MG Thermal Consulting

I recollect he has said he has around 400 stills in the US, is that right?

I can hardly believe he doesn't have a little more presence here to deal with such issues.

Bobs, hope you are able to straighten things out and let us know.

Others with more control expertise may well have much more to add, but you probably need to control the water flow/temp on both, don't you?

Good luck with it.

Let us know how the performance turns out.

Mike

Is this a new still & who made it? I do have someone looking for an "antique" looking still.

You can email me photos at mikegronski@gmail.com

Thanks.

TY, Mr. D. Hope you are having a busy summer!

It might be a stretch (shipping to Ireland) but I'm sure there are equivalent manufacturers there.

Some here in the US are placing underground cisterns (poly, fiberglass or I know one is rebuilding a city water station with cement tank) utilizing ground temp of 55F to help out. This doesn't work for Southern US but in the Northern States, underground storage is used and well as dry coolers in the winter acting like a radiator to provide cooling for under 30F outdoor temperatures.

So many here rely on revitalizing old dairy and pharmaceutical tanks as well.

Mike

Pog,

When you put together a closed loop chilled water system, it normally either also includes glycol (acts like an antifreeze if the chiller is located outdoors) or is treated with inhibitors (anti-biologicals) which makes it "process water" and not suitable for mixing with your sanitary water.

Mike

You can see samples on my website, from the standard packaged unit to large scale central chiller plants.

Regards,

Mike Gronski

www.mgthermalconsulting.com

It is a nebulous thing because you're comparing the heat input on the still, how long the still operates, how much water is a part of the vapor and the performance of the still condenser.

Sometimes the condenser manufacturer will tell you how much GPM you need (which is usually on the high side).

I've seen an equation used by ethanol plants and it gave me a headache.

If you like , give me a call and I can talk to you about it.

Regards,

Mike Gronski

770-995-4066

As you grow, it is proven the most effective way to run a cooling system from a constant control point of view is from a refrigerated chiller and a reservoir tank.

If you are crash cooling mash, it pretty much is a must unless you have a huge reservoir.

As you cooling water from outdoors goes anywhere above 60F, then the effectiveness in running your still is problematic an near impossible if you need to crash cool mash to near 70F.

Lately, some of the distilleries have turned to underground cisterns using treated water and add the chiller unit to supplement.

Basically they are trying to get a little buffer using the 55 degree ground. Care must be taken with insulating lines and heat tracing for outdoor piping as well.

Mike

Good luck!

Hope to talk to you at some point.

Mike

Hey, my Mother was born in Macadoo, PA, does that count (jk).

I can help you out on a budget for a cooling system, if that helps.

Regards,

Mike

Ugh, wrong Sag Harbor....sorry 'bout that!

Matt,

I remember visiting Sag Harbor when I used to drive to Alex Bay with son's sports team.

My Father had a potato farm down in Steuben County when I was young before we moved to Corning. I still remember the potato bins being filled up.

I have a company I work with down in this area who may be able to help you out (located in AL, tho). I plan to be more involved with their food processing and automation services in the future since they have processed potatoes, grains and other sources for mash, so if you are interested, give me a shout.

Regards,

Mike Gronski

770-995-4066

I would say the "true" calculations are more than likely kept secrets or those developed by paying for them.

You are left with empirical equations which also use "constants" that depend on the design of the hardware overall heat transfer coefficient- a ring around the rosie.

Looked at the picture from the news article...looks like an open end garage with no ventilation, sooo I can imagine air could be quite laden with alcohol vapor after such an extended run.

How can anyone stay awake for 3 days and function properly???

Just sayin' I wouldn't want to be his neighbor in that industrial park.

Sorry he was injured, but there might have been more injuries.

In industry, you cannot have anything that creates a spark in the same area as any alcohol vapors.

The normal practice, like mentioned above, is to isolate the areas.

I am somewhat surprised the fire inspector allowed it, but I'm sure there will be quite the investigation.

Mike

I would add Trident Stills from ME, they are very well thought of, especially in the NE.

I tend to agree- I have heard of explosions just due to a wind drift holding vapors in the corner of a building.

Of course, what caused the spark, that's the question.

If they are a broker, it is not uncommon to for them to

switch vendors on systems, maybe you have one of those cases where the components are not matching up.

I was thinking the same thing, two Nords in Minneapolis:)

Peter,

Is your whole system from them?

If not, is the still mfr helping you??

If you can calibrate your temp gauges from a known temp and know how to adjust, you should be ok without costing you too much.

Gauges can be anywhere from 2 to 5 degrees off, which is a lot when you are attempting to measure your BTU/hr load of your still, even after you measure your flow (in a bucket- a good tip for anyone!).

Good luck to you!

I would think variables like entering coolant temperature, flow and the exiting temperature of the product all would have some effect.

Engineers designing chemical condensers are usually very particular about all of the above.

For a rough example, a 5 ton chiller with pump, input will run somewhere around 8 KW, times hours in use, times cost cents/kwh.

You have to have a 50 amp service for 230/1/60, so there's that cost as well as minimal piping.

Does this help?