Beach Time

I agree w/ VB, a put 2 valves in parallel, the big valve for heat-up and small valve for run-off. Globe valves do not shut off tight, so you should consider a gate valve ahead of the previously mentioned parallel valves. Assuming the steam pressure is less than 15 psi, these will be large valves for a 600 gallon pot.

We always rehydrate the yeast with bottled water. Dried yeast are like raisins and you want to turn them back into grapes; if you use distilled water they will over-inflate, if you use wort/wine they will under-inflate. Either of these situations can negatively effect budding/growth. Not to argue with success, but you could probably use less yeast if you properly hydrate as compared to dry pitching.

Paul, I have worked where that engineering had been done and the distillery was declassified. Key items are ventilation air exchanges, LEL alcohol vapor sensors, alarm system triggered if vapor is present or if the ventilation failed. I believe they also had to install a backup power generator to operate these systems in the event of a power failure. Start by working out the details with your local Fire Marshall as they will control what scope of work is acceptable.

I've read that Hendricks uses a cucumber extract they purchase. I'd try infusing these after distillation and after main dilution but before final gauge dilution.

Try the cheap ones. The pleated filters will more likely require a higher pressure to push the liquid through. When I use absolute filters it takes 3-5 Bar of pressure, you can not achieve this with vacuum. I have to polish filter with a pump separately and then later run the bottle filler with a cheap depth filter.

depends on pipe diameter

Filtration can turn into a really big rabbit hole and so this is brief and general. there are depth filters (wound or spun fibers) and absolute membranes (like a really fine mesh screen). For bottling I use a 1 micron depth filter, it is high-flow and does not bog-down the filler. When I need a true polish I use a 0.45 micron absolute membrane filter. Only in extreme cases I will use a 0.20 micron absolute membrane and these are very expensive. If you paid less than $100 for that element it is not absolute. If you are truly seeing visible particles, (not haze) then either the filter is dirty on the clean-side, not seated properly with leakage around the element or it is coming post-filter from the bottles fill-spout or?

The issue that is probably biting you is that these exceptions are ground transportation only, (sorry missed that detail earlier obviously you are on an island and thus more dependent on air freight)

Yep, I applied to FedEx over 3 weeks ago to ship and have yet to receive any response which was supposed to be 5-8 business days (a week ago). USPS was 1/2 the price so go with them...

Do what I did, take your shipment to your local post office with a gallon extra for donation to that branch, my packages are on the way... (to family, I'm not selling on-line)

The FDA has approved the WHO formula for production by DSP's. This is a liquid not a gel, so anyone making a gel formula that is not a registered compounding pharmacy is breaking federal law. As for the pricing, I'll let the karma police deal with them after this pandemic is over.

Yes I spoke with a DOT representative who later followed up with an email to thank me for our discussion. They are basically trying to get the word out that the DOT has lifted shipping restrictions (flammable liquid) for hand sanitizer (btw, the USPS is now delivering hand sanitizer which is way cheaper than FedEx).

A culinary boiler is another (probably less desirable) option, these are basically a steam fired water still. If the piping system is properly designed and the boiler chemistry correct, you should be able to get extremely high purity steam off a conventional fire tube (Scotch Marine) boiler. A steam generator like Miura & Clayton will not produce high quality steam, they are very efficient but high carry-over (low quality) is the trade-off. Other boiler designs with low surface area to BTU ratios will not perform as well as the Scotch Marine. Any boiler will spit out low quality steam if the load swings wildly. Separators & filters can help but proper distribution and condensate trapping are key. Another option if you are real paranoid is a super heater, but that is probably over-kill.

Current TTB rules limit cocktails to approved container sizes which vary between 50 ml minion (smallest) to 1750 ml jug handle (largest) bottle. Larger sizes are not allowed at this time.

embrapa is their ag research agency, I'm sure that's where I found that document. https://www.agencia.cnptia.embrapa.br/gestor/cana-de-acucar/arvore/CONTAG01_105_22122006154841.html Short answer is there should be plenty of biomass energy bagasse to fuel a boiler and distill the rum wash produced from said bagasse.

