"Air still vs pot still for 2nd run or small batches

[gwn]

Dear All, I'd like to ask your help. Im struggling to decide between air still(scr controlled) and mini pot still. I have a lets say bigger pot still for mash run and (1st) spirit run. Its totally ok for my fruit spirits. But for experimenting with low amount of spirits this setup is way too big.
But i'd like to experiment with spirits which

• a.) need a 2nd run (e.g. macerated spirits)
  b.) i want to make in a low amount (e.g. distill old wines)
  c.) dont need to separate head/hearth/tail, because this will happen in the bigger pot still

I'm able to make (i think good) fruit/sugar/malt still on my bigger pot still. For the given purpose what do you prefer? A 11l small pot still (im interested in vevor) or a 4-6l capacity air still (with scr)? Please note that my "main" topic is fruit spirits which i have the proper equipment and i want to get experience in the mentioned spirits, so for this the budget (right now) is low, let say 100 eur/usd. What do you prefer?.

[Bolverk]

Air still, they don't scorch, so you can do on grain, must, or heavy botanical loads, no water to futz with. Just fire it up and go.... stupid easy.

I absolutely love mine. I'd love to see them come out with a larger one, but I ain't complaining.

[tjsc5f]

I have a still spirits air still (4L) and it's great for macerated spirits or small spirit runs on double pot still experiments. I actually got it new, in the box locally off of marketplace for $80. It's so low power already, I don't think you'd need an SCR.
If you're looking at the higher wattage water distillers, that might be a different story.

[Dougmatt]

Air still, they don't scorch, ….

I absolutely love mine. I'd love to see them come out with a larger one, but I ain't complaining.

Hi Bolverk, I have a Higher power vevor air still and It scorches with a high starch grain mash, so ymmv! That said, I love mine too and think it’s an great answer for this type of small batch use case.

[NZChris]

You don't say what size your main still is.

b.) For spirit running a single strip, you need a still that will handle about a quarter of the volume. You can use the same still unless it has a poorly placed internal element that would become exposed before the end of the run.

Use a calculator to work out the maximum amount of Low Wines to expect from one strip, and what size still is convenient for the job.

[VLAGAVULVIN]

If i were you, i'd buy that kind of NZ-created air still "kettle". But in my c.ntry it costs like a crystal bridge. That's why I'm still holding back from micro-batches of all kinds of gins, absinthes and other macerates.

[Bolverk]

Air still, they don't scorch, ….

I absolutely love mine. I'd love to see them come out with a larger one, but I ain't complaining.

Hi Bolverk, I have a Higher power vevor air still and It scorches with a high starch grain mash, so ymmv! That said, I love mine too and think it’s an great answer for this type of small batch use case.

Yes, thanks for that caveat. I specifically mean the Airstill brand one. Ymmv on the various "water distillers" out there.

[GrumbleStill]

Being a bit pedantic about it, an air still is a pot still, it just has an air cooled condenser instead of water cooled. They are cheap, compact and easy to use. Perfect for small batches like gin and specialty liqueurs.

If you intend to use an scr on it, just make sure that it’s only connected to the heating element and not the cooling fan.

Have fun and stay safe.

[gwn]

Thanks for your replies!

My pot still is 35L or 50L (35L is in my housekeep, 50is in another housekeep but i have access to it). These are traditional copper pot stills.

For the air still part: i can buy water destiller only (and a separate scr). Also, still spirit's air still is unfortunatelly a no - go. Im located in Europe and the air still pro costs ~200 usd and an other 200usd for shipping (see on ebay) + ~ 1/3 of the price for customs, so ~550usd.... Its unfortunatelly a no -go for me.

A vevor air still (without pid) is available for ~80usd and an scr ~25usd.
Or a vevor with built-in pid for 100usd. (in case of built in pid the theory in my mind is to e.g. set it to 90celsius so it cant be lower than 85 (the pid will turn on the heating) and the alcohol could be distilled. BUT! based on some youtube videos (i cant find much) this doees not work like this in practice thats why im interested in simple air still with scr)

[wscywabbit]

I have a vevor 1000w, and it has to be run with a voltage controller if I'm running liquor. Otherwise I loose a bunch of goodness in steam. With the controller I can start it at 500w and creep up as needed to keep the stream running well. And like previously pointed out, hook the fan up to straight power.

Other than that, I love the little bastard LOL. Its great for making small batch stuff, but I mostly use it for small runs of gin (I'm the only one in the house that likes gin, so I make it as I need it ) I also had a couple fifths of corn whiskey that didn't get aged and I had went too deep into the tails to enjoy white. So I re-ran them through the vevor and cleaned my cuts up; now its fantastic!

That being said, be careful on the small units... the cuts are small and the changes come fast

[Broken Jug]

I have a vevor 1000w, and it has to be run with a voltage controller if I'm running liquor.

What model is your Vevor 1000w?

