You can use a dimmer switch with an Air Still and set it so it doesn't go above 78°C/172°F. This is an ideal setup if you live in a apartment/flat. Just get a gallon of apple juice, 1lb of sugar (brown is best) and one teaspoon of bread yeast. Ferment it in the bottle with the lid slightly off for 10 to 14 days. Put it into the air still and run it. You have now made a 1L bottle of apple brandy that cost very little to make. Normally comes out at around 35% ABV.
A dimmer is only rated to 600 watts, the air still draws 750 watts so I would go with something like this Brand: L&Z 3.7 out of 5 stars19Reviews Variable Speed Controller SCR Voltage Controller Fit for Router Fan Electric Motor Rheostat AC 120V 220V/ 15A/ 4000W Max 
@@bobtheelectrician6692 Yeah, i have a water distiller that is all stainless inside, also, use a voltage controller and separate power cord for the head, so you can run the head at full ball, but run the heating element where you want....
I've made stills out of a host of different household objects. I have finally upgraded to a nice model. But like jessy suggested, I keep an air still around for experimenting. They are super simple and great for those odd ball "I wonder if I can ferment that" experiments.
Love my air still. Takes up little space. Easy to use. Can run it anywhere. Plug and play. It can distill water too, just slower. I wish it could process more at one time instead of having to do batches. It's basic, but awesome! Perfect for beginners.
I got an AirStill which came with a power adjust feature. I'm a noob to distilling and this experience really pushed me to find out more about the craft. I got it just before the world locked down, so lots of inexpensive spirit/day drinking.
I have an AirStill knock-off, a water purifier one. Fully stainless on the inside. I have a dimmer switch hooked up to it and I draw out a 1-gallon gin run to about 5 hours. I should add that I modified it in such a way that the fan always runs full power but the boiler power is adjustable.
That's the magic formula with these: adjust the heater wattage to get a proper flow rate such as 3 drops per second. The machine will then run on auto-pilot till just about done. 25 minutes at full power to get up to temperature, ditch the first 50-100 ml of foreshots/heads, then 2-3 hours at around 40-45% till you hit tails. No need to baby-sit if your recipe is consistent.
@@Kalanchoe1 How do you like your AirStill? It was my first still but now I only use it for gin related activities. I've been trying to dial in my gin recipe for a few years and I find it's great for doing a handful of bottles at a time. You can make big mistakes (like adding too much lavender) and only end up with a small amount of alcohol to deal with at the end. It's a great tool and easy to use :)
@@OpenSourceDistilling yeah, the main purpose I had for it was -Gin- water distillation. I wanted something small so I can practice the art and make something more akin to my taste. It really is an art. Do I like it? absolutely, it's about the safest and smallest still you can have for a reasonable price. it's not perfect but I attribute most of its drawbacks to the small batch sizes. In reality, you couldn't scale up an air-cooled still so its perfect what it is.
Bob The Electrician the water distiller seems very convenient in that you don't need to worry about the heat nor water source. It also seems to be more repeatable in the process.
As you said, the Airstill is an easy way to get into Distilling. I purchased one, used it for a few months to find out if Distilling was a hobby for me. I've since sold my Airstill and purchased a T500. This hobby is a journey. We all find our own way on that journey. Great videos. I really enjoy watching them. 👍
My path exactly...except I’m looking around to upgrade my 4yo, T500 for something more complex. The journey continues. (I’m watching Jessie at 04:30 NZDT ) Speaking of which, I kept my airstill and glad I did. I can now try small batch, experimental, runs without breaking out the big boy. Many people look down on the T500 but mine has served me well, produced copious amounts of rocket fuel and taught me heaps.
I'm in a one bedroom apartment with my wife and new born son. I've started making one gallon batches off hard cider and just want to do this as a hobby. Im going to get the air still just because I can pop it on the counter, distill a batch, then put it away. I'm just getting into it to have fun and experiment. I plan on getting a full size still someday down the road but the little guy will be great to start with.
My bad on giving you a tricky still to test out, had no idea it was the water version, sorry mate (and to all the die hard airstill lovers out there). For me the ease of use of the spirits air still wins big time, small house and not needing water really win out big time. But only really use it to ginify spirits stripped with the bigger still.
I have an air still by Still Spirits and I enjoy it alot and has paved and confirmed a newfound hobby. I use a timer for my stripping runs for about 4.5 hours. I start it in the morning before I got to work. And 1 when I get home from work. Then I will run it through a Carbon filter at 50% and distill it one last time but with cuts. I watched this channel a lot to learn the art before I made the commitment of purchasing the Air Still. Product just keeps getting better the more I learn.
Yeah I kinda think I should have gone into detail on this kinda thing a bit more. Its a good point man. Definitly something to be said in terms of low barrier to entry.
@@StillIt Thanks for the reply. I'm a musician and played sports when I was young. You never start a novice on pro equipment. You get them through the learning stages on cheap equipment. When they learn they can then start to use the equipment designed for the more skilled person who can more effectively use the equipment to there advantage. Cheers mate! Love your channel . Always lurking
Air still has it's place for SURE... Makes REALLY good flavored spirit runs... GIN as you pointed out, likely but haven't tried yet to "Correct" gone BAD experiments.... SO simple, can do inside house on Kitchen counter and NOT piss out the Wife....this could be the best value it has! All that stumble into the hobby should consider for sure.
paul ameis I like the “ Not piss off the wife” part. It’s a good introductory still to a relationship but I find it’s all you need really. Little more time consuming but it’s safe and only eats up power and not gas or water. I think everyone should have it!
Thanks for the comparrison Jesse. I use a still spirits air still, its simplicity suits my needs. I'd love it if you were to do the comparisson again with the still spirits version, I think it may even the field up a bit.... cheers
Interesting video, Jesse. I like “air stills”, i.e. stills with forced air condensers. I have a 30 liter kettle with a finned condenser that is super easy to use. However, I think it is important to have independent control of both kettle heat and condenser power which you can’t do by adding a PID or PWM to the mini air still. If you throttle down the AC in you also slow down the fan, no? Of course you could hack the mini air still and re-wire it if you are determined, or just buy a smaller still with an air condenser.
Jesse, I have used the still spirits air stills for 4 1/2 years now. It is the best air still to use in terms of results. I started with the cheaper models and I found that they were not accurate in terms of constant heat, and would often run too hot and puke out over the gasket. My first one, puked and ran into the bottom and burned out. I moved on to the still spirits equipment and haven’t looked back. It takes about 90-120 mins per run, does not run hot, and can be ran safely indoors with appropriate ventilation. The product that comes out is clean, and it is light on heads (50-100 ml) good strong body (50-60 ABV, 500ml), and tails (
Hello Jess, thanks for the air still vids. As a relative beginner, I use a T500 in reflux mode, although I do own the alembic conversion, unused as yet. I began my journey with, and also own the air still. I’ve just recently realised the potential for utilising both the T500 and the Air still in tandem ! The T500 for basic stilling to neutral and then tweaking with the air still. It’s great for a relatively small hobbyist like myself. It would be interesting, if not brilliant to have more air still thoughts and ideas as a secondary or post still application. Hopefully, this makes sense. Thanks for all your great work.
Cheers Jesse! As an apartment dweller, this video has been super enlightening. I've been eyeing off an air still at my LHBS, and I think I might take the plunge and try it out!
