Description
400L Copper Pot Still: The Size Most Craft Distilleries Land On
We build these in our own shop, and the 400L size is the one that keeps coming back. It sits in a sweet spot — big enough that you\’re not running three charges a day to fill a barrel program, small enough to fit under a 3.2m ceiling and through a standard 1.5m door. Most buyers stepping up from a 200L or 300L unit are doing 3–5 mashes a week and want a single still that handles whisky, rum, and gin without a second kettle.
| Kettle capacity | 400L (working 320–350L) |
| Copper thickness | 3mm kettle, 2mm onion & neck |
| Heating | Steam jacket, direct electric, or bain-marie |
| Condenser | Shell-and-tube or coil, your choice |
| Power | 380V/50Hz or 440V/60Hz, 3-phase |
| Footprint | ~1800 × 1400mm assembled |
Where the Copper Needs to Be — and Where It Doesn\’t
Copper does its work in the kettle, onion, lyne arm, and condenser. That\’s where sulfur compounds bind and where you get the mouthfeel. Everything downstream — receivers, CIP lines, parrot bodies — can be stainless and nobody in the tasting room will know. Buyers who insist on all-copper pay roughly 40% more for zero flavor change. We\’ll tell you straight when stainless is the smarter call.
Electric or Steam? Look at Your Boiler, Not the Brochure
If you already run a steam boiler at 3–5 bar, take the jacket — faster heat-up, gentler on wash, easier to control. If you\’re in a leased space with no boiler, direct electric elements are simpler: no permit, no stack, just a bigger panel and 45–60kW of demand. We\’ve installed both in the same building; the choice came down to what the utility would approve.
Options Worth Pricing In Up Front
Gin basket (suspended or inline), agitator for grain-in mashes, CIP spray ball, copper parrot with proof hydrometer, two sight glasses, and column plates if you want reflux control for neutral spirit. Retrofitting a gin basket later means cutting the onion — order it now if gin is on your three-year plan.
Before You Ask for a Quote
Send us: daily run volume in liters of wash, wash ABV, target spirit (whisky, rum, gin, or all three), ceiling height and door width at the install spot, available power and steam pressure, and destination port. With those six numbers we can quote a real configuration instead of a range. Shipping a 400L still takes one 20ft container; we crate the column and condenser separately and send rigging drawings two weeks before dispatch.
Structure of a Distiller
Related products
Although there were a few minor issues, thanks to Polly’s help, it looks brilliant and has brought my little distillery quite a few new customers.
Very good！！I see now in my texting to you that in my excitement over having the installation here in the USA I totally forgot to give you and the company of ACE a very big compliment on the quality of the whole Installation!! It all looks fabulous and the way you packed it in the container was extraordinary!! I am very impressed with your company and want to say a big thank you to everybody who worked on my order!!
We have been using this still for a few batches now making whiskey, gin and a few other spirits and we are very happy with the results so far. The gear works well and gives good control during distillation. The spirit comes out clean and consistent from batch to batch and we have gotten the flavor profile we were looking for. It has also been easy to operate and maintain. It has been a great addition to our distillery and I’d definitely recommend it to other craft distillers looking for reliable equipment.”
Polly is the man! I highly recommend him and this products they produce! I’m very satisfied. she communicates very well and the quality of workmanship is excellent! Shipping was exceptional. Thannks Polly and team
It took 60 days from ordering to delivery, and it looks like a work of art. Thank you to Polly for her help.
It was quite a big job to put the distiller together, so I asked a friend to help me, and I managed to get it done in just eight hours. I’m really pleased with it – it looks brilliant.Ryan Murphy
We are so happy with our new copper distillation system from ACE Distillery Equipment. The equipment is of a fine quality, well crafted and beautifully finished.
The whole process from manufacturing, shipping, installation to commissioning was seamless. The ACE team were professional, responsive and very knowledgeable. They helped us complete the installation successfully and gave great technical support.
It still looks amazing in our distillery and does exactly what it says on the tin. We highly recommend ACE to anyone looking for reliable and high quality distillation equipment.
Thank you ACE team for the great work!”
I want to express my 100% satisfaction with Ace . The service was outstanding: quick, professional, and friendly. Polly provided excellent support throughout. The delivered 100 gallon copper pot still distillery equipment product perfectly meets my expectations and stands out fo r its excellent quality. I feel well taken care of and will recommend you without hesitation.
Thank you for the great service.
Best regards,
Oliver Brown
