Size and Boiler Cost

[TXdistillery]

Hey Everyone,

I'm in the planning and budgeting phase of opening a distillery. My current plan is to utilize a two step distilling process with an 800 gallon stripping still and a 300 spirit still. I'd like to be able to run both still simultaneously and, from my research, I believe I that a 40-50 HP steam boiler would be what I'd need. I've gotten quotes for a skid mounted boiler package for $95,000. This seems really high to me (maybe it's not). So, I have three questions:

What boiler are you using for what size still?

How much did you pay for it (including preheated feed water tank, blow back tank etc)?

How much was your plumbing / installation costs for the boiler?

Thanks,

Joe B

[Scrounge]

225,000btu output boiler -100g still and 300g mash tun. Still heat up-40 min w/agitation Mash tun heat up 3hrs from 60*with 750 lbs of grain in to 190* only running one or the other, not both at same time

Paid 4k$ for it. No pre-heat tank. No blow back tank. Closed loop system with condensate return pump, so feed water is preheated by process.

Plumbing and installation- parts + my time. Maybe 3k$ tops with nice valves,insulation,nice stove pipe with stainless cap on the roof, and condensate pump Only about a 30' run of 2" black pipe, some 3" near the boiler, and condensate return all 1" copper

Not exactly the scale of your project, but some info anyhow. I think when you get above 500k btu, or so, you kind of enter into another league. Installation is insane, the quotes I got were ridiculous.

[TXdistillery]

Thanks Scrounge! I thought you at least need a blow back tank...I guess if you put in demineralized water in your closed loop you wouldn't.

I got a second quote for $50k...so going in the right direction but a long way to go!

I might be able to get a get a higher pressure unit for a decent price with a pressure reduction valve of some sort...but I don't know if that's possible or even advised.

[Huffy2k]

Hey txdistillery, I'm also boiler shopping and seeing similar quotes. I've got one quote for about $65k for a complete boiler system, installed. Shopping for a few more quotes - hope they come down a bit.

[Scrounge]

Yeah, closed loop full of distilled water. Working great here. I blow down out the pressure relief valve when I want to clean as some crap does get in the water, especially during first week of running.

[agporte]

Yeah, closed loop full of distilled water. Working great here. I blow down out the pressure relief valve when I want to clean as some crap does get in the water, especially during first week of running.

Do you mean you blow-down the boiler using the blow-down valve. I would not recommend blowing down using the pressure relief valve. That is a safety device and should not be touched unless testing or repairing. But if that's the only way to do it, it's better than not blowing down at all.

Boilers should be blown-down daily. Typically there is both a bottom (liquid) and top (vapor) blow-down.

All that is required is soft water, but you could also reduce wear on the boiler by adding oxygen scavenger chemicals via a metering pump.

Boiler installation cost varies widely depending on location, difficulty of install, boiler size etc. I would get 3 quotes from someone who has installed a boiler previously in your area. Our city was extremely strict, and someone without the experience would have failed most inspections causing re-work and delays.

Try and get them to bid the job as lump sum and not time and materials.

[TXdistillery]

That's good to know Agporte! I heard people using a higher pressure boiler i.e. 150 psi and using a pressure reducing valve. Is this a common practice or only a potential disaster?

[Scrounge]

Yep agporte, I blow down with my 15 psi safety valve, per the manufacturers instruction. Drain on bottom half, relief valve on top half. I run a light commercial boiler from Crown Boiler. With a closed loop, running distilled water, there's no need to blow down everyday. Water is still very clean on the daily. That's how we roll over here anyhow. I'm sure everybodys set up is a bit different, especially if taking in fresh feed water, perhaps from a well, I would see daily blow down being needed.

[Scrounge]

Sitting here waitin for the still to heat up, and I think I feel u on your comment on using the relief valve for blow down, agporte. Ill tee in a ball valve for that purpose so I'm not wearing out that safety valve. Thanks

[mcsology]

That's good to know Agporte! I heard people using a higher pressure boiler i.e. 150 psi and using a pressure reducing valve. Is this a common practice or only a potential disaster?

Your local authorities may vary, but I'm fairly certain that in most places, boilers that operate above 15 psi (or was it 30?) are classified as 'high-pressure' boilers and have much more complicated building code requirements and will likely make the local fire chief ask you to jump through some serious hoops before they'll sign off on your facility. I'd definitely look into that side of things before going that high pressure.

I also did a little quick and lazy math, and to heat up an 800 gallon stripping load from 25c to 87c at 10% alcohol, and a 300 gallon spirit load from 25c to 87c at 40% alcohol, you'd need to be putting out 1,030,800 appx btus per hour to heat them up in an hour assuming a 10% thermal loss on the way to your equipment. This would be your peak load, so unless you wanted to add mash tuns or other steam powered equipment a 31 BHP steam boiler should get you where you need to go. If this is way off I'd love to know so I can update my sizing calculations.

[Silk City Distillers]

15.5hp cast iron - 265 gallon/1000l still capacity (insulated) - about a 30-40 minute heat up depending on which way the wind blows. On heat up, the boiler runs full out, but once we're into a run, the steam usage is minimal (2-3psig) - we rarely exceed 5 psig.