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I picked one of these up a while ago since I have absolutely no construction/engineering skills at all to build my own and was told that these are fairly decent stills.

I had it working ok with my first few distillations with around 3-4L of distilliate coming out around 76-78% off a 25L wash. I'm a bit of a perfectionist so 76-78 was nowhere good enough and I decided the still needed some modifications.

I noticed my biggest problem was keeping the temperature down around the 78-79 celcius mark since the hot climate here on the east coast of Australia means that I have to run the water at a few litres per minute (rather than 400-500ml as recommended), however having the water running this fast puts too much pressure on the hose connection and I usually end out with a garange full of water from the hose popping off the connection before I can get the temperature down to where I want it.

I tried fixing this problem by freezing some water bottles and throwing these in a bucket of water and then running the hose through the icy water but this only helps so much. I'm currently having to run the still at around 80-81 degrees. If anyone has any other ideas to reduce temperature further I would love to hear it.

The next thing I tried to improve was the packing. I changed the marble for some cheap stainless steel scrubbers I picked up from the supermarket however I only managed to get maybe an extra 1% alcohol compared to using the marble. Should there be more of a difference or is the packing material fairly irrelevant?

I want to change to the Super reflux as this has a wider column (not sure about height) which would allow for more packing but only if it increases the alcohol content enough (increasing by 1% isn't worth an extra $250 in my opinion). I have also seen a still extension that I believe is simply a screw-on extension to the column which is supposed to increase the content to somewhere in the 90's. This is a definite purchase a bit later down the track.

Anyone have any other tips for improving the Still Spirits still? I've tried searching but I couldn't find much information.

Also, I posted about using the Still Spirits still as a pot still in another thread however nobody has replied so I'll ask it again here. I found the page below on the Still Spirits site and it explains how to change their essential oil extrator between being a pot still and a reflux still. I'm pretty sure the essential oil extractor is the same as the 25L super reflux still but I thought I would check here first before I go disconnecting hosing and blowing the thing up.

http://www.stillspirits.com/webfiles/St ... ctions.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Thanks everyone! Any replies would be GREATLY appreciated

="snakeysnakes"

Anyone have any other tips for improving the Still Spirits still? I've tried searching but I couldn't find much information.

Also, I posted about using the Still Spirits still as a pot still in another thread however nobody has replied so I'll ask it again here. I found the page below on the Still Spirits site and it explains how to change their essential oil extrator between being a pot still and a reflux still. I'm pretty sure the essential oil extractor is the same as the 25L super reflux still but I thought I would check here first before I go disconnecting hosing and blowing the thing up.

First, yes the two stills are the same, so go ahead make the changes.

Second, try using a desktop fan facing the condensor as this will increase the cooling effect. You can improve the efficiency even further by having the fan blowing across the top of a roasting dish of water with ice in it (more surface area). The wicking effect will act like a crude air conditioner and should allow you to reduce your water flow considerably. Good luck.

Hi, I too was unhappy with the out put, T tried packing the column, it flooded and chocked allowing vapour to escape fron the lid seal.
I have since made a voltage controller using the plans in in this forum.
I am now able to collect 83-85% then temp rises into mid 80s c xnd I collect tails to redistill later.
Hope that helps Newts.

="snakeysnakes"
I noticed my biggest problem was keeping the temperature down around the 78-79 celcius mark since the hot climate here on the east coast of Australia means that I have to run the water at a few litres per minute (rather than 400-500ml as recommended), however having the water running this fast puts too much pressure on the hose connection and I usually end out with a garange full of water from the hose popping off the connection before I can get the temperature down to where I want it.

Buy some hose clamps - or build a better still - save the hose clamps - you'll need them on your better still.