G'day from down under (AU) Need adv on still purchase

[Metal_Gman]

G'day folks!

Totally new to distilling. Semi-accomplished at beer brewing. Looking to buy a still (Small one) to make a bit of single malt whiskey.

Tell me, are these things any good;

Complete 25l Still Spirits Pot Distilling System $520.00

enlarge.php?shopping_cart_id=253524&menu_id=41&image_url=200903261425560.25lt+pot.jpg

Everything you need to make your first batch of spirits except the flavours. This comes complete with 25l Still, Pot Head, Thermometer, 30l Fermenter, Airlock, Grommet, Tap, EZ Filter System with 2 X 15lt pales, 9kg Dextrose, S.S. Yeast, Test Tube, Med Funnel, Digital Temp Gauge, Alcometer, bag of Cellerman (cleaner), 3L Measuring Jug & Instructions. you will have Approx. 10 to 11 Litres of base spirit, when you are finished. Depending on how far you water it down. With this head spirit comes out at 50%.

OR Would this be better;

http://www.ibrew.com.au/html/spirits/spiritset.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Italian 5 litre copper pot still.
With wick burner or remove from stand for stove top.
Insert a basket for steam distillation (lavender oil extraction)

Some advice for a newb wanting to get into the world of distilling would be fantastic

[rubber duck]

welcom to the forum,

I couldn't find the first still you are talking abought but from your description I wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole. I don't know how one would get 10l of drinkably product out of a 25l wash. 520 dollars this sounds like a total rip off.

The second one I did find and it's a nice still ,but totaly inadequate for a whiskey. I wouldn't even consider buying or building a still with a capacity of less then 5 gallons.

If money is no object then I would buy a wilson, http://www.coppermoonshinestills.com/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow but why not build out your own with a beer keg and some copper pipe. There are a lot of good designs on this forum and there is a reason folks build there own, home build stills work realy well.

Be very skeptical of any still you can buy in the web. A good bunch of them are complete pieces of over priced garbage.

If you find one on the net you do like ask about it hear before you buy. It will save you a lot of headaces.

[olddog]

Good advice to leave the redi-made ones alone, you can make one a lot better and cheaper, with simple tools. All the advise and help here to help you.

[Metal_Gman]

Hey Rubber duck, remember we're talking $AU. Not $US. Everything here is about 2x the cost over there.

But I guess my main question is, why would a 25lt still be inadequate for making whiskey? I'm not hugely concerned with the amount of product I can produce, mostly the quality. If that italian alambic still will produce high quality whiskey i'll be very happy with it.

I'm mostly concerned with, can I make whiskey that will carry the flavour from the peated malt, or will it produce extremely pure alcohol (Which I don't want)

cheers and thanks for the welcome guys

[olddog]

The result of a 5 ltr distillation would give you around 500ml of drinkable spirits. I use a beer keg for my boiler and distill a 25lt wash to give me 3-4litres of spirit, for me any smaller would be impractical, as my fermenters will hold 30litres but I usually leave 5 litres free. You can make whisky, bourbon, rum, or any flavoured spirit with a potstill which can be a cheap build if you can get hold of a keg.

[astrangebrew]

Hey Gman,

Welcome, if you are interested in whiskey you are interested in a pot still. Check out the threads here, you will find what you need. That second link is a nice essential oils type still but not what you want.
Olddog is right, a keg is what you want assuming you have room for the setup, (some have to settle for smaller due to circumstances). Root around and enjoy, there's lots of great info on the parent site too. (link in upper right corner of screen).

Have fun
SB

[rubber duck]

Hey Rubber duck, remember we're talking $AU. Not $US. Everything here is about 2x the cost over there.

But I guess my main question is, why would a 25lt still be inadequate for making whiskey? I'm not hugely concerned with the amount of product I can produce, mostly the quality. If that italian alambic still will produce high quality whiskey i'll be very happy with it.

I'm mostly concerned with, can I make whiskey that will carry the flavour from the peated malt, or will it produce extremely pure alcohol (Which I don't want)

cheers and thanks for the welcome guys

I didn't take into account the exchange rate . I still couldn't find the 25l still your talking about but, by the discription you posted I would be sceptical of the quality. 25l would be a adequate size for good whiskey.

The 5l alambic still looks like a nice still for essential oils but, it's not going to produce a good whiskey. 5l just isn't big enough. Your going to have a hell of a time trying to make good cuts with a rig that small, even a realy experienced distiller would have a hard time running a still that small.

Most folks build there own still not because of price or avalibility but, because home built stills work. I think if you search the forum your going to find 90% of folks that bought a comercial wish they hadn't. The only two comercial stills that I can vouch for are the revenour and the wilson.

So my answer to your question is, don't buy the stills your curently looking at. Be very sceptical when purchasing a comercial still. consider building your own. If you wan't to buy a good still try posting a add on this forum. I would bet there are a few folks on this forum living in AU that would build you out a realy nice still head.

[airhill]

If you do decide to buy one from a retailer (not my recommendation) be careful, in OZ it is unlawful to buy/sell a still head with any larger than a 5l boiler (in one transaction). In fact its unlawful to own one.