ViolentBlue Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 I posted a line rendering of a still I was designing for Artisan Still Design in my intro page a while back. I figured I'd update and post to its own thread. its just a quick rendering, but shows the basics 30 gallon boiler, Made from 304 stainless with 8" manway. working on direct heat and water bathed variants. Column, is all copper, 4" diameter will be available in 4 or 6 plate configurations. 2" sight glasses modular design, so you can stack 2 or more column sections for making neutral product. we're sourcing manufacturers for the last of the components right now, and aiming for the first units (batch of 10) to be available for early to Mid Summer. aiming for a sub $5k price tag for the basic 4 plate version Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WineMaker Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 Rendering looks very nice. If you can send me drawing of pot I would like to give you a quote to manufacture them. Best Regards, Dwight Busalacchi Mio Vigneto Products, Inc (415) 531-6450 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViolentBlue Posted March 13, 2011 Author Share Posted March 13, 2011 hey thanks Dwight, are you able to spin stainless? the plan is for the boiler to be made in two pieces from spun 16ga stainless then welded at the hip. send me a private message with your email address and I'll shoot you the drawings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViolentBlue Posted March 29, 2011 Author Share Posted March 29, 2011 well we have completed final revision of the design, and parts are starting to arrive. we've found some interesting ways of building the column so it will be high quality, but keeping the price as affordable as possible. we've decided to manufacture the column in sections of 10 plates. a 10 plate section is 1 meter long (or high) the idea being that someone can order their still with 1 through 10 plates (4 would probably be most common) or if you wanted a 20 plate vodka still, you could attach 2- 10 plate sections or even have a secondary external 10 plate section for neutral runs. we're working on a waterbath/glycol heating setup, which will probably follow some time after our first run of stills. Because of the response we've had, we've decided to up out initial run of 10 stills to 20. We've set a goal of 100 units for the 30 gallon boilers, once we reach that we're going to push hard to produce some larger sized units, next logical step would be 60 gallons. When we begin on the 120 gallon units, we'll have to look at larger sized columns. the math works for our current column design with a 60 gallon boiler, but we'll have to look at increasing to a 6" column for the 120, need to do some calculations and computer modeling to see if it would be better to skip right to 8" to handle even larger sized boiler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bastian Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 The work you folks are doing sounds exciting for microdistilleries to come. I'm sold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedd Haas Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 This still seems comparable in size/concept to the "Hillbilly Flute," which sells for $2k. I notice you do have the individual takeoff valves on the column, as a point of differentiation; and your capacity is also a bit larger (30 gallons vs. 26 gallons). Can you elaborate on what else might be different or better to result in the $2k price difference? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViolentBlue Posted April 5, 2011 Author Share Posted April 5, 2011 The named build is made in back yard shop quality (see customers pics and quotes); I don’t think that VB is going that down. They are using perforated plates which are designed for continious runs for batch stills, it's like eating a soup with a hammer. I know that VB and his partner are sourcing first quality material and workmanship which will not be comparable to that hobby made ones. thanks for the vote of confidence Joe. yes there is a great deal of difference between the two. first difference is as Joe pointed out, this column uses bubble caps on its plates rather than perforated plates. 2nd, every part on this still is purpose designed and made of copper, not retrofitted plumbing parts. 3rd, every part is TIG welded together, no soft solder is used. 4th, I cannot speak for the "Hillbilly Flutes" but ours is an engineered piece of distilling machinery, the math has been checked, rechecked then checked again from scratch. it has been in process for 2 years. 5th, this is designed to be a professional quality still aimed at professionals. 6th, the boiler is a custom designed, professionally built unit. this is NOT a retrofitted vessel meant for some other use. There will be some who will prefer to purchase the "Hillbilly Flute", thats fine, we are not in competition with them, they have a very different market segment than we are aiming for. However, I feel the need to be clear, these are two very different apparati in design implementation and intended use, and other than the fact that both columns have a similar outer diameter and both have windows to see into the column, they have nothing in common. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedd Haas Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 I'm considering several different units. In considering small-scale units, that one seems to be pretty prominent. Thanks for the head-to-head comparison. Looking forward to hearing more about your unit as you complete it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViolentBlue Posted April 5, 2011 Author Share Posted April 5, 2011 No problem Jedd. like I stated earlier we hope to have the first units shipping by the beginning of summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedd Haas Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 For electric heat, what is the heating requirement? Will this be by hotplate or induction heat? Or by immersion heaters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViolentBlue Posted April 6, 2011 Author Share Posted April 6, 2011 For electric heat, what is the heating requirement? Will this be by hotplate or induction heat? Or by immersion heaters. we're working on a waterbath setup for it, so one could use electric elements to heat the water/glycol bath or the boiler can be fitted with fittings for direct heat in the boiler. 