Moonshine Stills 8 Gallon Still with 2" Traditional Pot Still Whiskey Column

Love this still, it served as my intro to distilling as a hobby. The workmanship was fantastic and I used both propane and electric heating methods successfully without a hitch. Yes, you pay quite a bit more than you would if you built one yourself, but you get guaranteed quality (and safety, she's sturdy as they come and won't blow up or leak burning hot/flammable steam) with the extra money, and it lets you learn the ropes before you build one yourself.It also has modularity with its universal tri clamp connectors for additions; things like sight glasses, parrots, or thermowells. The condenser needs cool water and tubing, and if you use a propane burner you need to ensure your tubing doesn't sag into the flame as it heats up. You can easily roast a PVC tube in seconds if you don't secure it. I used a water pump with 5 gallon buckets because (in the winter time) a garden hose wasn't feasible for me, and I'd go through about 5 gallons of condenser water per hour before it would get steaming hot. Be careful applying heat because it's extremely easy to start puffing ethanol vapor if you don't have the condenser cold. I recommend using a cold garden hose for the condenser if you run on propane.You're definitely better off with a heating element and PID on this one, but it took me a while to learn how all that would be put together. Once you put heating elements in, you're in some modern DIY territory and there isn't a lot of easily found guidance so be careful! There's a port for a heating element in a perfect spot on the boiler, as well. It will cause optimal convection and won't scorch anything.Probably my favorite feature is the fact that you can just take off the pot still head and swap it out with a reflux column (for another ~$200) for running high ABV batches, and it's simple as swapping some clamps, gaskets, and tubes. The thermometer is a useful feature as I can monitor when I need to get busy collecting distillate, but I prefer using a parrot to gauge my cuts so it's not as important to me. The thermometer comes in both fahrenheit and celsius and is actually quite accurate. My ONLY complaint is that the condenser coolant input/output connections face downwards which basically sticks the closer tube into some pretty harsh heat if you use propane and it needs special attention if it's a plastic (like a ziptie to hold it away). Personally, I think this still was designed for use with an electric element, and in modern times electric heating is just so much more appropriate anyways.

I use this for distilling water. Works like I expected it to. Great job and looks good. The condenser seems a little undersized using the electric heating element. However, i would still give it 10 stars if there were 10 stars for the rating. Thanks for a great product.

Absolutely beautiful. Feels heavy duty. Came early and the packing was excellent. Will definitely buy from this company again.

The media could not be loaded. Cut run time in half compared to the home made one I have

Arrived dented and not too sure about this thermometer. Box looked like it was thrown around a bit. Can has a 10" dent and stem is bent at tip. Thermometer won't go to room temp (about 75 degrees) stuck around 95 degrees so I'm not sure about how accurate it is. But I did run it yesterday for a gallon of distilled water. If it weren't for bangs and dents I would have given this thing 5 stars. Very well built and it's quite pretty. Honestly I'd buy it again but for what is cost I think it could have been packaged better. Cheers

Very high quality unit. The thermometer is top notch, and the seller even included copper mesh for the column.

First rate workmanship.

Nice Stainless steel still guys. Just dislilled 3 gallons of 00 ppm water for drinking. I now know exactly whats in my water.