Pure Distilling Spirit Maker User manual
Congratulations on purchasing the best & easiest to use spirit maker!
Pure Distilling has recently undergone an ownership change and are in the process of
implementing some major changes. In the short-term there may be some discrepancies
between instructionsand videos asthese are allchecked, edited and improved. We apologize
for any inconvenience caused, you can contact us if you require further information at:
Email: drink@puredistilling.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/PureDistilling
Enjoy!
The Beer Me Heated Fermenter has a 2 year warranty.
The Spirit Maker copper reflux condenser has a 5 year warranty.
Your Spirit Maker Pack contains
the following items:
One Spirit Maker copper reflux condenser (made in Australia!)
Digital distilling thermometer with alarm
Premium Spirit Yeast
Crystal Clear
Spirit Enhancer Liquid Carbon
Distilling Conditioner
Note: the brass hose connectors in the photo on the cover are not included, they are
available as an upgrade kit.
Warning:
To reduce the risk of fire, electrical shock or injury to persons or property:
Do not touch the metal parts of the boiler and condenser without gloves during
or after operation – it will be VERY HOT and could cause burns.
Do NOT open the lid while liquid is boiling.
Use in a well ventilated area away from naked flames.
Do not overfill boiler above the MAX mark. IF THE BOILER IS OVERFILLED THERE
IS A RISK THAT BOILING LIQUID MAY BE EJECTED.
Do not operate any product with a damaged cord or plug, or after the product
malfunctions or is damaged in any way. Return the complete product to the
place of purchase for inspection, repair or replacement.
Do not leave appliance unattended when switched on.
Do not use appliance for other than its intended use.
Always keep appliance on a level surface before, during and after use.
Do not move the appliance when it is switched on.
Do not switch on unless there is liquid covering the element in the boiler.
Do not switch on unless the lid is in place.
This product is intended for normal household / domestic use only.
READ AND SAVE THESE INSTRUCTIONS
Preparing the Wash
The wash is the mixture of yeast and sugar which will be fermented to produce an alcoholic
liquid which will be purified by the distillation process. Careful attention to producing a clean
and high-quality wash will reward you with a higher quality finished spirit, these instructions
are to make the best quality wash possible.
We recommend fermenting in a plastic fermenter available at any home brew store.
We alsosuggest usingdextroseover sugar, it is moreexpensive, but produces acleaner wash,
with less impurities than a sugar wash.
All the directions for use are on the individual packets.
1. Clean and sterilize the fermenting vessel and stirring paddle.
2. Add 21 litres of water @ 30 degrees, if using the heated fermenter, you can use this to
heat cold water to 30 degrees .
3. Dissolve the dextrose or sugar into the warm water, stir until all the sugars are
dissolved.Thetablebelow show approximatewashalcoholbyvolumepercentagesand
eventual yields if distilled.
Dextrose
kg Sugar kg Approx. Wash ABV
Spirit @
90%
7kg 6kg 14% ~ 3.0 l
8kg 7kg 18% ~ 3.5 l
9kg 8kg 20% 4.0 - 4.5 l
4. Add the Pure Distilling Spirit Enhancer, the wash will go completely black, relax, it’s
meant to, this carbon absorbs a lot of the impurities created in the fermentation
process.
5. Add the yeast and stir in well, replace the lid, fit the
bung and airlock and leave in a well-ventilated area.
If you live in an apartment or need to carry out the
fermentation inside, consider using a Pure Distilling
Smell Eliminator Kit, a carbon block hooked up to the
airlock, eliminates all odours!
Fermenting
Fermentation times will vary with how much sugar is used, the ambient temperature you are
fermenting in and if you are using a heater or not.
6kg of dextrose at 25 degrees will ferment in 48 hours
9kg of dextrose at 20 degrees will take 10 to 14 days
A fermenting temperature of 20-24 degrees will produce the cleanest wash.
Some points to note:
When the yeast is first added to the wash in a warm environment, the fermentation is
veryactive and may blow the water out of the airlock. To prevent a mess, fit the airlock
after 2 days when the fermentation has slowed.
If the temperature is too low, less than 20 degrees, the fermentation may stop, get the
wash to a warmer position or fit a heater belt or pad, stir well and fermentation should
restart.
If the temperature is too hot, above 30 degree’s, the yeast will become stressed and
produce“off”flavours, if the temperature gets above 35 degrees the yeast will die and
fermentation will stop.
If fermentation gets “stuck” eg. fermentation has stopped and will not restart, take a
hydrometer reading:
oIf the reading is below or near the
point shown on the photo the wash
has finished fermenting.
oIf the reading is significantly higher
than the photo, the fermentation is
“stuck”, and remedial action needs to
be taken.
