Blackheart

In our experience, what John is suggesting is on-target, 5 micron for the big stuff, at least .5 micron to 'polish'. You can do a larger/higher micron filter, but your spirit will be hazy (or less sparkly). Put them on a shelf next to chill filtered product and it'll look inferior. Just our observations.

Yeah, boiler install is a frigging joke on costs. Rent a high end pipe threader/cutter, get some good intel on what needs to be done, and do it yourself. Even if the fitter will help by "consulting" for a few grand, it may be worth it (depending on the fitter, that is). We paid for our first boiler and steam pipe install, and it was still jacked up. After watching and studying, we've done the subsequent installs ourselves.

Will the addition of the sugar obscure the proof of the vodka substantially? Since It would exceed the 400mg/l limit required for obscuration proofing, I guess everyone doing this using their benchtop still to double check. Fascinating stuff here.

Keys to preventing a still from "puking" are; control the heat better and ventilate your parrot. You can be sophisticated and put a cold finger in the lyne arm, but the first two suggestions are what matters. Oh, and yes, folks. Ethanol vapor, or a bulk of the flammable vapor from a still's production is LIGHTER than air.

Call Sherman Owen. He's on this board. Simple, quick, and will get your process off to a jump start.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLMbu8y8xAE Here's the alternate use for those empties.

For what it's worth, we tried this and it just didn't work. We had a local fab shop do it; they're a high-tolerance shop, experienced and had done plenty of things like this in the past (though not for barrel heads) The surface of a barrel head was too irregular to have a uniform burn. It looked super jacked up, so much so we got our money back. It was a waste to time and effort, really.

Sorry folks, it's sold.

We're tired of staring at this functional piece of equipment when we have no use for it. It's a Meuller bulk milk tank, meant to hold milk during collection or pasteurization. 500 gallons, all 316 stainless, internal heating or cooling jacket (but no pump/cooling unit). 1.5" TC drain with sloped bottom. Flat top, hinged lid, and a port for an agitator (not included). We used it as a bulk cold water recovery tank, but it can be repurposed into a mash tank, cool tank, hot or cold liquor tank, or any kind of storage. It's pristine enough to use as a spirits holding or blending tank. We're sending this thing off for $700 FOB. It's palletized already, you just pay to ship from 29673 (or come get it with a dock height truck). Holla with any questions.

Like some of you gents, we tried recycling. The problems we encountered were: we couldn't get the bottles pristine enough without making the labor cost a joke.

Man, I've gone through this application and even used a few nodes here. Amazing stuff; I wish it was around when we did our startup planning. Pure gold.

Weve experimented with making a Rice spirit and the results were pretty good. If you're in a rice producing area and can lay your hands on it cheap, it's an interesting thing.

I used a slide hammer with a coarse screw in the bit. This one is a 5 pounder. Use a cheap 1 pounder if you can find one. Maybe $30 or so max. http://www.amazon.com/TEKTON-5632-Hammer-Puller-9-Piece/dp/B0042D7J32/ref=sr_1_3?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1430136107&sr=1-3&keywords=Slide+hammer%2C+1+lb

Pro tip: if you're discussing deals or enticing investors, have your (ideal) business structure completely locked in before you breathe the first word. Protect thyself: Hire a good lawyer, set a plan, then talk to others.

Jed's right. Under 21 is more hassle than it's worth.

We use the wort chiller above that Steven noted. Takes about 25 mins to get from 155 to 90 using chilled water (circa 60 degrees F) that we keep in a cold liquor tank. This is is the bomb. Love it.

+1 on Wt's comment. My suggestion/opinion is avoid direct fire. And my second (equally valuable, lol) suggestion is to listen to your local code/safety enforcement peeps. Fight them at your businesses peril.

Peeple, hear me! the proper way to vent and drain a column still is important! Do it wrong and you're looking at hot mash sprayed everywhere. Step one: turn off energy/heat/steam two: observe trays in column. When the bubble caps stop showing bubbles, you have somewhere close to pressure equilibrium three: vent boiler with vent valve, prepare to close it quickly if hot mash is still under pressure (it shouldn't be if you followed steps one and two) four: open manway five: empty boiler, don't get scalded Notes: adding cold anything to that hot stillage creates steam reactions and can splash. Adding cold anything to that boiler creates a vacuum in your steam jacket (if equipped). Helps to have a vacuum relief valve on the jacket or the baffles and internal welds may deteriorate over time. if they do, you'll know it by the bong-ing noise on heat up and cool down.

