StillSmart

Hi all, I am looking to upgrade from my beloved airstill to a larger still. My question is what one to buy (would love to build my own but thats more in the future) as I have seen a few but not sure which one is best(if that even is the case). I am more into the neutral spirit where I can flavour it myself using an essence. So I know it will be a reflux style still with a boiler. My 3 options are the trusty T500, the pure distiller or another model which I came across and thought looked good value for money but have never heard of them and would value your opinions on it. The main features are
50L keg
removable reflux, height 120cm
clarifer 250ml
power controller
coil heater 2000W
digital thermometer on top
thermometer on keg
acid-resistant steel 316






Sorry for the long post but keen on your thoughts on them all

Hi My first purchase of a reflux still was the T500..... For me personally I think this still is too cumbersome to use long term (my opinion only of course) I had no end of problems with Temp control length of time for a single run and some major problems with leaking etc.....

I now own The pure distilling Home Spirit Maker..... Have had it nearly 12 months and I love using it everytime...... It only has one thermometer and I get between 3.5 - 4 litres of good clean neutral spirit every run with no issues whatsoever.

As a person going from the Airstill to your first reflux still..... I would highly recommend the Pure Distilling Home Spirit Maker..... On average my ABV is around 94 - 95% every run.

Hope this helps a little in your choices

Happy brewing

Whimpy

Another option that may be worth considering.
I had a smart still for a couple of years and enjoyd it. I also had a large 50L diy keg pot still.
My next still was a Still Spirits Super Reflux Still.
I sold my Smartstill and the large pot too because, I realy like the super reflux.
It can be used as a pot still or a Reflux.
I make neutral and Rum. They are no longer available new, but do appear second hand.

If you are mainly interested in neutral with a keg based boiler I would recommend a simple 76 mm column with a 76/54 mm reducer at each end.

If you can afford to purchase SPP then a 1 meter length of 76 mm tube with a plug of stainless scrubbers at each end and filled with SPP is ideal for generating neutral. It is hard to get it to make anything else, so if you wish to make flavoured white spirits like rum the SPP might be too efficient.

Use a 54 mm based head and reflux condenser of your choice, VM/LM/CM all work, so it is personal preference which you use. This is thumper based on a 30 litre keg but it is just an illustration to give you a comparison. The column is as described above.