Home Distiller

kronikbud wrote:Hi im also new to this, i bought a T500 and have used it three times so far. I use a 25L wash made of 6kg dextrose sugar and a turbo yeast wich takes roughly 5-6 days to drop the special gravity reading down to .990. Im pretty happy with it so far, im getting around 3-3.5L of 93-95%alc which i dilute to 40% then carbon treat it. I havent had any problems with off tastes or bad smells as yet.

I thought the same as you until I tried a DWWG (deathwish) and a few Birdwatchers recipes from the tried and true section of this forum, honestly I havnt been to a home brew shop for about a month now and dont think I'll ever be buying much from them again. The recipes from this site work out less than half the price than turbo wash's and there's no need for carbon filtering either.

I havnt got to the point of trying to make whiskey and such from my wash's, you might want to look at a pot still to make those flavoured drinks, but others can answer that better than I can.

I have some bran flakes and will be trying Rad's bran recipe once I get a fermenter free, I'll be running this through my pot still twice to see if I can get something flavoured straight out of the still.

Cheers.

From my experience with a T500:

Replace at least 1/2 the ceramic saddles with copper mesh.
Place some mesh at the bottom to stop any saddles falling out the bottom.
I have wrapped a handful of copper saddles in copper mesh and have them at the top of the stack (my unit does not have the copper sleeve).
I throw a handful of the spare ceramic saddles into the urn.
I have modified the cooling circuit to control the flow to the coil and have a bypass control also.
If you must use turbo yeast use 1kg less sugar than the pack says, I add sugar over 2 days.
Let the wash settle a few days before running. - don't get to much yeast in the urn, its where a lot of the crap taste comes from.
Outlet water temperature - max 55C for clean spirit (93%), Max 63C for flavoured(not much 88%) spirit.
Burn the first 100ml of distillate, stop collecting once the output slows to a couple of drops a second (or sooner if you want to be sure), at this point head temp is up around the 80C mark.
I clean with a dilute solution of white vinegar.

My standard wash is natural bran, oat bran, supermarket yeast, multi vitamins, horticultural fertiliser, cheapest raw sugar I can find.

Happy stilling.

Could you post some pics of your mods to the cooling system dellae?

I have a quick question about this still. I'm getting ready to do my first run with it and I was wondering if this can be detuned for stripping runs. Could I use the same procedure outlined by kiwistiller in the novice reading room for detuning shop bought stills?

I just got my t500 and pack it with the copper saddles 1st then added the ceramic saddles to it. 1st batch took an hr. To heat upto temp, 2.5 hr. Run time later it was done @ 90p. I took 4 qts. Of less than 40p from my last pot still run and dump it in there, andgot about a qt of 90p from it. I really think this is a kick ass still. I am still new to this hobby, but what I have produce, I and my friends have enjoy my product! So if you can not build your own, this is the one to buy. My 2nd one would be the alex25. Bty I have buildt my own also, my 1st one was the turbo stomper raptor. Ilikeplaying around with the different type of stills out there to find out what produces the most in the shortet time.

jahtubs wrote:I have a quick question about this still. I'm getting ready to do my first run with it and I was wondering if this can be detuned for stripping runs. Could I use the same procedure outlined by kiwistiller in the novice reading room for detuning shop bought stills?

NO!

It's a different still to the one in Kiwi's tutorial, the T500 has an internal cooling coil.

Thanks for the reply Austin, I realised it was a different still which was why I wanted to check first.

I'm a little bit confused about it though. My understanding of kiwistiller's instructions is that detuning the still for pot still mode involves diverting the water so that none reaches the reflux column and only flows through the condenser. Why would the internal coil in my column make a difference? I'm aware that Kiwistiller's instructions apply to a different still but the detuning looked like something that may still be applicable.