You can run a mini still from a 10 gallon bucket with a fish tank pump only neding to change water in the middle and use a camping stove as heat source in any inside environment thats ventilated
They are really well suited to apartment living. They have their limitations, but more than make up for it in ease of use and their small footprint when those are make or break factors in deciding to take up the hobby. Even the smallest mini pot stills can take up too much space to be practical in a small apartment, not just because of the space it takes to set up, but the space it takes to store, and the space needed for storing washes in volumes suitable for use in larger stills.
There are “air stills” available with adjustable temperature control. They work well, SS guts with a rubber/plastic seal. Can get you up to 95 abv but takes time and you’ll have to charge your boiler with spirits higher than 40%
@@StillIt I've got a few still sizes up to 100L and my SS temp controlled air still (knock off) is one of my favorites. Just did a double distilled brandy in it. It's great for test batches as well just remember to NOT use carbon unless you are trying to make a neutral (too much work). I got a sheet of copper and wrapped it around the inside side wall, then I shove a copper scrubby in the out take in the lid as well as drop in a copper roll or two of column packing into the boiler. So lots of copper this way that's easy to clean! You can use these little guys for all feint runs instead of having to save up large amounts. But best of all is a 5L air still for GIN. :)
Thanks Jess, I really enjoy your relaxed videos. A friend of mine was running the plumbing for a pot-still and it was a lot of work. I wanted to get involved and she and I ended up with an air-still spirit version each, which incidently has more stainless steel around the lid. I have made "grappa" from cheap-arse 4 litre white wine casks (fore-shots to get rid of the sulphur). I have tried diluting the spirits and carbon filtering them, as well as straight "grappa" and making a Limoncello... for a newbie like me it has been a great experience. The straight, clean spirit is a great Mojito or Vodka lime and soda mixer or a good apperative/digestive. Looking forward to trying some dark rum or whisky recipes. Keith
I looked at both as a beginner and as you know I have that exact pot still. That being said, I streamlined the operation. 1. Bought the replacement gaskets. On off easy and quick no mess. 2. Bought a 1800 watt hotplate for next to nothing plug it in and I sorted out the power settings. Full change normal wash it will heat and start to produce in about an hour @70°f start. 3 aquarium pump and a 15 gallon water bucket made from a plastic trash can. 15 gallons of water usually stays about under 50 % of the head temp for the run. I usually yield about 600ml a charge stopping at 50%. Just not productive to go lower because I only gain 300ml of additional to 20%. All on a bench top. Less than $200 USD in it and it should last forever. Plus you can play with small batches and experiment pretty easily. Now, in an apartment or just don't have to ability to do that then a plug and play might be fine.
i started with an amazon stainless pot still and learned the basics now i have alot of money in my copper pot still but love the flavor carry over and my ability to make very small adjustments. pot still wins in my book
I know it would be tricky with the volume but another comparison would be to look at the proof that is coming out of each. It would be interesting to see how efficient each still is at each cut
I bought an air still and did the basic Still Spirit sugar wash. You brew a 25l wash and then loose a bit. for every 4l it takes about 2.5hours to collect 700ml @60% approx. For me I could not get past the cary over sugar wash smell/taste in the resulting spirit. Even after filtering it tasted too strong as I enjoy vodka. I sold the set up and bought a Reflux still and have not looked back. I can produce 94% and a run takes around 3.5hours for 23ish litres. I have been double distilling and it takes a lot less time than the air still and the product is super neutral so awesome vodka or good for gin. Saying that someone starting the Air still is great as it is a place to start on the learning curve but it does take a lot of time and the filtering takes even longer than the distilling. after a 25l wash expect to be distilling for a couple of days and filtering for up to a week. Too much hassle!
I have an Air Still and I love it. Mine doesn't have all that plastic, it is stainless with a rubber gasket. I do wish it could hold more though. I make a 5 gallon wash and have to run the still 4 times, it takes all night. But the ease of set up and break down, and that it easily sits on a shelf for storage, far outweigh the downsides for me. Really love your channel BTW!
Apart from the power difference between the water and alcohol version of the air still, fixable via a voltage controller on the boiler, while leaving the fan on a separate circuit to stay at full power, there is another change. The water version has a vent at the top to allow chlorine gas to escape. This must be plugged for alcohol to prevent alcohol vapour escaping and dropping collection volume. I use the airstill modded as above for a lot of experimental small bstches
Hey cheerz cheerz y'all! I began my my stilling journey late last year learning every thing I could on YT and forums. For my introduction, limited use, small space in my shop and to eliminate the hassle of running water supply/drain & having potential leaks I chose the Air Still. My sugar wash is run at just 2.5 gal used as a CO2 generator for my garden so it works perfectly for me. I get 2 full runs. Discard 50ml foreshots. Then measure off every 150ml and jar up beginning at 150pr counting down by 5s & 10s. Below 100 is combined for re run another day
I used an Airpot and a dimmer switch ran 6 gallons of Strawberry Watermelon mash @ 18% ABV . After doing my stripping runs, I ran it again using the dimmer switch . At it's peak I was at 75% ABV. It was pretty amazing! Thank you.
I recently bought one of the airstill versions with adjustable heat control for less than $100 US. Inside was all stainless, no plastic. Only did one run, which turned out OK. Need to do a couple more at different temperature settings to see how that cha nges the results.
@@andyp4221 Found it on EBay search for 4L Home Water Distiller Temperature Controlled. Also similar item available through Amazon search for Countertop Water Distiller 750W, Digital Control
I decided to get one of these 95$. All stainless, with digital settings. I wanted it to make small gin batches after they had masterated. After a cleaning run of vinegar and water I dumped in 4 litters of tails around 20-25%. Set it at 95c. Ended up with some 70% clean spirt to use. Plus a cool Glass pitcher. Checked on it while I was gardening. It shut off and restarted and kept at 95c by dinner it was done. & I got red 😊
Just bought an air still with a temp gauge you can adjust, and my roommate got a 5 gallon pot still and got to say if you can get the pot still go for it, it’s more versatile and can go through a lot more product.
Intense fight between the two contestants, trully a feast for the eyes of us sport lovers! Thanks for doing the breakdown. For us people living in city apartments the air still seems like the only solution honestly.
I purchased the water distiller and ran TPW. Net result was >1 gal of 40% to 5 gal wash. When finished everything was filtered in a Brita. Recently I ran the gallon and ended up with 65% or better for hand sanitizer. I purchased on ebay for 60 bucks new.
brita doesn t clean it. it just rinses it. any distiller forum says it s the time spent in charcoal that matters. when i let it go through charcoal really slow after activated it was a much cleaner product.
My air still has temp control for 95-108C and steel interior. Cost was ~$150USD. I run it with a smart plug, "Alexa, stripping run" - it turns on the plug, reminds me to crank the heat to 108, and turns off after 90mins. For a spirit run, I keep it
Great video I have an air still but I can adjust the temperature and inside is stainless steel and love it but it obviously takes all day long to do 5 gallons
Yep, i`m on the air still train. I use it in my camper van, attach it to a smart plug, let it run for about 1.3l of output (time the first one of the wash). Repeat twice more. Then do a spirit run with 100ml cuts, I have made some amazing gin with it, some "Neutral that was OK, and am about to blend my Colab run with the same method. its only worth collecting down to 20%. That said i will be building a CCVM Keg next year.
i do like your comment about just getting into the hobby and not spending alot of money on a still. start small, basic and easy then if you like it expand or build what u want. great vid man
For starting out I did the pico still because I wouldn't of tried a regular still without the easiness and safety built in like the air still. So if your interested but weary, an air still is cheaper then the pico still, but once I got into it I quickly graduated to a typical still and ended up buying a very similar mini pot for gin runs. My two cents.
