Heat Banking

[tenorbrew]

Hi Folks,

I'm planning a small distillery (in Australia) where I live.

I'm somewhat limited with power in my shed and don't want to go down the route of gas flame (kaboom!) or a steam boiler ($$$)

I'd like to run an electric 500L copper alembic still off of potentially only 15kW, which will mean a heat up time of about 3hrs (not ideal!).

To speed up heating and try to fit two stripping runs into my day I was thinking about building a hot liquor tank or two that I could let heat up over night (using off-peak power) and then in the morning use a heat exchanger to warm the wash on its way from the fermenter to the still. I could use the same setup to capture heat from pot ale/spent lees or condensers during the run.

In my head it works, but I was wondering if anyone else is doing this. 

I haven't committed to any equipment yet, but was thinking about direct immersion elements. Would a bain marie with a little pressure be advantageous?

Any tips would be most welcome.

Tenorbrew

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[richard1]

I wouldn't do that for a strip wash.  I run 18KW for a 700L still, direct heat.  Rather do it with automation where your still starts unattended heat up during the early hours of the morning up to a pre determined safe temperature point where condenser cooling is not yet required.  So when you walk in the morning, you are set to go.

 

[Glenlyon]

You'll need at least 18Kw and maybe even more - but, worth it as electricity is a good way to go. Steam is great, but not always feasible. 

[tenorbrew]

On 8/19/2023 at 1:12 PM, richard1 said:

I wouldn't do that for a strip wash.  I run 18KW for a 700L still, direct heat.  Rather do it with automation where your still starts unattended heat up during the early hours of the morning up to a pre determined safe temperature point where condenser cooling is not yet required.  So when you walk in the morning, you are set to go.

 

Thanks for the suggestion, Richard1. Have you ever had anything go wrong with the automation? I feel uneasy about leaving the still unattended/sleeping through my alarm...

[Pofarmer]

No chance of getting the electrical service upgraded?

This is crazy to me as "here" in the U.S. standard  house service is 250W and some larger homes have 400W services. I have a "250/400" service for home/farm which will run two 250W circuits or 400W continuous total. 

I would think if you are truly going commercial you could get some more power run.

 

[richard1]

13 hours ago, tenorbrew said:

Have you ever had anything go wrong with the automation? I feel uneasy about leaving the still unattended/sleeping through my alarm...

@tenorbrew  No.  You have to test and challenge the software to feel safe with its operation.  That said, you need to have further safety fall-backs in place should say something went wrong.

 

Before you go live with the operation, do a water heat up in place of a wash.