To restart a stuck fermentation, do not add
another packet of turbo yeast, there is a
measured amount of nutrient in each pack
and adding more increases the pH of the
wash, and unless the pH is lowered the wash
can produce a spirit with a blue tinge.
Use a champagne yeast from your home brew store, it will take a lot longer to finish
fermenting, up to an additional 10 days.
Preparing the Wash for Distillation
Preparing the wash is the most important step of the distillation process, 99% of distilling
issues we hear of are related to the wash not being fully fermented or too much of the “trub”
(all the spent yeast at the bottom of the fermenter) being transferred into the boiler.
Ifyouhaveeverboiledorheatedmilkyouwillbefamiliarwiththesurgeoffoamthathappens
when the milk reaches around 70 degrees, the same can happen in the boiler if there is
undissolved sugars or yeast cells still in the wash.
Following the previous fermenting instructions will result in a well prepared wash, and once
fermentation has finished add the two part Pure Distilling Crystal Clear at least 24 hours
before you plan to carry out the distillation. The wash can stand for an extending period of
time before distillation.
Transfer the wash to the boiler (if using for the first time clean the boiler including running
warm water through the boiler tap), you can syphon the clear liquid to the boiler making sure
no yeast sediment is transferred. The fermenter tap can also used to transfer the wash, just
make sure to discard the first 50ml as there will be some yeast sediment trapped in the tap,
some other tips:
Usea “sedimentreducervalve” in theback ofthe tap,best $2you will
ever spend.
Put a wedge under the fermenter at the tap, so the majority of the
yeast sediment is at the back of the fermenter, away for the tap.
Fill the boiler up to the level mark MAX imprinted on the boiler side.
Add 10shakes of the Distilling Conditioner, this prevents any foaming from
any residual sugars or yeast cells.
Setting Up the System
Thecondenserand condenserproductarmneedtoberinsedwithwarmwater toremoveany
residues from the manufacture process, run water through the condenser body from the
base. Ensure you can blow through the condenser product arm, with the tap in the open and
closed positions, the holes can sometimes be blocked by particles from manufacturing, if
blocked use a very small needle and poke through the ball in the tap.
Setting up
1. Undo the nut and silicon seal from the base of the condenser and fit the boiler lid to
the condenser, replace the silicon seal (always under the lid) and tighten the nut.
2. Ensure the boiler is placed on a stable and secure workspace near a water connection
and drainage point and secure the lid to the top of the boiler with the clips.
3. Fitthe condenser product armto the condenser, it only needs to be finger tight, do not
use a spanner. Ensure the tap and vent hole are facing up and there is a slight slope
away from the condenser.
4. Fit the thermometer probe into the thermowell as shown below, the thermometer is
not designed to sit on the condenser product arm. It is fitted with a magnet and a long
probe lead so position the thermometer in a spot where it is easy to read the display
and access the controls.
5. Measure and cut a suitable length of vinyl hose to connect the condenser to the water
source, fit one end to the tap (this may require a trip to the hardware store to source a
suitable fitting) and fit one of the plastic hose connectors to the other. Connect the
hose fitting to one of the condenser water fittings. Fit the remaining plastic hose
connector to the other length of vinyl tubing, connect to the free condenser water
fittingandputtheotherend inasuitabledrainagepointeg.inasinkor drain.TheBrass
Hose Connector Upgrade Kit is available from your home brew shop, shown below.
6. Turn the water on carefully and test the connections for leaks, tighten or fit correctly
any leaking connections.
7. The required water flow is 1 litre a minute, this can be set by measuring how much
water is collected in 30 seconds, doubling itand adjusting water flow as required.
8. We recommend collecting the output in a glass 5 litre demijohn (bottle with a handle)
or a scientific supply measuring jug eg Pourmaxx brand, both available at your nearest
home brew store.
9. Previous versions of the instructions collected directly to the filter system as below:
a. We do not recommend this setup as collecting full strength alcohol into plastic is
poor practice.
Distillation
Now for the fun part, we have the well prepared wash, we have added the distilling
conditioner to the wash in the boiler, the system is setup, we are ready to turn on the boiler!
1. Turn on the boiler, never turn the boiler on if it is empty, it will activate the boil dry
switch and cut out. If this happens, allow the boiler to cool, empty any contents, turn
the boiler upside down and press the reset button in the middle of the base of the
boiler.
2. Set the thermometer alarm to 5 - 10 degrees above the ambient air temperature, this
will allow enough time to turn the water on prior to spirit being collected. The
thermometer probe is not waterproof, take care not to immerse the probe in water.
