New still system design

[Jasoniscool11]

Hi all,

Just in the process of purchasing a still does this sound like it would be a decent system to use for gin distilling?

Distilling system:
- 50L SS pot with 5KW heating element
- 4 inch copper helmet
- 4 inch glass column with 4 copper bubble plates
- 4 Inch SS dephlegmator
- 4 inch SS gin basket
- 2 inch condenser

Kind regards,
Jason

[Saltbush Bill]

Some questions for you first?
Have you used a still of any type before?
Do you know how to make a quality base spirit that you will need to make before you make the gin?
Do you know that you dont need a gin basket to make good Gin......in fact quite a few people find them a waste of time.?
Why do you need a copper helmet to make gin?
You will also need a controller to regulate the power to that 5kw element ......you wont be needing all 5kw most of the time, mostly you will be using about half of that.
just a few things off the top of my head.......I'm sure there will be more to consider.
Best advice at this point is buy nothing until you know exactly what you need for the job you intend doing.

[NZChris]

There are cheaper and more efficient column designs for making neutral than bubble plates.

There are some poorly designed SS gin baskets for sale on the net.

[Jasoniscool11]

Awesome things to consider.

No I haven't!

I don't want to flavour with botanicals in the pot as I want a fairly neutral mash.

I want to flavour with steam. And I don't want to post distilling flavour either.

I thought the copper helm was important so that everything will contact the copper at some point.

The system will have a controller.

I also like the bubble plates for aesthetics and watching the process...

[NZChris]

It sounds like what you want and the best tools for the job are very different things. Maybe you should consider making something that best suits the still you want to own.

[Saltbush Bill]

You do realise that you cant just put wash/ mash in the boiler , botanicals in the gin basket and gin will come out the other end ?
Well you can but it will be really shitty gin.
You really do need to make the base spirit/ neutral first.
As Chris stated above, a plated column isnt the best tool for that job, it will work at a crunch, but there are better options.

[Jasoniscool11]

It sounds like what you want and the best tools for the job are very different things. Maybe you should consider making something that best suits the still you want to own.

What kind of things would the still that I'm wanting be best to make?

Why would this system not be decent to provide gin?

[NormandieStill]

Gin is neutral + botanicals not wash + botanicals. Before you make your first drop of gin, you need to make some good quality neutral. Your bubble plates aren't going to make neutral (very easily). And then when you do multi-distill something neutral and use it as a base for gin, you're going to be running vast amounts of it to cover your element in your 50L boiler. You need to do some more reading (of this site, not the Distillex store).

Your proposed set up (without the gin basket) sounds like a nice set up for making one-and-done whisky. But not gin.

[Jasoniscool11]

Would it be possible for this system to run a stripping run, bring it back to 40%, then macerate botanicals in that. And add some extra botanicals into the basket. And then run it?

[Yummyrum]

Fella's have given some good advice Jason .

All that pretty blink can blind a bloke into thinking he making a good decision.

But lucky for you , you come here and asked .
Might be not the answer you were wanting to hear .

OK , so I’m hearing you , you want plates .
Nothing wrong with wanting ti watch those bubbles , but they will only get you halfway to a good Neutral spirit that you need to make a Gin . …. Well only four will . The other half is hard work and requires about another 15-20 plates .

Which is kinda why most of us use a packed reflux still to make the Neutral .

If you got bucks to spend , then sure , buy a 20 plate still .

Another way to do it , if you really must have bubbling plates is to strip the wash first , then run it through about 8-10 plates with a shorted packed column above it . That will get you an equivalent Neutral to a dedicated Packed column still .

Now this opens a whole can of worms . You now need to be able to do cuts on the fly .
By this , I mean you have to be sampling the product as it comes of the still so you can determine when the heads are over and the hearts has begun .
Then , you can put still in full reflux , load botanicals in basket and proceed with Gun run . Stopping periodically, ( putting back into full reflux ) to change the expired Botanicals and continuing , while also being aware of when the Neutral spirit base is about to suddenly transition to tails .

Buggered if I would have ever tried that straight up.( Even if I had the dosh to fork for a setup that would actually work)

I’ll stick to making a a Neutral in my Reflux still first .

[Saltbush Bill]

Yes that system will strip easily.......but low wines wont make good gin......you need to process the low wines further.....you will need to.do a spirit run to get the cleanest base possible before trying to make the gin.

What kind of things would the still that I'm wanting be best to make?

Whisky Rum, Brandys , in short Brown flavoured Spirits.

[BlueSasquatch]

You do realise that you cant just put wash/ mash in the boiler , botanicals in the gin basket and gin will come out the other end ?
Well you can but it will be really shitty gin.
You really do need to make the base spirit/ neutral first.

I've got some home made gin that tastes like pine-sol that would agree with you.