Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

Get thee behind me Satan!
:scared-eek: :obscene-birdiedoublered:

Amberale wrote:Hey Ladies.
Wecome to the forum.
I have recently upgraded from 10 years of running a T500 the wrong way to a FSB Neutraliser.
I’m waiting for my sparky to finish some wiring but hoping to enjoy the flexibility it provides.
One of the main reasons I went for it is time, a 4” should be faster than a 2”, and flexibility(rum, whisky, clear spirits). :obscene-drinkingdrunk:
Don’t tell Andrew but I might want another head for gin next year.

Hi Amberale.
Thanks very much:)
Yes, the time factor is a real issue, it's just murder on the 20l/worm.
Pushing the setup about as far as it can go now, especially on stripping runs.
Enjoy the new 4"!

That's where the "one run and done" bubble plate still comes into it's own! A real time saver (although, costly in comparison).

Welcome girls, do plenty of reading and research before making a decision. T500 is not the direction to go in my opinion, it's a Chinese made reflux still with a few inherent issues. There are a couple of home brew shop type reflux stills that are ok, the ultra pure still made in Geelong does work perfectly and is not renowned for leaks and parts failures. It is however a fairly slow one trick pony neutral spirit still and will get you azeotropic alcohol every time but is a fairly short 2 inch column and slow to run.
The thing to keep in mind is what you want the still to do, I started out with an unltra pure and a home made pot still and ran both on a beer keg. It was not a bad place to start and the potstill cost me around $50 all up to make.

southern45 wrote:That's where the "one run and done" bubble plate still comes into it's own! A real time saver (although, costly in comparison).

Hey southern!
The irony there is that if I could turn it out that quickly I'm not sure I'd get around to anything else:)
Those copper setups you directed me to are stunners aren't they, real head turners
Cheers

crow wrote:Welcome girls, do plenty of reading and research before making a decision. T500 is not the direction to go in my opinion, it's a Chinese made reflux still with a few inherent issues. There are a couple of home brew shop type reflux stills that are ok, the ultra pure still made in Geelong does work perfectly and is not renowned for leaks and parts failures. It is however a fairly slow one trick pony neutral spirit still and will get you azeotropic alcohol every time but is a fairly short 2 inch column and slow to run.
The thing to keep in mind is what you want the still to do, I started out with an unltra pure and a home made pot still and ran both on a beer keg. It was not a bad place to start and the potstill cost me around $50 all up to make.

Hi crow, thanks very much for the welcome:)
Yep, we've gone right off a brew shop type setup, just doesn't sit right for quite a few reasons.
'what we want the still to do' is actually a really good question, and can't really be answered without more experience.
With that in mind I'm pretty sold on a 2" modular setup, that parts can be chopped and changed as needed.
Biggest question right now is to go for a used, utilitarian converted keg boiler or shell out about 4 times as much for the sexy milk can job. Wish I'd never seen it.

Thanks for the advice:)

I'm sure if you polish up your keg it can look almost as sexy :handgestures-thumbupleft:

You know those milk can boiler are even sexier in real life! Having said that some of the polished kegs I've seen on the forum look great too.

One thing I like about the milk cans is the removable lid which makes them much easier to get an arm in to clean them out.

Ultimately, if you are on a budget, go for a second hand fully fitted up keg if you can find one. If you've got the extra cash available to spend, go the extra mile and grab the milk can. You won't regret either decision. You can always on-sell the keg and upgrade to a milk can boiler at a later stage if you so desire.

Yeah I've seen them, big step up in price from a dirty old keg though.

It depends really.
If you can’t weld yourself and need to farm out the work, by the time youve bought the keg and all the ferrules and had them welded your not that much under the cost of the milk can.
Others have done the sums and ended up with a milk can
Just my thoughts :laughing-rolling:

The Stig wrote:Others have done the sums and ended up with a milk can

Myself included.

A milk can worked out a few more dollars, but worth the extra (for me) as I like the large lid/opening for easy access and cleaning.




Plus it's sexy......... :mrgreen:

The Stig wrote:It depends really.
If you can’t weld yourself and need to farm out the work, by the time youve bought the keg and all the ferrules and had them welded your not that much under the cost of the milk can.
Others have done the sums and ended up with a milk can
Just my thoughts :laughing-rolling:

I suppose being a tradie and knowing other traidies I forget most people can't get welding and things done for free. Plus I enjoy building things myself.

Thanks all for the generous replies.
And quite a few good laughs there too:)

It seems unanimous, the milk can it is!
Actually as it turns out with taking the time off to drive to the other side of the state,
it's actually not that much different to just get what we intend to keep straight off.

Have some questions about grounding the element and the various condenser outputs but I'll have a hunt round the forum and see if it's not already been discussed.

Thanks again, you guys have been awesome.

Mne wrote:Have some questions about grounding the element

When you buy the milk can you will need to make a choice of 1 or 2 elements and guard kits.
The guard has a bolt in it to use as the earth.
I should also add, you will need an electrician to wire up the elements.

Welcome- I make 2 pass Neutral inc a great Vodka with a caramel aftertaste and 2 -3 types of gin. Single pass runs through a 5 plate 5 star bubbler - 4 inch - jumping between pot and spirit setup.

TPW is easy and makes great neutral and the forum has great rum recipes.

5 star stuff is very good.

Good bubbling.