3. Turn the tap to the off position, this is slow mode.
4. Placeasmallcollectionvesseltocollectthe“heads”(thehydrometercontainerisideal),
there is a small amount of methanol present in any fermentation, more in fruit or wine
ferments heavy with stalks etc. Methanol has a boiling point of 65 degrees, and the
small amount in the wash is collected at the start.
5. When the alarm sounds turn on the cooling water at the water tap, the temperature
willcontinueto rise, it mayeven rise above 80degreesfora shortperiod, but willsettle
on a steady temperature of around 78 degrees.
6. Liquid will start coming out of the condenser product tube, this is the heads we
discussed in Point 4, this should be within one hour of turning the boiler on.
7. Collect50ml-100mlornearlythevolumeinthehydrometercontainer,thisisdiscarded
(this liquid is great for cleaning windows or floors), it is not suitable for consumption.
8. Replace the heads collecting container with the container to be used for collecting the
alcohol (neutral spirit or ethanol).
9. Turn the tap to the open position.
10.Set the thermometer alarm to 2degrees higher than the steady temperatureshown on
the display. Sit back, relax, the hard bit is done!
11.Ifyouarecollectingdirectlyintothesmartfiltersystembucket,ensurethefilterissetup
with spindle and cartridge attached (jump forward to the filtering section) and make
sure the stainless steel stick plug is in place in the top of the filter spindle. The idea is
tocollectthe90%neutralspirit,wateritdownto~40%thenfilterthespiritbyremoving
the filter plug. Alcohol must be below 50% ABV for activated carbon to be effective!
12.Between 2 and 3 hours after starting spirit collection the temperature will start to rise,
and the thermometer alarm will sound, turn the tap back to the off position, this will
return the reflux action to slow mode. The temperature may take a few minutes to
return to the steady temperature of around 78 degrees.
13.We recommend you change collection vessels at this point, you have completed
collecting the purest and cleanest neutral spirit. There is nothing wrong with the
remaining neutral spirit that is being collected now, we suggest you use this product to
make liqueurs. Remember to filter separately, after the initial collection has been
watered down and filtered.
14.Reset the thermometer alarm again for to 2 degrees higher than the steady
temperature shown on the display
15.After 30 minutes the temperature will again start torise and the alarm will sound, turn
the boiler, water and alarm off. Take care the boiler and the condenser are very hot
and must be allowed to cool down before moving or starting cleanup.
Measure and Test Your Spirit
Thespirityouhavecollectedshouldbeover90%ABV,that’s180proof,itcannotbeconsumed
at this strength, it will result in alcohol poisoning or even death! To bring the spirit to a
strength suitable for consumption (it must be below 55% ABV), we first need to find its
strength:
1. Test the spirit you have collected with the alcometer, the alcometer will only measure
alcohol/water mixes, it can not be used to measure the alcohol content of your wash.
2. The alcometer is calibrated to be accurate at a temperature of 20 degrees, if your
collected spirit is warmer than 20 degrees (it generally will exit the condenser at +40
degrees), thereading will need to be adjusted. Thereare many websiteswhere this can
be calculated google “alcometer temperature correction table” oruse the table below:
Temperature
Correction (g/mL)
10 °C -0.002
15 °C -0.001
20 °C none
25 °C +0.001
30 °C +0.003
35 °C +0.004
40 °C +0.005
45 °C +0.006
50 °C +0.007
Dilute the Spirit
Once you have measured the ABV of the spirit, determine your final consumption strength,
generally 36 to 42% ABV. Add water to the spirit , as a general rule if 3litres of spirit has been
measured at90%,adding3 litresof water willresultin 6 litresat 45%.Keep addingwateruntil
your alcometer reads the consumption strength you have picked.
Remember to adjust for temperature as the water you are adding will lower the mixed spirit
temperature.
Filter the Spirit
The spirit is now ready to be filtered, we have included the instructions for the Pure Distilling
Filter System here, but any filter system can be used. The activated carbon filter cartridge will
attract and trap chlorine and volatile organic compounds like acetone, benzene, ethylene
glycol, formaldehyde, methylene chloride, perchloroethylene, toluene and xylene. These
volatile organic compounds are present in very small quantities in the tails of the distillation
run.
For those that collected in the smart filter system and have diluted the spirit, lift the Smart
Filterstainless steelstick plugand the filtering process willstart, it should takebetween 6and
8 hours to filter 10 litres of spirit.
Setting up
1. Rinse the Pure Distilling Filter Cartridge under running water to remove any loose
particles.
