StillSmart

Hi,

First post but long time lurker. Decided to take the plunge after 3 years of all grain home brewing and start distilling. I own a Braumeister 20L which is a fantastic bit of kit, it has really helped standardise my processes and I'm looking forward to using it for some all grain washes.

I decided to skip the AirStill and get something in the 20-30 litre capacity so I can make decent cuts. The T500 obviously appeals but I'd want to go for the Alembic dome and condenser set up as I'm not massively interested in making neutral.

The only problem I have is the seemingly outrageous cost for the actual Boiler. I worked it out and the full kit retails at roughly £435 for the boiler, dome and condenser. Bought separately the dome and condenser is about £250, so that leaves the boiler being the best part of £180. This seems excessive, especially factoring it is just a tea urn without any temperature/power control.

Digging around some users have commented the T500 is overpowered and a power controller is required to make decent cuts on the spirit run. Not sure if this is correct but I'm inclined to believe that is the case, which means shelling out some more for a decent phase angle controller.

Does anyone have any advice on an alternative? I need someone to help me make my mind up before I push the button.

Cheers

MB

There are alternatives but with a T500 you seem to be paying a premium for convenience as it is prepared for you.

If you are willing to go with an immersion element in the boiler, i would have a look at Brewbuilder.

It might be advertised as a clamp lid flat bottom fermenter, but I think their 33 or 50 litre offering makes a decent boiler.

1.5" triclamp ferrules fitted in the side and lid. Well worth considering and the price is good.

Hi welcome to the forum..

I agree the T5 is over priced...but as Myles said it's a plug & play so to speak. If your into DIY you could make your own boiler, and top/column...my 2 cents.

Thanks Myles

I've had a look at them before but discounted them as I can buy a 30 litre Burco boiler with concealed element for £75 - I can bypass the simmer stat on that and use a power controller to get steady heat.

Of course I'd have to get someone to weld clamps on it and I'd have to fashion a dome and condenser, something that I really have no idea how to do..

MB

I mostly used keg based self built boilers. When you add up the real cost they can be more expensive than you might have thought at first.

But you get the fun of self building. It is just personal choice.

If you use a boiler with a lid you need to seal it, and the lid may need to be strong enough to support a heavy buit of gear.

There are a lot of options.

Take a look here viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2658 my still,I think the pics show the lid fixing,basic carpentry to a boiler fitted with handles.

Or,if these are still avaiable,no pun intended, https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00 ... em_1p_0_ti, read the reviews, and buy one.

I hope that helps.

Robert.

This system was shown a few years ago. Functional but I am sure it would work OK.

There is also this..

http://www.brewcrafterstore.com

They will ship to the UK.

If I was staring again I would seriously consider this... why?

I have a BM20 [absolutely brilliant] but would not recommend anyone to buy a NEW one today. The new ones have issues and Spiedel do not seem to care.
The GrainFather is a bit tinny and IMO lacks a good controller and the design is a 'Heath Robinson'

This comes in at about £420 (GBP) inc free P&p. ...and you could easily drop a still on top 'cos the controller 'seems' (on paper) to have the necessary options. Do the research on it though - I have not.

Thanks all,

I'd love to be able to get one of those milk can boilers with a 240v element and pot head all made up. This would suit me down to the ground I think: http://www.hillbillystills.com/product/8-gallon-copper-moonshine-still-kit/

I don't know if they'll ship here but I bet the cost of shipping and import duty would make it prohibitive.

I love my BM - I've had it a couple of years and it's never missed a beat. Spiedel stuff is expensive and I'm not sure the new BM has anything I'd trade up for - apart from the mash/boil memory function.

I'm a Yorkshire man but I don't mind paying over the odds as long as it's for quality.

The Brewcrafter looks good, I might ask them about the controller to see if it can be adjusted by wattage and not temperature. I'd have to make a column but the more I think about it, the more I feel like having a go at the brazing/soldering work involved. I know a few plumbers that may be able to help but is there some calculations I need to invoke?

Again, much appreciate all the help here

MB

If you have a BM you could clip an extra feed into the element and add a power controller? That is what I am doing... Just got to sort out the lid & seal.

If I hadn't gone balls out with all the ferrules, 54mm copper & rediculous shotgun, this would have been less than £100 because I got the boiler cheap on eBay


Burco boiler = £70 (eBay)
Stainless bowl = £6 (tesco)
Ferrule / Triclamp / Gasket set = £10 (Amazon)
Silver solder = £15 (eBay)
Toggle latches = £4 (Amazon)
Enough copper for simple arm & liebig = £30-40? (JTM Plumbing)
Silicone strip = £2 (eBay)
Power control = don't talk to me about these damn things ATM
Elbow grease = £priceless
Knowing someone with an acetylene torch is also very favourable, makes silver soldering very easy for the ferrules & meant I didn't have to drill holes for the latches. If I was to do it all again now, with all my cock ups behind me & all the kit in front of me, you'd be making whisky by lunch

Fook me, you've got a big pipe Benoit...

Did you have to calculate anything (lyne arm length/incline) or do you just eyeball/guess it?

How did you attach the clamps for the bowl to the burco - is it solder?

Cheers

MB

mousebat wrote:Fook me, you've got a big pipe Benoit...

Nearly had a tenor lady moment laughing so hard

Yeah I just held them in position with mole grips whilst my old man hit them with some flux coated silver solder, you can use normal solder to stick stainless together but you need a really aggressive acid flux which I didn't have.
Because of all the ferrules in there I can adjust the arm up & down, the length was only determined by what I need to get to the thumper but I'm not using it in that pic. If you were to just use a liebig condenser then have a look at the alembic pot head kits for the T500, there's not much upright on them & it's pretty easy to copy