I've been wanting to get an air still for making small batches of gin, but I don't want to spend over $250 usd on a Still Spirts Air still, when I can buy a Vevor for $80 to $90 usd.

[GrumbleStill]

I have a vevor 1000w, and it has to be run with a voltage controller if I'm running liquor.

What model is your Vevor 1000w?

I've been wanting to get an air still for making small batches of gin, but I don't want to spend over $250 usd on a Still Spirts Air still, when I can buy a Vevor for $80 to $90 usd.

Try Amazon if you’re in the US. Usually available on ebay and Aliexpress as well.

[Broken Jug]

I've been wanting to get an air still for making small batches of gin, but I don't want to spend over $250 usd on a Still Spirts Air still, when I can buy a Vevor for $80 to $90 usd.

Try Amazon if you’re in the US. Usually available on ebay and Aliexpress as well.

Thanks Grumblestill.

I went back to Amazom and found a Still Spirts Air Still for $201, that was the cheapest. I haven't checked the other two sites you suggested. I'll check them out later today. I would preffer to buy a Still Spirts Air Still, but if I can't find one under $200 I'll go with the Vevor. I can buy two Vevors for less than I can buy one Still Spirts Air Still.

[MooseMan]

I'll go with the Vevor. I can buy two Vevors for less than I can buy one Still Spirts Air Still.

You could make a simple stock pot still for less than half of that again, and you'd have a still that you know is safe to make spirit with.

[wscywabbit]

I have a vevor 1000w, and it has to be run with a voltage controller if I'm running liquor.

What model is your Vevor 1000w?

I've been wanting to get an air still for making small batches of gin, but I don't want to spend over $250 usd on a Still Spirts Air still, when I can buy a Vevor for $80 to $90 usd.

So I guess I was wrong, mine is a 750w. I forgot that I bought mine off of Amazon a quite a while ago, and I was trying to decide between the 750 and the 1000w, and the 750 went on sale for less than $50 and I figured I couldn't pass it up just to try one out. Ijust went and looked there to find a link for you, however it looks like they don't make the one I bought anymore, its a simple on/off no frills machine, but it looks slightly different than what they have now. Looks like they may have made some upgrades since then.

I've had no issues with mine, and if I had to nit pick about it I would say that the fan is a little loud. I understand the Stillspirits brand does have some built in safety features and probably some better electronics, but to just try one out the Vevor is hard to beat...

[Broken Jug]

[/quote] by wscywabbit:
So I guess I was wrong, mine is a 750w. I forgot that I bought mine off of Amazon a quite a while ago, and I was trying to decide between the 750 and the 1000w, and the 750 went on sale for less than $50 and I figured I couldn't pass it up just to try one out. Ijust went and looked there to find a link for you, however it looks like they don't make the one I bought anymore, its a simple on/off no frills machine, but it looks slightly different than what they have now. Looks like they may have made some upgrades since then.

I've had no issues with mine, and if I had to nit pick about it I would say that the fan is a little loud. I understand the Stillspirits brand does have some built in safety features and probably some better electronics, but to just try one out the Vevor is hard to beat...[/quote]



Thank you wscywabbit!

I'm starting to lean toward the Vevor 750w, due to price and that Still Spirts Arill still is only 350w.

Thanks again!

[jonnys_spirit]

I find that a small batch still is very useful. I use a 10l alembic with rotating top that I modified with a 1" over 3/4" vertical liebig style dephleg and vertical liebig product condenser. There's a nice sized vapor chamber between the boiler and the dephleg that can hold botanicals and I usually run it with the dephleg bypassed but find it useful to sometimes use some reflux. That small batch still sits on a 1k5W hotplate modified with an SCR so I can do very small batches of say 1 liter spirit or so up to 10 a liter charge with botanicals or solids in the boiler and/or vapor path and can run it in the kitchen.

The larger boiler is about 60 liter capacity and a fully charged strip run will make low wines for about two full spirit runs on the small batch still.

If I get another still I think it'll be a glass lab setup with a smaller capacity or maybe a larger jacketed mash/ferment/stripper still with thumper to strip larger batches straight into the spirit still in one go.

+1 on the usefulness of a small batch still with hotplate or similar that allows minimal charges and boiler maceration / vapor infusion. It still takes a good 6-8hrs for a run and on the 10l I typically collect in 150-200 ml jars but when ingredients are limited or batch size is small it's very useful.

Cheers,
jonny

[American newbie]

Been distilling for a few months. I use two Airstill and a birdwatchers recipe. I literally run something every night. Either to make my distilled water, a cutting run or spirit run. The biggest drawback is volume. When my wash is ready I run it and collect around 900 mil off of a gallon. Which takes an hour. It takes 3 stripping runs to collect enough for a spirit run. Plus or minus depending on apv. For the spirit run I can usually pull 600 mil of hearts, 100 mil of heads and 300 of tails that go onto the feints jar for a later run. So it takes four hours for a gain of 600 miles. The end product averages 160 to 170 proof consistently.