Is size important

[Rod]

I have been brewing beer for a long time , yes , mainly a beer drinker

visited a mate recently who distills and have been bitten by the bug ,

wife and adult sons drink spirits , gin , flavoured liquers

thinking of buying a 5 litre reflux still to get good spirit and mix it with the various essenses etc

small volume now , later ?

is it better or easier to buy a 25 litre still ( more $$$) or a 5 litre still

I am time rich , retired , so running say 5 batches of 5 litre would not be a problem

[hornedrhodent]

thinking of buying a 5 litre reflux still to get good spirit and mix it with the various essenses etc

small volume now , later ?

is it better or easier to buy a 25 litre still ( more $$$) or a 5 litre still

I am time rich , retired , so running say 5 batches of 5 litre would not be a problem

If you're time rich a better proposition is to make what you want rather than buy it. Meet new people - learn new skills.

[absinthe]

im with hornedrhodent i bought my first still (although its a 4 foot reflux tower that fits on a 55 ltr key) i wish i had built it, it would have cost some much less and been so much better. y pay someone else to build something that you will want to impove on when you can sell what you built to a "sucker" (like i was) and use the money to make something bettter?

[Rod]

I do not have the means to make a still

I really need to know should I buy a

5 litre still or a 25 litre still

[Longhairedcountryboy]

I think if you go with the 5l, you will want to upgrade. You might even want to eventually upgrade to larger than the 25l but I doubt you will want to downgrade. I'd say go for the 25l.

[Watershed]

I'm doing ok with a small pot still - not much over 5l. It produces more spirit than I can drink. But small stills are a hell of lot more work to run.
I'd say build rather than buy - it gives you more of an understanding of the process and the chance to experiment.

I figure on a 20l wash done on my little pot still taking a total of 14h of still time to go to triple distilled neutral spirit. More if it's a difficult wash like rice.

[markx]

I think it's better to go for the bigger one. 25L capacity is in my opininon the absolute minimum to make up for the trouble of the whole process. I can't imagine distilling a batch of mash in 5L portions... And it's more than certain that you want to get an upgrade after some distillation runs with the 5L apparatus.

[Aidas]

I'd go with both. I've got a small still (Easystill) with a capacity of about 4 liters, which is great for making one 750 ml bottle at a time. It's perfect for running small "experimental" washes for trying out new recipes. I've also got a 20 liter copper alembic for bigger washes, once I've got the recipe down to something I really like (like a UJ Sourmash, which I'm going to modify a bit).

If you've got the money, start small, have some fun, figure out some good recipes that you like, and then graduate to a bigger one.

That said, if you're really only planning on making neutral spirits, I'd go with a bigger one from the getgo, because if you're going to be experiment with flavorings and such, you'll need more distillate to try more flavors. However, I'm more a fan of whiskey and brandies, hence my two potstills.

Aidas

[junkyard dawg]

I'm in the build, not buy camp too. if you have the means to buy, then you can build too. 5l is way to small a boiler for me. 25 would be a minimum. my 15.5 gallon keg boiler seems just about perfect to me...

[markx]

My boiler is a 70L (18.5 gallon) SS vessel made out of a laboratory sink. It's perfect for the 50L of sugar mash that I produce in two 25L fermenters. I can strip the wole batch in a single run and be done with it.

[maze48]

I do not have the means to make a still

I really need to know should I buy a

5 litre still or a 25 litre still

O.K. so building one is out. The size is personal choice. As you see most of the guy's tend to lean toward the 25l size. I quess it depends how much will satisfy your needs. I too agree with the larger size 'cause as time goes on you will probably want a larger one anyways.

[Bujapat]

As most washes recipes are written for 20, 25, 30 or more liters, go for a 25 l still or bigger. A 5 l still, as said, is ideal for experiment, little washes or double distillation.
Don't forget you may not full your boiler to the top (foaming), so in your 25 l pot, you'll be able to distilate about 20 l wash...
I've a 50 l still, so one run gives about 3 to 5 l spirit, it's a good yeald for me, to have enough stuff to try different agin' methods...

[Rod]

using a pot still it appears to take 14h to distill 23 litres of mash

I was planning on buying a 5 litre reflux still for $350 , how much for a 25 litre commercial still i.e. from local Sydney brew shop

how long will it take to distill 23 litres using a reflux still , which I understand is only one pass for each 5 litres

ps I throw the first 50 mil out from each run , or do I add it back and throw 50 to 100 ml out on the last run

[Bujapat]

Using a pot still doesn't take so long... I run 30 l washes in my potstill and it takes 6 to 8 hours... If you make double distillation (stripping run and spirit run) it can go faster...

With my reflux still, it takes ± 5 hours to run a 30 l sugar wash and collect about 4,5 l 90 %ABV spirit.

[TCNZ]

5L seems to be too small for your family with 3 drinkers.

Keep sourcing for the 25L. Here in Auckland the 5L Reflux costs NZ$300/US$190 and the 25L Super Reflux just NZ$450/US$280. Not much difference in price but much higher capacity.

Good luck with your sourcing.

[LONEEAGLE155]

Using a pot still doesn't take so long... I run 30 l washes in my potstill and it takes 6 to 8 hours... If you make double distillation (stripping run and spirit run) it can go faster...
Bujapat I am just trying to clarify in my ohh so sleepy brain it takes you a total of 6-8 hrs to do both stripping run and your spirit run I only ask as i am in the process of building my first still
Thanks JD

[Arthur]

I used to be time rich until I got a 4 litre pot still.

Am now back to researching which reflux to build and it'll be doing 25 litres of wash at a time.

[TCNZ]

Just found out that you can only own a still of less than 5L in Australia.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/new_disti ... sage/21334" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

So don't be caught and end up distilling in cell.

[hornedrhodent]

Just found out that you can only own a still of less than 5L in Australia.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/new_disti ... sage/21334" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

So don't be caught and end up distilling in cell.

It's in our blood and history.
The colony was populated by convicts and at one stage 'rum' was used as currency.

[Rod]

thanks for all the help

thinking for my limited need the 5 litre super reflux will be the go

if I buy a super reflux is it possible to use it as a pot still and distill a mash to get whisky and not need essence etc

[rkr]

Amphora's PDA-1 + small domestic water heater.

Cheers, Riku

[Rod]

Amphora's PDA-1 + small domestic water heater

please explain

[rkr]

Amphora's PDA-1 + small domestic water heater

please explain

Well, PDA-1 is the best commercially available hobbysize still at the moment. Much better than the super duber reflux still you were referring to. The easiest way to use it (for DIY challenged) is to get a small water heater, do some simple mods and bolt the column on. Contact Mike Nixon for more information.

Cheers, Riku

[pyrobrewer280]

Go the 25 now, if you dont you will regret it and buy it later anyway.

In australia the 25 lt boiler is available as " a 3 in 1 fermenter boiler" coincidentaly it has the same fitting hole as the legal 5 lt boiler(legal except for production of ethanol) buy the boiler on a different day to your replacement condensor-for your broken 5 lt