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My experience with Corson Distilling


jo-el-eo

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Adam, Sorry to hear about your dealing with corson. The system that I worked with from them was poorly fabricated to the point of being downright dangerous to operate. @fotoskiis correct about the pressure relief valve, except in the case of a still that might come furnished with a unsized valve that does not do what it is supposed to do

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The pressure relief valve on the main pot of our Corson was installed too low. Our molasses foamed up and gummed up the valve. We had to pull it apart and thourougly clean it to be certain it would work if needed. We also reworked the location so that a molasses foam up won't compromise the integrity of the relief valve.

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The Corson stills have several design flaws that make them unsafe, including the worst plate design that I have ever seen.  We have been putting 5 psi Apollo pressure relief valves on our standard series and pro series stills since the beginning.  In the last year we have started putting a 2nd pressure relief valve on the columns that are on the still pots, as a redundant safety feature, just in case the safety relief valve on the pot gets clogged.  The ones on our pots are well above the liquid level in the pot, as well.   Not only does your pressure relief valve need to be of the correct PSI.  It also needs to have the correct capacity in lbs of steam per hr.  A 1/2" pressure relief valve on a 300 gallon still will cause a run away pressure situation if the valve ever pops.  Of course we also have safety valves on the jackets of our stills as well as vacuum relief valves on the inner boiler.  We specify 2 vacuum relief valves in the steam plumbing for the jacket. 

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  • 4 weeks later...

I'm upset to hear that ADI forum moderators have been caving to pressure from Corson and deleting reviews. I hope they now realize that by doing that they are exposing small startup distillers to being swindled out of their money. The only information I could find on them was on the ADI forums and what little I did find was positive. Now I know that's because the negative reviews are being scrubbed but at the time I assumed it meant their operation was legitimate. I was 95% of the way to buying a Corson still. I visited their facility and was just about to write them a $30,000 check for down payment. By a stroke of luck, literally a day before I was going to mail them a check, I found a distiller who was in a battle with them (their story is uncannily similar to everyone else's on here) and I ended the deal with Corson. Fortunately the only money I lost was the cost of my flight and hotel.

I went on to buy from Still Dragon in August. My still is already in transit which actually puts it ahead of schedule. I can't say anything about their quality yet but I will say that Jeff's customer service has been top notch. Even after I had already paid him. 

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  • 1 month later...
On 12/29/2017 at 5:07 PM, CalivoreSpirits said:

I'm upset to hear that ADI forum moderators have been caving to pressure from Corson and deleting reviews. I hope they now realize that by doing that they are exposing small startup distillers to being swindled out of their money. The only information I could find on them was on the ADI forums and what little I did find was positive. Now I know that's because the negative reviews are being scrubbed but at the time I assumed it meant their operation was legitimate. I was 95% of the way to buying a Corson still. I visited their facility and was just about to write them a $30,000 check for down payment. By a stroke of luck, literally a day before I was going to mail them a check, I found a distiller who was in a battle with them (their story is uncannily similar to everyone else's on here) and I ended the deal with Corson. Fortunately the only money I lost was the cost of my flight and hotel.

I went on to buy from Still Dragon in August. My still is already in transit which actually puts it ahead of schedule. I can't say anything about their quality yet but I will say that Jeff's customer service has been top notch. Even after I had already paid him. 

If you think anyone in charge around here has any interest in the success of your business other than your ability to pay for expo passes, "hands on distilling master classes", extraneous break out sessions, and books through this site you're sorely mistaken.

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3 hours ago, SlickFloss said:

If you think anyone in charge around here has any interest in the success of your business other than your ability to pay for expo passes, "hands on distilling master classes", extraneous break out sessions, and books through this site you're sorely mistaken.

Aw Snap!   

 

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On 12/29/2017 at 6:07 PM, CalivoreSpirits said:

I'm upset to hear that ADI forum moderators have been caving to pressure from Corson and deleting reviews. I hope they now realize that by doing that they are exposing small startup distillers to being swindled out of their money. The only information I could find on them was on the ADI forums and what little I did find was positive. Now I know that's because the negative reviews are being scrubbed but at the time I assumed it meant their operation was legitimate. I was 95% of the way to buying a Corson still. I visited their facility and was just about to write them a $30,000 check for down payment. By a stroke of luck, literally a day before I was going to mail them a check, I found a distiller who was in a battle with them (their story is uncannily similar to everyone else's on here) and I ended the deal with Corson. Fortunately the only money I lost was the cost of my flight and hotel.