I picked up a decently priced air still that's temperature controlled and it seems to do the trick fairly well. Definitely going to come in handy on cold rainy days when I can't run a still outdoors.
Jessie, living in Canada, I can't operate my main still in the winter since my cooling water is a garden hose and it will freeze. Moreover, its fucking cold outside and I don't want to be out there for the hours involved in doing a run. So, I would be very much pleased if you repeated this with a Still Spirits Air still. I can get one of those just around the corner from my office. Thanks!
I have two of the air stills which I brought from Toronto. Originally I purchased them for a different purpose. They were excellent for my secondary purpose. During covid, my secondary job has slowed down. I would have bored them I decided to use these little stills to see what I could make. To make large volume runs it is time consuming and to get it up to 95% ABV, which I need for work, and be extremely drawn-out and cumbersome. Being in Jamaica I think I have even less access to items than you do in New Zealand. Im in the process of building a 50 gallon column still for this purpose and even 3" nevermind 4" pipe is like hens teath here. I'm having to use 4" square steel tubing. I also had to take out a mortgage to buy 30ft of 1/2" copper tubing for the cooler. The air stills have been a good beginners machine but is limiting. Btw, mine have stainless steel inside the lid not plastic as I saw you had. Cheers. Love your videos, I have picked up a lot.
Jamaica?!? Cool man! Yeah the 3-4" is tricky to find here too man. Thats why I just went with the 2" and used the aliexpress/amazon 4" tees/plates. Cheers and good luck with the build!
Wouldn't want to run a large run through it but I have an air still with a mechanical temp controller they have digital ones but I prefer knobs it works really well, all stainless inside use for water all the time and have used for small batches of other things with no problems. Wouldn't want it to be my only option due to size but wouldn't want to ever get rid of it either
I wonder if it would be worthwhile to run the electrics through a cheap triac speed control (router speed control from the hardware store) to adjust the boiler temperature. The side effect would be that the fan would run slower or maybe not at all, which may create additional problems. A bit of rewiring inside could solve that, but probably above most folks' paygrade. Hmm..
I have an air still, and I but mine is made of stainless steel in the lid as well. and about the lid I made a temperature sensor in it with which I switch the heating element and so can edit the outgoing flow. keep up the good work
I have air still for ease of use in my 4x4. Making washes and spirits while traveling Australia adds to the adventures and a lot cheeper than buying spirits from remote locations.
I like my temp controlled Air Distiller. I set it at 98 C and it seems to work well. I'm not going to make large quantities so no need for a pot still.
If you are at the entry stage for distilling, but perhaps not totally ready to spend a wad of money on a full blown still system, an Air Still is a great way to test the waters. It will provide decent spirits and enable you to ease into the craft. A lot of us started out that way.
I think there is another factor to consider, Law. If home brewing where you are is fine/legal but home distilling is not, it might be harder to justify having a mini pot setup vs an air still which can be bought at various stores for water or essential oil distilling.
There is a brand of Air Still on Amazon called Mophorn that has digital temperature settings, it cycles on and off to maintain that temperature (roughly). Priced noticeably lower than Air Still brand too. Furthermore, it has an all-stainless liquid contact surface/piping. I've just gotten one and so far it's very easy to use. A 2L wash at 8% yielded 375ml at 75 proof (ran at 96C). Set it and forget it!
My next still will definitely be the Still Spirits air still from Mile High Distilling. It fits my needs much better than my 3 gallon from Mile High Distilling and my 15 gallon still from Brewhaus does. I don't have to deal with submersible pumps, propane or bags of ice anymore to make a run with it like I do with my other stills.
I have never used an air still. But my experience with a pot still is fun, it's also very energy consuming, you need gas to run it sometimes, if you don't have access to a hose like me, you need electricity to run a pump, The setup can sometimes be a bulky mess of hoses, I feel like the air still would be easier, The pot still I use has a 20 L capacity, But I would still favor an air still
Good on ya Jessie , so many out there quick to jump on an put down newbies , we all start somewhere, lol thought that was Bruce Buffer doing the intro 🍻👍🏼
Only still I have used is Still spirits hooked up to a timer works great for automatic shutoff. You can set another timer for the foreshots or just keep the batch and run it through later to remove them. Ceramic boil enhancers in the bottom . I’ve never tried adding copper mesh to the nozzle, is this a noticeable difference? I like how it takes just a quick rinse and you can keep it going. So far have ran about 1000L through this thing with no issues. I feel the safety of this thing is my selling point as some people say the water stills have a hole in the coil and could cause ignition? Not sure if this is true but I feel safe running this unit on my counter and being able to check on it once and a while.
I use copper saddles in my air still and that makes a significant difference to the final taste. It is like filtering the spirit through active carbon 1 an additional time.
Cmdr Benkai oh nice, so that is what you use instead of the ceramic boils enhancers or w/e they are called lol? I will check it out for sure. Been using turbo yeast without the carbon clear etc and running it through a brita filter so that should help hopefully! Thanks
@@dustinthewind4294 I just added them with the ceramics but I think they do a similar thing re boiling. Also the pot gets a light copper coating after a lot of usage so that looks cool. I use vinegar & salt to clean the copper
The SS spirit air still is s/s throughout and runs at a lower power. The fractions are sometimes slightly warm but generally cool. It’s great in the lab quick to clean up and with the botanical basket attached hanging some copper in the top of the still is easy and simple. Cleanup likewise. Plus picking up second hand I grabbed my air still at the local trash snd treasure market for $6 - Yeap you read right so was a real bargain
iI have used my all stainless non spirit version a couple times now. Changes I have made is powering the cooling fan directly from the mains using an old computer cord that plugs into the fan connector direcrtly. I also use a cheap fann speed copntroller to allow control of the distinning rate. Have had good results with this combination.
Connect the van of the airstill direcktly to 220V and put a voltitge regulator in line with the heater. Than you can regulate your heat very precicely.
The air distiller, you should make a extra cooling collection contraption, just saying, raise up the distiller and make a water cooling system like a mini cooling parrot, before the collection jar, type of thingy, to get cool spirits in the finished product, not actually a parrot, but a cooling collection device that runs cold water through like a mini condenser for the air cooled distiller.
I am absolutely a fan for the AirStill. I am not necessarily a hobbyist, but a result driven (and busy) bar person. I make incredible habanero tequila, my own gins, botanical rum... without being overprecise and investing far too much time I don’t have. If I would distill wash, it would be a completely different topic (then I would probably buy the copper pot still version of the same company (is it???) - but by redistilling and flavoring AirStill is just amazing! Thanks though for this review.e
You can modify in a heat control for the coil on the air still.. So the heat can be controlled. Do it in a way that dose not change the fan. Do this at your own risk. Electrical experience required.
I have one of the electric ones, but it's not the Air Still brand because I wanted one with adjustable temperature. I use it exclusively for redistilling spirits and making gin, too small for distilling wash/mash.
