4" Pot or 2" Boka?
Posted: Sun Jul 14, 2019 12:19 pm
Hi! My uncle and I are total novices planning to buy our 1st still, mainly for making rums and flavoured spirits for ageing. We might make some neutral spirits occasionally but it is not a priority. We will buy rather than build because we honestly do not have the time to spend in the workshop.
We are currently deciding which FSD still to start with. Whatever we got would use an FSD 50L Milk Can with 2x 2400W elements for the boiler.
My inclination is to get the FSD 4" Modular Pot Still and probably upgrade it over time to a 4 or 5 bubbler plate column still. I figure starting with a pot still would be an efficient way to do stripping and spirit runs whilst learning and later plate and reflux condensor upgrades would allow single spirit runs for flavoured spirits and high ABV nuetrals. The main downside is the total cost but that can be spread out over a few years.
My uncle is set on the FSD 2" Boka, running it in pot still mode for flavoured spirits. His reasoning is that he can do two runs in pot still mode for his flavoured spirits and, although it will be slow, he is prepared to babysit the still for long periods. The Boka gives him the best of both worlds with an immediate option of high ABV nuetrals. The total cost appears lower but ugrade options seem limited. I would expect to add a product condensor and possibly a parrot, maybe extend the column for nuetrals, but it looks like the Boka is a bit of a dead end.
The start up price for both systems is similar so it's a toss up there.
Thanks for your patience so far, now the questions!
Cheers,
Dylan
We are currently deciding which FSD still to start with. Whatever we got would use an FSD 50L Milk Can with 2x 2400W elements for the boiler.
My inclination is to get the FSD 4" Modular Pot Still and probably upgrade it over time to a 4 or 5 bubbler plate column still. I figure starting with a pot still would be an efficient way to do stripping and spirit runs whilst learning and later plate and reflux condensor upgrades would allow single spirit runs for flavoured spirits and high ABV nuetrals. The main downside is the total cost but that can be spread out over a few years.
My uncle is set on the FSD 2" Boka, running it in pot still mode for flavoured spirits. His reasoning is that he can do two runs in pot still mode for his flavoured spirits and, although it will be slow, he is prepared to babysit the still for long periods. The Boka gives him the best of both worlds with an immediate option of high ABV nuetrals. The total cost appears lower but ugrade options seem limited. I would expect to add a product condensor and possibly a parrot, maybe extend the column for nuetrals, but it looks like the Boka is a bit of a dead end.
The start up price for both systems is similar so it's a toss up there.
Thanks for your patience so far, now the questions!
- Is my understanding of the two correct? I'm sure I've misunderstood something.
- How much faster is a 4" pot compared to a 2" Boka in pot mode? My uncle says he's prepared to be patient but I know him better than that... i.e. How long would it roughly take to do a stripping run on 25L of wash in a 4" pot compared to a 2" Boka in pot mode? I would expect to strip 3-4 washes before each spirit run so the total run time could add up? And how fast is a spirit run on a 4" pot compared to a 2" Boka in pot mode. I know there's a bunch of variables but a ball park figure would be great.
- Any other options we should consider?
Cheers,
Dylan