Still Spirits T-500 Boiler and Condenser Complete System

Seems fairly well made, I've used it twice and was pretty impressed although I could not get production at the prescribed Temperature settings. 3 hours after production started and maintaining an average column temperature of 160f, I had only produced about a cup of alcohol. Since it wasn't working I decided to up it to 170f and production looked like I though it should. Over the next about 3 - 3 1/2 hours it produced about a gallon. A mistake on my part caused the end of production to get messed up and diluted the product to 85% pure.Second use went better kept the column temperate between 155-165 degrees, worked well but took 7 1/2 hours, not the 4 1/2- 5 hours advertised but I got a 91% output so that was nice.Next time I'll go for a column temperature of 160-170 and expect I'll get the desired results.I live in Los Angeles, does our hard water raise the temperature needed or does anyone have any explanations?Once you get the temperature stabilized you can just about leave this thing alone. After about the first 1/2 and hour, maybe less, of production starting it's just on automatic.BTW, I got the Still Spirits Water Flow regulator, which is still hard to precisely control but is much better than controlling the tap attached to your faucet

Great still! I can run a gallon in about 5.5 hours. Very nice over my old still. Quality is excellent after first run. Do have some small leak issues, but easy to fix. Even my first run was good. Second run, I felt like a pro ha ha. I have had my still almost 2 years and the longer I run it the better I get. What a durable machine

I'm extremely satisfied with Moonshine Distiller company. Thier customer service is absolutely top notch. When they were out of the stainless steel columns, they gave me the copper column, which is more expensive, at no additional cost. All in order to keep the delivery on time.

It has been upgraded with stainless spicket instead of the plastic and 2 power buttons 500watt and 1000watt for more control and options as you expand your distilling skills...Overall build design and finished details make this a great value for a beginner or someone with previous experience but limited work and storage space to still enjoy the old art of making spirits..

As far as doing what it's supposed to do, yes it works as described. However the water adjustments are so minor the it's nearly impossible to run accurately. That needs to be addressed by the manufacturer. If you're looking for volume, look away. This one is Not for you. You sacrifice volume for proof. You will get very high proof distilled spirits but an average run yields around a half gallon. Other than the water problem this is a solid unit and worth buying.

Very nice

I bought this still in Dec 2015 and have used it to make countless batches since. You will not make whiskey, vodka, or gin with this. You will make 96% ABV, 192 proof, engine destroying, soul killing ethanol. Tastes better than everclear, but it is stronger. Look for recipes like apple pie, peach cinnamon, etc to dillute this with and you'll have a hit. The reflux tower with stainless steel saddles and the cooling water effluent temp set around 139F makes this a super efficient distillation tower.

I just got this combo in today and I did my cleaning run on it. The manufacturer recommended a clean with soap so that’s what I did and then I ran 5 gallons of sugar wash through it for clean. I didn’t taste any of the product coming off because it was for the clean but it came out to about 184-180 proof. I got about 1.5 gallons off in around 4.5 hours before I pulled the plug. Probably could have gotten off some more but wasn’t worth it for a clean. Let’s talk about operation. I turned on the boiler and the waited about 40 minutes to turn the water on. At this point I watched for the thermostat to start jumping up dramatically then I fiddled with the needle valve to get it to level out at around 60c. Shortly after it started to produce. The needle valve is touchy but you’ll get used to it pretty quick. If you’re worried about water consumption I used about 15-20 gallons of water over the time it ran. In my part of the world this costs me about 50 cents on my water bill. All in all a great still that I’d recommend to anyone looking for high proof neutral spirit.