Equipment & Other Costs

The cost for one liter of 40% vodka is approx. The cost of one kilo sugar + the cost for activated carbon needed, from 500 - 1000 grams for 5-7 liter vodka, depending on the distillation speed and whether or not distillation is done twice. There is also yeast for fermentation, electricity for heating, and water for cooling, but this cost is only marginal.

Equipment costs vary from next to nothing to US$ 1000. First one needs ordinary wine brewing equipment like a fermentation vessel, fermentation lock and a syphon.

The still costs more. One can buy a new stainless steel still from Europe, which is costly. If one can weld or hire a welder it is much cheaper. The boiling vessel can be made from 2 stainless steel thin (made in Taiwan) kitchen pots, which are very cheap. The welder must be a pro, must (probably) silver weld those as they are too thin for TIG welding. Important:all welding must be of food grade quality: no lead welding.

The material for the column and the condenser, stainless steel tubes and milking machine connector may be found by a metal recycler for a small amount, if one is lucky. They often dismantle diary farms and food industries ... stainless steel keeps new even if it is 20 years old. For the screen at base of column one can use a stainless steel kitchen sink drain screen. which costs only a few dollars. Rashig rings, food grade plastic tube and a thermometer must usually be bought new, but they are a one-time expense ... as is the rest of the still. A stainless steel still (or one of copper) lasts a lifetime.

After distillation, a large funnel and a tube or pipe is needed for a special (70% better) process to purify the alcohol, using activated carbon. One also needs a hydrometer to check that the mash/wash has fermented the sugar to alcohol before distillation, and an alcometer to measure the strength of the alcohol. This also is a one-time cost.