please help with newbie pot still build

[Potable]

Hey everyone,
I'm looking at a nice little 4" modular pot still head here from 5 star stills ( and Mac ur input would be great here) and over time build up the plates in the column to make a 3 or 4 plate whiskey still. Pics attached

Atm I would like to make my own boiler possibly out of this keg ( pics attached) with boiler element and contoller. If anyone has any plans or old post they find would be much appreciated. I am very new to this and haven't had a lot of experience so all knowledge is welcome.

Thnx
Potable

[Potable]

Here is they pic of the pot still head

[woodduck]

This link should have everything you need for your power controller

viewforum.php?f=60

And boiler ideas here

viewforum.php?f=49

If you can't find the info you need I've always found the search button at the top of the portol to be pretty good. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[MacStill]

Hey everyone,
I'm looking at a nice little 4" modular pot still head here from 5 star stills ( and Mac ur input would be great here) and over time build up the plates in the column to make a 3 or 4 plate whiskey still. Pics attached


Thnx
Potable

What would you like to know mate ?

Sorry it took so long to reply, been playing catch up all day ;-)

[Potable]

Hi mac,
Thats ok thanks for reply.Just general feed back and advice on my choice of setup really. There is a ton of posts similar to what i want to do but all different. The 4" modular pot still i am liking a lot and pretty keen to start on the keg boiler soon. Im all good with the selection of fittings sight glass/filler port, drain etc all from your website. One thing I'm not to sure on is element size with the use of voltage controller. I have heard a lot about bringing the pot stills with grain mash up very slowly to avoid scortching. Is this the case for stripping and spirit run ? So i guess what i would like to know is :

Recommended element size and how to and when to use voltage controller (do i need 2 or is that just for the reflux boys ?
Is there anything i should ad to the boiler now to allow for the pot still turning into a bubble plate still in the future ?
With the modular 4" pot what do you recommend in the way of adding some copper in the vapour line ?
Product availability as the 5 star site says unavailable at this time on a few items ?

I guess i just need re assurance that I'm setting this setup up right as i don't really even know the ins and outs of actually operating the still just very basic really.Any input would be great.
Thanks

[MacStill]

For starters I'd be trying a few wash's from the tried and proven section before attempting expensive all grain mash for distilling, get the hang of the distilling side of things first so your mistakes aren't expensive ones.

A keg boiler with 2 x 2400w elements is all you'll need, and with a controller on one element this will cover and future proof you for later on once you start with adding plates doing all grain. I personally dont distill on the grain and much prefer to distill fermented wort as it's just a lot easier with an electric boiler.

Copper mesh in the vapour path is recommended for sure as it removes sulphides, once you get to the plated still stage it's not so important as there's ,more than enough copper in the plates and bubble caps to do this.

We've been really busy on the lead up to easter and had a week off on holidays so we need to go through our inventory to get the sight back up to date, we do have most items in stock (including the 4" pot still) and also have regular shipments arriving most weeks, it's best to contact us through the webstore with your list of goodies and we can go from there :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Cheers,

Mac.

[Potable]

Thanks Mac
Will be contacting you soon :handgestures-thumbupleft: