# home distilling and dehydrator



## tinkerhell (Oct 8, 2014)

Can a home still and a dehydrator compliment each other?

ie is it possible to extract a broth from potatoes, make alcohol with the broth, and make potato flakes with the mash(ie mash that has never been fermented)?

I have a funny feeling that I'd be better off buying 2 bags of potatoes, 1 of vodka, and the other for dehydrating. LOL

Regardless, I'm still interested in hearing what you think about trying to produce 2 products from the same potato.


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## Deebo (Oct 27, 2012)

No idea, Leon is into distillation, for water purposes, I assume, but haven't been able to reach him lately. 
I heard on the radio that by 2025 clean drinking water would be scarce... I intend to invest in a stainless steel kit, he posted a link to it. Will try to look it up, but it was about $200 if my failing memory serves me right.


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## sideKahr (Oct 15, 2014)

I'm fairly sure you can't do both. Starch is the nutritional part of the potato, and is also what is needed to make sugar for yeast to ferment. If you remove the starch for fermentation, what you have left is animal fodder. A broth from potatoes will not contain enough starch for fermentation.


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## bigwheel (Sep 22, 2014)

Tater mash vodky is a tasteless pain in the booty. A grain infused sugar "wash" is the best way to fly. Sweet feed..cracked corn..hen scratch...corn bread..rye bread all make good drinking material. Sweet feed is tops. Tomato paste makes and excellent neutral. Total tasteless like Stoli. Dont get cute and sub out tomato sauce. It no worky. So make some and trade it for tates. 
There ya go.

Making Moonshine Using Sugar Based Wash - How to make moonshine


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

Hope I'm not stealing thread but: Saw this some time ago and bought the brass fitting and copper tubing to modify my pressure cooker (stainless steel not cast alum) when it becomes necessary to pure get water. I still have to build some form of solar heating system for it. Wood, etc. is not all that available down here but the sun is unbelievable.
View attachment 10996


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## Deebo (Oct 27, 2012)

Paraquack, there's videos of taking the Fresnel lens out of some t.v.s.
I have one, took it apart last summer, haven't built a holder for it, but the video shows it burning two by fours. Think of a magnifying glass that's three foot by four foot. I would guess one could easily use the set up(toned down), to heat a pressure vessel


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## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

My potatoes go in the cold cellar and I'm just getting ready to plant the leftovers.

The only thing I ferment is my apples and pears, cider is much easier than beer, and with campagne yeast a bit of honey or sugar I can get 15% alcohol. I've not distilled any but a friend makes great grappa from his wine. May have to try the grapes or elderberries this year?


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

Deebo said:


> Paraquack, there's videos of taking the Fresnel lens out of some t.v.s.
> I have one, took it apart last summer, haven't built a holder for it, but the video shows it burning two by fours. Think of a magnifying glass that's three foot by four foot. I would guess one could easily use the set up(toned down), to heat a pressure vessel


Thanks, now you tell me. recycled a 50 inch projection screen 2 years ago. I will have to watch for one on garbage days. My initial thought was based on a U-tube I saw where a guy glued the shiny side of aluminum foil to satellite dishes.


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## sideKahr (Oct 15, 2014)

paraquack said:


> Hope I'm not stealing thread but: Saw this some time ago and bought the brass fitting and copper tubing to modify my pressure cooker (stainless steel not cast alum) when it becomes necessary to pure get water. I still have to build some form of solar heating system for it. Wood, etc. is not all that available down here but the sun is unbelievable.
> View attachment 10996


I saw a guy on TV who glued small pieces of mirror onto a satellite receiving dish. It got so hot, it burned down the 1st shed he stored it in.


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## bigwheel (Sep 22, 2014)

https://www.google.com/search?q=hom...hLcLFgwSYxoHoDw&ved=0CDEQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=891


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

Thanks for the link.


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## tinkerhell (Oct 8, 2014)

Thanks for the link. It got me reading and i've switch my interest to using a sugar wash instead of potatos.


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## Deebo (Oct 27, 2012)

The YouTube video is titled "how to get 2000' F solar power". It turns out to be the same model tv I had been saving for a dump run for two years. 
I can't load videos on this smart dumb phone.


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## anthony9 (Jul 4, 2015)

paraquack said:


> Hope I'm not stealing thread but: Saw this some time ago and bought the brass fitting and copper tubing to modify my pressure cooker (stainless steel not cast alum) when it becomes necessary to pure get water. I still have to build some form of solar heating system for it. Wood, etc. is not all that available down here but the sun is unbelievable.


awesome, I must register to like for you. Thx so much


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## PaulS (Mar 11, 2013)

Keep in mind that when you use a pot still to purify water that you should toss the first quart or so to get rid of any solvents that were in the water.


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## tinkerhell (Oct 8, 2014)

Better yet, toss the head into a bottle specifically for your alcohol stove. 

2 oz of undrinkable alcohol should be able to make you a pot of coffee.


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## jdbushcraft (Mar 26, 2015)

sideKahr said:


> I saw a guy on TV who glued small pieces of mirror onto a satellite receiving dish. It got so hot, it burned down the 1st shed he stored it in.


If it was stored in a shed, how did it get sun to get hot?


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## Farmboyc (May 9, 2015)

Window?


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## PaulS (Mar 11, 2013)

Farmboyc said:


> Window?


That would have been my guess...


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## tinkerhell (Oct 8, 2014)

instead of a parabolic dish, a half pipe is potentially a safer collector


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## PaulS (Mar 11, 2013)

A half pipe is more efficient from a fixed position but not as efficient as a lot of flat plates focused on a single point.


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## tabestmaker (Nov 18, 2016)

anthony9 said:


> awesome, I must register to like for you. Thx so much


i thought of the same thing haha


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## 8301 (Nov 29, 2014)

It would take a lot of mirrors or curved pipe and a lot of hours of strong sunshine to get the 5+ gallon pot up to the required 174-178 degrees and then hold it there for several hours.


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