T500 pot still review
Posted: Fri Apr 14, 2017 12:41 amI wasn't sure where to post this, but maybe here is best.
I started with a 2nd hand airstill and love it to this day, but got bored with the constant slow stripping runs. I dispute those who call it a toy still and would encourage any newbie who can grab a 2nd hand one for under £100 to do so.
I'm more into rums than vodka and decided that I can also make a good vodka on a pot still with a clean wash and a good process anyway, so I went for the T500 pot still head and T500 boiler over a full T500 (disability and limited space both meant constructing a still was not practical).
I may yet buy the copper dome for the T500 but as yet have not done so. At this time I have the T500 boiler and the bought still spirits pot still gear. It came with all the tubing and connectors initially required and I've only since bought a couple of small plumbing pieces so it attaches to a shower fitting now which suits me perfectly.
My other purchase was <£5 for a voltage controller from China via Ebay and this has paid for itself immediately as the T500 boiler is overpowered for the pot head and reducing the power means much less re-running of feints as in maybe 6 bottles of good liquor instead of 4 from a partial spirit run that follows a stripping run. This is dependent on taste but reflects how reducing power reduces smearing between heads/hearts/tails in a pot still.
Running/making cuts by temperature is a controversial subject and I suspect not having the copper dome skews my results.
My understanding is that hearts on a T500 with pot head should come out between 85 and 90 degrees (vapour temp)and my experience with rum largely backs this up, however on my still at least, with vodka hearts do not start until 87 and continue until 92 or close to it.
As such, I now know heads last to a certain phase and move to small jars when I approach it, go to larger jars containers when I know I'm into hearts and then go to a feints container well before I get to tails. Not exactly efficient but I'm rubbish at discerning tails, so prefer to make tight cuts and keep them for a feints run (I got 6 "free" bottles of booze last time I did a feints run).
I started like most folk thinking in kinda greedy terms and wanting every drop, but gradually have got to having 30+ bottles aging with really nice cuts. Some are neutral with essences and some are proper rums and cachacas. A few will even be whiskey if they last long enough.
I started with a 2nd hand airstill and love it to this day, but got bored with the constant slow stripping runs. I dispute those who call it a toy still and would encourage any newbie who can grab a 2nd hand one for under £100 to do so.
I'm more into rums than vodka and decided that I can also make a good vodka on a pot still with a clean wash and a good process anyway, so I went for the T500 pot still head and T500 boiler over a full T500 (disability and limited space both meant constructing a still was not practical).
I may yet buy the copper dome for the T500 but as yet have not done so. At this time I have the T500 boiler and the bought still spirits pot still gear. It came with all the tubing and connectors initially required and I've only since bought a couple of small plumbing pieces so it attaches to a shower fitting now which suits me perfectly.
My other purchase was <£5 for a voltage controller from China via Ebay and this has paid for itself immediately as the T500 boiler is overpowered for the pot head and reducing the power means much less re-running of feints as in maybe 6 bottles of good liquor instead of 4 from a partial spirit run that follows a stripping run. This is dependent on taste but reflects how reducing power reduces smearing between heads/hearts/tails in a pot still.
Running/making cuts by temperature is a controversial subject and I suspect not having the copper dome skews my results.
My understanding is that hearts on a T500 with pot head should come out between 85 and 90 degrees (vapour temp)and my experience with rum largely backs this up, however on my still at least, with vodka hearts do not start until 87 and continue until 92 or close to it.
As such, I now know heads last to a certain phase and move to small jars when I approach it, go to larger jars containers when I know I'm into hearts and then go to a feints container well before I get to tails. Not exactly efficient but I'm rubbish at discerning tails, so prefer to make tight cuts and keep them for a feints run (I got 6 "free" bottles of booze last time I did a feints run).
I started like most folk thinking in kinda greedy terms and wanting every drop, but gradually have got to having 30+ bottles aging with really nice cuts. Some are neutral with essences and some are proper rums and cachacas. A few will even be whiskey if they last long enough.
