Air Still Pro unboxing

What comes in the box with the Air Still Pro from Still Spirits?

[@irishdave4322]

I looked at getting one when they first came out, but I thought them to be overpriced for what they are. I already use an air still and thought a T500 would be a better spend Ty for sharing 👍

[@brewingadvice]

I used my Air Still as my only still for over 8 years and loved it. I then moved to the T500 boiler with T500 reflux column. Now, I use the T500 for producing ethanol, then the Air Still when I make a gin.

[@ChrisSPCs]

I do like the idea of the air still pro but it still has the same drawback in terms of a 4L capacity.

[@brewingadvice]

I agree. What we want is a 25 litre boiler that has an air cooled condenser. I think one can be made, but the size of the heatsink and speed of the fans would be so great, it would cost a lot to run and be very load. Is a shame.

[@ChrisSPCs]

@@brewingadvice I almost think it could be possible but considering DIYing an air cooled solution would be a nightmare. I'm surprised Vevor hasn't come up with anything for it yet - they have dabbled into both air stills and pot stills. I have their 25L two pot distiller and it works fine for what it is, but again it's connecting the hob to the sink isolating anything useful in my kitchen. If Vevor still made the dirt cheap water stills you could add voltage controllers to, Id happily have an army of those right now instead.

[@brewingadvice]

I have a 4 litre water distiller that I want to install a 4,000W power controller to it. It would then be my dedicated gin still. I just need to find the time to do it.

[@AndyHudson]

I'd be interested in your experienced technical opinion on the MyVodkaMaker, I have the pro version and it produces 92% ABV clean spirit with not much monitoring

[@brewingadvice]

Hi Andy, Sure thing. I think the MyVodkaMaker machine is outstanding. I have seen the design plan, or at least how it works (from a previous version). The science behind it, while I could follow it, I couldn't really comprehend how it could work so well. I think the down side is that it is very slow. But, to have a system that you can plug in and ignore it for a few days and know the end result is good clean spirit, well, you wouldn't need anything else. For somebody like me who likes to experiment, it is no good. For somebody who wants to make a flavoured spirit, no good. But, if you want a clean spirit to make a vodka, or to add flavoured essences (like Still Spirits make), then this is ideal. I think the distilling community is split between those who don't want to play or experiment, who just want to add a sachet of flavouring to get a nice drink (I did this for 7 years). Then those who want to make a drink from raw ingredients, or those who like to tinker with equipment. To sum up, I would very much like to have a MyVodkaMaker for a few months, to actually see it working and to taste the end result. I wouldn't though want to buy one as it isn't something that I would use once my initial testing has completed.

[@AndyHudson]

@@brewingadvice I can see where you're coming from on that one, the Plus model however, allows for more tinkering, and can allow for much lower ABVs and inclusion of fusel oils etc, it's specifically designed for whisky/rum/brandy etc. I have my plus running on a TPW wash right now, I'm getting 92% ABV although a 25 litre wash takes about 48 hours to run through, It produces approx. 1/2 a ml per second. I have a rum wash almost finished fermenting, and I plan on running than next to see how that works out. Bearded and Bored ran a rum wash through his plus model, and said it was good enough to drink straight from the still.

[@jbwagonmaker8887]

I had one as well but I sold it and bought this still

[@brewingadvice]

Thank you for letting me know about the Plus model and what it can do. I did not know that it could do that.

[@brewingadvice]

And what do you think are the Pros and Cons of the two units?