3TC

Vacuum pumps work well without ever touching the distillate or other product.

A vacuum pump setup may get you what you need, Irons Distillery. The liquid never touches the pump.

Thanks, Sam. All of the fittings on these are 304 grade stainless steel and use the tri-clover sanitary system for attaching myriad numbers of fittings, both top and bottom. A thermowell could certainly be adapted to them, I'm sure.

Regarding handles, yes they have threaded inserts on the back top that will allow handles to be attached. The handles will be 5" wide, made of stainless steel. They are currently in production and will be available in about a month for sale. We decided on 5" wide so that the handle can slide over the fork of a fork lift to move several around at a time. And they have been designed and tested to handle the weight of a full tank.

HI Guys,

Just thought I'd share a product line that I've been working on for the last several years and have just recently brought to market. These small format HDPE tanks are very durable and will fill the needs of a distiller for use for storing feints, foreshots and tails, as well as an intermediate tank to hold your good stuff until ready to bottle. They will also serve as small fermenters if you're working out some small batch recipes.

We've called them IntelliTanks and they have a lot of features that you may find useful in your ventures. You can find more information and accessories at www.catalyst-manufacturing.com. I hope you might find this bit of information useful.

Steve

If you don't have it yet, check out a great little ap called the Distiller's Toolbox (I think it was free). They have a proof calculator that has been very accurate for me. Dial it in, dilute and then mix well.

The International Building Code (IBC) will establish the separation requirements between your distillery and restaurant. For the most reliable information, hire an architect for a couple hours to do a code evaluation (or negotiate a freebie in anticipation of future design work) of your concept and you should be well informed.

It is alcohol resistant, even more so than EPDM at higher temperatures. EPDM will eventually embrittle at higher temperature exposure to alcohol (like in your column). But silicone can absorb flavors. EPDM less so.

EPDM is NSF and silicone is not because silicone generally (there are more expensive versions that are otherwise) can swell, and that means they can harbor stuff that can decay.

Not sure that is entirely accurate about silicone not being NSF approved. Many silicone products carry the NSF rating. I've found that obtaining the rating is quite expensive and requires ongoing membership updates, so if the product is not likely to be used for food contact the manufacturer wouldn't bear the expense of obtaining it. But a simple google search will show that a lot of silicone products are rated.

edpm is alcohol resistant, im not sure silicone is. it may be convenient but not alcohol safe.

I found this when researching whether to use silicone or EDPM gaskets on my sanitary fittings:

"Silicone rubber has outstanding resistance to oil at high temperatures. Among common organic rubbers, nitrile rubber and chloroprene rubber have somewhat higher oil resistance at temperatures below 100°C, but at higher temperatures silicone rubber is superior. Silicone rubber also has excellent resistance to solvents and other chemicals. It is essentially unaffected by polar organic compounds (aniline, alcohol, etc.) or dilute acids or bases, with the increase in volume due to swelling in the range of only 10%–15%. Silicone rubber does swell in non-polar organic compounds like benzene, toluene and gasoline; but unlike most organic rubbers, it does not decompose or dissolve, and will return to its former state when the solvent is removed. Silicone rubber is, however, adversely affected by strong acids and bases, so it should not be used where it will come in contact with such chemicals.

Typically, the effects of solvents on silicone are evidenced by the swelling, softening and reduced strength of the rubber; the extent of these effects depends on the type of solvent involved."

This was found on page six of this report: http://www.silicone....df/rubber_e.pdf