making "spirits" from grain grown on the owner's land.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

[QUOTE=viking]The basic ingredients:

corn meal
sugar
water
yeast
malt

The basic process: Etc

Seem to recall after that last process you mentioned, that you had to strain off the colouration of the finished product, it was an impurity, and a lot off the old timers that drank it "coloured" Ended up with a condition called "popskull", so if applied the same theory as to a motor spirit you would increase the octane rating.

Originally Posted by Oldf100fordman

Oh No, it's the Revenuers!!!!! Geez, What's that post supposed to mean? You can only make ethanol by distilling Corn, Sugar cane or some other grain or crop. This requires a still (see: Distilery.)

I guess you didn't see that movie. Big brother is the goverment...just saying the ATF is not going to care if your distilling it to burn it in your go kart or whatever, if they catch you thats your ass.

"Honest Officer, I'm just making fuel for my car to get to work." Sort of like the potheads who use weed for "medicinal purposes." I don't think they buy that one either.

Don

Originally Posted by chevydrivin

I guess you didn't see that movie. Big brother is the goverment...just saying the ATF is not going to care if your distilling it to burn it in your go kart or whatever, if they catch you thats your ass.

Chevydriving, I think you read the "what's that post supposed to mean" in the wrong context. I was quoting Mopar360. He asked that originally. Believe me I know all to well about the ATF. But we do have all sorts of legal ethanol plants all over Iowa and they're building many more.

Hmmm, seems there's a few old "Ethanol " brewers here, have downed my share of the lightin', never tried it in a car, hell gas was/is LOTS cheaper than alcohol...

If you are serious about burning home-brew fuel and can find a legal loophole there is another problem I should have mentioned from a chemistry point of view. That is that when you start from a mash with water in it and you distill it you cannot achieve 200 proof pure ethanol by distillation beyond about 190 proof due to the formation of an azeotrope mixture of about 97% ethanol and 3% water. In order to get rid of the water you have to dehydrate it somehow. See this site for some details:

http://www.ethanol.org/documents/drymilling.pdf

Here is another site with a comparison of ethanol and gasoline:

http://www.tribune-chronicle.com/New...articleID=6568

Perhaps in a personal use situation the added water in the fuel could be treated by adding "drygas" (which is really methanol) to make the water more soluble in the ethanol but over some time it is probably not a good idea to keep using water in the fuel, although it might actually improve the octane rating in the same way that water injection does. Still the verdict on water injection is that it may be good for brief use with a turbocharger but not good for steady use due to milkshake oil and added corrosion. Thus I think the idea of home brew fuel will be difficult and ethanol production will have to be left to commercial producers, mostly in the grain/corn rich mid-west.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Originally Posted by Oldf100fordman

Chevydriving, I think you read the "what's that post supposed to mean" in the wrong context. I was quoting Mopar360. He asked that originally. Believe me I know all to well about the ATF. But we do have all sorts of legal ethanol plants all over Iowa and they're building many more.

Guess I did respond incorrectly, sorry. I was interested in making my own still untill I saw an article about how illegal it was and that if you were caught with a still you would be in big trouble. Interesting to see the comments on loopholes to brew your own. Will have to recheck into it.