ViolentBlue

discussing with the factory about boiler options. if the water bath doesn't work for you, we should be able to accommodate steam heat, and larger boiler sizes too.

Yes, that would be on a hidden layer in this drawing, but it will be there. also looking at adding a valve to bypass the column, allowing the unit to operate as an alembic if so desired.

very similar design, there are a number of manufacturers building stills along this line.

its actually makes use of a waterbath, heating could be done with wood fire, gas or waste oil. plan for 75,000 btu

water actually feeds into the bottom of the product condenser(counter flow), then out the top to the reflux. this is the reasoning behind such a long product condenser. allowing it to condense out the product appropriately, but heat the cooling water up to a point where its at the correct temperature for the reflux. this will be handled by a temperature sensor in the reflux controlling a pair of solenoid valves on the input regulating flow. that way one controls the reflux rate by the temperature control rather than attempting to balance manually.

I have a design we've been working on, just a little more work and its ready to go into production. a few things are missing on this design, but I won't point them all out at this time. I invite your comments and questions.

moved to its own thread

my question is this. What you call bourbon made in Canada? since bourbon by definition must be made in the US.

I made a post a while back on the still design we were working on. I've remained silent about the changes its gone through until it had gone into production. so I'm happy to announce that fabrication has begun on the boilers, the columns are being assembled and will hopefully be ready for purchase within the next 2-3 months. column construction is a combination of stainless copper and borosilicate glass elements. 4" inner diameter plates, bubblecaps, dephlegmator and condenser coils are copper all seals will be PTFE we will be offering an optional copper catalyser. Boiler is 304 stainless steel 141L total capacity 120L working capacity 8" manway 1-2" triclamp drain on bottom 3-2" triclamp connections around bottom perimeter for electric element positioning 2-2" triclamp connections on top for vacuum break and over-pressure valve 1-4" triclapm connection for column boilers will be mirror polished. entire setup sits just over 6 feet tall. I still cannot give a final sale price, but they will be in the range of $4500 as pictured. we will announce when we are ready to ship, and will begin taking deposits. the boilers and columns will be sold separate as well if thats what you want. Please email steven@artisancopperworks.com for further information.

I've tried contacting them about their boilers, no response. from what I can see of their designs, they seem setup for fruit brandies and such. Grappa would be a natural fit.

the micro explosions you're referring to are most likely the steam bubbles rapid cooling and collapsing, which causes a popping sound. it can be violent enough to shake equipment loose or wear things out quicker. think of the old time thump keg than moonshiners used, this operated on the same principle. if the equipment is properly designed to take this stress, then theres no real problem, but yes smaller bubbles means smaller pops, and much less stress.

You can keep your yeast going like that for a number of generations. you may find that eventually it will peter out and you'll need to repitch. not sure about the reason for the yeast slowing down, but it can happen.

we've been doing some major redesign work on out columns and boilers so please watch for an upcoming announcement to this effect. including larger boiler sizes and new column designs. sorry about being cryptic but we want to show actual production units ready to go before we announce anything.

innovation is often gut feeling and seat of pants engineering, so Uncle Rob, hats off to you. You've done well refining your design. the design we're working on is a well trod path, so its easy (well not exactly easy) to work the math out based on calcs that someone has figured out before. the bubblecap still design has been around for 20 years plus. so its an easy read to take. Perforated plates have been around almost as long, but information has not been as readily available. so on the size scale we're looking at Perforated plates are a new thing, and lots of trial, error and hard work had gone into getting them balanced just so. I still contend that perforated plate columns and bubblecaps columns are two very different animals with very different applications, but each in their intended applications are worthy of respect.

its an interesting thought. forklifts are generally fueled by propane or electricity, so I'd imagine a propane powered one would be the place to start. You'd need to swap it over to carburetter, and jet it appropriately for ethanol. not impossible, and certainly not overly difficult for someone with medium level mechanical ability. its clean burning, but you'd still want to make sure you're well ventilated. also I've heard that straight ethanol is too "dry" for a regular gasoline engine, you would need some additives to keep things slippery in the combustion chamber, so cylinder walls and valves don't see undue wear.

here are some calculations and the beginnings of a design came across them a few days ago, I've not had time to absorb them completely but they're far ahead of what I was working on in my own head.

we look to be on track for summer delivery. Yes we can offer onsite Consulting and setup. Please email me at steven@artisanstilldesign.com I can talk specifics if you'd like.

www.artisanstilldesign.com shelves are bare on the webstore at the moment, we'll be filling them up as parts arrive.

we're working on a 30 gallon plated still that would be a good starter unit. we haven't quite got it ready for sale yet, but it should be ready by summer. if you're looking for a potstill, I cant recommend Sherman's stuff enough. his work is nothing short of fantastic, true functional copper art

Steam is the best option for heating your still, but high pressure steam brings with is many issues. a steam heating system isn't something you can put together yourself, you need to have it engineered and installed by professionals. operation requires a steam engineers ticket. Low pressure steam has more forgiveness, and does not require the same certification to run. Low pressure steam is not as efficient at transferring heat, but your equipment still needs to be certified for use. this is where heat transfer fluids are good. they do not require pressure vessel rating and are nearly as efficient as steam, the shortcomings can be overcome by running at higher temperatures. Both steam and heat transfer fluids have their inefficiencies and their disadvantages, but in proper application Heat transfer fluids can be a better option especially as you first begin. Once I get my micro licence, I Intend to use glycol heating with an external boiler and circulation.

we're working on a waterbath setup for it, so one could use electric elements to heat the water/glycol bath or the boiler can be fitted with fittings for direct heat in the boiler. 3 phase heat regulators are nice and easy to control, if you have access to 3 phase, if not we can help set you up with a single or multi element system. I'd recommend 10k w for heatup and 3k for running.Variable heat is nice for precise control.

No problem Jedd. like I stated earlier we hope to have the first units shipping by the beginning of summer.

thanks for the vote of confidence Joe. yes there is a great deal of difference between the two. first difference is as Joe pointed out, this column uses bubble caps on its plates rather than perforated plates. 2nd, every part on this still is purpose designed and made of copper, not retrofitted plumbing parts. 3rd, every part is TIG welded together, no soft solder is used. 4th, I cannot speak for the "Hillbilly Flutes" but ours is an engineered piece of distilling machinery, the math has been checked, rechecked then checked again from scratch. it has been in process for 2 years. 5th, this is designed to be a professional quality still aimed at professionals. 6th, the boiler is a custom designed, professionally built unit. this is NOT a retrofitted vessel meant for some other use. There will be some who will prefer to purchase the "Hillbilly Flute", thats fine, we are not in competition with them, they have a very different market segment than we are aiming for. However, I feel the need to be clear, these are two very different apparati in design implementation and intended use, and other than the fact that both columns have a similar outer diameter and both have windows to see into the column, they have nothing in common.

Hi Jedd, tell us what you're planning to make, or are you planning on going head to Head with Old New Orleans in making rum?