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HedgeBird

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Everything posted by HedgeBird

  1. According to Latina's website they make tanks in 1,250 liters. This 330 gallon tank size would seem like a useful size given the number of folks operating 300 gallon distillation systems. I know I contacted you guys recently about this size tank and am still waiting to hear back!
  2. That may very well be true; I honestly have no idea. I know in the conversations I have read it was pointed out that if using sweet corn you should get it fermenting quickly as the sugars begin converting to starch immediately after picking; or blanch it after picking to stop the conversion to starch. I will point out again that this info was not from a commercial distillery, and I cant imagine it being practical in anyway.
  3. I have not heard of anyone using fresh un-dried feed corn, probably because its not really available like Huffy said. I know there are a number of folks who have done sweet corn liquor, some without mashing as modern sweet corn is already filled with sugar. Lots of info on the home-distiller based forums. If using sweet corn some might argue that it would actually be a vegetable liquor (brandy perhaps?) and not a whiskey, as apparently corn is actually a vegetable, a grain, and a fruit at different times..
  4. Congrats and welcome back! Heads up on the distillery name though: http://www.coloradohighlandsdistillery.com/
  5. Lots of people have paid deposits on whiskey that has not yet been made. I took payment for barrels that customers are going to be waiting years for delivery on. They want 5 year old whiskey, I dont have 5 year old whiskey now, I still sold them 5 year old whiskey and will deliver in the future as agreed. Paying a deposit in advance is not in of of itself a foolish thing..
  6. That really sucks. I cant think of what else to say, but F those guys. So very sorry. Even this email you shared from their lawyer seems crazy shady and inappropriate. Why would a companies lawyer be actively soliciting more funds from the companies clients, while in the process of advising them on bankruptcy options?
  7. Are there photos, pricing and options for fermenters on your website? Or is that info only available via email/phone? Who should we email for that info?
  8. The mash in the kettle will boil at a temperature based on the concentration of alcohol in the kettle. You are not able to choose what temperature something boils at. If you continue to add more steam/energy/heat to the boiling kettle this will simply generate more vapor, not increase the mash temp. If you reduce the steam/energy/heat going to the kettle this will reduce the vapor being generated, and eventually if reduced enough the kettle will stop boiling and start dropping in temperature. If you continue to add energy to the kettle and create more steam vapor, then your eventually also going to need to increase the cooling water in your condensers. The speed that you can run your still is limited by either the heating or cooling capacity of your setup.
  9. Does it work if I upload them... ? 1925245376_envirtualtourfeedback.avi
  10. If you spend some time searching for this you will find its a common occurrence in many mass produced spirits as well.. Countless discussions of this both with consumers and producers. The only recommendation I have found to actually address the issue is to "Pour the whiskey into the water. Not the water into the whiskey." Not my recommendation, but the only actual suggestion I have found. Perhaps bottling under a slight vacuum (or pressure) might help address the issue?
  11. I am getting the same error now, but it did download yesterday.. <shrug>
  12. The attachment is a video file, not a .jpg. I was able to download it and play the video on my computer. There are just so many variables its kind of hard to give feedback. Here is what I remember thinking from watching most of the video yesterday.. The whole barrels shaped building and bottle shaped windows are cheesy/gimmicky... (This is really just my personal opinion. as I am sure there are folks who would really get a kick out of it) The bottling line area is very far away from the production/storage area; with a number of walls in the way. You will have to end up running hoses all the way around the office/courtyard area from the storage tank area. What I think is the brewing/fermenting area is also separated from the distilling area, so again much longer hoses, or you have a hole in the wall for them to run through? Basically I dont see the need to separate brewing/fermenting/distilling operations into distinct spaces with walls in between. Having a walled off area for bottling might make sense, but then it should be directly next to the tank storage area. Change the layout of the rack house so all the barrels are able to be oriented in the same direction. Dont have a hallway to the brewing area going through the rack-house that effectively turns half your rack-house space into a hallway. No idea what your business model is, but if it includes a tasting room then you probably should make the tasting room much larger. If you are only doing samples of product its probably fine, but if you are thinking you are going to be open evenings and weekends and serve cocktails, and try to use it as a bar, then make it bigger. More seats, more dedicated storage for the bar and merchandise, a backroom for preparation of syrups, mixers, garnished etc. Also - Where is the storage area for pallets of empty bottles and, pallets of bottled product? I dont know what the total square footage of this layout out is, but it seems to be planned for an operation similar in size to my own, and at any one time we might have 10 pallets of empty bottles, 15 pallets of filled bottles and 6 pallets of grain.
  13. People click on the link to your website, take a look at the ugly site design and think "these guys cant be for real." They then open the Corson site and say "ahh, yes, this is what im looking for." You need to get your website spruced up Paul; right now your just making Corson look good.
