A hobby I've been getting into over the past year or so is chemistry, and part of that involves playing around with distilling machines for purifying water and essential oils and so on.

This is a bit of a longer article so I'm also using it for a chance to test a "read more" function when scrolling the indexes on my new blog soft...

My first still was a New Years present to myself -- waifu ended up with an entry-level Chromebook at a similar price point (~$100). I made several tweaks to it, namely:

• I added a long arm between the boiler and condenser,
• I added an L-shaped joint under the condenser,
• I replaced all silicon components with PTFE-wrapped cardboard

To provide coolant to the system, water circulates from a bucket using an aquarium pump.

My main complaint with it is that the condenser is way too small -- and I don't feel especially motivated to change things there because (a) "worm in a tub" condensers are fairly inefficient, (b) the piping used by the system requires frequent thread tape checking and replacement, (c) adapting the current system to work with a liebig or shotgun condenser would be way too much work.

With the current condenser, coolant cannot be fed into the system at too high a rate or the bucket overflows, because the worm blocks the outlet port. So what ends up happening near the end of a "water cleaning" run is that I need to start replacing the bucket's water more and more often. Which is honestly not the end of the world, but it is a little annoying.

My second still was largely purchased for its boiler -- more on that later -- but for now, let's look at what else makes it different:

1. Vertical, rather than horizontal
2. Different latching system for the lid
3. Handles can move up and down
4. Triclamp attaches a tower condenser to the boiler
5. Silicon tubing connects the two sides of the condenser
6. Condenser has water-in and water-out tubing
7. Silicon tubing leads out of the condenser

Let's attack those points one by one.

One -- I don't intend to use this condenser in the future, and I have plenty of space in my home, so vertical or horizontal is not an important factor. If anything, the tower being vertical is inconvenient: during a test boil today, the boiler shook violently and the tower shook along side it. My other still is essentially anchored to the ground so violent shaking never occurs.

Two -- I think the different latching system could be a plus. And if there's ever an issue with the clamp, I could always solder on another kind. The only drawback is that there is silicon I can't remove (yet?) from inside the lid, which serves as the gasket.

Three -- The handles being able to move would not be something I care about at all, if it weren't for the boiler being prone to shaking when warming up. When the boiler begins rocking back and forth, the handles clang against the sides of the boiler. I may have to wrap these in fabric... This could be a nice feature if you fell asleep waiting for the boiler to heat up, but I see it as a bug.

Four -- These boiler uses a triclamp to attach the condenser to it: finally, we get to the meat of things. Triclamps are the golden standard in the world of distillation because many columns and accessories (sight glasses, plates, various kinds of condensers) are designed to work with them. Throw a piece of PTFE in between two pipes, screw the clamp tight, and now you have a strong connection. Unscrew the clamp and parts can be easily cleaned and stored. No more mucking about with thread tape.

This is the single thing this new still does well. I basically wanted a boiler with a triclamp connection and looked at the condenser as being a bonus.

But one thing I still have to complain about here: I contacted every distributor for this still that I could find online asking what size of triclamp it uses. Every one ignored me, except one who answered "maybe 2 inch?"

It turns out that maybe 2 inches is also maybe 1.5 inches. Sigh. So I placed an order for a 2 inch - 1.5 inch triclamp reducer and now I gotta spend a few weeks waiting on that. So if you're intending to buy this still: now you know!

Five -- Silicon tubing connecting the two sides of the condenser is probably the strongest argument against buying this still. Yes, if you are only boiling water in this still and nothing else, silicon is probably not a big deal. But if a more universal still is desired... you're probably going to need to solder on some stainless or copper fittings yourself here. Which is inconvenient.

Six -- The condenser having tubing for in and out is the one thing that could make this new pot still condenser better than my old one. I could pipe water in and out at max speed without worrying about flooding. When I was done with my water-vinegar cleaning run today, I blew hard into the out-tube to drain most of the water out, then set it outside to drain. Don't be fooled by the shape of this condenser: it's certainly a pot still, but this is an upgrade past a regular worm in a tub.

Seven -- The final point relates back to silicon tubing again. I positioned the end of the tube above the center of a glass jar during my test / cleaning run today. It did not move as much as I thought it may have, but if I were intending to use this more seriously, it would also need to go.

Honorable mention is the thermometer glued on in between the two sides of the condenser. I don't know what purpose it serves. If you want to know if there's vapor in the condenser, put your hand near or on the big empty tube on the left that pretends to be a reflux column. At least its battery can be replaced?