Tips for Selecting Alcohol Distillation Equipment

Firstly, you need to understand the distillation process

Distillation usually happens in distill column, using multiple cycles of condensing and evaporating, the alcohol is separated from wash. When heating the boil kettle, the alcohol vapor would rise to Copper Helmet and goes into still column where it finds its way through bubble caps. When the hot vapor meets the liquid bed, the heat would be dispersed, the liquid bed temperature would be higher and creating more vapor. This process would happen in each plate, then the higher purified alcohol becomes vapor and then being condensed in next cycle. That is why the more still column, the higher the purification.

Secondly, how to confirm the numbers of still column

If you want to make whiskey, a lower number of plate column is better, as whiskey requires more flavor than purity. But if you wanna make vodka, we usually recommend still column with at least an 18 layers. The more plates allow for more phase changes, creating more pure vodka. Absolutely, more plates do require a longer run time.

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Thirdly, different type of distiller

Distinguishing these distiller types can give you insight into which alcohol distillation equipment will create the spirit you want.

Reflux column: It consists of a boiling pot, still column with copper plates, lynn arm and condenser. The more layer of still column you have, the purer of the alcohol. The fewer plates you have, the more flavorful of your alcohol.

Pot still: It consists of a big pot, swan neck, lynn arm, gin basket(optional) and condenser. Distillers heat the wash in the big pot, forcing the steam to go through the swan neck, where some of the liquid drops back into the pot and some steam flows to the still column.

Fourthly, your budget on the alcohol distillery equipment

Budgeting for the alcohol distilling equipment is quite time consuming, as you need to consider irrigation fittings, heating elements, extra gaskets and clamps, etc. Time is money, so be hesitant when the price you get is unusual lower than standard. It could mean poor quality welds, future problems, and added costs to fix the equipment in the future.

If you wanna save budget on the alcohol distillation equipment, compared with getting a high configuration with low price, it is better to use more stainless steel instead of red copper.