DISTILLATION KIT FOR ESSENTIAL OILS
The material used for a distiller must be safe for the compounds being distilled, able to handle high temperatures without breaking down or releasing harmful chemicals, and have a non-absorbent surface for easy cleaning.
Stainless steel distillers meet these requirements. They are safe for distilling, can handle high temperatures without changing their composition or releasing toxins.
Copper still
Copper distillers, often used in the spirits industry, are not suitable for essential oils. Copper reacts with many compounds in essential oils, breaking them down and reducing their quality.
Another problem with copper is oxidation. It turns black and develops a patina over time, which is hard to clean.
Glass still
Glass distillers are good for labs, but unfortunately extremely fragile for home use.
By the way, volume would be quite an issue as easily obtainable glassware for a column is probably limited to about 0,5 L.
The wider the column, the greater the area of contact with plants.
For making essential oils, the size of your boiler isn't as important as the size of your column. A bigger column means more oil can be produced. The column size is usually listed in the specifications, measured in liters or gallons. However, that doesn't help much because we don’t know the weight of the herbs you're going to use. To make it easier, I'll list some common herbs and their approximate essential oil yields.