I started with an all stainless air still. When I stepped up to a pot & reflux I thought I would never touch the air still again. Wrong. I use it regularly for gin and other infusions. Always run only hearts cuts and use a power controller. I do however like the capacity of your mini pot. 👍👍
You crack me up 😂. Great wee video, I also didn’t give much thought to not stuffing up large quantities of very experimental washes or playing with botanicals. I certainly have now! 👍
LOVE MY AIR STILL ( sprite version) About to use it today had for a few years now im not a big drinker but it has given me the chance to make cheap spirits which I then flavor ( thank u lemon tree) just plugin and two hrs later, it meant to strip flavors from my wash but that's not completely true, I have also made oils and put mead through it, one-day ill upgrade, and yea Great channel learning lots
I use a similar air distiller for distilling water. It cost about $65 online and I got up and rechecked the interior and it's 100% stainless steel and as far as I could tell the water/steam never comes in contact with plastic. It came with a plastic decanter but I use a glass decanter.
Unfair fight pot still will win, do a round 7 with Moded Air still with home made temp controller. works awesome. Fill the air still drop the thermal couple over the edge keeping it 3cm off the bottom put the lid on and plug it in and set the temp to165 once the for shots come off dispose of them and increase the temp and collect making cuts until it gets fumky
if that mini pot still is induction hob compatible that would help in terms of where you can use it, plug in hobs can be had pretty cheap these days meaning you'd only be limited by water availability
I have a t500 alembic and an air still, I prefer the air still to the point i only use t500 for striping and the air still for finishing. heat controll is simple just use another computer cord to run the fan and put the heat thru a controller. lol "not all of us drink enough to need a fifty liter still Jesse" (gentle ribbing). the air still is great for experimental runs, I make a lot of 10l wash's
I didn't even know these existed. And given that I a) have a very tight living space and b) just want to screw around with fermenting and distilling and c) I'm not terribly put off by the low capacity, this may just be the way to go for me.
After running the Air Still, dilute the distillate to 40% and run through a charcoal filter to get a VERY acceptable result! Or, if you want to get really fancy, you can do a stripping run, followed by a spirit-run, then filter to ultra-clean your spirit. However, this is not really necessary for an amateur distiller to get a more than satisfactory result. Clean, safe, economical and easy to store. My original Air Still is running perfectly after 12 years of hard labour. No Chinese water-cooled, tin can, with a gas or electric element, can beat these four factors!
I use my spirit version for making flavoured gin or the wife,I have a t500 a whiskey reflux still and a pot still like your vids, cant beat moonshine and single malt keep up the good work
Do I want the bubbler pot? The third can? I usually brew 3-4l batches and live in a rooming house so... I know I should want the easier use one but I agree with learning the craft.. My focus would be to build up a spirits collection for fortification. Usually because I do reuse my yeast two or three times then toss the jug. Sugar wash etc ginger beer.
I don't see why a couple of $25 rheostats wouldn't make a good addition to a water still. Those stills go up to a much higher temp, but since it's just a dumb heating plate, you should be able to vary that as you please, giving you options. Same for adjusting the fan speed. You would have much more control, if not a larger reservoir. And different temps bring out different volatiles. And the flour paste gasket is a hard pass for me. I'd rather build from scratch using a pressure cooker.
So you had these rounds 1- Safety Gas vs Plastic (the ones made for spirits usually don't use plastic btw) And somehow you got the pot still as a winner? 2 - Set up Obvious win for the air still 3 - Operation Much harder on the pot still, slight "on a technicality" difference in the outcome. And yet the pot still wins because? 4 - Cuts And Product Not a huge difference but a slight technicality win for the pot still. Fair enough 5 - Volume Win for the pot still 6 - Cost Pot still $110-140 Air still $150-250 I would have counted your results as the pot still barely scraping through a 3-3 draw instead of your 5-1 pot still win.
My Mr Distiller air still has all stainless construction except the sealing ring. It makes some decent tasting distillate. I STILL plan on getting a bigger (real) still soon, just a matter of doing it. Leaning towards a Mile High milk can type stainless still. 👍🥃👍
I dont see anything wrong with what anyone else's uses. I use what I like the way I like to use it. I bought and fabbed my still it took alot of money and it takes alot of time and effort and maintains. I can totally see someone just wanting a turn key no muss no fuss. Set up good for them.
The air still is like the equivalent of the Mr. Beer Kit for home brewing. It’s good to get you started but not great for someone who is really experienced.
ive been using the air still. but have a still i got off eBay. the problem is the stove is across the kitchen s I'm to figure out how to connect it to a water source🤔
Jesse - love your work, mate. I have myself a T500 (don't judge) and have been playing around with it since the start of 2020. I'm loving the hobby and videos like this - comparing stills and other equipment are very informative. I know you've done a quick review of T500 with George and Bearded, but wondered if you would be up to a direct comparison of ethanol that's been run through a T500 and your still. It would be interesting to see how different a FFV (or wiskey/rum using an alembic dome) is between the two. Thanks again.
I bought the airstill spirit version based you other video recommendations. To be real fair intent to make high abv for tinctures so speed and flavors aren't a huge necessity. That said I will be giving some various vodka ans mash recipes a go aswell further down the track.
for me, i watched my first video three days ago, and already own a water type air distiller. clear win to the air distiller, and some trash wine that was not quite bad enough to toss, and not good enough to drink. in the next hour i should have some idea if i want to start researching "real" stills.
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You can use a dimmer switch with an Air Still and set it so it doesn't go above 78°C/172°F. This is an ideal setup if you live in a apartment/flat. Just get a gallon of apple juice, 1lb of sugar (brown is best) and one teaspoon of bread yeast. Ferment it in the bottle with the lid slightly off for 10 to 14 days. Put it into the air still and run it. You have now made a 1L bottle of apple brandy that cost very little to make. Normally comes out at around 35% ABV.
can you use any old external dimmer switch, and do you need the dimmer switch for this recipe?
can you link a recommended model of dimmers plz
A dimmer is only rated to 600 watts, the air still draws 750 watts so I would go with something like this
Brand: L&Z
3.7 out of 5 stars19Reviews
Variable Speed Controller SCR Voltage Controller Fit for Router Fan Electric Motor Rheostat AC 120V 220V/ 15A/ 4000W Max

Use a harbor freight router speed control
So you lose 3L in the process?
The spirits version of the Air Still also has stainless steel on the interior of the lid unlike the plastic on the water version
Any of the water distillers I've used have 100% stainless interiors other than for the silicone gasket.
@@bobtheelectrician6692 Yeah, i have a water distiller that is all stainless inside, also, use a voltage controller and separate power cord for the head, so you can run the head at full ball, but run the heating element where you want....
Got the original AirStill also with 100% stainless steel inside...
@@Dominikmj can you adjust the heat that the element puts into your mash with it tho?
Mines all stainless.
I've made stills out of a host of different household objects. I have finally upgraded to a nice model. But like jessy suggested, I keep an air still around for experimenting. They are super simple and great for those odd ball "I wonder if I can ferment that" experiments.
Love my air still. Takes up little space. Easy to use. Can run it anywhere. Plug and play. It can distill water too, just slower. I wish it could process more at one time instead of having to do batches. It's basic, but awesome! Perfect for beginners.
Cheers mate
I got an AirStill which came with a power adjust feature. I'm a noob to distilling and this experience really pushed me to find out more about the craft. I got it just before the world locked down, so lots of inexpensive spirit/day drinking.
HAHA, welcome to the craft then mate :)
You are not alone. I am in this boat..
I am looking at air still's with a power feature do you have the brand name or link please :)
@@StillIt Where would one find one of those AirStills with the power adjust feature, in the U.S.?
