bradsgonetrekkin wrote:Looks like a lot of work to get to the final product. Wow.
Compared to a more traditional pot still head, can you give us a brief run down on the good and bad things about a plated column style design?
They look pretty cool, but does the extra work and materials equal extra quality product or ease of operation?
I've researched pots and reflux columns a fair bit but have dead set baulked at plates/fluted designs just because they look so hard to do for most people to fabricate.
I must admit it would be cool to "look in" at the magic as it it happening!
The thing I love most about these plated columns is the amount of hearts you get from a run, once the plates are all loaded and the temp stable you can pretty much bleed heads slowly or leave it refluxing for a good while to draw them off. From a 30L wash I'll end up with about 400 to 500ml of heads.
Getting into the hearts it just runs itself until the stream turns to drips and the first hint of tails come through, by now the tails are so compressed that once you turn the reflux condenser off the alcometer just about jumps out of the parrot, and rarely do I collect more than 400mls of tails from a run.
So from the time tails arrive at 88% to the time you get down to 20% wouldnt take more than 1/2 an hour, possibly less if I timed it properly.
Drawbacks/down side is only in the cost of the build and time it takes to build it, other than that and the fact it's not a very good vodka still it's all positives for me.
All the extra work and materials is well worth it, I wouldnt be without a bubbler..... they're easier to run than a VM or LM, and produce awesome flavor in one run compared to a simple pot still.... It's my "go to" rig for the stuff I want to make ;)
Not an easy build for sure, but very doable with some patience and basic tools, and once done you've got a still that's a ripper and for life.
However! anyone calling these things "FLUTES" in future will be spending a week in the sin bin :lol: fuck I hate that name for these things :lol: :lol:
Just kidding ;)
Cheers.