Yes Liebig condensers and automatic stills are subject to inspection by HM C&E. The approved ways of getting pure water are deionisation and reverse osmosis neither of which falls foul of the guardians of moral probity/tax revenue.
Of these deionised water is your easiest bet and you can make that using a Brita (or similar) "water filter" which is in fact not a filter but a small deionisation cartridge.
I wonder if they've ever heard of a freezer, which is also capable of separating out alcohol from water? I discovered this for myself at around age 11 when I tried freezing all sorts of things, including some wine, and wondered what the puddle on the top was which wouldn't freeze. Probably a horribly inefficient method, and since I don't drink anyway, rather wasted on me.
How about a Brita water filter jug?
However, check the instructions on the steam powered cleaning/ironing equipment -- some specifically say not to use softened water, as it causes rapid corrosion internally.
About as much use as tap water. :)) Although I would have thought it would have been ok, as well.
Buy it. On a US-based heating forum
This being the UK, I doubt that you'll find a supply at a similar cost, but I think buying commercial quantities would still prove to be be a lot cheaper than making.
Britas filters will not be effective. They may remove some of the dissolved solids, but they are not deionizers.
Also read the manufacturers' instructions. The equipment might tolerate softened water. If so, the dissolved solids will stay in solution and can be removed by occasional draining and rinsing of the steam generator vessel. Some equipment makers don't recommend using softened water.
:))))
Probably pack a length of 8mm pipe and bend it around a former and go to the sink with it as well.
Although a friend has offered me one of those purification plants, with a rack of filters and expansion vessel like a gas cylinder, for reconditioning. Might get that and see what it does. :)
On the other hand might just see if I can buy in bulk, and keep The Old Bag happy with her bloody steamers!
So they are still wasting their time with stupidities like this. LOL As if anyone wanting to make booze couldn't make anything they needed without openly buying manufactured equipment. :)
As I mentioned above, I have the option to get a full plant for nothing and recondition it. It has 4 cartridges and osmosis plus other bits on it, depending how processed the water required. The quantity of water it produces is remarkable compared to a jug.
By far the easiest method is going to be a solar still. You can make them for =A31, and the only operation required is pouring water in and taking the clean water bottle away.
Lots of sites show how to make them, very easy. Theyre just a box, with polythene front sheet, and a drain off at the front.
another option is wrap your cu pipe with rag and stick it in the pour spout hole of a pan with lid on, and set the gas to low. No need to water cool or coil it if the burner is low.
Note discard the initial output, as it will contain stuff dissolved off the pipe.
NT
There's a significant tax revenue stream that benefits from perpetuation of such myths:
You'd need some sort of heat pump, maybe a Peltier, something to circulate the coolant, two heat exchangers. That's already starting to get a bit involved. Plus you'd need to have everything pretty well insulated.
I was thinking along the lines of an old Calor gas bottle for the low-pressure vessel, and the pump from an old freezer to evacuate it. Surely the condensate would just drip out of the pump?
collection
along with a lot of oil spray. Not sure what the compressor electrics would make of the water.
NT
cleaning/ironing
Softened isn't necessarily the same as de-ionised. Many water softeners use an ion exchange resin which essetially swaps Mg/Ca carbonate ions for sodium and chloride ions - Chloride ions are bad for corrosion. The ion exchange resins for producing de-ionised water swap the Mg or Ca and Cabonate ions for H+ and OH- ions which then re-combine to produce water.
Jim
I didn't say it was. Softened water will have sodium salts in solution, rather than calcium & magnesium. The sodium salts stay in solution, rather than precipitate on heating as with untreated hard water.
The twin resin-bed de-ionizers need caustic soda & HCl to regenerate, so probably impractical for this application.
The other cheap & dirty supply would be rain water. If you've got a clean roof (conservatory?) you could collect the run-off. Minimal dissolved solids, I'd guess it might be a bit acidic with dissolved carbon dioxide, and a great variety of bacteria and dissolved atmospheric pollution. It might be liable to grow algae if stored in translucent plastic containers. A water butt with a couple of filters on the outlet might give a usable supply. No guarantees though.
The survival design normally reckons on seawater/urine/stagnant water being poured into the pond-like hole. A 2nd sheet of polythene (==pond liner) is optional.
Might not make much though, except in direct sun (then you would of course want a clear top sheet, black liner, and funnel into your collecting vessel (to reduce surface area).
They will of course still precipitate on evaporation (if that's significant - e.g. steam iron).
Skimming settling and possibly a UV lamp would help.
I know - hence my comment above. With peltiers I'd use the source water directly as coolant for the hot side. I did look at building a dehumidifer this way (solar powered) for the garage, but I didn't get the chance of a cheap big peltier after all (and yes it would have been more about the project than the end result!)
The word freezer just gave me a thought. A small quantity (e.g. for the poster who need to top up a car battery) could be obtained by placing a cup of hot water inside a sealed outer container in the freezer and using the resulting frost. Further refinement could include a power resistor (run the wires out past the door seal) in the source cup to stop it from freezing and speed up the overall rate.
Producing alcohol can be a dangerous old game.
My counsin used to do wine making. She also tried making champagne.
I think the champagne bottles are tested to several hundred psi pressure.
She had several of her bottles of home made champagne sitting in the basement. One bottle exploded and set off a bit of a chain reaction.
They found chards of glass embedded in the brick wall.
It was lucky that no one was down there when the bottles went off.
Graham
Our steam iron has an in built water filter. The filter can be replaced.
The other half used to hate doing the ironing so I got a power steam iron for them.
The ion comes in two parts. There is a base unit that plugs into the power. The base unit also has a large reservoir water tank.
On top of the base unit sits the iron. The iron is connected to the base unit by a long umbilical type cord.
The iron heats up as normal. However, the base unit contains a second heater element. The water is turned into steam in the base unit and then released along the umbilical cord into the iron when you press the button. The steam is then reheated / superheated by the heat from the iron itself.
It must produce at least five times the steam power of a conventional iron.
The other half if happy - they can do the ironing in about a 3rd of the time. One run over with the iron and even the toughest creases immediately disappear. Shirts can be hung on a hanger - one shot of steam aimed at the garment and the creases drop out.
Worth every penny.
Graham
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