Dude, this was awesome! Great concept and fun way to present it. You've expanded my horizons, cuz I like that gin idea:-)
Glad you liked it! :)
I have an AirStill knock-off, a water purifier one. Fully stainless on the inside. I have a dimmer switch hooked up to it and I draw out a 1-gallon gin run to about 5 hours. I should add that I modified it in such a way that the fan always runs full power but the boiler power is adjustable.
well, i was about to write a very similar post! XD
That's the magic formula with these: adjust the heater wattage to get a proper flow rate such as 3 drops per second. The machine will then run on auto-pilot till just about done. 25 minutes at full power to get up to temperature, ditch the first 50-100 ml of foreshots/heads, then 2-3 hours at around 40-45% till you hit tails.
No need to baby-sit if your recipe is consistent.
@@Kalanchoe1 How do you like your AirStill? It was my first still but now I only use it for gin related activities. I've been trying to dial in my gin recipe for a few years and I find it's great for doing a handful of bottles at a time. You can make big mistakes (like adding too much lavender) and only end up with a small amount of alcohol to deal with at the end. It's a great tool and easy to use :)
@@OpenSourceDistilling yeah, the main purpose I had for it was -Gin- water distillation. I wanted something small so I can practice the art and make something more akin to my taste. It really is an art. Do I like it? absolutely, it's about the safest and smallest still you can have for a reasonable price. it's not perfect but I attribute most of its drawbacks to the small batch sizes. In reality, you couldn't scale up an air-cooled still so its perfect what it is.
Bob The Electrician the water distiller seems very convenient in that you don't need to worry about the heat nor water source. It also seems to be more repeatable in the process.
As you said, the Airstill is an easy way to get into Distilling. I purchased one, used it for a few months to find out if Distilling was a hobby for me. I've since sold my Airstill and purchased a T500. This hobby is a journey. We all find our own way on that journey. Great videos. I really enjoy watching them. 👍
My path exactly...except
I’m looking around to upgrade my 4yo, T500 for something more complex. The journey continues. (I’m watching Jessie at 04:30 NZDT )
Speaking of which, I kept my airstill and glad I did. I can now try small batch, experimental, runs without breaking out the big boy.
Many people look down on the T500 but mine has served me well, produced copious amounts of rocket fuel and taught me heaps.
I'm in a one bedroom apartment with my wife and new born son. I've started making one gallon batches off hard cider and just want to do this as a hobby. Im going to get the air still just because I can pop it on the counter, distill a batch, then put it away. I'm just getting into it to have fun and experiment. I plan on getting a full size still someday down the road but the little guy will be great to start with.
My bad on giving you a tricky still to test out, had no idea it was the water version, sorry mate (and to all the die hard airstill lovers out there).
For me the ease of use of the spirits air still wins big time, small house and not needing water really win out big time.
But only really use it to ginify spirits stripped with the bigger still.
Ah shit! I forgot the thanks for the lend in the vid hahaha. My bad and that is a bunch man!!
Thanks!
I have an air still by Still Spirits and I enjoy it alot and has paved and confirmed a newfound hobby. I use a timer for my stripping runs for about 4.5 hours. I start it in the morning before I got to work. And 1 when I get home from work. Then I will run it through a Carbon filter at 50% and distill it one last time but with cuts. I watched this channel a lot to learn the art before I made the commitment of purchasing the Air Still. Product just keeps getting better the more I learn.
Yeah I kinda think I should have gone into detail on this kinda thing a bit more. Its a good point man. Definitly something to be said in terms of low barrier to entry.
@@StillIt Thanks for the reply. I'm a musician and played sports when I was young. You never start a novice on pro equipment. You get them through the learning stages on cheap equipment. When they learn they can then start to use the equipment designed for the more skilled person who can more effectively use the equipment to there advantage. Cheers mate! Love your channel . Always lurking
Air still has it's place for SURE... Makes REALLY good flavored spirit runs... GIN as you pointed out, likely but haven't tried yet to "Correct" gone BAD experiments.... SO simple, can do inside house on Kitchen counter and NOT piss out the Wife....this could be the best value it has!
All that stumble into the hobby should consider for sure.
paul ameis I like the “ Not piss off the wife” part. It’s a good introductory still to a relationship but I find it’s all you need really. Little more time consuming but it’s safe and only eats up power and not gas or water. I think everyone should have it!
Thanks for the comparrison Jesse. I use a still spirits air still, its simplicity suits my needs. I'd love it if you were to do the comparisson again with the still spirits version, I think it may even the field up a bit.... cheers
Interesting video, Jesse. I like “air stills”, i.e. stills with forced air condensers. I have a 30 liter kettle with a finned condenser that is super easy to use. However, I think it is important to have independent control of both kettle heat and condenser power which you can’t do by adding a PID or PWM to the mini air still. If you throttle down the AC in you also slow down the fan, no? Of course you could hack the mini air still and re-wire it if you are determined, or just buy a smaller still with an air condenser.
just run 2 cords then you can control the heat and not the fan easy as
Jesse, I have used the still spirits air stills for 4 1/2 years now. It is the best air still to use in terms of results. I started with the cheaper models and I found that they were not accurate in terms of constant heat, and would often run too hot and puke out over the gasket. My first one, puked and ran into the bottom and burned out. I moved on to the still spirits equipment and haven’t looked back. It takes about 90-120 mins per run, does not run hot, and can be ran safely indoors with appropriate ventilation. The product that comes out is clean, and it is light on heads (50-100 ml) good strong body (50-60 ABV, 500ml), and tails (
an equal cheers!
Hello Jess, thanks for the air still vids. As a relative beginner, I use a T500 in reflux mode, although I do own the alembic conversion, unused as yet. I began my journey with, and also own the air still. I’ve just recently realised the potential for utilising both the T500 and the Air still in tandem ! The T500 for basic stilling to neutral and then tweaking with the air still. It’s great for a relatively small hobbyist like myself. It would be interesting, if not brilliant to have more air still thoughts and ideas as a secondary or post still application. Hopefully, this makes sense. Thanks for all your great work.
Cheers Jesse! As an apartment dweller, this video has been super enlightening. I've been eyeing off an air still at my LHBS, and I think I might take the plunge and try it out!
You can run a mini still from a 10 gallon bucket with a fish tank pump only neding to change water in the middle and use a camping stove as heat source in any inside environment thats ventilated
They are really well suited to apartment living. They have their limitations, but more than make up for it in ease of use and their small footprint when those are make or break factors in deciding to take up the hobby. Even the smallest mini pot stills can take up too much space to be practical in a small apartment, not just because of the space it takes to set up, but the space it takes to store, and the space needed for storing washes in volumes suitable for use in larger stills.
There are “air stills” available with adjustable temperature control. They work well, SS guts with a rubber/plastic seal. Can get you up to 95 abv but takes time and you’ll have to charge your boiler with spirits higher than 40%
Yeah seen a few people saying this here. I will need to follow up.
@@StillIt I've got a few still sizes up to 100L and my SS temp controlled air still (knock off) is one of my favorites. Just did a double distilled brandy in it. It's great for test batches as well just remember to NOT use carbon unless you are trying to make a neutral (too much work).
I got a sheet of copper and wrapped it around the inside side wall, then I shove a copper scrubby in the out take in the lid as well as drop in a copper roll or two of column packing into the boiler. So lots of copper this way that's easy to clean!
You can use these little guys for all feint runs instead of having to save up large amounts. But best of all is a 5L air still for GIN. :)
Thanks Jess,
I really enjoy your relaxed videos. A friend of mine was running the plumbing for a pot-still and it was a lot of work. I wanted to get involved and she and I ended up with an air-still spirit version each, which incidently has more stainless steel around the lid.
