MythBuster

12 hours ago, Jedd Haas said:

Here is the other thread:

 

Thanks Jedd, I had seen that particular thread. Do be aware that I'm new here and was unable to contribute to such threads until I joined. I will be talking to jheising who seems very much a person after my own heart, even though focussed on a somewhat larger apparatus than mine.

As already stated, my design aims at commoditisation/consumerisation of a nano-scale continuous still. One which runs on about 50 watts and produces about a gallon of whisky-strength spirit a week. An order of magnitude smaller than The Bunker Stills Product.

One which will retail for less than $500.....

I like their statement that steady-state "tuning" to a desired output taste and purity is entirely achievable - though by no means a trivial thing. There are also valuable hints (to the uninformed) that different outputs can be "remixed" with the primary output to produce whatever mix of taste/congeners etc etc are desired. All that is actually removed from the feedstock wash are non-volatiles and water. Those with a modicum of maths, physics and thermodynamics can easily confirm to themselves that such a design can indeed (as does mine too) run happily with no external cooling requirement.

Despite the substantial miniaturisation, I do envisage that storage of the necessary requirement of wash will become a headache for the target purchasers, and the ideal solution will be a parallel system of continuous fermentation also!

That problem is non-trivial too. But equally, I feel, not insurmountable......

36 minutes ago, Tom Lenerz said:

He's referring to S. 1562 the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act. It is rolled up with the decreased tax rate for distillers and a bunch of other things.

https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/1562/text

Yes indeed, thanks Tom.

Apologies HedgeBird (I thought it was common knowledge in distilling circles......)

No photos or detailed specs. will be given at this time. A normal precaution in the case of a new market and un-launched products designed to exploit it. (There's a lot of IP in the design).

I'm providing preliminary insight into the likely emergent market, and general discussion with those interested of this general method of addressing it.

I fully expect and accept that some will doubt either/both the likely market or the viability of such a Product to satisfy it, and have no problem with that. I'm hoping that others here will easily envision what I'm talking about.

To promote better appreciation of the design's goals, traditional pot still experts might ask themselves this:

Could I produce a tiny pot still which could be used daily, loaded with less than a gallon of 10-12% ABV wine, and run slowly over 12 hours to deliver about 1/2 a pint of heads-and-tails-free azeo (or a larger equivalent volume of lower ABV product) each day? ( Of course I can!)

Next, can I at least conceive that I or someone else could design a tiny continuous still to do the same job?

It's really that simple. I'm not looking for pointless argument with those who cannot accommodate such possibilities.

Maybe I guessed wrongly and there is no such interest here? If not, I will quietly and politely disappear to seek discussion elsewhere.

Thanks for your reply Southernhighlande.

I am aware of such existing vendors and their Products, all of which appear to do what their makers claim, but which are of a totally different genre to my own design.

I have taken a radically different approach to address the needs of ordinary Consumers who are unaware of most aspects of distillation. Especially if (in the wrong hands) using traditional, potentially dangerous equipment.

Because of the need for Intrinsic Safety in a Consumer device, this has to take priority over all other design considerations from the outset. I keep the volume of alcohol - gas and liquid - at any one time, in any one place at an absolute minimum so that if the operator for example got careless, or even reckless with a naked flame, the consequences would be minimal and manageable from a safety perspective.

A basic NanoStill design consideration was that a domestic purchaser doesn’t need more than a gallon (4.5l) of 40% spirit per week. Most people drink far, far less than this. Which, for a continuously operating still represents a necessary output of only about 5 drops per minute if the output is taken at 60% ABV. Over that week maybe 20 litres (~4 gallons) of wine feed will be needed. If the operator needs twice as much alcohol, he should buy and run TWO such stills! The power requirement per still is a mere 50 watts.

For now, be aware that this is no “pie-in-the-sky” development. A prototype has been subjected to preliminary tests for output quality and quantity, and for explosion/flame risk.

Some food for thought:

IF you accept that such equipment is entirely feasible and would be in demand by Consumers, perhaps a bigger problem is that of producing (even in such small quantities) the necessary wine feed!

40 litres (20 l in use and 20 l fermenting) is an awful lot of liquid to store “around the house”!

It just might be that there is an equally lucrative and new market for the continuous production of said wine feed? We can and probably should discuss that too!

Hello all.

I’m an unusual breed of New Member, but hope that there’s room for everyone. Bearing in mind the more progressive Regulatory attitudes to distilling recently, new designs, markets and opportunities are clearly on the horizon. For example, the proposed new USA home distillation rules comfortably accommodate the type of tiny still which I’m developing, as do similarly progressive actual and proposed Regulations elsewhere. So here goes!

I am a still developer with a sharply-focussed eye on creativity and innovation. You should know that I most firmly believe in bringing quality distillation into the Consumer domain: every home that wants one should be able to get one, set it up and run it with minimum fuss.

SAFELY!

Those who live in small apartments will already realise that space limitations, not to mention current illegality, make conventional distillation pretty much a non-option on multiple grounds. With likely legalisation (for those Products prepared and able to meet Regulations) at hand, this is my target niche market - a market sector for suitable, legal, equipment which is likely to become orders of magnitude larger than any other.

My work shows very clearly that my "nano-still" provides pretty much all of the requirements of ordinary Consumers: ease-of use, quality, intrinsic safety and sufficiently low cost. There's some big surprises in there for traditionalists.

I'm not here to rock the boat. I simply believe that Big Change is almost upon us and like most other things, it will be Consumer demand which opens up New Territories. It doesn't necessarily follow that existing professional distilleries will suffer. At all.

More to come, but please let me know if I've sensed it wrong and that my discussion of a new branch of distilling here are misplaced?

Hope you are now initially enchanted.

.....  inspired by the famous "Harry".