Mike & Jerry Build A Unique 13ft Column Still To Maximise Flavour | Moonshiners

It’s a new season and Mike has an idea to make more moonshine with less effort, but Jerry wants to flavour it at the same time too. As a result, together they design a unique 13ft column still that they hope will bring them more money than the previous season.
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[@triple_gem_shining]

The ole thickness of the wall. Get ya everytime

[@ShadowMaster_6]

Someone who take the time in making sure it fits nicely and looks good he takes pride in his work and loves it

[@Miamcoline]

Poor Jerry always being pestered and doubted by Mike. He always finds a solution if you give him the time and support.

[@williamponce5907]

I agree with Jerry measure Twice, cut once. The more precise you are with your work the less problems in the future.

[@cafenightster4548]

Measure once, cut twice...

[@JohnCena-kn9tv]

Don't measure, cut three times...

[@user-pq6mr6op3p]

Oh shut up..

[@justinmckee2256]

Wish the guys I worked with knew this

[@americanpatriot2979]

Y'all got that right.

[@MIWpuppets]

It annoys me so much to see mark act so smug when Jerry’s measurements weren’t correct. Meanwhile, he’s being his usual self standing around, doing nothing and being clueless

[@mastervz4806]

Cause you too sensitive.

[@grahamsmith8252]

@@mastervz4806 its more Jerry's partner sucks at life and the world doesn't need him. Fuking pretend welder boy is a fool who my folks wouldn't let him be seen for 100 miles.

[@luke0421]

He's a tool

[@p4phighlights515]

Who else be taking late night dumps 🚽 and be watchin these moonshine videos 🤣🤣??

[@mattg5878]

I design oil distillation columns. You have to make the trays (or “plates” as they say) smaller in diameter than the inner diameter of the vessel. You then have two ways of making it a snug fit. Either spring rings which are the same inner diameter of the vessel that sits below the trays, or make the trays out of two plates with a graphite rope o-ring type seal. You can then slide either of these in, and either the spring or the tape makes the seal.

[@JohnCena-kn9tv]

Yeah right buddy

[@theghostofsw6276]

Hey....what's the proper term for the flavour infusion jars (on the side) that they used, and how are they engineered (integrated) with the bubble plates? Thanks.

[@deebo5474]

He really paid attention in chemistry

[@billman2112]

The best team on the show. Patient, funny, knowledgeable, genuine and confident. The recipe for victory. Two fellas I'd have a drink with... My family member back in the early 1900's was a major moonshiner in NC, Mack Rigsbee, my mothers great grand father. His home is considered a historical landmark. The Rigsbee rock home in Hillsborough, NC. I Live In the Burlington area, and visited the estate. What an experience. It once had an underground passage from the garage to the pool. And also through nightly prohibition parties. So unfortunately my great, great grandfather was arrested for making alcohol and spent the rest of his life on a chain gang building and rebuilding railroad tracks till the day he died.

[@jeffallen6754]

As a thirty year welder pipe fitter that’s a pretty good looking piece of equipment especially for the first one built

[@user-pq6mr6op3p]

Shut up Jeff. A welder pipe fitter? Have to look that one up.

[@teamdubgaming1562]

That's a fine piece of equipment right there, was really hoping to see it running though

[@agapiosagapiou]

A piece of art!!

[@booger_8194]

There’s no full episode of this working ?

[@teamdubgaming1562]

@@booger_8194 probably if you buy the season haha

[@Ihaveaglitch]

@@booger_8194 I believe this is episode 4 of season 8, yes they do get the still up and running but almost ruin their first run due to faulty seals.

[@Ihaveaglitch]

Here's a clip kzbin.info/www/bejne/p4GaaKKFeNh-rdU&ab_channel=DiscoveryUK

[@InClaymont]

That still column is bad ass. I wish I could make this type of stuff to sell. Lol. I would love getting to do these kinds of builds all the time.

