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We proudly present The StillDragon® Operation Manuals!
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All StillDragon® Manuals are copyrighted material. You may not copy or redistribute any contents full or in parts without our written permission!
A truly remarkable effort by @crozdog has led to the creation of The Dash™ Operation Manual.
We are deeply in his debt for the time and thought that has gone into it.
Any hints, tricks or tips to help a new Dash™ user to fully enjoy his new rig are welcome should Version 2 be released.
Another incredible creation by @crozdog detailing all you need for using the StillDragon® Gin Basket Kit.
This is not just about simple assembly instructions, but a comprehensive guide to Gin and other uses of the modular StillDragon® "Carter Head", a truly amazing piece of equipment which has never been available for the artisan distiller as an off the shelf item before.
By courtesy of @BigPa we present the build instructions for the StillDragon® DIY Controller Kit. We recommend you have a licensed electrical contractor wire and check your controller before use.
By courtesy of @Ukioye we present A Detailed Review of the StillDragon® DIY Element Controller Kit.
To underline the great importance of our manuals, we have created a DNS shortcut pointing to this discussion, so it can be accessed directly by entering
Comments
An excellent manual with a lot of detail, pictures and information. Thanks Crozdog :D . I wish I had something like this when I first started out with a Dash 2 (or any other type of still for that fact).
Looks amazing! Exactly what a newbie like me needs to see. Glad the weekend is coming up, I've got some reading to do!
Cheers, Damo.
We in the SD core have encouraged the development of this document and finally have something to show - all thanks to Crozdog - take a bow please. (Stand up! OK, Enough already!)
Crozdog is also working on a manual for operating a SD Gin Basket so if you can contribute to his efforts on that it would also be appreciated. He has a beta SD setup of Gin Basket prototypes and is trying to concoct and navigate through the myriad ways of using the Gin Basket. The possibilities are far reaching, not just for flavoring alcohol into gin but also for cooking, extracting essence and even perfumes.
I think the development of the Dash manual and the Gin Basket manual to be a key for distillers to fully utilize their equipment. At a minimum they have proven guidelines to follow.
General release of the Gin Basket is expected to be in about a month from now. (I said that last month?). Trust me, either in a month or the next. Maybe. And that's a fact.
Very nice work Crozdog.
It's absolutely terrific and the first time I've ever seen a document this wide reaching and complete to cover our hobby. When we commissioned Croz to do this we never had any idea how comprehensive the result was going to be.
This has put us so far ahead of the other outfits selling distillation equipment that i bet they refer their customers to the SD manual, or copy it to produce their own if they are only 50% lazy and dishonest.
I am really impressed with this and i reckon i will be referring to it from time to time.
Great work Croz, i'm sure many, many people will get a huge benefit from this right across the distilling community.
StillDragon Australia & New Zealand - Your StillDragon® Distributor for Australia & New Zealand
Hey look, Quoting myself, how self indulgent!
Anyway, I couldn't wait for the weekend so I read it all last night. Wicked! Many thanks crozdog, I did enjoy it and even though I kinda knew it all already, to have it all in one place read through at one time cemented the whole thing in my mind.
Bring on the Gin Basket manual!
Cheers, Damo.
Really an above and beyond effort. Thank you
StillDragon North America - Your StillDragon® Distributor for North America
very nice Crozdog been looking for one of these manuals. now maybe i should order by plates.
Very nicely done.
Hi guys, thanks for the feedback please provide any insights in how you think it could be improved.
Sorry for the delay in responding, been away to NZ on a long overdue family holiday :D
Crozdog,
I used to write/teach/explain technical things to all kinds of people, and how product information is put together is hugely important to me. Having said that, you've done some very nice, and important, work here, and I have no doubt that StillDragon sales (along with end users) will profit greatly from this manual.
Zymurgy Bob, a simple potstiller
my book, Making Fine Spirits
Ok I give up, wheres the pdf for the last two page so I can print them off? I saw it somewhere but can't find it now
These?
That them thank.
New addition:
The StillDragon® DIY Controller Kit Build Instructions
Your Place to be >>> www.StillDragon.org <<< Home of the StillDragon® Community Forum
New addition:
The StillDragon® Gin Basket Operation Manual
Your Place to be >>> www.StillDragon.org <<< Home of the StillDragon® Community Forum
Updated Manuals dated 16th January 2014:
The StillDragon® Dash™ Operation Manual v1.2
The StillDragon® Gin Basket Operation Manual v1.1
Your Place to be >>> www.StillDragon.org <<< Home of the StillDragon® Community Forum
Great Instructions, many thanks from Sweden
Hi All
Page 22 of the Dash Operations Manual there is a link to a video for the SGK install;
http://www.stilldragon.com/3-sgk.html
Which leads to a 404 - Page not found... Is this video gone or under a different URL?
Thanks..
Hobby Distillers Association Member - Join us today!
The only sillae question is the one you don't ask folks...
@DistilliTraK, just checked, the proper URL is http://www.stilldragon.com/sight-glass-kit.html
Your Place to be >>> www.StillDragon.org <<< Home of the StillDragon® Community Forum
@Moonshine - Many thanks.
Hobby Distillers Association Member - Join us today!
The only sillae question is the one you don't ask folks...
Suggestion: Please add a line to the DIY pdf to state the heating element wattage ranges that should be used with 10-3 service wire, and to consult a sparky if someone elects to use a higher wattage than recommended?
Best regards to those here for rescuing me from going out into the weeds (slang for getting lost) on this point ;)
Hobby Distillers Association Member - Join us today!
The only sillae question is the one you don't ask folks...
Scroll down this page to see the correct gauge for the amps required.
Can I ask what the boiler charge was for the operation described in the manual, it suggests amounts for taking fores/heads etc, but is doesn’t specify the size of the boiler charge or if it was a wash or low wines
@crozdog
StillDragon North America - Your StillDragon® Distributor for North America
@Anavrin that was for a spirit run (ie using low wines) on a 50l keg boiler - there's pics of the setup earlier in the doc. Quantities will be similar when doing a single pass with multiple plates.
Please note the amounts are not locked in stone & will vary from run to run, wash to wash & where each operator decides to make cuts.
Have a read of the referenced guide to cuts by Kiwi as it describes things much better than I have
New addition:
The StillDragon® DIY Element Controller Kit Review
Your Place to be >>> www.StillDragon.org <<< Home of the StillDragon® Community Forum
It's hard to find Moonshine, is it possible to make the above post a link to where you inserted the new post?
StillDragon Australia & New Zealand - Your StillDragon® Distributor for Australia & New Zealand
It's just a cross posting to keep everything up-to-date, the review is linked with download in the manual section for the controller kit above and the review discussion is a sticky in the Accessories category. If anyone asks for it, just give the usual shortcut URL
https://manuals.StillDragon.org
which leads to this sticky.
Your Place to be >>> www.StillDragon.org <<< Home of the StillDragon® Community Forum
Thanks.
StillDragon Australia & New Zealand - Your StillDragon® Distributor for Australia & New Zealand