kckadi

Thanks! I may of scored a couple of pallets to get me by but will keep this in mind!

Pirimal Glass is backed up till early July. I'm looking for a couple pallets of 750mL Arizona style(thick bottom) bottles with Bar Top for 30x19mm cork . PM if you have 1 or two pallets available. We are located in NH. Thanks

Hi everyone, hopefully someone has some advice. I'm working on my first direct steam injection mash tun. It is a used 800 gallons insulated/jacketed double action kettle. Unfortunately I've found that the steam jacket leaks and is too fatigued to repair(repair welds 'spiderweb'). Since I've already rebuilt the mixer gearbox and the inner liner is leak free I'm looking at converting it to direct steam injection where I inject live steam into the mash to heat it. One of the questions I have is about any needed boiler feedwater treatment. I already soften/filter my feedwater and testing shows the parameters(PH, TDS, Hardness, etc) are within in specs but my town water has been known to change in the past. If I need to condition the water further (say for PH or conductivity) what treatment chemicals or systems have others used in a direct injection system? I'm worried that the 'wrong' treatment will kill my mash or introduce some 'off' flavors in the distillate. Thanks in advance

Got my issues squared away. For anyone else with a Hamilton kettle you need to disassemble the gear box as the outer agitator/sweeparm shaft is bolted and keyed directly the bottom bevel/differential gear. Only online resources I could find for help was Enerfab in Ohio, http://enerfabparts.com/ . They were very helpful and actually sent me CAD drawings of the gearbox which I've attached for anyone else who may need them. Also helpful was https://kettles.com/product-category/kettles/ in Georgia who were extremely helpful with phone advice. Size #2 Gearbox.pdf Size #2 Master.pdf

Hopefully someone can help, I recently picked up an 800 gal steam jacketed 1961 Hamilton Kettle with counter rotating mixers for a mash tun. It was a good buy and I knew it would require work. I need to rebuild the lower half of the gearbox which requires removing the two inline counter rotating mixer blades. But I can't seem to get the mixer shaft out of the lower gear box coupling. I removed the drive pin from the center shaft and the keyway set screw for the out shaft but the outer shaft(it has a hollow outer shaft turning one direction and a solid inner shaft rotating the other way) will not budge out of the outside shaft coupling. I really need a drawing or manual on the gear box before I put a hydraulic collar on it. I'm worried I missed something and will end up breaking$$$$$ the damm thing. I find very little about Hamiliton online. Hamilton is no longer a separate company and I heard it was bought by someone else(Trinity industries?) Does anyone know anything about Hamiliton kettles or perhaps knows someone who does? I am an engineer with 30+ yrs experience with mechanical systems so I have tried all the basic stuff (heat, penetrating oil, vibration, etc). It looks to me like a simple splined/keyed shaft and it could very well be that it is just seized in the coupling from age but I want to be sure before I go nuclear on it. I'm hoping this bargain kettle doesn't kill my $$$$ account! Thanks -- Kevin

I did bite the bullet and we're doing a 6 month trial of Yelp at their lowest tier. They want 1 year but they will do 6 months. I've also been using GroupOn/LivingSocial and more recently Zozi for tours. From my perspective they are well worth it. I've sold almost 2000 tours in the last 2 years. About 50% have taken the tours and the buy rate is about 99%, with most of them buying more than one bottle. Repeat business is probably 30% but the marketing "word of mouth" has been priceless. Plus the online review database has been a huge asset. YMMV

Hi, Anyone using Yelp paid listing services (analogous to Google Adwords)? Basically it puts your business higher up in Yelp search results and over a wider geographical range. Curious if its ROI is worth it.....

I do the same thing. I picked up some used totes on craigs and just pump my spent wash into it. Each run is around 250 gallons, after settling for a day we pump off the excess liquid. Final weight is around 2000lbs. I call one of several local farmers who come in a dually pickup and we use our forklift to place it in the bed. The farmer brings the empty IBC back either the next day or when he comes for another load. He says his chickens, pigs etc love the stuff. When I placed the ad in craigs list I had dozens of calls about it. If needed my local sewer dept has no issue with me sending it down the drain but they also have a new waste water plant. Check with them first before you do it.

