To hack an old coffee maker...

[Externet]

Never had coffee in my life. Do not know how they work. Suspect are very simple, but never played with one nor its guts.

 

Any coffee maker tinkerers here that can suggest which type/model could be used to distill some alcohol, as a kitchen countertop appliance ? A dimmer to bring temperature down ? A mash holding section that can be cleaned ? Eliminating/adding few parts ?

 

A quart per month will suffice. There is tricked water distillers/purifiers on the market that can distill ethanol, but the point is if a coffee maker can.

 

Am not interested in legalese. All in the name of science !

[Sensei]

To have really good quality of ethanol, you should have everything made of lab glass (boro 3.3).

Graham condenser, and preferably (but optional) Dephlegmator.

 

So what if coffee maker will heat "wine" with ethanol, if you won't be able to condense it and turn back to liquid state..

 

A quart per month will suffice.

Quart is 946.352946 mL (according to Google). It's plentiful of work actually to get it in such amount.

From 800 mL (1 L distillation flask *) you will have at max 16%, 800 mL * 0.16 = 128 mL (today I was getting 80-90 mL with 70% = 63 mL).

So to have 950 mL 100% (or rather 990 mL 96%) you need to process at minimum ~6 L of "wine".. More realistic value is 9 L.

Single 800 mL distillation takes 2 hours. +30 m for cooling down and setting up next.

 

You can't/shouldn't drink result of 1st distillation.

It has 70%-85% typically (mine record is 92% from 1st) vol% of alcohol.

There is needed to collect enough to perform 2nd, or even 3rd distillation, to have better/drinkable quality.

 

*) distillation flask can't be filled to nominal volume. Just to 80% of nominal.

During heating up volume will increase (you will be shocked how much).

 

Everything what you need to have to distill alcohol you will find in lab glassware equipment shop for laboratories..

Edited October 7, 2015 by Sensei

[imatfaal]

And you must be aware that distillation of alcohol - even for personal consumption - is illegal in some jurisdictions. Please take a moment to check - whilst any prosecution might be very unlikely it could have totally unforeseeable consequences such as jeopardising security of tenure in rented housing for example