Brothers Vilgalys Spirits Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 I've been playing with different designs for how I'd like to set up my production (blending) facility, and one of the goals we've set is to make this as environmentally friendly as possible. I just wondered if there's anyone out there running an entire production off of gravity alone. What I'm thinking of is basically a glorified brewers rack that uses steam jacketed kettles and a biomass boiler for heating, then lets everything drain straight downwards into the next step, all the way to the bottling tank at the bottom. I'd love to run the whole thing without any pumps at all. Does anyone have any thoughts about why this may not be practical, besides the extra vertical space required? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jequick Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 The Mackmyra whiskey distillery in Gavle, Sweden is currently constructing a gravity flow distillery. It will be the first of its kind. I pulled a couple links for you. There isn't much technical information, but at least you know the concept can be done, and there's possibly someone you can talk to about it. http://pondsthlm.com/whisky-engineered-by-nature/ You'll have to translate this into English. It gives general information about the plant design. http://www.mackmyra.se/content/besoek/mackmyra_whiskyby/?p=Gravitationsdestilleriet Basically, it's similar to what you have in mind. I think it's an intriguing idea. Good luck! -Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WilliamNV Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 Opus One in Napa Valley does a gravity feed system on all of their production. They have a multistoried building and lift the grapes via an outside elevator to the crush at the top, then feed down to their final casking level. My only thought is, don't get so wrapped up in being green that you can't make a profit... Best of luck! William Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott @ Twenty2Vodka Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 Does anyone have any thoughts about why this may not be practical, besides the extra vertical space required? Gravity might look powerful when peering at Niagara Falls, but when you can measure the volume you are moving in the hundreds-of-gallons, it tends to drag ass hard. We tried to do a gravity carbon filtration (I've discussed it's design and impracticality on this forum a while back) where we'd use our forklift to elevate a batch onto a tower constructed to give (what looked on paper to be) more than plenty of head pressure. 8 hours later and about 25 gallons filtered, it was clear that this system was a failure. We use a pneumatic pump now to literally push our vodka through our carbon filter. Wouldn't do it any other way. Green or environmentally friendly does not have to mean archaic or impractical. Why are pumps on your chopping block here? And how will you get everything up to that initial starting height? -Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denver Distiller Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 We use gravity for all of our processes by simply making all of our tanks and equipment forklift-able. Grist case to mash, transfers from fermenters to the still, low wines to spirit still, etc. We also don't use refrigeration, but that's for many more reasons that simple greenwashing. We do it because yes, it's easier since you don't have to set up a hose and pump system (labor savings), but the real savings is in your cleaning and sanitizing regimes. You don't have to clean, rinse, and sanitize your pump and hose setup if you don't have one. Same goes for our lack of filtration. You save on labor, filter media, and cleaning if you don't do it. When you have that multistory building, it's a quite a piece of nasty math to figure out if you're really saving energy there, because you have to get your materials in the equipment somehow, and you may very well be robbing Peter to pay Paul. In other words, how much energy is expended to build that building versus a one story job? You have to make that up over the years. How much energy do they use to get the materials to the top floor? And does the plant use more water or chemicals as a result of the new arrangement? Does it up their labor costs? You get the idea. The most important thing is that you're thinking about these issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brothers Vilgalys Spirits Posted April 7, 2011 Author Share Posted April 7, 2011 When I was a small child, a rogue gang of diaphragm pumps abducted my family and I've never seen them since... Actually, it's not that I have anything against pumps, I'm just not sure that I'll need them since all I'm doing is blending and bottling (I'm making a spiced honey liqueur called Krupnikas). And when I was imagining the simplest way to set up my operations, this is what came to mind. I certainly won't be using any carbon filters until later on -- I hope to eventually be distilling my own spirits, but for the beginning I'll just be buying NGS. Durham, NC has a lot of eco-conscious consumers who would respond well to something like this, and it may help me get financing from "green energy" groups as well. There is still the issue of how I'll be dealing with the sediment (see my other thread) but if I do end up filtering it will be as minimally as possible. The other problem is how to get a 55 gallon drum of NGS up to the top of this contraption. A lot of that may depend on what kind of site we end up with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott @ Twenty2Vodka Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 The other problem is how to get a 55 gallon drum of NGS up to the top of this contraption. A lot of that may depend on what kind of site we end up with. You have some options 1.) forklift 2.) hydraulic elevator 3.) pulley and rope elevator 4.) anti-gravity ray I'd highly recommend #1 because it can do many other tasks like load your finished product onto a truck. Or unload your NGS from a truck. And they are fun to ride. Good luck, and watch out for those diaphragm pump gangs, I hear they can be some bad mother f****rs -Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denver Distiller Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 If all that you're using to make your product is GNS and honey, might I suggest this piece of cutting edge, high-tech, yet energy efficient piece of equipment in lieu of pumps: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott @ Twenty2Vodka Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 If all that you're using to make your product is GNS and honey, might I suggest this piece of cutting edge, high-tech, yet energy efficient piece of equipment in lieu of pumps: this forum needs a "like" button. Don't knock the pail, we have many of them here too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denver Distiller Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 Wasn't knocking at all. We've been using pails for over a decade now, and have no plans to ever change from them. Avoiding delusions of grandeur is a priority at our shop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudoBaggins Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 I have seen pictures of two gravity flow wineries. While searching for them I found a third http://www.calerawine.com/trade/graphics.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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