I have made "grappa" from cheap-arse 4 litre white wine casks (fore-shots to get rid of the sulphur). I have tried diluting the spirits and carbon filtering them, as well as straight "grappa" and making a Limoncello... for a newbie like me it has been a great experience.
The straight, clean spirit is a great Mojito or Vodka lime and soda mixer or a good apperative/digestive. Looking forward to trying some dark rum or whisky recipes.
Keith
I looked at both as a beginner and as you know I have that exact pot still.
That being said, I streamlined the operation.
1. Bought the replacement gaskets.
On off easy and quick no mess.
2. Bought a 1800 watt hotplate for next to nothing plug it in and I sorted out the power settings.
Full change normal wash it will heat and start to produce in about an hour @70°f start.
3 aquarium pump and a 15 gallon water bucket made from a plastic trash can.
15 gallons of water usually stays about under 50 % of the head temp for the run.
I usually yield about 600ml a charge stopping at 50%.
Just not productive to go lower because I only gain 300ml of additional to 20%.
All on a bench top.
Less than $200 USD in it and it should last forever.
Plus you can play with small batches and experiment pretty easily.
Now, in an apartment or just don't have to ability to do that then a plug and play might be fine.
I would recommend both: Stripping runs on the pot still and spirit runs, having to deal with smaller batches then anyways, with the air still.
Yeah, for sure. Once you build up a "quiver" of stills I can definitly see a spot for both.
i started with an amazon stainless pot still and learned the basics now i have alot of money in my copper pot still but love the flavor carry over and my ability to make very small adjustments. pot still wins in my book
I know it would be tricky with the volume but another comparison would be to look at the proof that is coming out of each. It would be interesting to see how efficient each still is at each cut
I bought an air still and did the basic Still Spirit sugar wash. You brew a 25l wash and then loose a bit. for every 4l it takes about 2.5hours to collect 700ml @60% approx. For me I could not get past the cary over sugar wash smell/taste in the resulting spirit. Even after filtering it tasted too strong as I enjoy vodka. I sold the set up and bought a Reflux still and have not looked back. I can produce 94% and a run takes around 3.5hours for 23ish litres. I have been double distilling and it takes a lot less time than the air still and the product is super neutral so awesome vodka or good for gin. Saying that someone starting the Air still is great as it is a place to start on the learning curve but it does take a lot of time and the filtering takes even longer than the distilling. after a 25l wash expect to be distilling for a couple of days and filtering for up to a week. Too much hassle!
I have an Air Still and I love it. Mine doesn't have all that plastic, it is stainless with a rubber gasket. I do wish it could hold more though. I make a 5 gallon wash and have to run the still 4 times, it takes all night. But the ease of set up and break down, and that it easily sits on a shelf for storage, far outweigh the downsides for me. Really love your channel BTW!
Cheers mate. Is it the still spirits one?
I will have to get another and redo this.
Apart from the power difference between the water and alcohol version of the air still, fixable via a voltage controller on the boiler, while leaving the fan on a separate circuit to stay at full power, there is another change. The water version has a vent at the top to allow chlorine gas to escape. This must be plugged for alcohol to prevent alcohol vapour escaping and dropping collection volume. I use the airstill modded as above for a lot of experimental small bstches
Hey cheerz cheerz y'all! I began my my stilling journey late last year learning every thing I could on YT and forums. For my introduction, limited use, small space in my shop and to eliminate the hassle of running water supply/drain & having potential leaks I chose the Air Still.
My sugar wash is run at just 2.5 gal used as a CO2 generator for my garden so it works perfectly for me. I get 2 full runs. Discard 50ml foreshots. Then measure off every 150ml and jar up beginning at 150pr counting down by 5s & 10s. Below 100 is combined for re run another day
I used an Airpot and a dimmer switch ran 6 gallons of Strawberry Watermelon mash @ 18% ABV . After doing my stripping runs, I ran it again using the dimmer switch . At it's peak I was at 75% ABV. It was pretty amazing! Thank you.
I recently bought one of the airstill versions with adjustable heat control for less than $100 US. Inside was all stainless, no plastic. Only did one run, which turned out OK. Need to do a couple more at different temperature settings to see how that cha nges the results.
This sounds interesting. Can I ask where you purchased it? I'm keen for a gin run.
@@andyp4221 Found it on EBay search for 4L Home Water Distiller Temperature Controlled. Also similar item available through Amazon search for Countertop Water Distiller 750W, Digital Control
@@duwaynes7529 Love it. Thanks mate.
I decided to get one of these 95$. All stainless, with digital settings. I wanted it to make small gin batches after they had masterated. After a cleaning run of vinegar and water I dumped in 4 litters of tails around 20-25%. Set it at 95c. Ended up with some 70% clean spirt to use. Plus a cool Glass pitcher. Checked on it while I was gardening. It shut off and restarted and kept at 95c by dinner it was done. & I got red 😊
@@johndewitt7627 how has the unit held up? does it retain flavors or make a pretty neutral spirit?
Very funny & entertaining vid, Jesse! I too hope to be one of those "started with AirStill & graduated to a more complex one" people some day...
Glad you enjoyed it :)
You could definitly do worse. But look into one of those little basic pots too mate.
Cheers :)
I run my air still with a PID. Lots of control. My friends say some of the best shine they've ever had
hey nice one dont leave us hanging let us know how its done
Yes how do you use it with a PID?
Join the discussion at Air Still Users Facebook group.
@@bobtheelectrician6692 yea great idea.
Just bought an air still with a temp gauge you can adjust, and my roommate got a 5 gallon pot still and got to say if you can get the pot still go for it, it’s more versatile and can go through a lot more product.
Intense fight between the two contestants, trully a feast for the eyes of us sport lovers! Thanks for doing the breakdown. For us people living in city apartments the air still seems like the only solution honestly.
I purchased the water distiller and ran TPW. Net result was >1 gal of 40% to 5 gal wash. When finished everything was filtered in a Brita. Recently I ran the gallon and ended up with 65% or better for hand sanitizer.
I purchased on ebay for 60 bucks new.
brita doesn t clean it. it just rinses it. any distiller forum says it s the time spent in charcoal that matters. when i let it go through charcoal really slow after activated it was a much cleaner product.
My air still has temp control for 95-108C and steel interior. Cost was ~$150USD. I run it with a smart plug, "Alexa, stripping run" - it turns on the plug, reminds me to crank the heat to 108, and turns off after 90mins. For a spirit run, I keep it
Great video I have an air still but I can adjust the temperature and inside is stainless steel and love it but it obviously takes all day long to do 5 gallons
Yep, i`m on the air still train. I use it in my camper van, attach it to a smart plug, let it run for about 1.3l of output (time the first one of the wash). Repeat twice more. Then do a spirit run with 100ml cuts, I have made some amazing gin with it, some "Neutral that was OK, and am about to blend my Colab run with the same method. its only worth collecting down to 20%. That said i will be building a CCVM Keg next year.
i do like your comment about just getting into the hobby and not spending alot of money on a still. start small, basic and easy then if you like it expand or build what u want. great vid man
Cheers mate
For starting out I did the pico still because I wouldn't of tried a regular still without the easiness and safety built in like the air still.
So if your interested but weary, an air still is cheaper then the pico still, but once I got into it I quickly graduated to a typical still and ended up buying a very similar mini pot for gin runs.
My two cents.
