What Size Still Do I Need? A Simple Sizing Guide

For most beginners, a 5 to 10 gallon still is the right size. It is big enough to make a batch worth the effort and small enough to heat, lift, clean and learn on. If you are asking "what size still do I need?", the honest answer depends on three things: what you plan to distill, how much you want per run, and what heat source you have.

This guide walks you through each of those, then shows what a 5 gallon and a 10 gallon still really produce per run, so you can pick your first copper still with confidence. Think of it as choosing the right lab vessel before you start working with copper, heat and vapor.

What Size Still Do I Need? Start With Three Questions

Still size is measured by how much liquid the pot holds when full. A 10 gallon still has a pot that holds about 10 gallons. But you never fill it to the top, and the size you need depends on how you will use it. Before you look at prices, answer these three questions.

• What will you distill? Water and essential oils work well in small stills. Bigger batches of anything need bigger pots.
• How much do you want from each run? A bigger pot gives more per run, but it also takes longer to heat and is harder to move and clean.
• What heat source do you have? A kitchen stove or a 110V electric element suits small stills. Larger stills usually need a propane burner or a 220V element.
• Where will you run it? You need a safe, ventilated space with room for the pot, thumper and worm, plus cool water for the condenser.
• Do you want to build it yourself? If you like hands-on work, a solder-it-yourself kit lets you assemble your own still.

How Much Does a 5 Gallon Still Make?

The first rule of still sizing is the fill rule. Never fill a pot still more than about 75 to 80 percent full. The empty space at the top gives the liquid room to boil and foam without pushing up into the cap and line. So a 5 gallon still holds about 4 gallons of liquid per run.

For distilled water, a 5 gallon still can turn most of those 4 gallons into clean distilled water. Always stop before the pot runs dry so nothing scorches.

Before we talk about alcohol, here is the law. In the US it is legal to buy and own a still of any size and to use it for water, essential oils and similar uses. Making alcohol for drinking at home is not legal without a federal permit from the TTB, even for personal use. A free TTB fuel alcohol permit lets you make ethanol for fuel. State and local laws vary and can be stricter, so check yours. We don't give legal advice. You can read more in our post on whether stills are legal to own.

For a permitted user running a typical fermented wash of about 8 to 10 percent alcohol, 4 gallons of wash holds roughly 0.3 to 0.4 gallons of pure alcohol. A single pot still run usually collects around 3 quarts to 1 gallon of liquid in total. Only part of that is the hearts, the clean middle of the run. The rest is foreshots, heads and tails, which get set aside. So the honest answer to "how much moonshine does a 5 gallon still make" is: well under a gallon of good spirit per run, and less if you make careful cuts.

How Much Does a 10 Gallon Still Produce?

Use the same fill rule. A 10 gallon still holds about 8 gallons of liquid per run. That is double the 5 gallon, so the output roughly doubles too.

For distilled water, that means most of 8 gallons per run, which is plenty for a household. For a permitted user running an 8 to 10 percent wash, expect roughly 1.5 to 2 gallons of total output off the worm, with the hearts making up only part of it.

The real numbers always depend on three things. The first is how strong your wash is. The second is how hot and fast you run, since slower runs give cleaner separation. The third is where you make your cuts. Treat any yield number as a ballpark, not a promise.

• 5 gallon still: about 4 gallons in the pot, roughly 3 quarts to 1 gallon total output from a typical wash.
• 10 gallon still: about 8 gallons in the pot, roughly 1.5 to 2 gallons total output.
• 15 gallon still: about 12 gallons in the pot, roughly 2 to 3 gallons total output.
• Hearts are always only part of the total. Foreshots, heads and tails are set aside.

What Is the Best Size Still for Beginners?

The best size still for beginners is usually 5 to 10 gallons. A 5 gallon still heats fast and is easy to move and clean, so you can do lots of short practice runs and learn how heat, vapor and temperature work together. A 10 gallon still is the sweet spot if you already know you will stick with it. It makes a more useful amount per run without being hard to handle.

Going too small is a common mistake. A 1 or 2 gallon still is great on a desk or for essential oils, but the output is small, so you spend the same setup time for very little product. Going too big is the other mistake. A 30 gallon pot is heavy when full, slow to heat, and needs a strong burner. It is not a good place to learn your first cuts.

Here is my own advice as Alchemist G.G. Wilkins: buy the size you will actually run often. A still that gets used every month teaches you more than a big one that sits in the garage.

What Size Moonshine Still Fits Your Goal? A Quick Size Chart

Use this chart to match your goal to a pot size. Each size links to the matching page in our shop.

• 1 to 6 gallons: hobby, distilled water, essential oils and learning the basics. See our small and mini copper stills.
• 10 gallons: the most popular all-round size for a first serious still. See our 10 gallon copper stills.
• 15 gallons: a step up for bigger batches with the same easy handling as a 10. See our 15 gallon copper stills.
• 20 to 30 gallons: for experienced users and permitted fuel alcohol makers who want more per run. These need a good propane burner or strong electric heat.
• 50 to 100 gallons: large stills for licensed operations and serious production. See our large copper stills.

How Your Heat Source Limits Still Size

Your heat source can decide your size for you. The more liquid in the pot, the more energy it takes to bring it to a boil. Ethanol boils at about 173°F (78°C) and water at 212°F (100°C), and you have to get the whole pot up to that range before anything comes out of the worm.

Small stills can run on a stovetop or a 110V electric heating element. Mid-size stills often do best on propane or 220V electric. Large stills almost always need a strong propane burner or serious electric heat. If you want to run indoors without an open flame, check our electric moonshine stills, built for 110V and 220V power.

If you run on propane, our patented Flame Flow™ stills (U.S. Patent 10,561,960) are built for faster heat-up, even temperature, less wasted propane and less scorching. That matters more as the pot gets bigger, because bigger pots take longer to heat.

Don't Size the Pot Alone: Thumper, Worm and Copper Matter Too

A still is more than a pot. The thumper keg sits between the pot and the condenser and redistills the vapor as it passes through, so you get a cleaner, stronger result from one run. The worm, or condenser, is the copper coil that cools the vapor back into a liquid. Both need to match the pot size. A worm that is too small for a big pot cannot cool the vapor fast enough. Learn more in our guide to what a thumper keg is and what size you need.

That is why our complete stills come as a matched set: pot, thumper and worm, sized to work together. You don't have to guess. See our moonshine still kits complete with thumper.

Copper thickness matters at every size, but most at larger sizes where the pot carries more weight and heat. Our stills are hand built at Fort Wilkins in Pittsfield, New Hampshire, from thick 20 oz, 22 gauge American copper, which is much heavier than the thin copper on cheap imported stills. They are assembled with lead-free silver solder, then tested, adjusted and inspected before they leave the building, and they carry a lifetime warranty.