[@Gert169]

thats a great story

[@theghostofsw6276]

No kidding....I haven't even seen a commercially available column with infusion jars like that (on each plate), just the normal "gin baskets".

[@msrlapin99]

This is SO not "backwoods moonshine", and I mean that as a compliment. This the setup high-volume and high end rum distillers use. Pretending these entrepreneurs are backwoods county boys when they bring this level of expertise to the table is pure marketing.

[@deadpanfish]

It's just made for tv. Nobody trying to swindle you.

[@Americansikkunt]

Just because you couldn’t build it, doesn’t mean others can’t

[@msrlapin99]

@@Americansikkunt Sure they can, obviously. But it requires a level of knowledge about distilling that you expect from professionals.

[@AlbeeSoaring]

Just another typical "reality" tv show with scripts and developed characters. lol Entertaining for sure.

[@dakotac9547]

Thats a very refined form of art. Beautiful

[@forcesightknight]

That's note a backwoods still, that thing is an engineering marvel.

[@riley8704]

I'd be shocked is Jerry isn't an engineer. He's got more going on upstairs than he let's on.

[@TheEverydayProgressiveShow]

If it don't work...it would make one HELL of a bong!

[@gulfcoastpinebelt8600]

" Your so damn smart your stupid" my boss didn't find that funny

[@Gunzee]

5:35 why not cut a round piece of wood to the dimension you need, drill four holes for the bubbler pipes. Then hammer the circumference to increase the lip length, hence reducing the diameter. Or cut the column to the height required and solder the plate to the top and bottom.

[@macadocious1103]

When I look at the comments, i picture everyone sounding country

[@codeorbs]

Doesn't make no goddamn sense

[@QueernMental]

@@codeorbs He reads all the comments imagining they're spoken in a 'country' accent.

[@josephercastor8026]

13 plates, yeah this show is apart of the 13families who own your mind and entertainment

[@FloppaFan400]

Mike and Jerry are the Wario brothers of moonshine, they’re innovative but their schemes usually fall flat due to being over complicated or from Mike’s greed

[@ThePieman1972]

it is so cool to see how it all works!!!..Better yet would love to be out there giving them a hand, and maybe come home with a jar!! I'm not sure if the limestone water here would work?

[@fergusmackay2584]

Looks like a funky totem pole 😂

[@samuellomgkumer8066]

I keep coming to this ... I'll one day make moonshine at home

[@booneatbulls4103]

*ATF Enters The Chat*

[@zac2780]

How are these guys after giving each other covid? That episode was insane lol sharing drinks while talking about having no smell or taste then swigging out of the bottle they later poured for the rest of the bar... What an episode 😆😆😆🤦‍♂️

[@ronniewilliz153]

You really believe that covid bullshit. It's nothing what they say it is

[@titustysinger1307]

@Ford Prefect you know alcohol is a disinfectant right

[@freebird1ification]

@@titustysinger1307 yeeeeeeeeeeeeeep

[@carriejames7277]

Interesting video 🙂

[@anthonywilson4696]

I miss this show

[@4Realkevv]

The ad lol 😂 lmao

[@andrewblack7852]

Boiler plates in a reflux column... it does not impart flavor, it is good at making clear flavorless shine of a high proof.

[@deadpanfish]

So when they add fruit to the jar and the liquor percolates thru that, it doesnt pick up any flavor. Ok

[@theghostofsw6276]

That's what the jars, on the side, are for.....each plate has it's own "gin basket"

[@MovesMcgee1]

Jerry is an engineer. He has a PHD in engineering from the University of life! This man is the smartest guy on this show.

[@ryancox486]

a white claw lmao 7:15

[@mealex303]

you could have taken a little off each bubbler I stead of increasing the housing and getting loads more copper

[@RuthlessMojo]

Literally a steampunk still.

[@pantheraleo8234]

These guys are like Bert and Ernie

[@andrewhasbrouck6858]

THIS IS THE TICKET SON.

