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Welcome and get ready to have some interesting fun.

The easiest way to prepare a small stove top is useing a pressure cooker or canner. While this will work and others have used it, it will not give you much experiance to work with when you get a better normal size seteup. Say you have a 11qt pressure cooker or pot, about 9 qt is its safty volume. The alchohol yielc will be tiny. Say a 15% wash might give you a qt. of hearts with any reasonable cuts, double run (strip then spirit run to clean it).

I would suggest you go ahead and spend the time to make a reasonable sized pot still that would work on the stove top. twill save you money in the long run and you will be able to make a good drinkable product. You can still do very small batches with it if you want There are plenty of plans out there to make one, or just purchase a good one which honestly is about as cheap and sometimes cheaper.
If I were going to do small batches like you say, i would just do the pot of wash with a catch bowl in the middle whole thing covered with a tapered metal lid upside down with ice on it. Forget what they call it. Some use this strictly for prepareing essences for flavoring.

Sorry I'm not more help, but never did small except in my thinking, before I ever started this hobby."

Thanks. So you're saying stick with a 5 gallon pot minimum?

"Yeah, I could make one, and that would probably be fun, but I am limited on time, lots of projects going on, so I'll probably just buy one, tower, condenser and all. I think I could still fit a 5 gallon rig in my kitchen.

I do want to duplicate the effect of a larger one, if I do end up getting a 50 or 100 gallon rig down the road. I take it you can get a 5 gallon rig with tower, swan neck etc., that will do the same as any bigger rig? Got any off the shelf recommendations on a rig like this?"

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Personally, you can't beat the price or quality of Brewhause who hosts this forum. Check out their offerings. What most of us are aiming for here in this hobby and craft, is a better product than you can obtain at the box stores, as well as a safer and healthier product. no more feel like shit the next day or the night during. I am sure many here will testify to that result. With a good quality still we can eliminate the higher alchohols and fusel oils that the commercial guys can't afford to do. So much more enjoyable.

Study a bit more and give it some thought. You will never look back except to laugh."

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Three carboys in 1 run.....whoowhee..again thats about a 15 to 18 hour cook. Start with one 5 gallon wash first and then expirement from there. Just some freindly advise."

I would recommend the high capacity with the premium kettle. i have the ee2 (makes great product)but i wish i had the hc unit.welcome to the hobby.check out home distillers.
Just Me

"Vegetarian - that's an old Indian word meaning 'lousy hunter'"
- Red Green

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I've been drooling over those for years. Would be great for grappa, araki, absinthe, that greek whiskey? and such. Not so good for grain whiskey and neutrals, but workable still. Sure would grace my fireplace.

Super price even with the shipping. I presume that price is for the econo model?"

If you look around and see some of the junk others make (what I call junk) the ones on the host site are real butes. Maybe a little more $ but well worth the price in the long run. As far as which mash you'll make and will the still cook it --- well any boiler will work but you are gonna wanna show your mates when shes up running so get something to be proud of. I saw some new style boiler types on this site in the homepage section (with handles on the sides -5 gallons I believe) that one looks cool and it will work for rums or whiskey. Then pick a tower and your off and runnin.

If you get a COMPLETE unit (from this site) with a liebig condenser ( the complete unit- tower and boiler) those towers have a condenser inline and can be used in the pot still mode or the reflux mode -- you wont need a cooling keg with a coil. You will need a supply of cool water for the condenser. You can use several things for that, a hose bib from the house or what most peeps do is get a little pond pump (sold here) and use it to recirculate through the liebig condenser. One of those units comes with ALMOST everything you'll need except the mash of your choice.

Which one exactly are you recommending then? I am getting close to making a buy, just been a little busy on other things lately, thanks.