ViolentBlue

I have heard that the rule of thumb for steam boilers is: 1 BHP per 20 Gallon of still size. So, a 100 Gallon still needs 5 BHP. BHP = boiler horse power. One BHP = 34.5lb/hour of steam

Anyone agree....or not?

heat input is typically applied in BTU's or WATTS. BHP is abbreviation of Brake horse power, which can be broken back down into watts.

your BTU input should remain the same, either with steam or direct heat. if you were running a 100,000 btu of direct heat then you'll want a 120,000 btu boiler (20% increase for the inefficiencies of the system.

how efficiently the system works depends on a number of factors. low vs high pressure, how well your jacketing is able to transfer the heat, absolute pressure of the system as well as relative pressure and so forth.

it would be best to consult with an engineer to get a solid answer.

If you're purchasing your kettle, most manufacturers will have a BTU and steam pressure rating, its best to follow these numbers. but slightly oversizing the steam boiler (without exceeding the pressure rating) is always a good thing. its better to have to much than to little.

hey thanks Dwight, are you able to spin stainless? the plan is for the boiler to be made in two pieces from spun 16ga stainless then welded at the hip.

send me a private message with your email address and I'll shoot you the drawings

I posted a line rendering of a still I was designing for Artisan Still Design in my intro page a while back. I figured I'd update and post to its own thread.

its just a quick rendering, but shows the basics

30 gallon boiler, Made from 304 stainless with 8" manway.

working on direct heat and water bathed variants.

Column, is all copper, 4" diameter

will be available in 4 or 6 plate configurations.

2" sight glasses

modular design, so you can stack 2 or more column sections for making neutral product.

we're sourcing manufacturers for the last of the components right now, and aiming for the first units (batch of 10) to be available for early to Mid Summer.

aiming for a sub $5k price tag for the basic 4 plate version

with 300 gallons you might be pushing the limits of a 7/8 coil.

it will work, but it will probably be the biggest point of resistance in your system.

the length of coil you need would really depend on a lot of things, your reservoir size (barrel), water exchange rate in the barrel, incoming water temperature and your intended output speed. it all comes down to a matter of physics. Best follow #1 rule of "seat of pants" engineering- More is better.

I would venture a guess you'll want minimum of 50'of worm and very fast flowing and very cold water. add more length for slower water or higher temperature water.

a 7/8 coil might be sufficient if you were to use a precondenser of some sort before your vapor entered the 7/8 coil. the purpose of the precondenser is not to liquefy all vapor coming through, but to knock it down to a level that the coil can manage. a shotgun style could be built compact enough to fit the bill, you wouldn't need a long section, maybe 16-24" before feeding the Worm.

I have made a few batches of jasmine rice spirit myself and it has to be one of the softest, most pleasant spirits. I've been thinking a rice Vodka or Gin for my startup distillery, but rice isn't grown around here

congrats and good luck on your venture.

Nice unit. Does the column include bubble caps or packing? The drawing seems to show bubble caps that can be opened or closed manually. Certainly sounds like a great deal for a small unit to run test batches. Let me know when you have one built.

yes its a bubble cap system, and yes the valves on the side are for plate disabling.

we've sent the drawings for the first parts off for manufacturing, and hoping to have them available and up for sale by early fall.

Victoria spirits uses a wood fired water bathed still to make their gin and single malt whiskey (whiskey hasn't matured yet so its not being sold currently)

I've been doing some minor design work for a startup company making parts for distilling equipment.

I figured I'd put this out there.

this is an early sketch of a small distillation system I've roughed out in AutoCAD.

Its no where near final, but looks to be in the sub 4k price range for the 30 gallon version.

boiler will be 304ss

6" or 8" manway (yet to be determined)

4" triclover flange for column connection.

3- 2" triclover flanges at the bottom for drainage or electric heating.

column will be all copper.

boiler can be electric heated, or direct gas heated

with a little work could be double boiler or steam heated.

I personally think the boilers would make fantastic fermenters or low wines storage.

and I'll be getting a complete unit for small batch recipe trials.

we got corn, barley rye and wheat here, so I'll be working with all of these.

the idea is to focus on 100% local ingredients, (gin being an exception since most of the botanicals won't grow locally)

I'll probably follow the typical route of vodka/gin first then aged whiskeys for sale once they've had enough time to age.

Bourbon is my favorite whiskey and I'd love to make it, but not sure if theres provision under labeling laws to call it such if its made in Canada.

but I'll make Single Malt, my own version of a Canadian Whiskey as well as a wheat whiskey.

I'd like to make rum too, but molasses isn't exactly a local ingredient.

I figured it was time to register here and introduce myself.

I'm located on the Canadian Prairies and have recently made the decision to pursue my Artisan Distiller Licence. Unfortunately no such classification exists in this province, however B.C. and Ontario it does.

So this means I have to begin work on getting the laws changed.

My background is in Mechanical systems design (glorified CAD jockey), and having studied a healthy dose of organic chemistry, I believe I have the skills to make this work well. I'm currently working with a contact in china, on a startup company, designing and producing still parts and small scale distillation equipment.

My intentions are to design most of my equipment myself, as I've got 80% of the design finished with just tweaking and changes to be made for the sake of build cost.