If you research Cachaca production in Brazil you can get that information, it will be on Portuguese. It has been a long time since I came across it, but it had a lot details will look and see if I have a copy to share.

Temperature is the wrong process variable to be controlling via automation. The boiling temperature of the wash changes as the alcohol is depleted. If you can’t afford the expense to control steam flow via a flow meter + pressure + temperature, then you are better off to control manually with a hand valve. Keep control simple. Automating a safety interlock is more important than trying to automate steam flow.

would need more detail to make a better recommendation. I would install an automated shutoff valve that kills the steam flow if the temperature exiting your condenser gets above 40 Deg C. This is a safety protocol that every still should have. This valve should be in a fail-safe configuration (normally closed, air to open) so if you loose air pressure (or the condenser gets too hot) it will shut down the steam. I would skip the automatic valves and install 2 hand controlled valves in parallel, one large full pipe/port size (gate or ball ) for heat-up and a small globe with control markings so you can document the correct valve position for different spirit runs (search for "continuous blowdown valves"). Open the small valve to get the pipe & still jacket hot, only then open the big valve until you get the line arm warm then close the big valve. With experience you will be able to dial in how many turns open on that globe valve gets you the sweet spot on your still. The boiler burner cycling will effect the run, but there isn't much you can do about that other that oversizing the boiler to give the system more inertia or installing a 150 psi boiler and trim the pressure near the still. The body size of a control valve is somewhat irrelevant; it is the valve coefficient Cv that determines capacity. A boiler has to run 20% below the PRV setting which in this case is 12 psi max. At that low pressure, steam volume per pound is relatively large so your pipe size might need to be 4" or more. Sizing steam pipe is all about the line velocity, I'd size for 5000 ft/min. So a 2" pipe at 5000 is going to pass 457 lb/hr of steam at 12 psi boiler gauge pressure. That equals 13.2 BHP which isn't a very big boiler. Will undersized pipe still work? maybe but it will be loud and could damage the steam jackets. Automating steam flow in a meaningful way is going to require a flow meter & pressure transmitter so the automation can control based on energy flow into the still. That's probably over $15,000 in equipment. Likely the biggest overlooked issue on the steam side is air venting. Be sure to have vents high on your steam jackets in order to vent out the non-condensables (air). Air inside the jacket will act like a big blanket and shield your heating surfaces from the steam. Then you'll get a slow heat-up and everyone will go over to see what's wrong with the boiler when the problem is air inside your steam jacket. Don't get expensive automatic vents, just have a 1/4" ball valve piped 4' above the ground and extend the pipe to within a couple inches of the floor. Once you get the jackets up to pressure open these valves and let them blow for 10-20 seconds. If you have a slow heat up vent them again.

Dave, was in DC yesterday so I'm slow responding, I have a triclamp on the end now so I'm just eliminating another connection. I have a straight pump connector for the discharge and will have to lengthen the discharge tube in order to mount the large valve on the side above the old quick connector. Skaalvenn, here's the packing list, you need to save the 4 check valves off the manifold exit and mount them directly onto the spout inlets, the rest of the birds-nest gets tossed, the 1/2 tubing is for the pump inlet and dip tube. I'm looking for a 2nd filler, what other fillers are you using? 2883N12 Barbed Precision Flow-Adjustment Valve for Food and Beverage, for 3/8" Tube ID 1 Each 2879N11 Food and Beverage Precision Flow-Adjustment Valve with Push-to-Connect Fitings for 1/8" ID and 1/4" OD Tube 4 Each 51735K26 High-Temperature/High-Purity Silicone Rubber Tubing Soft, 3/8" ID, 0.655" OD, 1 ft. Length 1 Each 5779K731 Push-to-Connect Tube Fitting for Air, Wye Adapter, 1/4" Stem OD x 1/4" Tube OD 2 Each 5779K264 Push-to-Connect Tube Fitting for Air, Wye Reducer, for 3/8" x 1/4" Tube OD 1 Each 5779K375 Push-to-Connect Tube Fitting for Air, Adapter, 3/8" Stem OD x 0.320" Tube ID 1 Each 51735K25 High-Temperature/High-Purity Silicone Rubber Tubing Soft, 5/16" ID, 0.592" OD, 1 ft. Length 51735K27 High-Temperature/High-Purity Silicone Rubber Tubing Soft, 1/2" ID, 0.8" OD, 5 ft. Length 2129T13 FEP Clear Tubing for Chemicals 3/16" ID, 1/4" OD, 10 ft. Length 1 Each

XF460, works on a timed cycle.

