by PeterC » Mon May 11, 2020 12:37 pm
Or are you asking if there is any difference between slant plates or reducing cup designs? They both work on the same principle. They are liquid managed with excess liquid returned down the column. Slant plates are popular with home builds as they are the lowest cost in fittings. You only need copper tube and flat plate. Reducing cups look good and are easy to build in stainless steel using fittings already on the shelf. I think the 5 Star Boka is this design. There are many short Boka stills around. It is long column length and packing that give the best purity and high abv.
I started this hobby with a short reflux still which smeared everything and could not get a clean product in my opinion. (but there are many out there with branded versions of these that seem to be happy with what they are tasting) I got a taller still which was better but the speed for the wash sizes I was doing frustrated me so I went to 4 inch modular systems. Main thing is to enjoy yourself and the results of your efforts.
Cheers