ViolentBlue Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 Our 30 gallon boilers have arrived. designed as a matching boiler for our 4" stainless column (in final stages of development) can also be used as a spirit/low wines vessel. Vessel has a 30 gallon charge capacity, approximately 35 gallons total capacity 304ss construction Mirror polish 8" manway 1- 4"triclamp on top (for column connection) 2-2" triclamp on top (accessory connection) 3-2" triclamp around perimeter/bottom (heating element connection) 1-2" triclamp on bottom (drain) 3 leg design with levelers. Boilers are boxed in plywood crates ready to be shipped <edit>we did a run of 10, first 3 have sold already since posting them up for sale.</edit> $1400 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedd Haas Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 How is the manway held shut? It's not clear from the picture. Does that screw handle thing on the right have a washer butting against the lid? What kind of seal is on the manway? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViolentBlue Posted September 28, 2011 Author Share Posted September 28, 2011 How is the manway held shut? It's not clear from the picture. Does that screw handle thing on the right have a washer butting against the lid? What kind of seal is on the manway? this picture might show it better than I can explain picture was taken during fabrication, so thus the dirtiness inside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curtis McMillan Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 Why did you say arrive not build? Do you make your stills inhouse? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViolentBlue Posted September 29, 2011 Author Share Posted September 29, 2011 Why did you say arrive not build? Do you make your stills inhouse? We work with a factory in China. Boilers have arrived in Mobile Alabama and ready to be shipped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curtis McMillan Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 I love your design. You do great work but made in america is important to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedd Haas Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 Ok, so you have three hold-downs. They're threaded? Also, does it open to the right or the left? One picture shows it opening right, the other shows it opening left. Apparently one picture was flopped, but which one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedd Haas Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 I love your design. You do great work but made in america is important to me. So Curtis, if you can bear to reveal the secret sauce, show us your made in USA stills... ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curtis McMillan Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 Just like cars no pictures till you have wet sand the candy paint. Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedd Haas Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 But is it dripping off an old-school Impala or a whiskey still? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curtis McMillan Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 Craftsmanship is craftsmanship lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViolentBlue Posted September 29, 2011 Author Share Posted September 29, 2011 I believe that somehow one of the picture has been reversed, i'll confirm as for made in America, we did price it out, costs were 3X as much, just not economically feasible for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Made in Maine Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 Hey Folks, I couldnt stand by on this and not throw my hat in. I hate like hell to buy foreign parts, but its necessary most of the time to stay competitive. I build stills in Maine. yes, thats in America...more specifically North America. I have had hundreds of conversations with aspiring distillers who have one common thread-the desire to open and run their own distillery. that coupled with the need to keep opening and operating costs down. Thats who I am also. There are several units in use that I have built at legal DSP's. Id love for them to chime in here. That's up to them though. I looked into going direct to China. One step buying has been made easy. Get them some good Cad drawings and order it. I wouldnt do it then and wont ever in the future. I am building a business for me and my family. I think most people have that same goal. its not easy, but its worth it. My good friend Bob says "careful what you wish for..." I think thats the extent of his Chinese proverbs. Here is a phrase I thought I would look up and share. " 是老板 " say it in english with me..." Yes Boss" Even if you dont listen to country music regularly, give a listen to Toby Keith's "Made in America" Thanks, Jesse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViolentBlue Posted September 29, 2011 Author Share Posted September 29, 2011 as a matter of courtesy I have not commented in any one else's for sale threads nor have I contacted people expressing interest in their products. Many on the forums here feel that buying stills manufactured in Germany, Hungary or France are acceptable. Why then would there be an issue with a still designed to meet a microdistillery's specific requirements, designed and supported by people here, but the pieces fabricated in China. This is a thread listing an item for sale, it is not meant to be a political discussion, to make it so or to advertise your own products is just bad form. