Ive been making both budders for awhile now. Butter and coco or butter won't mix with water, and will separate at room temp. So when you want to make something, but don't have enough for the 2 cup minimum, use what you have and put in as much water as you want. So if you have enough abv for 1 cup of product, use that and the 1 cup, and top with water so the MB is at least at it's min, but it won't matter if you go to 'max' either. When the cycle is done pour into a curve-sided container and put in the fridge for awhile, til the top layer is solid. Press down on one side and the other will flip up - thats your good stuff. The watery goop on the bottom can get dumped. You might have to remelt and refilter your disk, depending on how well it was filtered the first time.
I made tincture with Everclear in mine - the second thing I ever made, and all the EC boiled off. I'm at 1300 ft above sea level. MB tech support told me to add 1/4 cup of demineralized water to the EC mix to avoid evaporation. Water won't hurt the MB either.
I have to go find some pipettes. I got the pill machine yesterday and spent a bit of time playing with it. This one has a spring-loaded top and bottom, so you get exert some pressure to ensure the caps stay together. I'm looking forward to trying this out!
Except the instructions for the mb explicitly say not to add water. You got specific instructions to add a limited amount of water because of your altitude, that doesn't mean anyone can add as much water as they like. So unless the manufacturer comes on and says its actually not a problem, I think I'll stay safe and follow their instructions.....