Modernist Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 I was thinking of investing in the Stilldragon Crystal Dragon (http://stilldragon.com/index.php/8-procap-crystal-dragon.html) for my startup microdistillery, but am trying to do some research first. Does anybody have any experience in dealing with the company? How about glass columns themselves? And most importantly, is there any advantage or disadvantage to the glass column (besides looking super cool?)? Thanks for your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John McKee Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Hey, Properly designed with pressure relief devices glass stills are fine. Fun to watch too. Cheers, McKee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mash Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 I have a glass column still. Was made by a guy who is no longer in business, to the best of my knowledge. The first column didn't work well, so he made me another, both were bubble caps, 4 plates. The second still column still stacked liquid and was a total cluster to run, so I took everything out and packed it with copper mesh and it works great. Been using it for three years. Has made a lot of whisky and the customers like to watch it. I have purchased a lot of parts from Larry at Still Dragon and always been very happy with the quality. Would I buy another glass column in general. No. Production is more important than the show. The gaskets between the plates and glass were a huge pain and rarely sealed properly. Though it is crucial to buy equipment from those who have experience and successful working equipment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silk City Distillers Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 We have experience dealing with Stilldragon. All-in-all it's been great and we would do it all over again. Their work is top notch. Larry and Lloyd are stand-up guys, and stand behind their product. We commissioned the SD team to build us a 12" diameter glass column, 4 plates (pro cap style), 1000 liter steam jacket boiler. End result was better than we'd expected. Yes, it's absolutely eye candy. But then again, so is the engine turning on a german still, I don't know why that would be a criticism. Stilldragon has a large and active user community, you might want to spend some time there. In addition, if you have some special requirements, just ask Larry, they can build you pretty much anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugar Daddy Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 Larry (Stilldragon USA) is great to work with. I have had a chance to meet many of his satisfied customers (some with the glass columns) across the country. I have also purchased parts from him, and he walked me through every question without hesitation. Best of luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Williamsburg Distillery Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 x2 Larry @ SD has been great to work with. Outstanding service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smaug Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 Happy to answer any questions that you may have Larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modernist Posted January 16, 2015 Author Share Posted January 16, 2015 Hi Larry! I guess the questions would still be the ones from above, mostly. Are there any advantages or disadvantages to the glass column? And what about the type of concerns that Mash has (quoted below)? I have a glass column still. Was made by a guy who is no longer in business, to the best of my knowledge. The first column didn't work well, so he made me another, both were bubble caps, 4 plates. The second still column still stacked liquid and was a total cluster to run, so I took everything out and packed it with copper mesh and it works great. Been using it for three years. Has made a lot of whisky and the customers like to watch it.I have purchased a lot of parts from Larry at Still Dragon and always been very happy with the quality. Would I buy another glass column in general. No. Production is more important than the show. The gaskets between the plates and glass were a huge pain and rarely sealed properly. Though it is crucial to buy equipment from those who have experience and successful working equipment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smaug Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Hi Chizek, One of the operational advantages of the glass column system that we produce is that each plate section on our 8" diameter is only about 4" tall. So if you have a ceiling height limitation this can help you get a higher plate count if needed. Also the cool factor is pretty much off the chain if you are planing to do tours or teach a distilling class out of your distillery. Heat transfer is also quite good with the glass. The down side is that the glass chimneys are,,,,,glass. And as such they do need to be handled accordingly. The glass chimney thickness is quite substantial with a wall thickness of nearly 3/8" thick. Its just that you can't drop them on a concrete floor and expect a good outcome if you see my meaning. Also, if we assume that a distiller can get a months worth of service life out of the plates within, the column will still have to be disassembled for cleaning. This can certainly be more labor intensive than our SS Modular Tee System since threaded rods are used to hold the entire system together. Cleaning can be particularly daunting on rum beer batches that are well known for foam up. In this case we would recommend one or two of our standard tee assemblies mounted closest to the kettle with the CrystalDragon mounted on top of the tee. This way the first (and /or second) plate can easily be removed for cleaning while the remainder of the plates within the CrystalDragon remain assembled. Hope I said that clearly? I can not really speak to Scott's concerns with the glass system that he had in service. I would need to see the system up close to have any kind of qualified opinion.Our glass columns can produce as much as the stainless systems we sell. Our gasket system does not leak. We are not in jepardy of going out of business. We have customers with award winning products on the shelf. