Oh so new

[robashep]

Hello everyone. I’m new, having read everything and anything about distilling since the day I got home from the pub, drunk, courtesy of my mate buying $8.80 shots because I was crook and he reckoned black sambuca shots were the answer. Why have I read everything? Because that night I bought a Chinese still off Amazon for $150. And having spent that amount in a moment of disgrace, I thought I had better make the most of it. Which I reckon I have. With absolutely no knowledge of distilling except for what I have gleaned from sites like this, I have been able to produce exceptionally drinkable stuff. But.... I need some expert advice. I want to buy a pot still for the ages. I’m in love with the process. If a poorly designed Chinese pot still can make what I’ve made, one can only wonder what a properly made still can do.
So can someone please point me in the right direction. Having been a horse trainer for many years, bending a shoe is the limit of my capabilities. I would love to build one but it ain’t going to happen. I don’t want anything fancy, just copper still that I will enjoy until death do us part. Thanks to anyone in advance that reads this and replies.

[The Stig]

Location stuff removed by Stig
My still

[scythe]

2 things.
1 turn off location when taking photos.
2 use an image hosting service rather than Google drive.

But apart from that, you've got a pretty wild setup there.
What role are the spoons performing?
And why are you straining your distillate through a paper towel?

[woodduck]

Hi there, welcome.

You could try 5 star they have a wide range of stills or you could have a look through the for sale section or you could have a crack at building one yourself, it's not that hard and there are plenty of examples in the pot still section.

Good luck

[Professor Green]

Welcome to AD robashep.

+1 on what scythe said about meta data and hosting service. You don't want to advertise who you are to the world given the legality of this hobby.

Your pot still doesn't need to be copper as long as you have some copper in the vapour path. As woodduck mentioned, 5 Star have a great range of high quality off-the-shelf stills to suit most applications. You haven't mentioned how big you want to go or what your budget is but here are some options for a top notch pot still set-up:

• The cheapest and smallest option is the 2" pot still on a 25 litre boiler. It is a great set up that will give you options for upgrading to a bigger boiler later. It is also good if you don't have a lot of room in which to work.
• If you want to go for a larger boiler up front then the 2" pot still on a 50 litre milk can is an excellent choice.
• The best option is the 4" pot still on the 50 litre milk can. It is a bit more expensive but I think it's worth the extra cost particularly if you think you may want to upgrade to a bubbler later. The bubbler will give you the ability to make flavoured spirits in a single run rather than a stripping run followed a spirit run.

Cheers,
Prof. Green.

[robashep]

Thanks for the replies guys. Scythe, love to be able to delete that picture with location. The internet and me aren’t the best of friends. The spoons are to keep it from rocking of the stove until it has completely heated up. Wobbles like me after a session! The paper towel is my filter. Everywhere I read talks about carbon filtering and what not. There’s some discolouration during the stripping run (negligible), none on the spirit run but I do it anyway.

I’ll have a look Woodduck, thanks.

Professor, a 2” 25 litre sounds perfect. I looked at 5 star but they seem way too complicated for the limited experience I have. A pot on the stove is my current capability and I’m loving it. How do I erase the metadata mistake? I was horrified when I read Scythe’s post and saw what I’d done.

[Carol]

Hi Robashep

I am a comparative newbie with a FSD 2" boka and pot ( a cost effective solution for me) on a 25 litre boiler. My previous distilling experience was with an air still (say no more). The FSD pot and boka are easy to use and pack away neatly into a small plastic crate when I need them to be out of sight. I am pleased with the quality of the product I have made so far. Happy to answer any questions you might have from my limited experience.

Cheers
Carol

[robashep]

Hi Carol, thanks for the reply. The Boka is a reflux still which I’m not sure about. I don’t see the point of making flavoursome washes to then strip it out to neutral. In saying that, at the moment I’m only using essences so neutral is fine, but down the track.... As I said, I’m new to this so I’m open to all suggestions. What I am hoping to do is keep my spend to around $500 for still and pot. Unless something grabs me and I have to have it.

[Carol]

The reason I have both is that it is cost effective ( same boiler and column) and gives me options. The pot still can be used for the stripping run/s and then the boka for a spirit run. So far I am working on making good vodka/neutral (boka) as I would like to try making gin (pot). I did make cornflake whisky in the air still so cereal washes are on my list to try again in the pot still.

