Could i get away with a smaller pipe to the condenser ? In general is it the wider column the better ? I would leave the smaller pipe to the condenser the size you have there . Column width in pot still mode doesn ' t make much difference . If there is a large difference between the opening at the bottom and the size of the rest of the riser , it causes a bit of reflux to occur which can help up the ABV a bit . This is due to the expansion of the gas cause a small amount to condense back to liquid . It wouldn ' t be very noticeable at this scale though . Mostly the larger diameter would be easier to get inside , for gins and cleaning . The combo still in the side bar would be a more general jack of all trades still . It can run in full reflux mode , and can also easily be run in pot still mode . It covers the range of processes much more so than a standard pot still as you have posted here . For a small , versatile still , that is what I would recommend .