I picked up a decently priced air still that's temperature controlled and it seems to do the trick fairly well. Definitely going to come in handy on cold rainy days when I can't run a still outdoors.
Jessie, living in Canada, I can't operate my main still in the winter since my cooling water is a garden hose and it will freeze. Moreover, its fucking cold outside and I don't want to be out there for the hours involved in doing a run. So, I would be very much pleased if you repeated this with a Still Spirits Air still. I can get one of those just around the corner from my office. Thanks!
I have two of the air stills which I brought from Toronto. Originally I purchased them for a different purpose. They were excellent for my secondary purpose. During covid, my secondary job has slowed down. I would have bored them I decided to use these little stills to see what I could make. To make large volume runs it is time consuming and to get it up to 95% ABV, which I need for work, and be extremely drawn-out and cumbersome. Being in Jamaica I think I have even less access to items than you do in New Zealand. Im in the process of building a 50 gallon column still for this purpose and even 3" nevermind 4" pipe is like hens teath here. I'm having to use 4" square steel tubing. I also had to take out a mortgage to buy 30ft of 1/2" copper tubing for the cooler. The air stills have been a good beginners machine but is limiting.
Btw, mine have stainless steel inside the lid not plastic as I saw you had. Cheers. Love your videos, I have picked up a lot.
Jamaica?!? Cool man!
Yeah the 3-4" is tricky to find here too man. Thats why I just went with the 2" and used the aliexpress/amazon 4" tees/plates.
Cheers and good luck with the build!
Wouldn't want to run a large run through it but I have an air still with a mechanical temp controller they have digital ones but I prefer knobs it works really well, all stainless inside use for water all the time and have used for small batches of other things with no problems. Wouldn't want it to be my only option due to size but wouldn't want to ever get rid of it either
I wonder if it would be worthwhile to run the electrics through a cheap triac speed control (router speed control from the hardware store) to adjust the boiler temperature. The side effect would be that the fan would run slower or maybe not at all, which may create additional problems. A bit of rewiring inside could solve that, but probably above most folks' paygrade. Hmm..
I have an air still, and I but mine is made of stainless steel in the lid as well. and about the lid I made a temperature sensor in it with which I switch the heating element and so can edit the outgoing flow. keep up the good work
Plug the still into a “dimmer switch” circuit. It’s cheaper than purchasing a new air still. And you can control the temperature during the run
haha! Nice Video Jesse! This format is a much better idea.
+1 for the street fighter graphics and sound effects at the end!
hahaha glad you enjoyed it mate :)
Perhaps I will keep the theme going for future videos like this.
I have air still for ease of use in my 4x4. Making washes and spirits while traveling Australia adds to the adventures and a lot cheeper than buying spirits from remote locations.
Jessy that intro was awesome! Would like to see the actual spirit still version review. Thank you.
Love to hear your thoughts on the “Somogon Aparat” 4 gallon, can distill about 3 1/4 gallons, seems to be a perfect starter for me !!
I like my temp controlled Air Distiller. I set it at 98 C and it seems to work well. I'm not going to make large quantities so no need for a pot still.
If you are at the entry stage for distilling, but perhaps not totally ready to spend a wad of money on a full blown still system, an Air Still is a great way to test the waters. It will provide decent spirits and enable you to ease into the craft. A lot of us started out that way.
I think there is another factor to consider, Law. If home brewing where you are is fine/legal but home distilling is not, it might be harder to justify having a mini pot setup vs an air still which can be bought at various stores for water or essential oil distilling.
There is a brand of Air Still on Amazon called Mophorn that has digital temperature settings, it cycles on and off to maintain that temperature (roughly). Priced noticeably lower than Air Still brand too. Furthermore, it has an all-stainless liquid contact surface/piping. I've just gotten one and so far it's very easy to use. A 2L wash at 8% yielded 375ml at 75 proof (ran at 96C). Set it and forget it!
My next still will definitely be the Still Spirits air still from Mile High Distilling. It fits my needs much better than my 3 gallon from Mile High Distilling and my 15 gallon still from Brewhaus does. I don't have to deal with submersible pumps, propane or bags of ice anymore to make a run with it like I do with my other stills.
I have never used an air still. But my experience with a pot still is fun, it's also very energy consuming, you need gas to run it sometimes, if you don't have access to a hose like me, you need electricity to run a pump, The setup can sometimes be a bulky mess of hoses, I feel like the air still would be easier, The pot still I use has a 20 L capacity, But I would still favor an air still
Good on ya Jessie , so many out there quick to jump on an put down newbies , we all start somewhere, lol thought that was Bruce Buffer doing the intro 🍻👍🏼
Bahaha I wish ;)
Only still I have used is Still spirits hooked up to a timer works great for automatic shutoff. You can set another timer for the foreshots or just keep the batch and run it through later to remove them. Ceramic boil enhancers in the bottom . I’ve never tried adding copper mesh to the nozzle, is this a noticeable difference? I like how it takes just a quick rinse and you can keep it going. So far have ran about 1000L through this thing with no issues. I feel the safety of this thing is my selling point as some people say the water stills have a hole in the coil and could cause ignition? Not sure if this is true but I feel safe running this unit on my counter and being able to check on it once and a while.
I use copper saddles in my air still and that makes a significant difference to the final taste. It is like filtering the spirit through active carbon 1 an additional time.
Cmdr Benkai oh nice, so that is what you use instead of the ceramic boils enhancers or w/e they are called lol? I will check it out for sure. Been using turbo yeast without the carbon clear etc and running it through a brita filter so that should help hopefully! Thanks
@@dustinthewind4294 I just added them with the ceramics but I think they do a similar thing re boiling. Also the pot gets a light copper coating after a lot of usage so that looks cool. I use vinegar & salt to clean the copper
Cmdr Benkai thanks so much! I will give it a go and try it out!
The SS spirit air still is s/s throughout and runs at a lower power. The fractions are sometimes slightly warm but generally cool. It’s great in the lab quick to clean up and with the botanical basket attached hanging some copper in the top of the still is easy and simple. Cleanup likewise. Plus picking up second hand I grabbed my air still at the local trash snd treasure market for $6 - Yeap you read right so was a real bargain
iI have used my all stainless non spirit version a couple times now. Changes I have made is powering the cooling fan directly from the mains using an old computer cord that plugs into the fan connector direcrtly. I also use a cheap fann speed copntroller to allow control of the distinning rate. Have had good results with this combination.
Connect the van of the airstill direcktly to 220V and put a voltitge regulator in line with the heater. Than you can regulate your heat very precicely.
The air distiller, you should make a extra cooling collection contraption, just saying, raise up the distiller and make a water cooling system like a mini cooling parrot, before the collection jar, type of thingy, to get cool spirits in the finished product, not actually a parrot, but a cooling collection device that runs cold water through like a mini condenser for the air cooled distiller.
I am absolutely a fan for the AirStill. I am not necessarily a hobbyist, but a result driven (and busy) bar person.
I make incredible habanero tequila, my own gins, botanical rum... without being overprecise and investing far too much time I don’t have.
If I would distill wash, it would be a completely different topic (then I would probably buy the copper pot still version of the same company (is it???) - but by redistilling and flavoring AirStill is just amazing!
Thanks though for this review.e
You can modify in a heat control for the coil on the air still.. So the heat can be controlled. Do it in a way that dose not change the fan. Do this at your own risk. Electrical experience required.
I have one of the electric ones, but it's not the Air Still brand because I wanted one with adjustable temperature. I use it exclusively for redistilling spirits and making gin, too small for distilling wash/mash.