2. Soak the carbon cartridge in diluted spirit or in water until no bubbles can be seen
coming from the filter cartridge, will take approx. 20 minutes.
3. Assemble the spindle retaining fitting in the Smart Filter top bucket which has a 12mm
drilled hole in the base. The thumb screw fits through the bucket base and the nut is
tightened to ensure no leaks.
4. The Smart Filter stainless steel stick plug fits into the thumbscrew and acts as a plug,
stopping any flow.
5. The Smart Filter Stainless steel spindle screws into the base of the fitting allowing easy
replacement of Pure Distilling Filter Cartridges. It is assembled as per below:
a. The silicon o-ring with the small hole is at the base of the spindle.
b. Then the Pure Distilling filter cartridge slides over the spindle.
c. The silicon o-ring with the large hole goes over the carbon cartridge.
d. This whole assembly is then screwed into the spindle retaining fitting already in
place in the top bucket.
6. Fit the plastic tap to the bottom filter bucket in the 17mm hole in the side between the
volume scale, do up tight and test for leaks.
7. Place the filter bucket lid with the big hole on the bucket with the tap.
8. Place the top filter bucket with the filter spindle onto of the bottom bucket guiding the
filter spindle carefully through the hole in the lid.
9. You are now ready to filter your spirits, remember you need to replace the filter
cartridge for each wash!
10.Once the spirit has filtered you can bottle directly from your tap or pour into a
Pourmaxx measuring jug and mix your essences.
Pro Tip: Filtering neutral spirit is all about residency time, the longer your neutral spirit is
in contact with the activated carbon the more impurities will be captured. If you slightly
liftthefilterplug in thefiltersystem soitnolongersealscompletely itwill allow theneural
spirit to drip through the filter. This will be slow but willproduce very clean neutral spirit.
Alternatively, run the neutral spirit through the filter twice. Remember the filter cartridge
needs to be replaced with every wash you process, so when buying another Pure Distilling
Premium Yeast and accessories, pick up a new filter cartridge.
Congratulations you are now a distiller!
Cleaning & Maintenance
You may be a distiller, but the clean up still has to be done! The wash we have distilled is very
corrosive and we need to clean the boiler and condenser very well to stop any corrosion. If
this is not done, over time the column can corrode and will not perform as designed, the
photo below is the worst we have seen:
Only start the cleaning once the system
has cooled down, the system will remain
very hot for a few hours after use. Once
the system is cool:
Disconnectthehoses,drain &store.
Remove the thermometer, turn it
off and store.
Remove the lid with the condenser
still attached, take care not to damage
the product output arm.
Run warm water for a few minutes
down the column, letting it run out the
holes at the top of the column.
Allow the column to dry before
storing.
Generally, this all that is required to keep the condenser in good working order. If during
the distillation run the wash surged up the column due to excess sugar or sediments
present in the wash, it is necessary to rinse until the water runs clear and then soak the
condenser in a citric acid wash. Citric acid is available from your local home brew shop,
we recommend the following:
15gofcitricacidto1.2litresofwarmwater,usethisratioifmakingalargersolution,
ideally make a “bath station” using 520mm of 90mm stormwater pipe with an
endcap, shown below. This requires 2.4 litres of solution, so 30g of citric acid is
added.
Leave to stand for 30 minutes.
Rinse with warm water for 5 minutes, shaking the condenser occasionally to move
the water around.
There is some information available that states the acid needs to be neutralised
with Bicarbonate of Soda (Baking Soda), running the water through as above is all
that is required to neutralise / rinse out the acid.
Allow to dry before storing.
Ensure the boiler is disconnected from the power supply, then:
Empty the boiler, it is heavy, use the tap to drain the wash from the boiler until it is
a manageable weight, then empty into a suitable waste water drain.
Rinse the inside of the boiler with warm water use a cloth not a scourer or any
abrasive material.
Thebestcleanerforstainless steelisSodiumPercarbonateavailablefrom yourlocal
home brew store, use as per the instructions. Do not use Sodium Metabisulphite or
Pure Distilling Easy Clean, these are only suitable for plastics and glass.
Rinse the boiler with warm water.
Allow the boiler to dry before storing.
For legal reasons it is best to store the condenser and boiler disassembled, these are then still
parts not a still.
Problems and Issues
Sometimes thingsgo wrong, problemswith PureDistillingcondensersare veryraredue tothe
simplicity of their design and no moving parts We will do our utmost to rectify any issues you
are having and ensure that your distilling is a fun and productive process, contact us on:
Email: drink@puredistilling.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/PureDistilling
Notes
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