We're using the probins now. Love them.

Sure thing. We used some of these: http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/rubbermaidreg%3B-structural-foam-stock-tanks-100-gal--capacity But we preferred a cheaper version here: http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/tuff-stuff-products-heavy-duty-oval-tank-110-gal They come in sizes up to 300 gallons, I think. Best thing was they're mostly in stock in these kinds of places. if it isn't, they'll ship to the store for free (versus a huge bill to ship to you). Cheers!

Hats off to you guys fermenting in IBCs. That cleanup must be a bear. Want cheap? Motor on down to the local farm supply and buy a stock tank. Plastic LDPE. Light, tough, CHEAP. You can make a lid for it out of anything (we used sheet foam insulation in the winter on ours). We liked them cause they were cheap and super easy to clean. Never, ever had a stuck or off ferment when we cleaned/santitized/watched the pitch temps like we're supposed to. Wanna move them around? put them on a pallet before you fill.

Sorry to come late and loud to this, but I'm gonna poop in the punchbowl, so to speak. We're the do-it-yourselfinist-mother-scratchers there are. If we can save a buck by researching and doing, we're gonna do that. That said, if this is your first steam application/install, hire a pro and let them do it/show you. Yeah it costs, but this was and is one of the few things I'll bring in a specialist for. If you screw up your steam power install, your gear wont run right, plus you'll waste time and money. Worse, you risk damaging your expensive and hard-to-find capital equipment: your boiler and process equipment. We're installing our 4th still here; we've just now decided not to bring in a pro to do the steam line upgrade (we went from 1" to 1.5" steam lines). They will be here to do a final check on the system. make sure our shit is right, and do our annual boiler inspection (as required by the state). And to follow up on some thoughts: the idea that folks would run a system without a condensate return pump and tank is surprising. I see the comments and I understand the thoughts, but the limits an improperly put together and functioning steam system places on you are amazing and painful. Unless the boiler's make up water tank is below the still and/or right next to the set up, I can see no reason to believe a low pressure system will have the power to properly push condensate back through the system. A 15 psi low pressure system, depending on the owner's settings, can run between 5 to 12 psi. And that's off the pressuretrol in the boiler itself. Will the system have enough energy after the boiler jacket is full of condensate to push all that water back into the make-up tank? I wouldn't think it's the case, but I can be wrong. A 250 gallon jacket half full of water can be like 30-50 gallons of condensate. And that's excluding what's in the condensate return lines. It'd take it a lot of power, in the form of fresh steam, to push it past the bucket trap and over a 10 ft head, hell or even a 5 ft head. remember, after the bucket trap, the condensate line does not use the pressure of the steam in the boiler to move water - the bucket trap keeps this pressure in the boiler. If the water in the lines on the return side of the trap weighs more than the water trying to leave the boiler jacket through the trap, the system just stops and the jacket fills until it cant take more steam. Hope this helps; I don't mean to troll, just to add some additional thoughts.

Yeah! any interest, email farmer@sixandtwentydistillery.com Or call 864-320-4803 Thanks and give this still a good home!

We have the model A from CCR and we like it. Been at it for about 6 months. Takes some operating time to fine tune, and to get used to it's quirks. We had two problems with it: cost, as it's expensive for what it is. And second, it didn't seat corks all the way. This wasn't a design flaw, we think, just a matter of friction from the synthetic cork shaft. We fixed this with a slight twist when we plunged the cork into the neck. Now the tops seat flush. And FWIW, CCR was responsive and helpful when we asked about this. FWIW, mallets and bottles and tops are a bit of a dangerous combo. We wacked a few into place and it was not uncommon to break the bond between the top and the shaft. Leaves a shaft stuck in the neck and an irate customer.

We fabricated our own CIP pump system and slapped it on a cart. It's absurdly simple, but it works great. And no, it aint for sale as we're kind of fond of it and you can make one yourself for less than the cost to ship ours. Ask me nicely and I'll post a pic.