ABOUT OLYMPIC DISTILLERS
WHO WE ARE
We are a small American company located in the great Pacific Northwest at the foot of the Olympic Mountains.
Our copper moonshine stills are designed for producing ethanol fuel, alcohol, distilling water, essential oils, and for licensed craft distilleries. We have our Federal Alcohol Fuel Producer's Permit so we can test our stills. They have all been through a rigorous testing process and will perform as stated.
Our products are built with high quality materials, attention to detail, and our customer service is excellent. You will receive the product you purchased as it was advertised. We stand behind our work and if there is ever a problem, we will make it right.
We sell a full line of distilling equipment, including copper moonshine stills, beer keg distillers, stainless steel equipment as well as kits and parts for those that want to build their own still. For those of you that are opening a craft distillery, we sell a line of micro distillery equipment.
We also sell on eBay, so we invite you to read our eBay feedback. It speaks for itself.
WHAT WE DO
At Olympic Distillers we design and manufacture custom built micro-distillery equipment for small-scale spirit production. We also supply the essential oil industry with high quality, commercial grade steam distillation equipment that is used by lavender farmers globally. We also offer a complete line of copper and stainless steel home distillation equipment that can be used to distill alcohol, water and fuel. We take pride in using our own designs on the equipment that we manufacture, which in some cases are modern improvements on old designs as distilling has been around for a long time.
All of our micro-distillery equipment is professionally TIG welded using heavy-gauge stainless steel and copper in our overseas partner factory, which holds an ASME certification from The National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors.
You can rest easy, knowing that your micro-distillery equipment is built to the highest standards by skilled craftsmen.
For the smaller copper equipment that we build in our Washington warehouse, we use only silver solder with water soluble flux for copper to copper connections and food grade silver brazing wire for stainless steel to copper connections. Fusing stainless steel to copper requires special skills and equipment and is not an easy skill to master. Silver brazing rods have a melting temperature of around 1000 degrees and provide a very strong, clean and professional looking union between the dissimilar metals.
We make all of the 2" & 3" copper stills & parts in house. We use only heavy duty type L copper pipe on our 2" stills. Our 3" stills use type M copper pipe so we can keep the cost down. We do not use cheap thin-walled DWV pipe like some of our competitors. DWV (Drain Waste Vent) pipe is so thin it is easily damaged and is not thick enough to properly hold heat. We don't recommend it for use on a still. Our gaskets are white or black PTFE Teflon or 100% silicone. These gaskets are chemically tolerant and safe to use for alcohol and for ethanol fuel.
The stainless steel ferrule (which is also know as a sanitary fitting) on the bottom of our stills allow the columns to be clamped onto most modern stainless steel beer kegs or commercially available kettles. There are also connectors available to allow for the columns to be attached to just about any type of boiler. The liebig condensers we use on some of our stills are fully adjustable and detachable for cleaning and storage. These distillers can be hooked up to a garden hose or a submersible pump, which can be used for a recirculating cooling system if a garden hose is not an option.
Our stills are first tested by distilling water, then alcohol. Water is distilled at a higher temperature than ethanol or alcohol. If the still can distill water, it can distill alcohol. Some of you for whatever reason may wish to distill your own water with your new still. It may be for diluting your high proof alcohol, or maybe for other purposes. Whatever the reason is, a good still should be able distill water and alcohol.
All of our copper stills and parts are mirror polished right before we ship them. Copper tarnishes easily and may tarnish slightly during shipping. Brasso or any good quality copper polish can be used to bring your copper back to its original luster. There are lacquers available that will eliminate the need for polishing.
STAINLESS STEEL vs COPPER
We sell both stainless steel & copper stills and both have their own benefits & drawbacks.
The question is always asked by new distillers: "when you have stainless steel vs copper, which is better?”
STAINLESS STEEL
Stainless steel is cheaper than copper.
Stainless steel has lower heat transfer qualities when compared to copper, and stills made from stainless steel are harder to control and adjust during distillation.
Adjustments to heat input or cooling water take longer to show up on a stainless still, while with copper, adjustments show up almost instantaneously.
Stainless steel has many qualities that are desirable, such as resistance to tarnishing, lower cost, high strength and ease of cleaning.
COPPER
The qualities of copper allows for better control and stability, and improves the outcome of the final distillation of alcohol in terms of flavor. However, copper tarnishes quickly, and is harder to clean.
Copper also naturally reduces bacterial contamination (which is why it is also used for water pipes) and absorbs the sulfur produced during fermentation.
Copper has been used to make stills since ancient times, and as successive generations have found, it remains the best option thanks to its unique properties and natural advantages in the distilling process.
For superior results when distilling alcohol, use copper. For a lower cost, more durable and easy to clean alternative use stainless steel.
You can add copper mesh to a stainless steel column to remove the sulfates, and our stainless flute columns have copper bubble plates built in that will also do the job of sulfate removal.
So there you have it. We hope this helps you make an informed decision when purchasing your new still. If you have any questions about our products, shipping, or need custom work done, feel free to contact us. We will be happy to help!
CONTACT US FOR
CUSTOM WORK
Fast email response to questions 12 hrs a day and telephone consultants ready to assist you Monday -Friday 9 AM to 5 PM PST. (360) 928-9645 USA Pacific time.