by Bourbon_Knight » Sun Mar 14, 2021 3:57 pm
Well, it was a leap of faith, but well worth it.
And one I probably should have taken earlier.
Firstly, the stories from the elders are all true....Andrew from 5Star is just a cool guy.
He was extremely helpful and efficient. From discussion to product in under a week.
Hats off to you Andrew :handgestures-thumbupleft:
I now have my new 4" Modular.... so very shiny.... henceforth 'Excalibur' she shall be named ('Callie' for short).
Have given her a clean, and just had my first sacrificial stripping run today.
Set up, stripped, tear down, wiped dry and put away... in half the time my stripping runs were talking me previously.
I'm over the moon.
The biggest contributor to this I believe is the MUCH larger product condenser.
My previous setup was a cheap v-bend pot with embedded internal condensing coil.
It used to get warm to the touch at the back end of a run, with the water flow on full.
The new kit is like chalk and cheese. The condenser was cold to the touch the entire time, and I only had it at 50% flow.
Long story short, we're all on our own journey with this hobby.
For me, the cheap equipment was an investment... to see if it was something I was likely to stick with.
It offered me a quick way to jump in and learn the ropes, whilst polishing my skills and recipes.
Whilst my produce wasn't the best quality, every bottle that I didn't have to buy meant $$$ being put into the change jar...allowing me to build up the $$$ for upgrading.
Now that I've been bitten, the new kit, whilst more expensive, is of a much greater build quality, and will allow me to take this hobby to the next level.
Hope this is of some value to someone else down the track that's facing a similar question, or is interested in starting out.
Thanks all for your help.
Salute