Yup exactly what I would use it for! What brand is it ?
I started with an all stainless air still. When I stepped up to a pot & reflux I thought I would never touch the air still again. Wrong. I use it regularly for gin and other infusions. Always run only hearts cuts and use a power controller. I do however like the capacity of your mini pot. 👍👍
You had my upvote at "FIGHT!"
Hahahah :)
You crack me up 😂. Great wee video, I also didn’t give much thought to not stuffing up large quantities of very experimental washes or playing with botanicals. I certainly have now! 👍
Glad you found it entertaining haha. Yeah for sure. Cheers.
if you put a wattage controller on the back of the air still could you do the same temperature control as the mini pot still I wonder.
Just started the video
I love how beat and dirty they are
Excited to watch the rest
LOVE MY AIR STILL ( sprite version) About to use it today had for a few years now im not a big drinker but it has given me the chance to make cheap spirits which I then flavor ( thank u lemon tree) just plugin and two hrs later, it meant to strip flavors from my wash but that's not completely true, I have also made oils and put mead through it, one-day ill upgrade, and yea Great channel learning lots
I use a similar air distiller for distilling water. It cost about $65 online and I got up and rechecked the interior and it's 100% stainless steel and as far as I could tell the water/steam never comes in contact with plastic. It came with a plastic decanter but I use a glass decanter.
Unfair fight pot still will win, do a round 7 with
Moded Air still with home made temp controller. works awesome. Fill the air still drop the thermal couple over the edge keeping it 3cm off the bottom put the lid on and plug it in and set the temp to165 once the for shots come off dispose of them and increase the temp and collect making cuts until it gets fumky
if that mini pot still is induction hob compatible that would help in terms of where you can use it, plug in hobs can be had pretty cheap these days meaning you'd only be limited by water availability
Thanks for making an accessible and fun review! I'm a newbie so I'm leaning toward the air still :)
you can regulate the airstill using scr
For more air/water still discussion, consider joining the Air Still Users Facebook group.
I am going to have to get the air still. Small space available and the ease just seems so nice.
Nice to see a kiwi in a hobby I'm just starting, I borrowed my friends air still so it's nice to see what's diff.
I'm very limited on space, the air still allowed me to get into the hobby. I will upgrade to a T500 or something else once I have more space :)
I have a t500 alembic and an air still, I prefer the air still to the point i only use t500 for striping and the air still for finishing. heat controll is simple just use another computer cord to run the fan and put the heat thru a controller. lol "not all of us drink enough to need a fifty liter still Jesse" (gentle ribbing). the air still is great for experimental runs, I make a lot of 10l wash's
You can get a trimer(triac) to lower the power on the air stills. Jaycar sell one that works
I didn't even know these existed. And given that I a) have a very tight living space and b) just want to screw around with fermenting and distilling and c) I'm not terribly put off by the low capacity, this may just be the way to go for me.
After running the Air Still, dilute the distillate to 40% and run through a charcoal filter to get a VERY acceptable result! Or, if you want to get really fancy, you can do a stripping run, followed by a spirit-run, then filter to ultra-clean your spirit. However, this is not really necessary for an amateur distiller to get a more than satisfactory result. Clean, safe, economical and easy to store. My original Air Still is running perfectly after 12 years of hard labour. No Chinese water-cooled, tin can, with a gas or electric element, can beat these four factors!
I use my spirit version for making flavoured gin or the wife,I have a t500 a whiskey reflux still and a pot still like your vids, cant beat moonshine and single malt keep up the good work
Do I want the bubbler pot? The third can? I usually brew 3-4l batches and live in a rooming house so... I know I should want the easier use one but I agree with learning the craft.. My focus would be to build up a spirits collection for fortification. Usually because I do reuse my yeast two or three times then toss the jug. Sugar wash etc ginger beer.
Amazon has a 1 gallon temp regulated air still for 160, or a 3 gallon pot for 140.. mot much price difference. hard choice since I'm new to this
I don't see why a couple of $25 rheostats wouldn't make a good addition to a water still. Those stills go up to a much higher temp, but since it's just a dumb heating plate, you should be able to vary that as you please, giving you options. Same for adjusting the fan speed. You would have much more control, if not a larger reservoir. And different temps bring out different volatiles.
And the flour paste gasket is a hard pass for me. I'd rather build from scratch using a pressure cooker.
So you had these rounds
1- Safety
Gas vs Plastic (the ones made for spirits usually don't use plastic btw)
And somehow you got the pot still as a winner?
2 - Set up
Obvious win for the air still
3 - Operation
Much harder on the pot still, slight "on a technicality" difference in the outcome. And yet the pot still wins because?
4 - Cuts And Product
Not a huge difference but a slight technicality win for the pot still. Fair enough
5 - Volume
Win for the pot still
6 - Cost
Pot still $110-140
Air still $150-250
I would have counted your results as the pot still barely scraping through a 3-3 draw instead of your 5-1 pot still win.
Great review Jesse ! Cheers Brutha!
Chur :)
My Mr Distiller air still has all stainless construction except the sealing ring. It makes some decent tasting distillate. I STILL plan on getting a bigger (real) still soon, just a matter of doing it. Leaning towards a Mile High milk can type stainless still. 👍🥃👍
8 gallon size so I can run my average 6 gallon mash 👍
Yeah something like a mile high / claw hammer milk can would do nicely as the "next step"
I dont see anything wrong with what anyone else's uses. I use what I like the way I like to use it. I bought and fabbed my still it took alot of money and it takes alot of time and effort and maintains. I can totally see someone just wanting a turn key no muss no fuss. Set up good for them.
The air still is like the equivalent of the Mr. Beer Kit for home brewing. It’s good to get you started but not great for someone who is really experienced.
ive been using the air still. but have a still i got off eBay. the problem is the stove is across the kitchen s I'm to figure out how to connect it to a water source🤔
@@lockjaw5161 I guess you can co something with a bucket, some tubing and an aquarium pump
The alcohol airstill would've done a better job with flavours and doesn't have plastic inside. Great video with the fight theme! 🛢️🤼♂️🤣
Yeah I think Ima have to track one down !
Jesse - love your work, mate. I have myself a T500 (don't judge) and have been playing around with it since the start of 2020. I'm loving the hobby and videos like this - comparing stills and other equipment are very informative. I know you've done a quick review of T500 with George and Bearded, but wondered if you would be up to a direct comparison of ethanol that's been run through a T500 and your still. It would be interesting to see how different a FFV (or wiskey/rum using an alembic dome) is between the two.
Thanks again.
You should re-do this one with the Vevor air still with all stainless interior and digital heat control.
I bought the airstill spirit version based you other video recommendations. To be real fair intent to make high abv for tinctures so speed and flavors aren't a huge necessity. That said I will be giving some various vodka ans mash recipes a go aswell further down the track.
Got the spirit version of the air still and have to say its more convenient than the mini pot having used the mini pot for a short while.
for me, i watched my first video three days ago, and already own a water type air distiller. clear win to the air distiller, and some trash wine that was not quite bad enough to toss, and not good enough to drink. in the next hour i should have some idea if i want to start researching "real" stills.
Could have used this a year ago but I went with the pot still it's served me well
I thought this was a cool video idea.
Good job bro. Somethings we just do for fun.....and a little info.
Cheers!
HAhahaha, Yeah. Mostly a excuse to do the Red/Blue lighting at the start lol