Advice on a starter still

[Matilda]

Hi all,

I've been doing a bit of research into a good starter still, and I see the two big names are the Air Still and the T500.
I'm in the UK so the market is not exactly flooded with options....
I do want to make my own spirits (whiskey, vodka etc) but realistically, most of my runs will be neutral for adding flavourings later.
I am looking for a still that will give me the option of a good neutral, but with an option of making my own spirits.
I see many people start with the Air Still and soon move on to a something like the T500. I have a few years of home brew experience so I'm wondering if I could go straight to something a bit more... "Professional" (in appearance - I have no desires for commercial production)

Are there any other stills I have overlooked? Does anyone have any advice on a good still? The t500 tops my budget really, but I could move a little on this if the gain was big enough...


Thanks all

[billmcc]

Hi Matilda if you can find a still spirits super reflux you can run it in reflux mode for neutral or re route the cooling pipes to bypass the little column and its then a pot still.
Cheers

[John51]

I've got an airstill and a T-500. Pros and cons to both.

With the airstill, once you've run it a few times it can be left alone for stripping runs as you already know at what time it should be turned off. Set the timer on your phone and get on with your life. I used a cute 300w light dimmer on mine for the spirit runs. 160w of power takes longer but improved quality. Never did manage a spirit run with the airstill that didn't have a trace of the wet cardboard smell so filtering is advisable.

The airstill can be emptied and run again after an hour or two but the liquid in the T-500 is still warm 24 hours later so wherever you run it, it's there till the next day unless you want to take chances with very hot liquid.

T-500 gives a better product and doing a slow first run is good enough for me and mine. Faintest hint of odour but not enough for me to bother filtering it.

Biggest con for me is needing to be there for 9 hours or so. A run can be done in less than 5 hours but much lower quality. I've recently modified the run to 40/42'C until I've collected 500ml of fores and heads then up to 50/52'C to collect 3L of hearts. Gives me just over 7L of 45% neutral. I don't bother doing a heads run, that becomes cleaning fluid/deodorant.

Almost essential to a T-500 or any cooling management still is a water pressure regulator valve. Without one you'll be messing with the flow rate every time someone turns on a tap or flushes the loo.

How many 25L fermenters do you have? I have 6 and find it easier to let time do the clearing and degassing.

[Matilda]

I have 3 5gallon primary FV's and 10ish DJ's.
I normally use DJ's for wine as its only the Rose for SWMBO that I make in (5g) bulk.
I'm happy to use 2 primary (5g) buckets for wash making, certainly as it'll only tie them up for a week or two.
I can't see the long distill time being a problem. If its only once every couple of months. (Just gives me an excuse to go on playstation. I mean...do housework)

Is the Still Spirits Super Reflux any good?

[chill]

Have you tasted the flavoured neutrals before? I've tried about 10 and to my taste, none of them are what I want to drink. That might change your mind about what you want for a still.

I have an AirStill and they are great learning devices. I make lots of things and none of them have the wet cardboard taste in the hearts (sure is there in the tails!). At least I can't detect it. Last night we were sampling Grappa, Brandy, Gin, and a few liqueurs that I have made. If you are new to distilling, an AirStill is a good way to get started while you learn what you like to make and what you actually need in a still. In the year or so that I have had the AirStill, what I thought I needed and wanted in a larger still has changed dramatically several times. I am glad that I waited. When I finally buy it (waiting on some renos for water and drainage), it will be exactly what I personally need.

Chuck

[John51]

Looks like I wasn't turning the airstill off soon enough.

I agree about the flavourings, hit and miss. I've had good results with bombay gin, absinthe and spiced rum flavourings. I think the 75g of sugar in the absinthe had something to do with it's popularity.

The sachet of rum flavour that came as a freebie with the airstill was just about drinkable but had me binning the other 3 sachets untried. An expensive brandy flavour that I aged for 3 months went down the sink after one sip.

