Rickdiculous Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 Alright, so I am liking a property I found more and more and I am enlisting a lawyer to determine if I can operate a distillery in the location. It has an outbuilding which can house the small 100 gallon still distillery I am looking to build. My question to those of you who are about this size, or maybe started around this size, is what was your power need? The current building has a 100 amp circuit box in it with room to spare or expand. Will this be enough if my plan is to make <1500 gallons a year? I plan on running a steam boiler/jacketed still. I appreciate your recommendations and experience. Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedd Haas Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 You need to make a list of all of your equipment and the power requirements to determine the answer to that question. Will you be running an electric boiler or will it run on natural gas? Huge difference in electrical load. With all that said, 100 amps is pretty small for any kind of facility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rickdiculous Posted October 15, 2012 Author Share Posted October 15, 2012 The boiler will have to be propane out on the rural property I am looking at. Unless an electric of comparable efficiency can be found. I'll have to look into that. So for a ballpark are we talking 200amps, 400amps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swede Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 That really depends on what you plan on heating your steam boiler with. Your steam boiler will need to service your still and grain mashing equipment. If you can spec the size of equip you plan on using to produce the 1500 gallons per year then you will have a much better idea of your electrical load. If you price out LPG vs electricity and find the cost per btu/kwh is compareable, then LPG will likely be cheaper due to lower installation cost. If electricity is cheaper then you need to calculate the recovery cost over time of installing increased electrical capacity to service your still and mash tun heat source. Like I said before, if you know the size of equipment you plan on using to produce the 1500 proof gallons a year then you will have a much better idea of the heat source BTU capabilities that you need. (BTU and kWh are interchangeable with the right calculator) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott @ Twenty2Vodka Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 Is three-phase available where you are? As you expand, if not already, most-all of your bigger electrical equipment will require three-phase electric. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MG Thermal Consulting Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 And if somewhere down the road you think you may need a mechanical refrigeration chiller or some other electical load to pump as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rickdiculous Posted October 16, 2012 Author Share Posted October 16, 2012 I'm meeting with our realtor and looking to hire an electrician to inspect the system in place and it's upgradability. I'll post with the answers asap. thanks, Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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