The_Angel_Share wrote "
No messing about making cuts between heads, hearts and tail (unless you really want to)."
Hold it!! That reads as "
you can throw a 25lt wash into a T500 and you can drink everything that comes out the other end in less than 5 hours!"
This is a dangerous fallacy. I'm sure that wasn't your intention Angel_Share
Stills like the T500 are entry level reflux stills and yes, you can process a 25lt wash in one go but whether you're using an Airstill, a T500 or an old billy can with a lid and a worm, to distill your spirits you must separate heads and tails from the main body of distillate.
Of course you may decide, with experience, to blend carefully selected portions of the Heads or Tails with the Hearts to achieve a particular result but under no circumstances should anyone blindly consume the product of any still without first removing those elements that can be dangerous and the majority of the other elements that will cause hangovers, trots, etc..
Cuts are
NOT made
only if you feel like it. Cuts are essential if you want to remain healthy and continue to enjoy this hobby into the future.
As to which is better to start into this hobby with. It may seem to some that the bigger volume of the T500 or similar would be best.
In fact, small equipment, such as the Airstill, is the better choice for the beginner because it allows you to learn, by more frequent use of the still, to master the different cuts, different recipes and different techniques. At the same time you can produce more clean alcohol than you can ever hope to consume - unless you're a complete dipso on two bottles a day!
The T500 is a one trick pony which has a design flaw that requires the user to make mods which will still leave it doing just one thing.
In addition, when trying new recipes the Airstill allows you to try small batches at very low cost and if it doesn't work out you'll have very little loss.
The smaller Airstill also means cock-ups will be small ones and easily corrected. A 25lt cock-up can be a nightmare to deal with. We've all had our cock-ups, our failed recipes, puking stills, flooding columns, discoloured or very smelly distillate and with a still like the T500 each such disaster can be expensive, messy and dangerous.
With the Airstill you learn how to deal with such things, how to correct them and how to avoid them in the future.
I started with an Airstill and after two years graduated to a much bigger self built 50lt Pot and VM Reflux. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that had I started out with a bigger still like the T500 I would not have the knowledge and skills I have learnt in that time and would probably have given up a long time ago bored with the single product the likes of the T500 is limited to producing.
A properly processed 25lt Wash at 12%ABV, double distilled in the Airstill can yield up to 6lt of clean spirit at 40%ABV that you can safely enjoy - that's 8.5 standard spirit bottles and that's just in one week.
Sorry this has been so long winded but safety in consuming what we produce is very important and I believe strongly that, in this hobby, beginners should learn to walk before trying to run. Afterall, we don't make fruit juice here and what we do make could potentially be dangerous if not treated and handled with care and respect.
OK, Soap Box over
AM
Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2012 6:04 pm
