How to distill Douglas Fir Essential Oil (or any other) With the 4 inch Copper Essential Oil

Still. (Doubles as a POT STILL)

Pick around 20 lbs of Douglas fir needles and twigs. Here I filled up one twenty gallon bucket, which is around 20 lbs of material

Fill a bucket with 7 gallons water (for 15 gallon electric keg)

Pour into the boiler, with a funnel.

Then add 1 tablespoon of salt to speed up the boiling temperature.

Then plug in the keg boilers 2 1500 w elements.

Place the gasket on top of the ferrule

Place the leaves and twigs in the distillation column

Then the second column- fill up and pack.

Then put on the top. It helps to run Vaseline along the fittings. This is my personal still, if you order one, it will all be welded, no rubber bands, and polished shiny.

Then put the still top on that

Place the still on top of the gasket and put a clamp on.

Attach the hoses, which are attached to your garden hoses. One is the inlet and another garden hose for outlet. Place the outlet to water your garden while running.

When the water steams and starts to boil, you know this because the tower column is hot to the touch, turn on your water faucet just enough so there is a trickle coming out of the outlet hose. This will cool your condenser which cools vapors back to liquid.

Hose package is included. You just attach two garden hoses to it. (In and out)

Bring to a boil the water to 212 deg F, it will start to steam, turn on the water. The steam will vaporize the oil within the copper column. The oil then goes thru a cooling condenser and will turn back into a liquid. Be sure to put a bowl to collect the liquid.

The still has be running for 35 minutes and we have 2/3 of a gallon of hydrosol with the essential oil floating on top.

I did this three times in less than 3 hours.

The third run has been completed. I have siphoned most of the hydrosol and there is a thin layer of oil on top .Then I placed the small amount of the hydrosol and oil in the freezer for 3 hours. When hydrosol freezes, I then pour the oil from the frozen hydrosol. Oil doesnt freeze. The finished product: The first run produced 1-1/3 fl. dram or 5 mil. of essential oil from 5 to 6 lbs of needles and twigs. Hydrosol was 2/3 of a gallon. We had three runs and distilled 20 lbs of Douglas fir , So we ended up with 4 fl drams or 15 mil of essential oil.

With the hydrosol there is 2.5 of a gallon.

The amount of time was 20 minutes of picking the product and around 3 hour of running the still.

Douglas Fir Essential Oil-- reminds me of Christmas! I live in the Pacific Northwest with huge Fir Trees that surround us everywhere. Washington state is famous for its trees. They say we create air for the whole of the USA. Here it is the Holidays every day. I always loved the smell and still do. I use Fir Hydrosol it like Windex. I spray it on the floors to wipe and counters, also glass. So from Rainier Distillers wish everyone a Merry Holidays and Happy New Year.

This Essential Oil Still is for sale at http://www.rainierdistillers.com/ for $800 Douglas Fir Essential Oil From Wikileaks: Botanical Name: Pseudotsuga menziesii Common Method of Extraction: Steam distilled Parts Used: Needles and twigs Note Classification: Middle Aroma: Crisp, fresh, green, uplifting Largest Producing Countries: Canada and France Traditional Use: Local disinfectant, often used for respiratory infections, also used as room freshener and fragrance in soaps. Properties: Antiseptic, antifungal, antitussive, calmative, disinfectant, expectorant, nervine, pectoral, stomachic, tonic, vasodilator Benefits: Anxiety, asthma, bronchitis, colds, coughs, depression, digestive issues, flu, infections, joint issues, menstrual cramping, migraines, muscular aches and pains, respiratory issues, stress. Douglas fir is considered to lift the spirits. The antidepressant action is useful for those off days.

Blends well With: Cistus, fir oils, lavender, lemon, marjoram, pine, rosemary Of Interest: It is the most common Christmas tree in the West. By ANTHONY ZACA from Rainier Distillers Moonshine Stills.