I've been doing research about moonshine and the problems associated with methanol impurites really trouble me.

One particularly complex solution was to build a mini-reflux tower, but frankly that's too much for me. I have a really simple pot still and that's all I want. Here's the thing though:

Methanol boils at about 65 C
Ethanol boils at about 78 C

Why not just boil off the methanol at a temperature in that range, then turn it up to get the ethanol?

I've done a lot of chemistry and I don't see how this couldn't work, let me know if I'm wrong.

Yup. Methanol boils off first. Man figured out long ago to dump the first bit that comes out of the still.

Alright cool, I was just checking to see if I was right. I've read some guides that said dump the first few, but nothing was really precise. All it said was dump anything til it gets up to 78 C. Now, does the temp stay constant around 65 C until all the methanol boils off? That just seems too convenient to not mention in any guide.

Alright cool, I was just checking to see if I was right. I've read some guides that said dump the first few, but nothing was really precise. All it said was dump anything til it gets up to 78 C. Now, does the temp stay constant around 65 C until all the methanol boils off? That just seems too convenient to not mention in any guide.
No, you will have to regulate the temperature, otherwise you will boil the ethanol, too. However, the temperature difference is large enough it shouldn't be a problem as long as you are able to watch it and remove the heat source if necessary.

Thanks a lot, you guys are so much more useful than 4chan. That's why I love this place.