Actually you answered me on another thread I made about this as the question appeared to get lost here. You said that you thought the liebig on the T500 would be too small to knock down the vapour which makes sense, although from the pictures of the model Kiwistiller talks about the condenser appears to be much smaller

Do you have any idea how to do stripping runs on these? I've clearly got muddled up here. I've done a lot of reading on this site and thought I had a grasp of it but back to the drawing board I guess

As I recall, jahtubs, the problem is that you cannot easily bypass the reflux condenser that is inside the column of that model... If you can't bypass it then you cannot eliminate reflux, thus not able to run in pot still mode...

The comment by Austin Nichols is based on the fact that, "if" the reflux condenser could be bypassed, the product condenser wouldn't be able to effectively knock down the additional vapor it would receive...

Thanks Rad, you nailed it

You can bypass the reflux condenser on these stills but I doubt it would be worth it, Jahtubs, the liebig is simply too small and really is only a decent product cooler at best IMHO.

You would be better off building a pot still head to interchange with your boiler for doing stripping runs.

Cheers.

Ok, thanks for the replies. That all makes sense. I found another thread on here about playing around with the outlet temps for stripping runs with this model. I'll give that a try until I can find a way to make a pot still head for this.

Thanks again.

I recently bought a T500 and have noticed that the plastic cap on the top of the reflux column is not entirely sealed.

Last night i ran gentle hose water through the column whilst upside down to clean it, and saw that not only was water coming out from the thermometer probe hole on the top of the black plastic cap but was leaking out from the black plastic cap at the sides where it meets the steel reflux column!!

Has anybody else noticed this, and is it something I need to be concerned about?

Any help appreciated

Gareth

Hi ,
Just bought a t500 still . And i noticed the same thing
(water coming out the plastic cap on top of still when rinsing)
with mine the last time i used it !
I,m only new to brewin so i cant tell you if this is a problem .
Have you tried to use it again yet ????????
DOES ANYBODY KNOW IF THIS WILL BE A PROBLEM?

I've just 'traded' in my one week old Euro 5 reflux still here in Dunedin for the Turbo 500. I suspect that top plug shrinkage for any plastic is common. It doesn't seem to matter if it is alcohol proof, hi tech plastic. Reading here suggests a flour and water, thickish paste is the answer, coating the plugs surfaces, before refitting into ones reflux tower. A combination of high and low tech. lol. Wouldn't be surprised if this was how it is with the space shuttle.S

Same problem here Ive run the still as is ...with the leak and haven't noticed any obvious difference. Not to sure if the flour paste idea will work as subsequent washings of the still will probably soften the paste and wash it out.

ok sorry to bring back an old post but i am looking at purchasing this unit but have a question or two about this unit. The first is what kind of work load is this designed for (like a run a month or can it take 10 runs a month on a steady basis)? Question 2 if something like the heating supply goes out is it cost effictive to replace? My last question is has anyone had any product (t500) quality issues?

Saltbush Bill wrote:Same problem here Ive run the still as is ...with the leak and haven't noticed any obvious difference. Not to sure if the flour paste idea will work as subsequent washings of the still will probably soften the paste and wash it out.

Ditto on the little leak, noticed it when cleaning too. I am talking to the local rep here in the USA, he seems to think it is a warranty issue and is checking on it for me. I think it is simply a design issue with the still. Think about it, what is holding that cap on? Not much pressure, and I am not sure what kind of seal exists there as well. I was thinking of running a bead of RTV around the edge, but not in contact with the inner surfaces. I don't think it will leach anything back into the still, but figure I would post and get some thoughts from ya'll first.

I wouldn't use RTV. If you are trying to seal a vapor leak. That means you will have vapor contact with whatever you seal it with. And RTV is not good. Most aren't food grade either.

needless to say they are sending me a new column?? not sure that it will be an improvement, i understand why it leaks a little when cleaning, it is a design flaw.

I wouldn't be surprised if Mike at Mile Hi Distilling has gotten at least several complaints about leakage problems... Most likely the manufacturer, Still Spirits, has as well...

rad14701 wrote:I wouldn't be surprised if Mike at Mile Hi Distilling has gotten at least several complaints about leakage problems... Most likely the manufacturer, Still Spirits, has as well...

