StillSmart

1. How tall is it once it is setup?
2. How loud is it when running?
3. Does it make the entire house smell like a brewery?
Would love to order this awesome looking still.

Havn't got a T500 but

1) According to Still Spirits you need a clear hieght if 1.5m to operate it.

2) My still is not noisy at all, about as loud as a simmering pot of water on the stove.

3) The strong brewery smells you are refering to come from brewing the wash. For safety reasons distillation should always be carried out in a well ventilated area which will also prevent any odours from lingering during this part of the process.

Hi mate

The overall height of a T500 is 1350mm so at a pinch you would get away with 1400mm clearance to allow the lid to be fitted or removed, or even slightly less if you shorten the cooling water loop at the top

As Brian says there is little noise when running just a gentle boiling rumble

Also as he says there is a faint smell of spirit when running hence ventilation required.the only strong smell is the sour smell of processed sugar wash when you empty at the end (or other depending on the wash recipe) but that is short lived and lessened if you let it cool just flush away down sink !

Sounds like you are trying to hide this from the missus perhaps ?

Thanks for all input. I renumber using a pot still i used to stink up the hole house. Had to air it out good for about a hour. Reason I'm wanting to get one of these is so i can do many gallons of wash at one time. One i have now makes hardly any noise at all if any. Accept when it first starts up. after that it's quite as can be.

Did my first run with a T-500 yesterday and at first it was noisier than my airstill. The stainless steel used for the boiler is pretty thin, mine came out of the box with a big dent that was easy for me to push back to normal. I think the thin steel resonates while it heats up.

Once it started producing, the water going into the sink was the noisiest part of the run.

The only odour was when it started producing. Pretty much odour free once the foreshots had been collected although I had the back door ajar just to be on the safe side.

As you've probably read, consistent water pressure makes life a lot easier with this type of design. Must have been a quiet day for my upstairs neighbours as only twice was I glued to the flow valve, about 5 minutes a time. I will be using a pressure valve once the fittings arrive.

About smells, there is one thing I suggest. If you are distilling a sugar and tomato puree wash, I would pour the backset out into the outside drain and not the kitchen sink because the smell is absolutely vile and lasts for ages.

I use the forshots 100 - 200ml worth in the sinks. Cleared my bathroom drain out. Drains much better now.