Morning from the ACT.

[Yarns]

After moving regularly for the past few years for work, we have finally settled down in the ACT.

I have gone through waves of planning out stills, compiling plans and resources over the years. But never actually pulled the trigger. That is about to change. I got approval from the finance minister and I am on the lookout.

All jokes aside, I have 3 options as I see it.
- Build. Im an ex tradie (Electrician) so I know my way around tools and a workshop in a general sense. However I dont have the exact tools required ($$). Not to mention copper is expensive.
- 5 Star. The Boka with their milk can 50l boiler looks very appealing. Known quality and being able to click and setup is also a huge benefit.
- The selling classifieds here. Lockyc's custom 4" looks very appealing and cheaper than the above 5star option with all the bits and pieces. Or wait it out for something else to pop up.

Im very aware of 'buy once cry once'. That has been a bit of a limiting factor in the past. The budget starts out growing the disposable income.

Since I cant pm yet, I might drop a comment on Lockyc's post and see if its still available.

If any of the experienced members think thats a bad start, please let me know. 4" is a little intimidating, but im sure with the help im seeing here, I can get through it. I just hate the idea of spending $$ on something sub par, then having to spend the money on a decent still down the line anyway.

Looking forward to getting something together and getting started.

[bluc]

I wouldnt go smaller then 4" but thats just me. The glasser in the for sale section would be a ripper as is 5 star stuff. Welcome

[Yarns]

Ive dropped a comment to Lockyc.

If you experienced lot think its not too much to cut my teeth on and we can get the logistics sorted we might be on to something.

[The Stig]

Freight is always something that many people forget to count in .
It’s probably going to cost around $200 to ship to ACT and any breakages will be hard to “fix” on a custom rig
PS, 5 Star will be having a free freight promo soon :music-deathmetal:

[Bob9863]

It depends on what way you want to go, reflux and suger washes are the most prominent and easy for a novice to make something good but it's still some kind of heathen voodoo to me.
I'm always going to be a traditional pot still man but that's me.

I would suggest something like Digiboil as a good boiler to start with, low cost and with built in temperature control, that will let you run either a pot or reflux system and even let you do all grain down the track.
The 2" stillflex and other tri clover fitting systems let adapt and change things as you go and let your system grow in whatever direction you want in the future.
I don't run all coper any more as stainless is much easier to maintain and you can add copper into the system internally which is very much needed.
Do you have any idea which particular style you wish to start out with?

If it helps I actually have a heap of spares that I no longer require, sight glass bubble plates, pipes, elbows ect enough to make a great flexible base to grow from and I'm actually heading up to Canberra on Monday and Tuesday if that's of interest to you?

[Yarns]

Freight is always something that many people forget to count in .
It’s probably going to cost around $200 to ship to ACT and any breakages will be hard to “fix” on a custom rig
PS, 5 Star will be having a free freight promo soon :music-deathmetal:

Im not opposed to 5star, in fact its a very appealing option. Im looking at about $1k bare minimum Boka, 25l boiler, adaptor, mesh, voltage controller. Or could maybe try and source a 35L Digi from somewhere else.

$1650 gets me into the milk tin with elements and honestly I think id prefer to spend the extra $400-500 over the digi for 50l, the double element and 5star quality.

All this is ex shipping.

It depends on what way you want to go, reflux and suger washes are the most prominent and easy for a novice to make something good but it's still some kind of heathen voodoo to me.
I'm always going to be a traditional pot still man but that's me.

Im more interested in a pot still for flavoured spirits. However the wife likes vodka, so part of the sell was the requirement to make a decent neutral. The 5star or boka's in general seem like a decent balance between operational difficulty, reflux for neutral and I know its not ideal, but running detuned till I can get another head. Likely soon, just would try and spread the cost over a period of time.

If it helps I actually have a heap of spares that I no longer require, sight glass bubble plates, pipes, elbows ect enough to make a great flexible base to grow from and I'm actually heading up to Canberra on Monday and Tuesday if that's of interest to you?

Would love to chat specifics Bob if you have the time.

[Bob9863]

I dug them out, this is my extra bits, add a condenser, some more clamps and washers and it can either be a pot or reflux still.



