Ive been reading about, building, testing, process refining, repairing and most importantly, drinking; distilling equipment and distilling related activities for about 21 months now. It took me one year to research about and make my still; and another 9 months figuring out how to best operate the thing. Im no tradie (tradesman), so had to buy all of the tools and learn how to use them as I went.
Like many people here, I decided to build a 2" boka as my first still. Its mostly based on the designs from this site with a few modifications, as I have a 3" condenser head and am using reducers for collection cups. Also like most people here, I have made a few mistakes along the way and would have done things slightly differently if I were to do it all again (see if you can spot any flaws in my design from the photos)!
I figure it is better to learn how to make a good neutral before I go into making flavored spirits and have only been toying around with sugar washes so far; as I want to learn how to operate a still properly before I start investing time into all grain mashes. I have been pretty busy with the hobby and have put down about 25 washes.
My current goal is to make the cleanest neutral possible.
You may see me on one or two other distilling / brewing sites also.
(Oh yeah, I live in Australia but am from New Zealand, so will be only distilling alcohol when I am back there
Murray.
have fun and be safe