[John51]

In the year or so that I have had the AirStill, what I thought I needed and wanted in a larger still has changed dramatically several times.

Me too. As it turns out, the T-500 is plenty good enough for me. A one trick pony but that one trick is all I need from a still although I didn't know that when I first started.

[Almanac]

We all need and want different things and there's no 'One-Size-Fits-All' solution. The Airstill is a brilliant starter because it allows you to make small batches and if it all goes wrong it'll be a small affair and easy to fix.

If you mix a flavouring or essence into neutral you've made and you don't like the end result, don't just chuck it out, chuck it into your next stripping run and recover the alcohol to use again. Waste Not - Want Not

My Airstill is still regularly used and after almost three years use I built a Pot Head and a VM head for a 50lt boiler. I had never made natural alcohol and actually thought it would be just a cleaner form of what I was already producing with my trusty Airstill and double/ triple distilling. That's when I found that I actually didn't need the VM head after all because I have no need to make Neutral alcohol as I only make Whiskies and Vodka.

The bottom line was that I should have taken the time to decide what I really wanted rather than just listening to what others were doing. and you should do the same

AM

[Myles]

The bottom line was that I should have taken the time to decide what I really wanted rather than just listening to what others were doing. and you should do the same

AM

That is good advice. My problem was that I just didn't know what I wanted. I suspect even if you do know it tends to change over time.

Waiting at the start will save you a bunch of cash in the long run. If you do experiment try not to invest too much, or if you do build stuff think about whether you can reuse it later.

[Capt-Cudellez]

That is good advice. My problem was that I just didn't know what I wanted. I suspect even if you do know it tends to change over time.

That is very true. When I started off down the road with this hobby I wanted to make gin. So a reflux still to make base neutral was a must.

These days I tend to have most of my fun pot stilling. The reflux gets used a few times a year and is a bit of a chore.

[RumJohn]

If you get serious with your distilling, you will in all probability want to experiment. The flexibiliy of being able to operate your still as a pot still or reflux still is a major plus.

90% of what I make is run through the still in a pot still configuration. Short column, no packing and valves wide open and on a low to medium low heat. Average 80% ABV. Rum and cachaca being the main products

For a neutral spirit run (which takes me about 2.5 times as long)for vodka or gin I extend the column to 3 times the length, use packing, equilibrate for at least an hour and then take it off very slowly. 95 - 96% ABV.

And learn patience. In both distilling and ageing. I have over 1000 L sitting around on various oak. I have about 25L left of a rum that is still ageing after more that 3 years. It is superb.

[Matilda]

I made a decision that I feel works for me.

For me, making wine is as much about the 'making' as it is the 'product'
Therefore, I've decided to build.
I am fighting the urge to go straight out, and build a LM style column still, in favour of a pot still.

The reason is simple.

I want a still. ...I have a keg.
I can cheaply convert the keg into a boiler (will work on both pot and column)
I can hone my building skills on a cheap and easy still.
I will have the pleasure and honour of the home build.
I can put my skills to use when I build a column afterwards.
I can use that still for strip runs and final runs with the Column.

Common sense. Simple common sense

[Matilda]

Ps, thanks for your advice everyone, between yourselves and and another forum or two, I've been able to make what it truly believe to be, the very best decision!

[Almanac]

From what you've said you want to produce you're going to need a pot head and a reflux head. The column is just a packed pipe and if you make it modular - say, three 500mm sections - you can use one of the unpacked sections as the riser for the pot head.

The only real difference between a pot head and a reflux head is the presence of valves on the reflux head. Whether you opt for Vapour Management, Coolant Management or Liquid Management is simply a matter of personal choice. They will all produce high purity neutral at around 95%ABV, which is useless for making Vodka or Whiskey.

Whatever you opt for remember to keep it simple. A complex still will not produce complex spirits...just grey hair

AM

P.S. I'm selling my Airstill if you want to start there

[John51]

This is the simplest reflux design I've seen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vJn0lp-IP0