I asked him that very question when I called to speak to him before I purchased the still. At the time he said, no complaints after selling them for 7 or 8 months. That was a month ago...I have read at least three folks who have the same issue here.

I will post more later, maybe this new column is different? i am working through the US distributor, I am not sure how much he knows really.

well, FYI I am still waiting to hear back from the brewcraft guy here in the USA. been over a month in just discussing this one issue. there customer service response basically sucks.

if it were not for the fact that i actually do enjoy running this still and it is very easy to run and maintain, i would tell all of you on the fence to forget buying this still.

I have only been running it for 2 months, my next concern is how will it run over the course of a year. I will keep you all posted. if it craps out, i plan to get one of Mike's from Milehi's new hybrid 8 gallon beauties. that thing is simply bad ass.

tomgndallas, any chance that a metal piece could be fashioned for use in place of the weak synthetic component...??? Any replacement part would most likely only be a temporary fix...

of course, any piece of plastic on this column could be machined and reproduced if you want to spend a little money. too bad i don't have my engineering lab anymore, different job, ride a desk now. the challenge is fastening it tightly against the rest of the column. The fasterner is a little, hell i dont even know what you call it, star washer looking think that bends out and slides down the copper condensor tube poking through the top. I am not sure why they chose this way to fasten the thing. I guess this way they do not have to worry about lining things up, and it is one less set of threaded components to worry about. cheap engineering to say the least.

honesty it is not a hell of a problem and I continue to still just fine for now. its just the fact that they told me they would send me another column to try over a month ago. this was before i read about all these others having a similar issue. my guess is any new one will do the same after a run or two and the thing experiences any thermal expansion.

i will just run it till it croaks, then get me a milehi rig...or if i get a wild hair up my ass i will just reengineer this one. hell i gotta damn nuke engineering degree...it just another project that i dont have time for right now. got a bunch of them.

tomgndallas wrote:..........i will just run it till it croaks, then get me a milehi rig...or if i get a wild hair up my ass i will just reengineer this one. hell i gotta damn nuke engineering degree..........

@ tomgndallas,

If you are DIY inclined you can build your own Pot Still or Column Still that will out perform any Turbo 500 Still for a fraction of the cost.

Regards,
Coaster

Ive ran my still constantly 1 or 2wice a week for about 6 months... Ive had no issue with the top seal leaking. The still performs excellent. The only problem ive hhad is the boiler did not switch on so i took it back and got a replacement that day. Then to get home to see what looks a reset button on the bottom.

I must have a defective cap. I just checked it again today, the cap is actually deforming now and there is a significant visual gap I can see.

I always run the still with cooling, let it cool down slowly by running the water through it when it is done. I cannot get any service out of Brewcraft, this is flippin retarded. Spend 500 or more bucks then they won't help. Bull shite.

I took some teflon tape and wrapped the shit out of it, then backed that with hi temp electrical tape. looks like a wounded soldier but should still be functional.

if you are on the fence for a T500, think about something else. poor quality, poor service, unless you live near a store that will take care of you locally, you are screwed.,

This brings us right back to the concept of no synthetics in a still... Whether it is the heat, the alcohol, or some other reason, the deformity and shrinkage serves to reenforce that stance...

It might be time to contact the manufacturer directly in an effort to get the issue resolved... It will at least make them more aware of the problem than they may otherwise be...

i agree,

that is where i started this journey. I contacted the still spirits rep, who gave me the US Brewcraft rep, etc.

just got an email from them, they are shipping me a new column on Monday...we shall see.

Well i would contact the head of brewcraft and make formal complaint aswell. That is absolute crap service from them mate. When i had my boiler issue with Brewcraft they said straight away bring it in.... Make a complaint and dont stop untill some one reconises you. Make them aknowledge your problem and make the rectify there service
Glad the manufacture has steped up to the table tho

got another email from someone who i think is the head. honestly i am trying to see if Mike will refund me credit to me used to purchase a milehi still...