Photos sent from France of two antique stills being refurbished and mounted on a steel frame before shipping
to our distillery. We’re going to use them mostly for Low Gap Whiskey: when we have full production we’ll get
better quality from using multiple small stills instead of one big still: more work but well worth it.
Here’s one pot broken out from its original masonry installation. You can see the line of the edge of the cement enclosure just below the line of rivets. At right, the drain. Note again the change in color where it exited the enclosure, showing the thickness of the insulation.
A close up of a preheater. On the near right side of it, the tubes and valves for a sight- glass. On the floor at left, the chapiteau (in bronze!) and swan’s neck. In the back right, the condenser tank.
You can see the top of the copper coil inside the condenser tank, left.The brass rings/handles on the sides are for hoisting.
The drain and valve on the 2nd pot.
Close up of the top of a condensing tank. The flange has been loosened to allow replacement of a structural iron ring that had rusted. Note the crusty deposit from years of holding water.