Jonathan Forester Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Hi Folks- I was just wondering what type of stills do you have? I figure almost everyone is running the steam jacketed types. If so which make, size, additional feature? Are any of you old school using a direct fired pot still and such? That's what I'll be working with for at least the first few years. I will have one of "The Colonel's" 60 gallon/225 liter Georgia Ridge with an additional Ozark Mountain head. Low budget but I've heard good things about his products. http://www.coppermoonshinestills.com/id25.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Morgan Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 We have two 600L copper pot stills which are direct gas fired, switchable between pot and a full frac columns, plus a larger 2500L pot for stripping, again direct fired. Why direct fired? It is much cheaper to construct and does not need a boiler Organic production can not use direct steam, and jackets are less efficient We are not on town gas, so we need to use propane, hence efficiency is key Direct firing is traddional, there are many quirky (and beneficial) reactions that occur on the floor of the still with direct firing because the interface temperature is so high We make Cognac style brandy, so again traddition is important. Brandy production is France is regulated to only use naked flame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Morgan Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Hi Folks- I was just wondering what type of stills do you have? I figure almost everyone is running the steam jacketed types. If so which make, size, additional feature?Are any of you old school using a direct fired pot still and such? That's what I'll be working with for at least the first few years. I will have one of "The Colonel's" 60 gallon/225 liter Georgia Ridge with an additional Ozark Mountain head. Low budget but I've heard good things about his products. http://www.coppermoonshinestills.com/id25.html Jonathan, I just realised that you are planning to make rum. Rum production in a direct fired still will present a lot of coking problems, the heavy unfermentable solids will burn on the bottom of the still. You need to make sure your really clarify the wash well before distilling (centrifuge? look around for an old ex-dairy Alfa-Lavel centrifuge) Also, regular caustic cleaning is going to be required, be sure to pacify the pot after cleaning or your two year plans will turn into 2 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donald R Outterson Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 Jonathan, I use direct fired pot stills for the last 10 years because they yield the most flavor to my spec. Don't worry about how you start, you'll be changing and improving the design yourself as you go. I suggest having a modular design, where you could add parts later, even if you don't know what they are now. Best regards, Donald R Outterson Hi Folks- I was just wondering what type of stills do you have? I figure almost everyone is running the steam jacketed types. If so which make, size, additional feature?Are any of you old school using a direct fired pot still and such? That's what I'll be working with for at least the first few years. I will have one of "The Colonel's" 60 gallon/225 liter Georgia Ridge with an additional Ozark Mountain head. Low budget but I've heard good things about his products. http://www.coppermoonshinestills.com/id25.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Forester Posted February 17, 2008 Author Share Posted February 17, 2008 Yeah, I figured that. I have enough room in the distillery to set up different processes. I think I may have to go take a metal working course since I am going to be playing with versions of pot stills and such and am on a low budget. I'm glad my partners have light industrial engineering backgrounds besides being winemakers. This is going to be fun if I don't go broke. Jonathan,I use direct fired pot stills for the last 10 years because they yield the most flavor to my spec. Don't worry about how you start, you'll be changing and improving the design yourself as you go. I suggest having a modular design, where you could add parts later, even if you don't know what they are now. Best regards, Donald R Outterson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rum Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 I have a 450L with an eight plate side column shipping any day now. It is from Christian CARL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich phillips Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 Yeah, I figured that. I have enough room in the distillery to set up different processes. I think I may have to go take a metal working course since I am going to be playing with versions of pot stills and such and am on a low budget. I'm glad my partners have light industrial engineering backgrounds besides being winemakers. This is going to be fun if I don't go broke. We have three stills. A 500 l. Alembic, a 300 l. moonshine/stripping pot that we made and a 450 l. Christian Carl with a four plate side column. Obviously for different applications. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classick Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 We are using a Stupfler Alambic Still... hand made in Bordeaux by a 3rd generation still maker and master craftsman. Natural Gasdirect fire, 500 liter capacity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSD Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 We use two 380l stills, one plated column and one stripping still. Both use immersion elements and we run grain washes & rum without issue. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silk City Distillers Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 Back from the dead, nearly 10 years later. 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now