[@TheAlfast69]

Instead of buying more copper they coould have made the caps smaller

[@ronniewilliz153]

I thought the same thing lol just shave some of the rings

[@AaronAlso]

Even better they could have just bought one. A similar size column still cost about $500.

[@pikesherlin6834]

@@AaronAlso you're not serious are you?

[@themechanick9071]

need more bolts holding each section together.. it will let too much pressure out. once the pressure drops, so does the temperature.

[@patrickbuc2552]

Jerry is a modern engineer.

[@bfarm44]

Dam I want to see that in operation

[@see1be1]

2:45 as someone who works with "numbers" i'd like to triple check all my measurements are right before we waste material.

[@brandonbuzz7075]

08:50 I had never heard these idioms til now; “sexy as socks on a rooster or sexy as my next ex-wife”

[@LOVESEXDREAMS305]

Good luck cleaning it out 😊 also I hope the realize there at risk for explosion if there pot isn't thick enough 💥💥💥💥

[@lilsped5907]

Why you watchin just to hate 😕

[@theghostofsw6276]

Buddy....every "moonshiner" on this show is a licensed distiller. Hell, even most home distillers have engineered their own stills. The fact that they built their own 13 ft column is proof that they know the science, and engineering behind something like this.

[@onetimer13541]

Damn. Just take the edge of the bubbler plates against a vise tappa tap tapparoo. Engineers make blueprints like that all the time. Line on line with out material thickness taken into account

[@tWIST1up]

not paying attention to the difference between ID and OD will get'cha every time ;)

[@cloudpuffer224]

Heat up the bigger of the fitted pipes. Hammer it, heat and repeat until sealed.

[@soulcontractor1641]

I'd loved to " Taste" that " Shine"!! Country Boy " Genius's"!!. D.

[@Robmancan1987]

Looks like they're trying to make vodka lol. Reflux stills aren't really good for shine. If you want to keep the flavor of the corn. Most people don't realize that thumpers are not even useful anymore. Old timers just used them to control heat more than anything.

[@getchasome6230]

Me- "what's the most expensive way to probably blow myself up?" These guys-

[@JihnRhinier]

They could have grounded the base edges some… would save a lot

[@fyrstikken]

Norwegian Moonshine is 96%

[@totallylegalshit7579]

This aint for max flavour, its for minimal flavour, neutral spirit. For max flavour you want something less efficient. I do rum in a stock pot still. Just an inch and a half of pipe width tapering down to 3/4, then a worm. No thumper, but I may add one. That said, these fellas did some beautiful copper work, I am jealous of that. I like the sight glasses, but it'd be a shame to lose such a big run to a burst mason jar.

[@theghostofsw6276]

Distillers use gin baskets with columns all the time.

[@WvlfDarkfire]

"Sexy as socks on a rooster" lmao

[@beatbox20fmj]

This column still seems exactly like a burner column where crude oil is turned into different grades of gasoline.

[@natesalyer1496]

This is how oil refining works

[@timthompson7205]

I knew these guys weren’t geniuses... but they don’t even know how to use a hammer.

[@kioschraffenberger3131]

Now that is great Craftsmanship.

[@ContentGremlin]

Made a 5 bottle tall Percolated Gatorade bong in high school, worked just like that. Mhm

[@patman0250]

Shit man something that big you know how much those things are worth. Honestly they could make money just build it these things and selling them.

[@donlatinoh3at]

Episode and season?

[@SwtorSateleShanFan]

“That Thing is as sexy as my next Ex-Wife“ 😂😂😂😂

[@curtiswear1593]

It's not made of inflatable plastic it's copper

[@SwtorSateleShanFan]

@@curtiswear1593 damn son 😂😂

[@Humongous420]

My dad always says measure twice cut once

[@icritmypants8365]

There one green shirt away from being the Mario bros

[@gunnarmarks5754]

I wonder if they coordinated their outfits

[@jerga2002]

I have to turn the captions on to understand what they are saying...

