HottyToddy77

do you have a blue print type drawing of this column? 

do you just put the wash in the pot at the bottom or is it fed into the column?  

go electric. you can get xp motors and vfd's to adjust speed 

I was thinking of getting a stainless tote

23 hours ago, ZAK Cooperage said:

At ZAK Cooperage we are always taking on new customers and we welcome additions. We offer standard 53 & 30 gallon barrels with craft options including 2 year air seasoned white oak, stave grooving, etc. Currently we can get most orders delivered within 2 weeks notice. Feel free to contact us at Zach.Zimlich@gmail.com or 502-475-1600 or come meet us at our ADI booth 1024. 

We have been happy with our ZAK barrels. They ship their barrels on pallets for no extra charge which we like. ZAK barrels seal up tight and almost never leak, I cannot say the same for 2 other companies we tried.  Haven’t tried ISC yet. 

1 hour ago, Silk City Distillers said:

Why is it an issue?  It's the age of the youngest whiskey added.

 

yes that is what would need to be done. 

True Solera uses all previously used barrels also?

Not sure if there is much difference between solera and "vatting" (and possibly finishing in a different barrel). not sure what you end goal is.   

Age statement can be an issue 

Is that oak or pine?

Anyone use something like a Take-A-Label TAL-3100T Tamp Label Applicator to apply lables to an oval flask style bottle?

http://www.propacksolutions.com/Take-A-Label-TAL-3100T-Tamp-Label-Applicator_p_434.html?gclid=Cj0KCQiAw9nUBRCTARIsAG11eidt3pzU-2QKG5y-IVO2rUMJ_h8hq3sYsCJ494eoPXWBcq8kIRZCShQaAonIEALw_wcB  

is there a reason you aren't just dumping your barrels?

you could siphon if they are high enough. 

another pump option is a small diaphragm pump that doesn't take much air like a flojet G70C ATEX Kalrez® Air Operated Diaphragm Pump 
 

8 hours ago, MGL said:

Today I learned how I should be filling my CIP system with ketchup instead of citric.  What brand do you recomend for a 300 gallon hybrid still?

PBW and citric are quite different cleaners. For starters one has a pH of about 2 and the other has a pH of about 12. You can't clean a still with just acid and you cant get copper shiny with PBW.

Al didn't mention he wanted to use it in a CIP. Cheapest Ketchup you can find MGL. My still doesn't have a CIP system. Yes PBW is a base and citric is an acid of course. Ketchup has some acid in it but it is in lower concentrations.

I don't see the need in shinny copper plates in my column but each to their own. I just scrub my copper plates with PBW every few weeks. My still doesn't have a CIP system. There has been at least on distillery ruin their Vendome still from using acid. That being said ask your manufacture what they recommend.

I wouldn’t use a strong acid if will eat your copper.  Ketchup is what many use. 

Pbw is copper safe. 

I have bought over 100 barrels from ZAK. I have tried a few other cooperages and we like ZAK the best. never had a head leak with a ZAK barrel? 

7 hours ago, HottyToddy77 said:

so who makes the stamps or stencil? 

http://www.customcutstencil.com/

customcutstencil.com or email them stencilquotes@gmail.com 

So who has recommendations on Silos? 

looking to put corn in a silo to save on storage space. Do I need an insulated malt silo or will a standard silo work. We do have high humidity as we are only 10 miles or so from the Gulf.

I saw an old thread where Deerhammer was erecting a silo from K-Malt. 

7 minutes ago, Still_Holler said:

Thanks, that is a great mash technique article, we do add the backset pre-cook.

wilderness trail and fermsolutions are the same people. Fermsolutions has some good enzymes and yeast. 

so who makes the stamps or stencil? 

http://adiforums.com/topic/8046-bourbon-mash-question/?tab=comments#comment-45532

read how Wilderness Trail Dist. describes how to mash. Is that your process? I would add the back-set to the initial cook.

1 hour ago, paulNL said:

I use a similar round bottle which is smaller at the bottom, couldn't find any semi automatic labeler <5K USD that can work with that. In the end I bought a 500 dollar manual labeler, that works fine. Do remember that you can't have a label that goes around (almost) the whole bottle, but you'll be fine with a conventional front and rear label.

For square bottles I'm going to buy the AP550, at the moment I apply them by hand.

What is the information on your manual labeled?

Many people like the FLIP pumps for mash. Air is not as efficient as direct drive electrical. 

A stainless centrifugal pump also works well. Make sure your elect motor  is XP rated. 

51 minutes ago, Southernhighlander said:

HottyToddy,

That sounds like a good common sense solution.

A flapper on the inside of the tank would possibly be nicer but the grain might cake on and prevent closing. 3" stainless ball valves aren't cheap. I found mine on Amazon.

So we are looking to get a labeling machine for a bottle that is oval and tapered "Philadelphia flask" very similar to a Bullet bourbon bottle but it also tapers.

I checked on a Race labeling machine since they get decent review on here, but it seemed expensive given it was all manual. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frk84bXt4Vc&feature=youtu.be

The other option appears to be a Primera AP550 https://www.primera.com/equipment/label-applicators/ap550-flat-surface-label-applicator.html

We also have a round bottle for another product we want to label. The Race could do both but the Primera could not. Any other labeling machines people recommend?

those flow jet pumps are around 5 gpm and I was planning on using one of those. batches would probably range from 50 gallons to 250 gallons. I sent an email to Paul so we could work from there and maybe talk Monday, I called Friday but you were out. After we have something working we could update everyone.

we have a 3" tri-clamp fitting on our mash tun so we used a valve to stop the steam. we were using a butterfly valve but switched it out today for a  big stainless ball valve because it kept clogging. we open the valve right before the grain starts to fall and close it once done. 

1 hour ago, Southernhighlander said:

I have a customer in New Jersey that ordered a parts kit from me for a carbon filter set which included a vacuum pump and trap.  He said that he received the design from an expert and that the expert told him that the best results are obtained by having the pump suck the spirit through the carbon instead of pushing it through.  He also said that running under vacuum enhanced the filtering process.   Does anyone know anything about this type of carbon filtering set up?  I am getting ready to research this and do some thorough testing.  Is anyone here interested in seeing the results of the testing? 

I would like to see some actual testing for a carbon filter. then you could build us a kit at a good price so we didn't have to hunt down all the pieces.

vacuum would probably work but will the pump be able to draw it through a large filter or would that be too much head for the pump. 

I am leaning toward building a filter with 4 spools that are 4" in diameter and  24" long in a series as illustrated on page 3 of the article silk posted.

22 minutes ago, Silk City Distillers said:

I could not get columns to work effectively for decolorization.  The end result had far too little flavor.

I use powdered carbon and treat an entire tank in one shot by making a slurry, then rapidly filtering the slurry.

interesting some moonshiners in my area hang granulated carbon wrapped in cheese cloth down in a tank for a week or so to get the benefits of carbon.