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedd Haas Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 Perhaps Jesse was a bit out of line, but I think it adds to the discussion to be more on the freewheeling side. I think it would be valuable if Jesse were more specific about his antipathy to purchasing from China. VB makes an interesting point: that many on this forum buy stills from Germany (for example) without a second thought. While it's true China has a bad reputation for poor quality, I think this may be changing. I have a friend who manufactures some products in China. He's quite clear in expressing that while there are many poor-quality factories in China, there are many that are quite excellent. As he points out, one's ability to source excellent quality from China is highly dependent on your connections and the (lengthy) time you put into building relationships. It's a different way of doing business, but not completely different. I'll note that my friend's products (unrelated to distilling) are of excellent quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViolentBlue Posted September 29, 2011 Author Share Posted September 29, 2011 this is very true, the old adage "you get what you pay for" applies in China most defiantly. You can get anything made at any level of quality, but you have to be willing to spend appropriately. China had a poor reputation for quality because of Walmart, they want it cheap as possible, so thats the level of quality they get. we spoke with many factories, and had some make test pieces for us. there were many who said they could build it cheaper, and they did with much lower quality as well. a great deal of money was spent finding the right people to work with. But now we have a working relationship with the factory, quality control is closely monitored. we pay more to have it built by them because we know we can trust them to do it right. Also My partner is a retired Texan who formerly owned a fabrication shop, living in China, inspects and signs off on all work. A solid CAD design doesn't mean they will build exactly what you draw. you need the right people for that. Also consider Stills are only a part of what we do. Every still is custom designed for the client, Onsite consulting for complete plant layout and process, Product Development and aging. If you needed a turn Key operation, we can do that (but stills and equipment design are my area of responsibility). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Made in Maine Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 To all, When I responded to this post, I didnt realize that its origin was in the "For Sale" heading. I did not realize that and wouldnt have opened up the discussion about foreign trade or expressed that my stillls were American made. I apologise to you VB and the members for my oversight. The work shown above is beautiful. No matter where it was made. Jesse J. Lupo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViolentBlue Posted September 29, 2011 Author Share Posted September 29, 2011 Thanks Jesse, You're a true gentleman. a misunderstanding brought into understanding. and your work is second to none. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedd Haas Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 Getting back to the 30 gallon boiler, I notice the picture appears to show a seal on the manway. Is this a teflon seal or some other material? Are seals included (or not) on the other openings? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViolentBlue Posted September 29, 2011 Author Share Posted September 29, 2011 Getting back to the 30 gallon boiler, I notice the picture appears to show a seal on the manway. Is this a teflon seal or some other material? Are seals included (or not) on the other openings? all openings except the 4" on top, have caps clamps and tefflon seals. the manway seal is food grade silicone, boilers come with a spare manway seal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curtis McMillan Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 While it's true China has a bad reputation for poor quality My issue is 1.Outsourcing jobs 2.Who is going to service the stills. I don't believe its poor quality. Three Chinese workers find themselves locked up, and they ask each other what they’re in for. The first man says: “I was always ten minutes late to work, so I was accused of sabotage.” The second man says: “I was always ten minutes early to work, so I was accused of espionage.” The third man says: “I always got to work on time, so I was accused of having a Western watch.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViolentBlue Posted September 30, 2011 Author Share Posted September 30, 2011 we have a team of people in the U.S. who will be available for onsite consulting, as well our distributor is in Mobile Alabama if there is any problems. but for the most part these units don't require service beyond replacement gaskets. our stills outsource jobs no more so than buying a German Still, and send far less money outside the country. I've yet to see a post railing against German stills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedd Haas Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Re: servicing the stills, I think this boiler is simple enough that we'd service it ourselves, if we had one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedd Haas Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 What is the clearance between the hinges on the manway and the boiler? I'd like to determine how thick one could insulate this boiler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViolentBlue Posted September 30, 2011 Author Share Posted September 30, 2011 send a request off to our distributor via email, he can get you a measurement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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