I am selling a used "Shell and tube condenser" instant hot water heater manufactured by Jet-Vac. This hot water heater is steam powered off your boiler and allows you to make unlimited amounts of hot water up to 211 degrees at up 30GPM. It is big, about 6~7 feet tall and all stainless. Built in 1994 the nameplate says it is rated to 30 GPM. It was included with my boiler when I bought it (15hp Fulton) but I don't need it. I've seen it in operation but have not used it myself. The outside insulation jacket is cracked and split in a couple of places from moving it around. Included are the NTP flanges to hook into a system as well as a custom built stand. In the pic you can see me standing next to the heater (the heater is about 6 ft tall) and the custom made steel stand is next to it. Its rated up to 75psi and the original owner had it running at 60psi, lower pressures will yield lower hot water flow rates. A pressure regulator, relief valve and tempering valve are NOT included. You must use a tempering/mixing valve after the heater to get the exact water temp you need. See attached pics for more info. Asking $2000 as I just don't need it. Shipping not included and it will need to crated. For more Contact Kevin at 603-512-0455. Located in Seabrook, NH

It must be the angle of the pic. The mixer is NOT attached the bottom. The drain is bottom center. The kettle can be drained without removing anything. I also forgot to mention it includes a two piece kettle cover set (the covers are in place in the photos). The VFD is currently setup for three phase input but I think it can be setup for single phase input(most VFD's can do this). I'll verify if needed..... I did see it operate correctly when I got it two years ago but haven't run it since. I did not see the spare motor run but was told it worked,

200 gallon+ SS mixing/cooking Kettle, non-jacketed with geared 1.5 HP mixing head, 3 HP VFD controller and mixing paddle. Includes spare motor. This is one heavy duty kettle and was used to mix Candy, Jams and Jellies. Very strong, durable and in great shape (the leg pads are galvanized and have a little rust). Has a Tri-Clamp drain (looks like 1.5") on the bottom. I received as part of a bulk equipment purchase from a local food manufacturer. No idea who made the kettle itself but its very well made I was planning on using it for future expansion but I need the space. Could be used to mash wort when combined with a hot liquor tank and false bottom. Or remove the mixer and put a column on it and make it a still. $4K. Kettles like this are on ebay for $8K+ Contact Kevin at Smoky Quartz Distillery or at kevin.kurland@smokyquartzdistillery.com I also have a BIG 'side arm' shell and tube steam powered water heater I'll be putting up soon. It could double as a big wort cooler also.

Thanks for clarifying, I wasn't aware of the issue. The 5psi Apollo PRV I've been using has a flat PTFE sealing disk and I haven't had an issue with it sealing in the two years its been on the still but I'll be sure to inspect it more often.

I wrap the threads with PTFE tape and also a thin swab of PTFE pipe dope. Has not leaked in 2 years. Can you clarify what the issue is at less than 20 psi (or any psi)? thanks.

Here is the 0-5 psi gauge, $31, I purchased on Amazon, Kodiak Controls KC25-5# Low Pressure Gauge 5 PSI http://www.amazon.com/Kodiak-Controls-KC25-5-Pressure-Gauge/dp/B00H9ZW7F0?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage Here is the 5 psi PRV, $41 Its a basic PRV (typcially used for Steam) from Apollo with a PTFE seal http://www.amazon.com/Apollo-Valve-13-202-Bronze-Pressure/dp/B008837VGW?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage Also what I have termed a 'puke' is a big increase in distillate output. Its never gotten to the point where its just vapor but it ruins whatever is in my collection can and I have to set that can aside for the next spirit run. The first time it happened it overwhelmed my parrot and I had alcohol coming out the parrot surge vent(=scary). A larger parrot solved that issue.... Now I have a pretty good handle on the issue and it rarely happens. When I finally get my automation system setup I'll set the steam regulator to be automatically dialed back when the inside of the still is roughly >0.7 psi.

Just my 2 cents but here is my setup and how it operates. My still is a steam jacketed (15 psi)1000L boiler with a 10 plate 8" column. I have a 5 psi PRV on the still (installed on one of the tri-clamp openings) and a 20 psi PRV on the steam jacket. I installed a 0-5 psi pressure gauge on the still(via a tri-clamp opening) and when running stable I'm typically seeing 0.5 psi(or less) in the still. If I run it too hard with full stack condenser cooling enabled and most trays flooded it might hit 0.9 psi which typically results in a 'puke' out the parrot and drop down to 0 psi (Obviously I try to avoid this as much as possible). I have the still PRV discharging into a 10 gallon milk can full of water so if it ever does discharge the vapor should condense immediately. I've never had either the still 5 psi or the steam jacket 20 psi PRV's ever discharge........ I would highly recommend installing a low pressure (0-5 psi) gauge on your still, its cheap, easy and helps you understand how your system operates. I got mine on Amazon for around $30. I haven't had a chance to read the results from the Silver Trails accident investigation but will....