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modernist Posted January 17, 2015 Author Share Posted January 17, 2015 Smaug, Great! That answers my questions for now. I'll be in touch (probably soon). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StillDragon Australia Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 The Crystal Dragon range would be an exceptional advantage in a tour or teaching venue. People can see the still in action from across a room and grasp the ideas of the falling reflux through the downcomers, the reflux condensor dripping onto the top plate and see the bubbling action easily. There's no need to peer through the sight glass with a torch. As Larry said if there are height restrictions you can fit many more plates (with identical components to the stainless columns) in a given length at 100mm compared to 250mm in 8" columns. The custom designed gaskets are durable and do not leak. It is no more difficult or time consuming in my opinion (as the owner of one as well as the distributor) to pull the Crystal Dragon down, it's just a matter of undoing the top few nuts after swing the top section of the unit away and then it all comes apart piece by piece. No harder than undoing all the clamps. Edited for spelling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3d0g Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 How about an all-glass still? Toured Hali'imaile Distilling last week - definitely some creative equipment in use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silk City Distillers Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 I wish I had a picture of the still together, but the 12" Stilldragon glass column will remain in hiding up in the office until we finish the rest of the concrete work and construction. Should get final plumbing in the next week or so and can move gear into place. The weight and size of the larger equipment required heavier bolt flanges. While the glass sections are fragile, the rest of the column and still are so overbuilt it's silly. Once together the column will be relatively sturdy and stable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shindig Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I will say that the StillDragon guys ROCK. They answer every email and phone call and are willing to try new things in addition to what they already offer ( which is a lot). If you price them out they are very reasonable and hit a segment that is not covered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modernist Posted January 22, 2015 Author Share Posted January 22, 2015 I gave them a call this week, and they were very helpful on the phone. They're sending me a proposal that I can't wait to check out. Super cool stills, those of you who posted them! And James, thanks for the pic, that looks badass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skaalvenn Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 That's awesome! I have to laugh...I was required to put in shatter proof light covers yet we use a glass hydrometer and others are using glass stills. It just cracks me up the stuff we have to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silk City Distillers Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Bet that came from the health department, file that one right alongside the requirement for a grease trap on a 3 basin sink. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skaalvenn Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Bet that came from the health department, file that one right alongside the requirement for a grease trap on a 3 basin sink. I have a 3 basin sink that I'm installing without a grease trap. At first the city told me I needed one to which I responded with "We aren't regulated as food service, I got my 3 compartment because it's convenient and I got it for $50. If you make me jump through stupid hoops I'm just going to scrap the damn thing instead. or cut it apart and turn it into a big 1 compartment." There's things I'll do to make them happy like spending $100 on plastic tube guards--and then there's stuff that's just plain ridiculous. Thankfully the city seems to not have a lot of ridiculous requirements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrounge Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Lucky you. They're regulating me as food. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dehner Distillery Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 I was told I don't need one unless I have food with the tastings. They said "if I have a bag of chips for example, you will have to get a grease trap" For me that would cost about $18,000 to dig up the parking lot. The funny thing is, nothing happens when Jimmy Johns shows up with my sandwich and pop and bag of chips...... Makes no sense...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluestar Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 I was told I don't need one unless I have food with the tastings. They said "if I have a bag of chips for example, you will have to get a grease trap" For me that would cost about $18,000 to dig up the parking lot. The funny thing is, nothing happens when Jimmy Johns shows up with my sandwich and pop and bag of chips...... Makes no sense...... Our county said it was only required for food prep, and serving pre-packaged food does not count, provided we are not required to do clean up on site (as for catering). So, bags of chips and popcorn are OK in the tasting room. But get to the point where we need more than bar sinks, full kitchen clean up, then they would require a grease trap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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