I went on to buy from Still Dragon in August. My still is already in transit which actually puts it ahead of schedule. I can't say anything about their quality yet but I will say that Jeff's customer service has been top notch. Even after I had already paid him. 

So I am in the same exact situation you just described. This is frightening. Planning to write and send tomorrow and sitting here reading this thread. Thanks and gratitude to all that have shared. This certainly complicated my plan but will be better to know now. 

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old385  

We have great reviews and references as well as many happy customers.   We are here for all of your equipment needs.  Give us a call 417-778-6100 or email paul@distillery-equipment.com

Check out our reviews here on ADI 

Web sites:

http://distillery-equipment.com

http://moonshine-stills.co

http://triclamp.co

 

 

 

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Thanks to those of you who have shared your experience. Having received threats from these guys, I know it takes courage. I've talked to a lot of people since my first post, some who are currently suing Corson over truly egregious situations like Stumpy's, several who have put money down and have been waiting way past original estimates on equipment, and many who are thinking about using Corson. This needs to be a place for the facts on that subject. (All due respect Southern Highlander, but I think your plugs belong somewhere else!)

 

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Jo-el-eo,

 

I came out early letting people know the truth about Corson here on ADI and elsewhere.  I caught a lot of flack for that in the beginning.  Also Tory Corson called me and cussed me like a dog because of that.  They have threatened me with law suites and they have had their attorney threaten me with law suites.  They have never scared me.  They only pissed me off and I never back down when attacked, so I only came back harder with the truth about them.  Unlike Corson I have a very good reputation.  I am known for my customer service and I am absolutely loyal to my customers.  I always put myself in my customers shoes and I am willing to take time to help anyone who has or who is starting a distillery. I have helped several Corson customers solve issues with their stills, many times at no charge.  If anyone out there has a Corson still and needs help just call me or email me and I will help you.  I have sold several of Corson's customers and potential customers very good equipment.  I have also been instrumental in telling a great many people the truth about Corson and several of them were getting ready to pull the trigger on Corson equipment.  In fact I have had 3 people contact me in the last month who were getting ready to purchase Corson equipment who read this thread contacted me and placed orders from me instead of Corson.  I am going to keep doing what I am doing.  

Also everyone should know that Corson is not the only one.  Please click on the link to the thread below.  I think that I helped the OP keep from getting hurt really badly by a still that he purchased from a vendor who does not have a clue about still design.  Please read the thread below to see who the vendor is and what the customer said about them.  I helped the OP solve all of the issues caused by the vendor, who would not help him.  

 

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  • 5 months later...

Yesterday,  I spoke to to one of my customers concerning their 500 gallon Ultra Pro Vodka Still that they purchase from me.  They ordered a still with 3 columns totaling 20 plates. They have 3 offset columns in this order ,4 plate, 8 plate and 8 plate.  We split the 16 plate vodka column because of a height restriction.  They are doing Vodka, from mash, in this still in a 7 hr run without doing a stripping run and they are running 192 proof.  They are doing their whiskey runs in 3.5 hrs.  These run times do not count the heat up time which takes 1hr and 10 minutes.  This is a steam fired still.  My electric baine marie stills have twice the heat up time but about the same run times.

Later in the day I talked to someone who purchased a 200 gallon split column still with 20 plates.  I won't mention who the manufacturer was of their still, but it is not one of mine.  Anyway,  to do Vodka on their new still they must do a stripping run that takes around 12 hrs and then they must do a spirit run that takes 15  hrs.  That is 27 hrs to do what my 500 gallon takes a total of 8 hrs to do.  The thing is that they can only maintain 190 proof for a short time during the spirit run and then the proof drops below what is considered vodka.  We will be doing some work on their badly designed still so that they can get the proof that they want and reduce the run time as much as possible.    If you have a still like this and need help to get it to perform better email me paul@distillery-equipment.com or call 417-778-6100.

