G'day everyone

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G'day everyone

Postby LFrank » Mon Aug 27, 2018 12:27 pm

Hi all,

A new member based in Adelaide with a sore head from all the reading I've been doing over the last few weeks. I've been keen on the idea of getting into distilling for a while, but after a recent conversation with a like-minded mate, we've decided to take the plunge and give it a go together.

The long-term plan (for me) will be to make some single malt whisky, and the mate is more keen on the neutral/gins to start with. Ideally it would be great to build a still, but with both of us having kids/wives/jobs/lives we're not so keen on it taking us 6 months until we can finish the build and get started. Therefore, we will be looking to buy the full set-up. Likely to start with basic gear at first, then as the skills improve and we know more about what we want, we'll look to build/upgrade in the future.

I'm still working my way through all the beginner forums and reviews, but at this stage the likely setup might look something like the items listed below: (Happy to be told otherwise, cos I haven't bought anything yet).

- 35L Robobrew (to use as a boiler and mashing): obviously a budget option, but from what I can tell there seem to be a few people on the site who use these and they seem to be ok for the money. I like the idea of having one thing that can do multiple jobs, but I'm guessing it's probably not the most efficient boiler out there(?)

- I've ear-marked the 5-Star modular pot as the likely winner for the whisky-making, but finances suggest it will need to stay as a pot for a while until the skills improve to justify the expenses to add to it.

- Still undecided on the best direction to take for the reflux still though. Obviously there's the usual HBS options and I've come across a few pre-made Boka's online. The Bokas seem to get the tick of approval from the more experienced distillers and they seem a bit more beginner-proof. I've read mentions on this and other forums about members who might be able to make and sell us something, but have so far struggled to find any specific info on who to contact. I'll keep looking/reading for now, but if anyone can steer me in the right direction it'd be great.

Cheers, and I look forward to wasting many more hours on the site in the coming months.
LFrank
 
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Re: G'day everyone

Postby Professor Green » Mon Aug 27, 2018 2:49 pm

Welcome to AD LFrank.

I can't really comment on the functionality of the robobrew as I have no actual experience with it however the size might be an issue depending on which 5 Start pot still you are looking at. The 4" pot still may be too heavy due tot he way the condenser needs to sit and will probably cause the boiler to topple but the 2" one will be OK (I've done some experiments and proved it to be stable on an empty T500 boiler when set up correctly). I used the 2" Mac Boka (5 Star) for a while before I got my Neutraliser and was very happy with the results. It was quite slow but the neutral it made was excellent. You would need to inquire with 5 Star if they're still doing the bokas or source one second hand.

Ultimately, you need to set your budget and work how big you want to go. A 4" still will be quicker to run than a 2" one but will require a larger boiler and is obviously going to be more expensive. Keep an eye out in the for sale section too as bargains frequently pop up there.

You won't find anyone here who can build you a still due to the rules of forum but I'm sure Andrew and Wazzza at 5 Star can get you sorted out with exactly what you need.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Prof. Green.
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Re: G'day everyone

Postby The Dark Alchemist » Mon Aug 27, 2018 2:58 pm

Welcome - loads of great info here..... I learn multiple things every day :greetings-waveyellow:
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Re: G'day everyone

Postby LFrank » Mon Aug 27, 2018 3:16 pm

Thanks for the advice Prof.

I have been in touch with Andrew at 5-Star recently about their pot stills. (I'll add this info here in case anyone else is considering s similar set-up).

At the time I contacted them I was considering going for a T500 boiler - Andrew mentioned it wouldn't hold a full bubbler, but mentioned a 4" pot would be ok (using their adapter). I had assumed it would be the same story for the robobrew, but I will definitely confirm if/when it comes time to make the final decisions though, thanks.

I have had a look on the classifieds section, but being a newby I wasn't sure how often things came up on there. I will keep an eye on there over the coming weeks though.

Cheers.
Last edited by LFrank on Mon Aug 27, 2018 3:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: G'day everyone

Postby Professor Green » Mon Aug 27, 2018 3:43 pm

The two boilers aren't that dissimilar so I would think what applies to the T500 would also apply to the Robobrew. I am a little surprised that the 4" pot would be OK on those HBS style boilers but Andrew know his stuff and is certainly in a better position to make that recommendation than I am. As long as it is not going to topple over towards the end of the run when the boiler has less liquid in it, you're good to go. :handgestures-thumbupleft:
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Re: G'day everyone

Postby woodduck » Tue Aug 28, 2018 7:46 am

Welcome mate :greetings-waveyellow:

It's great to see your doing your research before you buy, smart move :handgestures-thumbupleft:

To be honest it's a personal preference on what still you buy. Different people like different stills. I personally would go the 4" modular pot cause it can be added too cause theres a good chance the bug will bite and you'll want a bubbler :laughing-rolling: and would hold better resale if you were to decide your not interested in stilling anymore.

