Continuous Columns: Where do I start??

[Avak]

The column is 4" X 6' packed with ceramic rings over a 3.5Kw bain Marie. It is now operating as a batch still since our distillery does not have fermentation capacity to run this size continuous still. And with just an 8 hour shift, we are not keen to try. Other posts have been very perceptive about balancing fermentation, manpower, cooling, etc. A continuous still is a demanding mistress. There is no substitute for experienced advice before signing the check for a new still.

My interest in continuous distillation is to design a recovery still to recover low concentrations of ethanol from backset and tails. Better the hootch ends up in my inventory than down the drain ! One small scale still with a Vigreux column recovered 89%ABV from 1%ABV backset. But it was a slow process. It would need to run unattended overnight and we know what this forum thinks of unattended stills !

Is a recovery still a dumb idea? I've never heard of anyone doing it so I wonder if I'm out to lunch on this.

The purpose of my previous post on conversion of a batch still to a continuous still was to suggest a low cost  way to re-purpose existing equipment. If the result did not fit in the operation, little would be lost and fun would be had.

Avak

 

[NateKThompson]

On 7/10/2018 at 7:08 AM, Silk City Distillers said:

Frankly, there should be zero tolerance here for unattended distillation, including unattended still pre-heating.

Sorry, but accidents impact all of us with additional regulatory burden, scrutiny, and avoidable overhead.

I'm all for automation that helps an operator focus on the more important tasks, but I feel I must speak out on the topic.

It's a bad idea, someone will get hurt, someone will die, and it will hurt all of us.  Anyone condoning this is being reckless.

I know and love you guys but I have to disagree. I've worked at over a dozen iStill sites and managed one for years. If you're a small distillery, you'd be absolutely insane to consider another still producer. Cost is one thing, but time is another. I have regularly run a still from my phone and been able to be out doing sales calls or getting time off. I've made basically every possible mistake on that equipment and the system has responded as advertised. Every problem has inevitably come from the biggest issue in distilling--human error.

[Southernhighlander]

51 minutes ago, NateKThompson said:

I know and love you guys but I have to disagree. I've worked at over a dozen iStill sites and managed one for years. If you're a small distillery, you'd be absolutely insane to consider another still producer. Cost is one thing, but time is another. I have regularly run a still from my phone and been able to be out doing sales calls or getting time off. I've made basically every possible mistake on that equipment and the system has responded as advertised. Every problem has inevitably come from the biggest issue in distilling--human error.

You are opening yourself up for disaster.  A still should never be left completely unattended.  That's how distilling accidents occur.  Distilling accidents hurt everyone in the industry, so you not only hurt yourself, if an accident occurs, you hurt all of our businesses.  If Oden is allowing that he is wide open for a law suite when an accident occurs with no one at the distillery.

My safety manual states that a still should never be left completely unattended.  Anyone who does that voids our warranty and we accept no liability if a problem occurs. 

I have some questions.  Does Istill recommend running their stills unattended? Can you distill an on the grain mash in an Instill?  What is the run time for a stripping run in an Istill?  Can you fire an Istill with a steam boiler?

[SlickFloss]

8 hours ago, NateKThompson said:

I know and love you guys but I have to disagree. I've worked at over a dozen iStill sites and managed one for years. If you're a small distillery, you'd be absolutely insane to consider another still producer. Cost is one thing, but time is another. I have regularly run a still from my phone and been able to be out doing sales calls or getting time off. I've made basically every possible mistake on that equipment and the system has responded as advertised. Every problem has inevitably come from the biggest issue in distilling--human error.

I think it’s entirely appropriate to monitor a distillation off site and even control a distillation off site if you were running something that required a ton of tuning at large scale IF there is a qualified operator on-site. If you’re pot stilling I don’t think there’s a lot of soul in making heads and tails cuts from off site and I hope your whiskey sucks if you’re doing it that way, sorry not sorry : /. I don’t hope you have an accident though that’s not what I’m saying at all, that should also be done with an operator on site. 
 

A few things which I think are pretty big deals but you may not be tracking. Your zoning and ratings do not take into account unmonitored automated operations, this will come into play if you ever try and rebuild what you’ve lost or start a new business in my hypothetical situation.  if there were to be a hazardous incident created by the remote operation of a still that caused any damage, hope you don’t have neighbors, you would have zero insurance-property fire liability business medical anything you purchased- zero. Also for that damage to your neighbors property or maybe multiple properties you could also have civil liabilities. If you have code violations, which sorry but to be frank people who want their cake and eat it to are the the type that may have a few, in certain places in certain circumstances then there can also be criminal liabilities. Extent of civil and criminal liability aside you will be audited. You will fail that audit because of the code violations discovered in the investigation of your hazardous incident which triggered said audit. Consequently your DSP will be revoked. We call that the straight fucked down here in ole kentucker. 

[SlickFloss]

Note: I deleted a post from years ago in the initial conversation of this thread because things have changed I have learned and I would recommend different things now. If anyone is trying to get into column distillation feel free to PM me for my unabridged thoughts. I have dirt. On eeeeerybody.