  14. https://elitecustomglass.com Give these guys a call next time, or if you just want to have another pair of spares on hand. I don't think they will tell you to go to the manufacturer Like Paul said, tell us about your pump and sight glass. While there probably are not a lot of folks on this forum who can help you with getting a response from Holstein, I doubt there are many parts on your still that this community cant help you find replacements for.
  15. If your talking about liquid level sight-glass replacements they are readily available all over the internet. Chances are Holstein did not manufacture the pump, and if there are parts that need replaced they are probably available online as well. That or just replace it or find someone locally to fix it. Perhaps Holstein is not getting back to you not because the still was never paid for, but rather because the don't want to bother dealing with $30 replacement sight glasses you can buy online and 5 year old pumps that are not under warranty? If there are Holstein specific parts then that might be another story, but the stuff you listed seems like you should be able to address on your own.
  16. This might just be the worst suggestion I have ever read posted on this forum.
  17. Found this shorty, but cant tell for certain if its actually a proof hydrometer. https://usa.banggood.com/Portable-0-100-Alcoholometer-Hydrometer-Glass-Tester-18_5cm-Homebrew-Beer-Home-Wine-Making-Gadget-p-1325820.html?gmcCountry=US&amp;currency=USD&amp;createTmp=1&amp;utm_source=googleshopping&amp;utm_medium=cpc_bgcs&amp;utm_content=zouzou&amp;utm_campaign=pla-usg-tools-pc&amp;cur_warehouse=CN Three piece set that does seem to be proof: (cant read the Chinese though to be sure!) https://usa.banggood.com/3Pcs-Wine-Making-Hygrometer-Alcohol-Meter-Tester-Thermometer-Measure-Test-0-100-0-40-40-70-70-100-p-1130810.html?rmmds=detail-left-hotproducts__6&amp;HotRecToken=CgEwEAIaAklWIgJQRCgB&amp;cur_warehouse=CN If anything the prices are right...
  18. No. The mill and bottle filler may be listed at a fair price. The other equipment seems to be listed at full retail price, but its not what most of us would want in our distilleries. As has you have already been told - The still itself is way over priced, not properly designed, has way more negatives than positives and is lacking any required safety features. Used equipment is always available. Distilleries are always going to be going out of business. Your not missing out on some great opportunity by passing on this.
  19. It looks more like a 100 gallon still with a mis-matched 300 gallon kettle. By the time you get all the additions done your talking about, you may very well be close to the cost of a new 300 gallon still that has the features you want already and none of the negatives this still has. To elaborate on still sizing. Most people call a still 100 gallons or 300 gallons because it can hold 100 or 300 gallons of mash. But if the still can only process 100 gallons of mash in an 8 hour period, then its effectively only a 100 gallon still no matter how large the kettle is.
  20. The devil does not like being cheated his fair share by smart folks who try to double their budget and time estimates from the start. If you put your doubled numbers down on paper in your business plan hes going to know; and make you double again. The only way to trick him is to leave your budget at $1 and know in your head its going to cost $2.
  21. I think the chances of creating a vacuum are probably greater than over pressure. (at least on the jackets) For example: You have a hot mash tun or still kettle that has just been emptied and the steam is closed off. Someone takes a cold water hose and starts washing down the hot tank, causing the air in the jacket to rapidly cool and contract. If your jacket is plumber for heating and cooling both, this is ever more likely to create a vacuum as air might not be able to come back in the outlet if you have the condensate line closed off to run cooling water. If your not running cooling and steam in the same jacket best not to have a valve on the condensate line at all, and to make sure the condensate line has an air vent.
  22. Have you tried running it with the steam trap in place, but the condensate line disconnected? (Just capture the condensate from the trap in a bucket) This would tell you if the problem is with the return piping. Drawling also shows an agitator. Have you tried agitating while heating up?
  23. I dont think you ever mentioned how large of a batch you have in the still at the moment. Is it possible you have a partial batch in, and that you have plumbed the upper jacket for steam, meaning that most of your mash is not in contact with the heated surfaces? This might also explain the heat patterns you are showing on the exterior of the still... Other options along this line is that you mixed up the the inlets and outlets for the two jackets? (although I think that was ruled out earlier as you mentioned your getting steam out the outlet when removing the trap...)
  24. I have a similar trap to the one in this photo, and it is installed in what seems to be the opposite direction, with the drain plug thing pointing towards the inlet side... I also have this small trap installed on a 150 gallon still and have a much larger trap on my bigger still thats still not as large as yours. Are you 100% sure that thing is not backwards? Is it possible its undersized for this jacket?
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