[@OutdoorsWithShawn]

Maybe I'm missing something, but isn't there supposed to be a way for the water to fall back down through the plates?

[@Southghost5997]

My guess is the side pipes

[@mikelights8106]

“As sexy as socks on a rooster” ummm what?

[@TRIPPLEJAY00]

I would so love this, working against the law, Engineering, fabrication, and making some booze. I need out of England and live life like this.

[@patrickd9551]

Working against the law. Ha! Yes, "law" in a scripted world :) The original moonshiners used portable stills and kept things low key. These stills can consume several IBC's per day which is hardly portable and no real criminal would want their face on TV like this.

[@theghostofsw6276]

They're licensed distillers, buddy....everyone on the show is.

[@theghostofsw6276]

Dammit...they showed the making of the bubble plates, but nothing really on the side jars. Can anyone here link me to the info on how those flavour infusion jars are engineered? Thanks.

[@jrrains]

I'm surprised they don't braze the copper instead of soldering it. Would make better seals.

[@freebird1ification]

i dont know but that sure looks like a helluva lot of solder in that rig wont that be kinda bad for ya ?

[@cleverusername9369]

Is there anything good for you about ingesting moonshine? You're already drinking poison lol

[@ryeinn6971]

They did a cleaning run after this

[@theghostofsw6276]

Have your water pipes at home poisoned you yet? Just wondering.

[@gavanwhatever8196]

Pb free solder.

[@JOSH1657]

Theres no down commer on the plate? Hows the water get back down the column

[@roybm3124]

Falcon heavy

[@rc8rsracer1]

Go for launch

[@JackCarlisleOfficial]

Measure twice, cut once

[@com2375]

There is trespassing and then there is trespassing

[@carriejames7277]

So so true

[@jmcguire5548]

In Chemistry we call it a Reflux still.

[@theghostofsw6276]

Yes...but these have actual plates rather than theoretical plates.

[@lukescanlon6883]

Diameter - wall = chamber diameter

[@calliecooke1817]

I'm a tinsmith. I used to put on tin roofs, but now do mostly copper work. Bay windows, and flat porches, copper gutters and such. That is a mistake you will only make once. Could have been worse. Only lost a sheet, and you got a nice big scrap for something else.

[@bushratbeachbum]

What does an 8x4 sheet of copper cost over there? It's not cheap here in aus!

[@calliecooke1817]

@@bushratbeachbum Ain't cheap. My partner and I just got a 500' spool of 20" wide 16oz. for $4.50 lb. A 3'x8' at the roof center is almost$160, or $5.00 lb.(more with tax)

[@calliecooke1817]

@@bushratbeachbum Worst part is, they're only giving $2.50 lb. for #1 clean copper at the scrap yard. Used to be they'd give at least 2/3 of raw wholesale price.

[@calliecooke1817]

@@bushratbeachbum A re you using 20 oz. for stills? I've often thought about building a small "medicine" still, just for kicks. Is using thicker copper better? I can actually get 24oz.

[@scurvy3113]

@@calliecooke1817 I doubt they are even giving that now

[@alcaldealer8515]

Nothing against Daniel but I think Jerry is the better partner. Guy can build anything

[@curtiswear1593]

Someone put a lot of money I to this

[@jasontongue5685]

Am I the only person who sees there’s a lack of down comers

[@forcesightknight]

Are the caps oversized and just floating on the exhaust?

[@bulletcatcher5318]

Yup, wouldn't want the caps too tight, otherwise there could be a build up of unwanted pressure, then possibly an explosion

[@mattg5878]

Yes they are called floating head bubble valve trays. You can have fixed valves if you have an unclean mix, but floating is better for the mass transfer between the liquid on the plate and vapour coming up.

