StillSmart

i have been looking at a number of different stills and ive got a few links that i will post in a new post.. mainly due to seeing lots of the NEW russian ones in highly polished StSteel and other variants.. remember im stepping up from air still and dont want to get too complicated but also do want to learn more of the Grain and mollasses processes & washes, corn whiskeys rums "Real Vodkas" etc etc


plus to add i myself am going to ask the same question related to choices as whats being asked here.. only ivve got the links added into my post to show what exactly ive seen..

the T500 second hand seems a bargain, but could there be problems with it ie burnt base .. failing heater element etc etc is it better to buy 1st hand rather than second on ebay, or better buy 2nd hand from someone on here ??

my post will come soon after i see answer to this reply

mash, curmudgeon, easydrinker..

Are you looking to further your knowledge via something tried and known (T500) or something beyond.....

My tuppence worth here.
If you wish to move up from an Air Still, for which there is much support and information here; then a T500 seems a logical step, again there is also much support and information here.
If you wish to strike out into Russian stills, you will become the go to person for information regarding running them, as I don't know anyone else that uses them.
If you wish to build your own, of any style or basic operating procedure, then someone here can probably answer some questions.

I have never run a T500, and do not know of burnt residue issues, but would advise you to go for any still with an easy clean option.
And by that I mean getting your hand in and watching the crap get scrubbed off.
The first "Keg" still that I built,30 years ago was so difficult to clean, that I stopped distilling.
If you go the Keg route, build into it a large port so that it can be properly cleaned.
Every now and then I whoosh an SS scrubbie around the inside of my urn based still, it takes a minute to remove whatever the brown staining crap is.
HTH

Robert.

Lots of sense from Robert there, tasle.

Second hand or new can both be trouble.

Second hand costs you less when you upgrade!

For me its down to what are you trying to achieve. More product, easier or for Learning? If it is learning build one. If just for bigger runs T500.

If you want easier then buy a freezer!

The T500 really is a great bit of kit and since buying mine I've never looked back, I did experience scorching once which I can only put down to possibly running a wash that wasn't cleared enough.

Brewhunter wrote:The T500 really is a great bit of kit and since buying mine I've never looked back, I did experience scorching once which I can only put down to possibly running a wash that wasn't cleared enough.

I totally agree, love my T500, built a pot head for it (really easy), it does exactly what I need it
For at this stage. Already paid for itself in 6months as well.

I scorched the bitten when I was in a rush and didn't let a wash clear, came off easily with citric acid.

Diverch

yeah thanks guys .. robert gave a great answer and the rest of your replies have helped.. when i say learning i mean i want to start making real rums and sour mash whiskeys so i think that a real still would help achieve what i am aiming for.. i want to play about with some recipes from the how to master moonshine book..

so going with the t500 and maybe making my own copper top maybe the answer to my next upgrade... becuase these russian ones have only just appeared in my ebay searches ill stick with advice until more experienced with an electric still..

plus i guess im am after a higher run % plus amount... keep the airstill for trying small batch recipes playing about with the botanical basket etc etc

Before you rush into a 500...

If you are mashing grain for sour mash and whiskey? What are you planning to do that in?

There maybe some crossover. After all a boiler is just a boiler. And you mentioned making your own copper top.

A good mash kettle will still. A still boiler will not necessarily mash.

If spending the money again I would certainly start with the grain.

A BM won't easily make a still.
A GF imo is a bit Heath Robinson. The newer Bulldog....has got to be worth a look.

A good point.
My urn boiler, the base of my current stills, can double, in a labour intensive way, as a basic mash tun.
As it only gets used that way a couple of times a year, I don't mind the extra work.
But forethought is always good.

Robert.

Spot on Robert.


A good accurate temp controlling kettle is the base of all our processes.

A quick email to the-home-brew-shop would confirm that still spirits dome fits the bulldog. Bingo...

That's an interesting spin Mash....Obviously taken notice of probably the most popular supplier line and gone for the complementary approach.
I know of one other manufacturer who has done the same (not that he admits it ).

Thing is tho' I just can't get my head around the alembic dome.
It's a lovely piece of gear that I lust after but no matter how I spin it (even upside down...... ) can I see any value for money. It is horribly, horribly overpriced.

Copper is not THAT expensive and how many could a metal spinner churn out in a day.....

Come to think of it where's Inspector these days.....Wasn't it Gadget who acquired a metal lathe??

I agree with you completely.
In their defence (and I find this quite surprising) you are not paying for the weight of copper. You are paying for the cost of the run, i.e. the research the development & the tooling etc.

That said, I still think it's a lot of money.

Gadget may have a lathe, but there's no way he's going to be to lathe a 14 inch bowl out of copper. Bowls are pressed from sheet or were you thinking of doing one out of wood

Perhaps you need to look at it differently, with the new bulldog & the dome, you have a great bit of kit for the total price. If one element of that was a bit expensive hey ho. The total spend is what counts - and you are still well in !

I have been waiting for fecking ages on another project, just to find the right size bowl, In a weight sufficient to weld too. And, of all places it came up in a country fair for a fiver !!

Bowls - domes, call em what you like, are the one thing that is always been a wee bit of a problem to manufacture, copy or substitute at home.

There are ample vids on Youie showing bowls, lamp shades, that sort of thing being spun. I find them interesting viewing. Plus, being idle, looking at commercial sites can turn up numerous examples.
Overwhelming thought always (for some reason) is count your fingers, count your fingers.....

The swing necessary at the outset would preclude any home grown.
An oak dome could be the go tho'.....Just think, fresh from the still, coming to a glass near YOU. Aging would be a thing of the past, inventories would be down

Just loving the idea of an Oak still head, with instant tasty stuff!
We can dream

Robert.