40 liter essential oil distiller brand new!

Rotating Column Copper Alembic Distillers for Essential Oils

Our new distillers are hand hammered by a group of Artisans in Portugal in the traditional fashion. The rotating column design makes this distiller easy to use. Distillation can be accomplished with the column up, or with the column down. 40 liter pot capacity.

Traditionally, this type of distiller has been used for making grappa. When making red wine, the wine is fermented with the grapes in the vat. When fermentation is complete, the wine is pressed from the grapes in the vat. The spent grapes are then placed in the rotating column for distillation. Whiskey and brandy has also been distilled in this type of apparatus, with the column in the down position, used as a pot still.

This is our most versatile distiller. It can be used for either hydrodistillation (where the plant meterial is submersed in water) or as a water/steam distiller (where the column keeps plant material from direct contact with water).

We find that this distiller is perfect for making essential oils from plants such as lavender, rosemary and peppermint.

In the column up position; the bottom "pot" is filled with water, after being placed on top of your heat source. the heat source can be a hotplate, propane burner, or as is traditionally done directly on top of a wood fire.. Plant material is then packed into the column. Plant material is also packed in the Alembic Head (the "onion") to increase distillation capacity. There is a copper screen inside the top of the "onion" to keep plant material out of the "bird's beak" and condenser.

After the column and Alembic Head are filled with plant material; invert the Alembic head to the upright position. Hold the plant material in place to keep it from falling out, and place the Alembic Head on top of the filled column. Screw the Bird's Beak into place and attach it to the condenser. You are now ready to distill your own essential oils.

Please note. This is a traditional distiller. There are no gaskets. Components are sealed against steam leaks by using the traditional method. Rye flour (and IT MUST be rye flour) is made into a dough. The dough is then pushed into the joints between the Alembic Head and the pot. The piping to the condenser has welded unions, so that rye flour is not needed to seal the pipes. This is very simple and IT WORKS!  Plus I will throw in free shipping too!  BRAND NEW        $100 cheaper than the manufacturer!