3 phase heat regulators are nice and easy to control, if you have access to 3 phase, if not we can help set you up with a single or multi element system. I'd recommend 10k w for heatup and 3k for running.Variable heat is nice for precise control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stillman Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 well we have completed final revision of the design, and parts are starting to arrive. we've found some interesting ways of building the column so it will be high quality, but keeping the price as affordable as possible. we've decided to manufacture the column in sections of 10 plates. a 10 plate section is 1 meter long (or high) the idea being that someone can order their still with 1 through 10 plates (4 would probably be most common) or if you wanted a 20 plate vodka still, you could attach 2- 10 plate sections or even have a secondary external 10 plate section for neutral runs. we're working on a waterbath/glycol heating setup, which will probably follow some time after our first run of stills. Because of the response we've had, we've decided to up out initial run of 10 stills to 20. We've set a goal of 100 units for the 30 gallon boilers, once we reach that we're going to push hard to produce some larger sized units, next logical step would be 60 gallons. When we begin on the 120 gallon units, we'll have to look at larger sized columns. the math works for our current column design with a 60 gallon boiler, but we'll have to look at increasing to a 6" column for the 120, need to do some calculations and computer modeling to see if it would be better to skip right to 8" to handle even larger sized boiler. Do you have a website or a place to check on availability? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViolentBlue Posted April 22, 2011 Author Share Posted April 22, 2011 www.artisanstilldesign.com shelves are bare on the webstore at the moment, we'll be filling them up as parts arrive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rumfarmer Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 Are you still on track for the summer delivery of your first units? Count me in as very interested. Can you provide the overall dimensions and weight for the final setup? Also, will you provide any onsite setup and or consulting services for novice startups? Thanks, Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViolentBlue Posted April 25, 2011 Author Share Posted April 25, 2011 Are you still on track for the summer delivery of your first units? Count me in as very interested. Can you provide the overall dimensions and weight for the final setup? Also, will you provide any onsite setup and or consulting services for novice startups? Thanks, Robert we look to be on track for summer delivery. Yes we can offer onsite Consulting and setup. Please email me at steven@artisanstilldesign.com I can talk specifics if you'd like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Rob Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 Most all of the parts I use in my builds are built for me specifically to my drawings. My fittings are being manufactured at this time to my specifications. I have also built several units that the columns can be attached together. I hope you understand my columns are protected by federal copyright laws. I am in the process of building a 6" 6 plate column at this time. I am sourcing out builders at this time for a 60 gallon boiler also. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Rob Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 The named build is made in back yard shop quality (see customers pics and quotes); I don’t think that VB is going that down. They are using perforated plates which are designed for continious runs for batch stills, it's like eating a soup with a hammer. I know that VB and his partner are sourcing first quality material and workmanship which will not be comparable to that hobby made ones. I have a dedicated Shop with fabrication equipment. It is not a back yard shop. I am a proffessional LLC with all the necessary licensing. I am in contact with Vendome brass and copper frequently. They have given me some great advice about materials to use for my builds. I take great pride in my products and I am a proffesional builder. I am the owner and operator of Hillbilly Stills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Rob Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 I am currently working with another builder to build a double walled boier. stainless outside and copper inside. Oil jacket heated with electric emersion heaters. They will be in the 60 gallon and 100 gallon range. When I have more informtion I will come back here and let you know more about it. Right now it is in the designing stage. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViolentBlue Posted May 25, 2011 Author Share Posted May 25, 2011 innovation is often gut feeling and seat of pants engineering, so Uncle Rob, hats off to you. You've done well refining your design. the design we're working on is a well trod path, so its easy (well not exactly easy) to work the math out based on calcs that someone has figured out before. the bubblecap still design has been around for 20 years plus. so its an easy read to take. Perforated plates have been around almost as long, but information has not been as readily available. so on the size scale we're looking at Perforated plates are a new thing, and lots of trial, error and hard work had gone into getting them balanced just so. I still contend that perforated plate columns and bubblecaps columns are two very different animals with very different applications, but each in their intended applications are worthy of respect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViolentBlue Posted June 2, 2011 Author Share Posted June 2, 2011 we've been doing some major redesign work on out columns and boilers so please watch for an upcoming announcement to this effect. including larger boiler sizes and new column designs. sorry about being cryptic but we want to show actual production units ready to go before we announce anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now