A Step by Step Guide |
|
|
The Top End |
Process Control Laboratory Åbo Akademi,Finland |
The top end of the distillation apparatus is that part that connects to the Boiler. It consists of the Reflux Column, the Condenser, and the Cooling Tubes. At times in this manual we will optimistically refer to the top end as The Tower.
It seems natural that a stainless steel boiler should have a stainless steel top end. It would not only look nice but it would also be easy to clean, rustproof, and extremely durable.
![]() |
Here's a picture of what an all stainless
steel still looks like. This beautiful example was built by Ian Pilcher, a master craftsman, serious distiller, and really nice person. For the rest of us less talented people though, dairy or medical grade stainless tubing and fittings are not easy to find and the parts are horrendously expensive. A small ½" stainless coupling costs as much as $36.00. Regardless of these costs, you will find most of the suppliers will not want to deal with you on such small orders. The automotive supply stores have stainless steel T409 automotive exhaust pipe. And while it is less expensive (about $10.00/Foot), it takes a lot of polishing to make it look good, and because there are no standard fittings available, this kind of tubing needs extensive welding to fabricate it. |
Courtesy Ian Pilcher |
Glass is also nice, but it is also very costly, very fragile, and requires expensive custom glassblowing services to complete the fabrication.
So what all this actually comes down to is that if you want to build this at home and you live in the U.S., plain old copper tubing is probably your best choice. Its easy to cut, silver braze, and solder. There are an endless number of standard fittings available at plumbing supply distributors, a wide variety of tubing sizes, it is quite inexpensive (around $2.00-$3.00/ft.) and it really looks beautiful when polished. Some even say it gives character to the flavor of the spirits too.
For those reasons, the still construction in this manual will focus on building a hybrid still with a stainless steel boiler, and a copper tubing top end.