As for reflux still, well I don't really know. I had a boka but it was slow as hell and drove me insane. In saying that I think all 2" rigs will be the same. But the boka did make excellent neutral :handgestures-thumbupleft:
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Re: G'day everyone

Postby LFrank » Tue Aug 28, 2018 10:56 am

woodduck wrote:Welcome mate :greetings-waveyellow:

It's great to see your doing your research before you buy, smart move :handgestures-thumbupleft:

To be honest it's a personal preference on what still you buy. Different people like different stills. I personally would go the 4" modular pot cause it can be added too cause theres a good chance the bug will bite and you'll want a bubbler :laughing-rolling: and would hold better resale if you were to decide your not interested in stilling anymore.

As for reflux still, well I don't really know. I had a boka but it was slow as hell and drove me insane. In saying that I think all 2" rigs will be the same. But the boka did make excellent neutral :handgestures-thumbupleft:


Thanks Woodduck.

Yeah, I'm pretty much sold on the 4" modular pot for the reasons you mention. And from my emails with Andrew at 5-star, the starting price definitely is reasonable. Which is part of the reason why I'm having so much trouble deciding on a reflux still. All going to plan we will just add to the pot in the future to build a bubbler, therefore whatever reflux still we buy now will eventually become redundant. Part of me is starting to lean towards just getting a HBS reflux, use it to learn and develop the skills, then either flogging it off (or throwing it in the back of the shed) and building the bubbler.

Of course once we have a bubbler, we'll need a bigger boiler... I'm already seeing how this just never ends.
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Re: G'day everyone

Postby EtherG » Wed Oct 03, 2018 6:10 pm

Hi LFrank and the distilling community

I'm at exactly the same point you were when you posted this question in August. Also from ADL, also time poor.
Whilst the answers have cleared up some of my questions, as you say, the more you read the more you need to read. And you're looking at whisky mostly.

So I have no equipment yet, but I have cleared out a space in the laundry close to the tap.
I want to make gin primarily, and experiment with the botanicals, both steeping and in a basket.
But I know that sooner or later I'll want to have a go at whisky.
I almost bought the T500 kit but the shop owner was too enthusiastic, and then came looking for more info.
Budget reasonable.

So what gear did you end up getting?
And to the wider community, what sort of boiler and still should I be looking at to make gin primarily?

Cheers

Paul
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Re: G'day everyone

Postby bluc » Wed Oct 03, 2018 6:39 pm

Combo pot/reflux a reflux and a pot or a bubbler. You need to be able to make neutral and also need a pot to make redistill the gin after maceratikn, or to preserve the flavour if doing vapour infusion.(if you have a bubbler you wont need a pot you can make it in the bubbler)..
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Re: G'day everyone

Postby Doubleuj » Wed Oct 03, 2018 7:17 pm

EtherG wrote:Hi LFrank and the distilling community

I'm at exactly the same point you were when you posted this question in August. Also from ADL, also time poor.
Whilst the answers have cleared up some of my questions, as you say, the more you read the more you need to read. And you're looking at whisky mostly.

So I have no equipment yet, but I have cleared out a space in the laundry close to the tap.
I want to make gin primarily, and experiment with the botanicals, both steeping and in a basket.
But I know that sooner or later I'll want to have a go at whisky.
I almost bought the T500 kit but the shop owner was too enthusiastic, and then came looking for more info.
Budget reasonable.

So what gear did you end up getting?
And to the wider community, what sort of boiler and still should I be looking at to make gin primarily?

Cheers

Paul

Hi Paul, welcome to the forum, you can post your own thread in the welcome centre and use that thread to ask all sorts of questions,
I started with a t500, best that you were smarter than me and avoided it.
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Re: G'day everyone

Postby bluc » Wed Oct 03, 2018 7:20 pm

Sorry for the shite spelling :angry-banghead:
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Re: G'day everyone

Postby EtherG » Fri Oct 05, 2018 4:43 pm

Thanks Bluc
I'll look for a pot and a reflux still and get cracking
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