Just drop me a message at bob9863@gmail.com and I will send you my number, I will be free after 5:30pm

[Wellsy]

Welcome yarns, I understand your dilemma as it was not so long ago I was in exactly the same place.

I ended up starting with the 50 litre milk can from 5star as the 25/35 litre boilers would not support the weight of the 4 inch pot or bubbler. Be aware you will always need to have 10 litres left after you finish to ensure the bottom element is covered. That is not a big deal and just means bigger runs. See if you can find out how the digi boil controls the temp, as simple on and off will not give the best results, you are far better with voltage controller. In simple terms it is like trying to maintain car speed by just flooring the accelerator,rather than feeding in the power.

The most important issue is , what vodkas does your wife like ? And why ? Neutral is just that tasteless spirit, which is fine if she likes that ,or mixes it with other flavours. WBAB was my first attempt at a vodka and I ran this 3 times through my pot still to both smooth it out reduce the flavour profile a whisker.

I personally found the five star stuff fantastic and it gave me the flexibility to swap and change, pot to bubbler. It took me over 12 months to get the setup I have now, but I could have also happily stayed with my 4 inch pot if money had of been a real issue. The pot still is a great road into the hobby as it is relatively simple to operate and reacts almost instantly to adjustments.

Take your time mate and talk to many people, try and figure out what you really want, not sure any off us knew that when we started lol. Remember also whatever you decide you do not have to justify to anybody except your wife.

Take care wellsy

[bluess57]

Hi Yarns,
If you want to build , I have a 55cm piece of 4" pipe, some 3/4" and my old RC.
I think I have the remanents of my old 2" PC still in the shed (although I may have tossed it)
both PC and RC had some weeping leaks, so need disassembling and resoldering. Or just use for scrap / soldering practice.
Your welcome to it, and I'm in ACT.

[Yarns]

@Wellsy, Thanks for the advice mate, appreciated. The DigiBoil has 3 elements when used in different configs can get you from 500w - 3500w in 500w steps. As its 15A, I would have to do some tinkering to allow it to work. Maybe isolate the 2000w element and run another power lead... hmmm.

@Bluess57. In the ACT, excellent. We might have to get talking. Wouldnt hurt to have someone more experienced local.

With some parts I just picked up from Bob9863. I have just (10m ago) pulled the trigger on 5Star's Pot head and some other bits and pieces. The free shipping was the last straw. Ive decided to go with the Digi option for now, probably in the 65l variant. It keeps the wife happy being a bit of a cheaper entry. And worst case if this isnt for me its less cost to absorb. Andrew was very helpful and answered my question about the connector to a Digi boil lid.

@Bob, If you are reading this, thanks mate for the bits. I know I said I didnt need the adaptor, changed my mind last night when tallying everything up.

[Bob9863]

Wouldn't have been any trouble to throw it this morning, either way they aren't to expensive to buy but I know I'm not going to be needing it.

[Yarns]

Ordered last night and 5Star have already shipped my order.

Thanks guys.

[Andrew]

That’s what we do :-B
Was packing it all up at 6am :laughing-rolling:

[Esi spirits]

How did u end up going

[Wellsy]

Congrats yarns
You won’t look back now you have dived in head first :)
Enjoy the journey mate

[Yarns]

How did u end up going

Got a 5Star pot still and a DigiBoil boiler on the way.

[Yarns]

So I got the chance to put everything together today.

Tidied up the garage, did a bunch of cleaning.

Tested the PC and RC water connections for leaks. 5Star needle valve on the Dephleg, Ball Valve on the PC. All dry.



Made up my very first wash, made a TPW for the sacrificial run. New to reading a hydrometer. Does 1070 sound about right?



Just waiting for the temp to come down a touch to pitch the yeast, wash @ 34 atm.

Finally, I was thinking on insulation for the column, its cold here in the ACT atm. I had some neoprene pc cable sleeves left over. Turns out 2 of these zipped together fit a 2 inch column nicely. not really tight, but I think itll work. Easy to remove when required.



https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B0 ... UTF8&psc=1

Wish me luck...

[BigRig]

Yep 1070 sounds right for a tpw

[Yarns]

Thanks BigRig.

Have been reading a lot. Only just now getting hands on.