Home Distiller

OK I had a pot still with a keg boiler....that still is now gone....I am wanting to build a new one.....

Would you build a Pot Still or Boka Still? and Why?

all depends on what you'd like to make..

I don't care for the boka at all. Too dang slow. If I were you I would just go with a pot, unless you like to spend 18 hours looking at an ostrich.

Neither. I'd make something very modular so that I had flexibility to run it several different ways and in several different configurations.

+1 on the modular. Nice to have the option to run several ways. Look at the concentric for this reason.

Yep..!..modular is the way to go.

I'd get another keg, add fill, drain ports, and a electric element.
And put legs on it tall enough to drain the pot into a 5 gallon bucket.
A 2" to 3" adapter would be needed to attach a 3" CM.
Tri-clamps would be used on all the large connections.
Unions would be used on connections 1" or smaller.
Future modifications would be easy to make.

I picked a CM still because it can do the job of a potstill or a boka and everything in between.

+1 for the cm, very versatile.

thatguy1313 wrote:Neither. I'd make something very modular so that I had flexibility to run it several different ways and in several different configurations.

Well, both and neither.

Make it adaptable for a pot still takeoff.....and a reflux column (but I prefer my concentric reflux LM instead of the Boka). But Dad's condenser controlled vapor managed reflux head is easy to build and is cost effective too.

Bottomline...read here a while and understand the pluses and minuses of construction and operation of the different types of reflux systems and then decide. Heck, you may want to build a flute (CM managed reflux).

And forget about buying (I know you didn't say, "buy"). But I just wanted all the other readers of this post to hear it again.
ss

The hardest part about going modular is deciding which configuration to run for a given wash or mash.

When in doubt, Research it out! Find your passion by searching and learning designs..Narrow it down, it will come to you ..Like a bright flash of light ..Warm, happy feeling.
My passion is modular distilling.

Depends on what you like to drink and the materials you have to make it with. If you like a boka, they can be built to be fast and versatile if you learn how to run it. A CM can have it's advantages too though. A couple triclamp fittings and you can build a column that will fit a head for both.

well I was looking at a Boka because you can make 190 proof with it, I make hot pepper extract and I use 190 in the process,,,,I also love rum and other spirits....so I figured I could do the boka to produce 190 and then run it as a pot as well....

That's what I do. I have made both the slant plate and the "two cup" design. The slant plate was the easier build in the end. It is simpler than it looks and does not incur the cost of fittings. This is especially key if you want a little speed by going with a 3". Those fittings are expensive. My 2" boka was quite slow though.