How to Heat the Still?

You often ask—how to heat the still's boiler? The answer is essentially one: electricity.

Heating the boiler with gas is, of course, possible, but we strongly discourage it. Why?

1. Cost Efficiency: Gas heating is more expensive than electric heating. Firstly, the cost of the gas itself and secondly, the energy lost to the air. One 11kg gas cylinder lasts for about two uses, costing around 80-100 PLN (18-23 euro), so one process costs about 50 PLN (~12 euro). With electricity, it's about 5-6 PLN (at a cost of ~0.50 PLN per kWh)—10 times cheaper!

2. Efficiency: Chinese gas burners of 7-9kW provide less heat to the keg than 3kW heaters (judging by heating times). Professional burners, sometimes used in distilleries for steam generators, cost disproportionately more, around several thousand PLN for a real 10-12kW. Using such a burner requires a different boiler construction (exhaust gas removal, etc.). With gas burners, we heat not only the boiler but also the room, wasting vast amounts of energy.

3. Precision and Convenience: Gas regulation during distillation is less precise and less convenient due to the lack of specific "repeatability". Setting the power on an electric regulator is 100% repeatable, while setting the knob on a gas burner is not. As the gas in the cylinder decreases, its pressure changes, affecting the flame. This is a significant problem during distillation in a reflux or plate still.

4. Safety: The product collected from the condenser—high-proof alcohol—is flammable, so extra caution is necessary. Accidental knocking over the collection vessel can result in a severe fire. With gas heating, you have the collection vessel and an open flame a meter apart, posing risks of both burns and fire.

5. Burning the Mash: With gas burners, the mash can burn at the point of contact between the flame and the barrel. The bottom of the boiler shows a burnt circle pattern matching the burner. In electrically heated boilers, we use ULWD heaters, which spread heating power over a large surface area (screw-in heaters with threads are unsuitable for distillation). These heaters transfer all heat to the mash without unnecessarily heating the room, unlike gas. Thanks to ULWD heaters, we can even cook thicker mashes (like fruit wines) without burning risks. Here is a video of cooking plum brandy on ULWD heaters:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAzNd4O8Pnk

Conclusion

Gas heating should be considered a necessary evil only where there is no possibility of bringing electricity. In such cases, you must be fully aware of the limitations and risks associated with gas.