Sorry to be late responding, I don't log on that often these days... Regarding the OP: item 1) blow down separators, there are several "blow down" points on a boiler, so more info is needed to give a thorough answer. Having said that, the purpose of a separator is to separate the flash steam from the remaining liquid and give each of them a safe (not in your face) place to vent up (steam) or drain (liquid). Most distillery boilers are really small capacity (relatively speaking) and low pressure so the amount of flash is less of a concern. item 2) Install cost. Local codes vary widely and they will significantly impact cost. Rough rule of thumb the same as the new boiler cost. item 3) I'm not familiar with either brand but a quick look at their web pages and they both seem fine. The 3-pass, wet-back fire-tube (scotch marine) design is rock solid. properly matching the boiler to the process load and properly sizing the distribution piping is very important. If the boiler is over-sized for the load even the highest turn-down ratio burner will not correct the issue. Don't walk but run away from anyone who touts that any boiler requires no water treatment. This is simply untrue regardless of your source-water circumstance, including RO. Even if your system & piping are properly cleaned & passivated prior to service and you get a very high % condensate return, (hint these are important) there will be make up water required. There will also be periods that the boiler is turned off. Both of these situations require scale & corrosion inhibitors (water treatment). Modern H2O treatment can be food grade & kosher and will pay for itself in extending the life of your equipment. If you ever see red rust in the condensate of a boiler system you have (or eventually will have) big problems.

Here you go... I need to get a 7/8" knockout punch to cut holes in the top to mount the 4 small valves and one hole in the side to mount the master flow control. I drilled a hole in the table to route the suction hose and bypass that quick connect. The braided tube is silicone (pricey $$). All components came from McMaster-Carr.

try http://www.headframestills.com/stills/

After visiting a distillery in Denver and seeing how they managed this problem, I had adapted their strategy and use a diaphragm pump to empty my barrels in place without disturbing the char sediment. If you have barrels stacked up you might consider getting them unstacked and lined up a few days prior so they resettle and then decant the clear spirit out. I do a 1 micron depth filter + 0.5 micron absolute polish and don't get nearly as much binding/plugging of the filters doing this way....

I have a 4-spout ExpressFill, my biggest complaint is the way it is piped inside makes it loud & hard to clean. After 4 years of use I decided I could improve the performance and completely gutted the birds-nest inside and redesigned the plumbing to something more logical (at least to me). One unexpected benefit to the revision is that this thing is quiet as a mouse now (yes Skaalvenn I agree it was loud & used to wear ear plugs when filling bottles). The main reason I made the change is to fill 50ml minions which was difficult on the original setup due to surging and unequal filling. The new setup has a master flow control at the pump outlet (normally wide open) and smaller flow controls at each spout (also normally wide open). If filling 750ml bottles, use the small flow controls to balance the system to eliminate that one spout that was consistently high or low. This might have slowed my fills from <25 seconds to maybe 28 seconds. (note the service factor on the filler pump is such that you shouldn't count on more than 1 cycle per minute +/- over extended periods). To fill minions I bought special fill tubes that ExpressFill sells, these point straight downward (no dogleg). To fill minions, close the master flow control until the fill cycle is slow enough to not surge or overshoot (about 4.2 sec for my setup). You might have to adjust the spout flow controls also to get perfect fills on all 4 spouts. It works great, but it did take 10-15 minutes and about 15 cycles to get it set up the 1st attempt. We filled 2,000 minions without making any additional adjustments and the fills were all spot-on.