Thanks!

I don't have an issue with barrel storage currently but down the road I can see it as an issue. Does anyone currently use outdoor shipping containers for barrel storage/aging? The are cheap and easy to obtain/install. I can think of a slew of questions such as security, insurance bonding, HVAC/ventilation, etc, etc. But they all seem addressable. Anyone doing this (legitimately)?

I'm curious also.....

Before I installed the water flow indicators I was using 500+ gallons per run. Now I've got it tuned to less than 300 gallons. But, again, my town water is really cheap, I can understand how a distillery in a water-distressed area would benefit from a glycol chiller system.

I was just thinking of sizing the heater for the appropriate BTU and just let the line water pressure push it through the heater. No pumps or tanks needed. I'm a big fan of KISS, Keep It Simple and Stupid. With a decent hanging fan driven heater I should be able to get a good temp delta change and then the waste water will go down the drain. Later this summer I'm going to see if I can get some fund raisers to do a car wash in my parking lot using captured water from my process (I was thinking of the local college cheerleading squad ). This way I get some green 'cred' and also get a bunch of potential customers while they are waiting for their cars to get done. A Win/Win in my book. Next year I'm thinking of a community 'garden' in my back lot where I donate the water and materials and others do the planting and upkeep. I've thought about experimenting with an underground tank for water storage.......its on my 'to do' list (which seems to be getting larger everyday)

"Who makes those flow meters? I was just looking for something like that. " Here's the Dwyer flow indicator on Amazon, they come in larger sizes also http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009P9U6W4?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage "Why not capture the condenser runoff in your HLT or cooker for the next run? Recapture the water and some of the energy to heat it." I'm trying to get some of the energy back. Last winter I saved the hot water in an IBC and just let it naturally radiate back into my production area. It was a bit of a logistics hassle so I think this winter I'm going to install a hanging 'Modine' heater and will just run the water through it to recapture some of the heat. I don't use a HLT and the way my production process is it would be more trouble than its worth to try to use it for my cooker

Just my two cents. Comes down to energy cost vs water cost. If the cost to run the chiller is more than the cost of the water going down the drain than I would stick to the cost of the water. To make it more "green' you could have the water drain into an IBC and use it for landscaping or a charity car wash. In my area water is cheap so I'm not using a chiller. I'm sure there are others here who can quote you out a chiller system and help you figure out the running costs. Another tidbit of info: I was able to dramatically reduce my water usage by installing a set of visual "spinning wheel" flow meters on the water feeds to my column condenser and my final condenser, This gave me a great visual indication of my water usage which allowed me to cut my water usage. Basically this allowed me to 'tune' my operation and discover that I was using almost twice as much water as I should of been. I purchased the indicators on Amazon.

Hi Ed, no idea......but I guess I should find out

Hi Everyone, I thought I would bounce this off the forum. I switched corn producers about 5 months ago. Supposedly its a typical feed corn and I'm following the same exact cooking/mashing/converting/fermenting/distilling regime as before. SG is the same at around 1.069 and an FG of roughly 1.005. But it seems I'm getting less hearts. Ratio changes are.... About 50% less heads, about 25% less hearts and a lot more tails. Anyone else see a change in tails amount if they switched corn? I can understand how different species of corn could give a different flavor but changes in the ratio of outputs? Its not a big issue when I'm doing vodka as it all gets cleaned up in the end but my shine is only hearts and less hearts yield is not a good thing....

It has a built in float valve in the reservoir. However in the line between my feed pump and the float valve I installed a sealed pressure switch which opens at 5psi. When the reservoir float closes the pressure builds up in the feed line which opens the switch which shuts off the air solenoid feeding the feed pump. One thing I did find is that I think the float is designed for denser liquids like wine. When I do vodka I find that the float doesn't have enough buoyancy to fully seat the float valve and that eventually the reservoir fills up. I typically need to manually drain it every couple of hundred bottles. I might fit a bigger float on it sometime in the future.