[@forcesightknight]

Thanks everyone for your replies. This thing is a thing of beauty, like the bride of Frankenstein. Engineering wise, it's not a toy, but a awsome fuel reactor. Also, the floating caps are technically check valves (>) and literally makes this thing next level genius.

[@mattg5878]

@@forcesightknight the dloating heads are not really considered as "check valves". Check valves are a specific thing, and we wouldn't use this term for bubble caps in a column. Also, it isn't a reactor of any sort. It comes under separation technology rather than reaction engineering. No chemical reaction takes place, just heat and mass transfer.

[@forcesightknight]

It is making fuel, that's all that really matters. Alcohol can be made from almost any organic matter, if you dont plan on drinking it, it doesn't matter what it tastes like. I dont drink alcohol, but I do use it as a fuel, and a solvent. The reason I'm doing research in the first place. Thank you for your information, without good q and A the comment section is useless.

[@Nobodyofimportance2u]

Moonshiners is just squidbillies the movie

[@ChairmanMeow1]

spend a little time now to save a lot of time later

[@lazerboiiswagger]

I’m pretty sure that if nether one of them cared about the math and measurements in this build they’d probably end up building a bomb😂

[@MawoDuffer]

This equipment does not maximize flavor, instead it maximizes a high percentage alcohol coming off the still in one run. Some flavor gets taken away when you effectively have multiple distillations. You can get a more neutral spirit, and you might like the taste of that more, it might be smoother, but you do take away some good and bad flavors with that process. Maybe they have a special gin basket technique to add flavor as it goes up. Most spirits on the market are at least double distilled, and a lot of big distilleries use plates in large column stills. Many even use a reflux still which pre-condenses vapor so it drops down and gets distilled on the plates again, before making its way out the final condenser. Also called a dephlagmator.

[@kizzfdz1991]

Finally somone who knows what they are talking about in the comments section of these videos 😂😂 most have never made a drop of likker in their lifes and pretend as if they know what's going on 👍

[@juuk3103]

The pipes are literally for gin baskets as they also say in the video, and higher proof = better flavor, seems like you didn't watch the video before commenting.

[@user-pq6mr6op3p]

You don't know crap. You copied and pasted this off a website.

[@theghostofsw6276]

These guys literally have a gin basket on each plate! What the hell are you talking about?

[@Southghost5997]

Did you skip through most of the video? They literally have pipes at each plate for drawing out different cuts and perfecting their flavour

[@meaculpamishegas]

Copper is not only pretty, it has strong antimicrobial properties and most things can’t stick to it even very tacky substances

[@dragonslayerlance]

i can't believe these hillbillys could come up with such a thing. but it would work. that would make a legit column still. i know its all fake and for show but these guys know what they are doing

[@REDBADGER187]

Thats it build expesive still at take it and leave it in the woods.man cant imagine finding something like that. Thats alot of scrap copper thats money.because a poor man finding that its gone

[@TheRowdyRudy]

all mike does is complain lmao

[@aquastar1182]

Since when did Super Mario make moonshine?

[@rimrock53]

High proof, minimal flavor.

[@cdarocket]

Shame columns reduce flavour not enhance it.

[@theghostofsw6276]

Gin baskets are used all the time with column stills.....these guys have engineered a gin basket on every bubble plate with this design.

[@laltubagdi4678]

😍😉😍😉😍

[@zacharytakach8487]

How many hillbilly’s you know that wear an Apple Watch?

[@cyruskhalvati]

Dont mix your metals lads

[@cdarocket]

It makes more pure alcohol

[@xananadu]

Itsa me mario

[@theepicgaming5260]

200 proof

[@davesmith5646]

These guys have been legit tax payin' booze makers from after the 1st season. Ain't no way they all could keep on keepin' on once they got spilled out on discovery channel. Still love the pre-fabricated drama. Gives you a good idear what the ol days was like.

[@johnmark6718]

Boomhauer