[Professor Green]

I looked at 5 star but they seem way too complicated for the limited experience I have. A pot on the stove is my current capability and I’m loving it.

It might look complicated due to having to assemble stuff but it's really dead simple. Running the boiler would really be no different to running something on the stove top except the boiler has the heating element built in. You will most likely need a power controller to drop the heat down on your spirit run though.

Carol is making neutral spirit for vodka and also for use as gin base so is using the pot to strip the washes first which will give better result on the neutral spirit run on the boka. You are wanting to make flavoured spirits (presumably a whiskey/whisky) so you would only need the pot still. If you actually want neutral then you'll need to look at a reflux column like the 2" boka.

How do I erase the metadata mistake? I was horrified when I read Scythe’s post and saw what I’d done.

Just delete the photo from your google share drive and I'm sure one of the moderators will come along soon and remove the link from your post.

The paper towel is my filter. Everywhere I read talks about carbon filtering and what not. There’s some discolouration during the stripping run (negligible), none on the spirit run but I do it anyway.

You can ditch the paper filter mate, it will do nothing for your final results. The carbon filtering people talk about is for removing off flavours from neutral spirits that aren't so neutral and it's the carbon that does all the work.

What I am hoping to do is keep my spend to around $500 for still and pot. Unless something grabs me and I have to have it.

That may limit your options somewhat. Based on the current web site prices, the 5 Star 2" pot plus 25 litre boiler and the T500 adapter which you'll need to attach the still to the boiler come in at a shade over $700 not including shipping. To put things into perspective, the RRP on the T500 Alembic Pot Still and Dome kit (which is an average still at best) is $600.

[robashep]

The reason I have both is that it is cost effective ( same boiler and column) and gives me options. The pot still can be used for the stripping run/s and then the boka for a spirit run. So far I am working on making good vodka/neutral (boka) as I would like to try making gin (pot). I did make cornflake whisky in the air still so cereal washes are on my list to try again in the pot still.

I have some research to do.

[robashep]

I looked at 5 star but they seem way too complicated for the limited experience I have. A pot on the stove is my current capability and I’m loving it.

It might look complicated due to having to assemble stuff but it's really dead simple. Running the boiler would really be no different to running something on the stove top except the boiler has the heating element built in. You will most likely need a power controller to drop the heat down on your spirit run though.

Carol is making neutral spirit for vodka and also for use as gin base so is using the pot to strip the washes first which will give better result on the neutral spirit run on the boka. You are wanting to make flavoured spirits (presumably a whiskey/whisky) so you would only need the pot still. If you actually want neutral then you'll need to look at a reflux column like the 2" boka.

How do I erase the metadata mistake? I was horrified when I read Scythe’s post and saw what I’d done.

Just delete the photo from your google share drive and I'm sure one of the moderators will come along soon and remove the link from your post.

The paper towel is my filter. Everywhere I read talks about carbon filtering and what not. There’s some discolouration during the stripping run (negligible), none on the spirit run but I do it anyway.

You can ditch the paper filter mate, it will do nothing for your final results. The carbon filtering people talk about is for removing off flavours from neutral spirits that aren't so neutral and it's the carbon that does all the work.

What I am hoping to do is keep my spend to around $500 for still and pot. Unless something grabs me and I have to have it.

That may limit your options somewhat. Based on the current web site prices, the 5 Star 2" pot plus 25 litre boiler and the T500 adapter which you'll need to attach the still to the boiler come in at a shade over $700 not including shipping. To put things into perspective, the RRP on the T500 Alembic Pot Still and Dome kit (which is an average still at best) is $600.

Location post deleted thank goodness. Paper towels to disappear. My eyes are hurting from reading. But I will continue to read until I find what tickles my fancy. I’m finding that there are no definitive answers to this game, which makes it even more interesting.

[robashep]

Actually Professor, I’ve had a lightbulb moment. My contraption should take a t500 lid, so I have the boiler. So the thought is to keep what I have as my pot and and maybe a boka after all. To be continued...

[The Stig]

If this Chinese stove top still is only 5L it wont be enough volume to run a T500 or anything like that

[robashep]

If this Chinese stove top still is only 5L it wont be enough volume to run a T500 or anything like that

It's 19 litres, 30cm in diameter.

[The Stig]

That'll be fine then.
That info would have been helpful in the first post :-B