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  • 1 month later...

Hi everyone, I'm the reporter who wrote the story on Corson last December (link is on the 1st page of this thread). We just posted a story on new lawsuits filed in Idaho, in case anyone is interested: https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/business/article219133740.html If you'd like to talk with me about your experience, please reach out. I'm at (208) 377-6448 and adutton@idahostatesman.com

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I traveled to their location and met the owners and toured the facility.  I liked the story... American manufacturing/fabrication... and pricing.  My opinion was that other options were over-priced.

But I learned of the problems before I pulled the trigger on a purchase, and thankfully am now with an equipment vendor I can trust. 

It is sad where they have ended up.  But I see a lesson for everyone.  For a business to be successful it needs a whole bunch of things to go right.  The slide downhill can be steep and slippery, and thus it is good advice to keep everything focused on the slow and steady uphill climb.   And the most important component to that climb is to take good care of your customers and your employees (just another type of customer).   It seems to me that Corson might have weathered their early design and manufacturing problems (likely caused by too aggressive growth) if they had done this.  However, their brand reputation has really suffered and may never recover. 

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I would like to see an end to this discussion and find it apalling.  Further I think it ought be removed from the site.

 

I say this because its nothing short of competitor bashing when the guy (Corson) is down and out and further trying to say how much better yourselves are.

 

Has Corson cocked up and has he got a case to answer to.  Hell Yes, 6 love so.  No I don't know him and neither do I want to know him.

 

I believe that the ADI community is now sufficiently aware of why you don't buy from them.

 

Enough of my rant and cheers to everyone on that side of the pond.

 

 

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@richard1 thanks for your input but I would disagree. When a company is producing equipment with flaws that have the potential to kill you, it needs to be known.

When the same company producing dangerous equipment is threatening to sue people if they speak out about the flawed equipment it needs to be known.

Yes we have nearly beat this horse to death, but Corson is still making dangerous distilling equipment and taking on new customers.

I am in no way a competitor of corson, Im merely a professional distiller and consultant who wants to see our industry be as safe as possible.

Corson is well aware of this forum and has plenty of opportunity to defend their reputation. 

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The problem is not simply the equipment that they were building. It's the guys behind the company. Their attitude towards business and customers is their true downfall IMHO. Fixing the equipment issues doesn't fix the people issues. 

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  • 1 month later...

Richard,

Weird

On 10/4/2018 at 7:03 AM, richard1 said:

I would like to see an end to this discussion and find it apalling.  Further I think it ought be removed from the site.

 

I say this because its nothing short of competitor bashing when the guy (Corson) is down and out and further trying to say how much better yourselves are.

 

Has Corson cocked up and has he got a case to answer to.  Hell Yes, 6 love so.  No I don't know him and neither do I want to know him.

 

I believe that the ADI community is now sufficiently aware of why you don't buy from them.

 

Enough of my rant and cheers to everyone on that side of the pond.

 

 

Weird way to look at things.  Imagine if you paid them $120,000.00 of your life savings and they never delivered your equipment.  How would you feel about that?

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  • 2 months later...

I just thought that I would let everyone know that Corson is still doing what they have been doing all along.  I received an email from one of their customers 2 days ago who ordered from there recently and now Corson will not answer their phone when they call and will not reply to their emails.  The lady said that she believes that she has lost her down payment and she said she will cry if she has. She thinks Corson is out of business because she sent someone out there and Corson's building was empty.  Corson's website is up and it appears that they are still taking orders.

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On 10/4/2018 at 8:03 AM, richard1 said:

I would like to see an end to this discussion and find it apalling.  Further I think it ought be removed from the site.

This might just be the worst suggestion I have ever read posted on this forum.

 

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One would  think that the state attorney general would step in, if this company is taking orders, not delivering, threatening customers seems like some serious legal issues, I read the past post on this company and seems like there are already several law suits pending or settled but it doesn’t seem to stop consumers from doing business with them.

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7 hours ago, HedgeBird said:

This might just be the worst suggestion I have ever read posted on this forum.

 

Personally I am not surprised they have closed doors and no I do not wish them well.  But to the comment, this I feel was an assisination job by competitors.  This is the gist of the comment.

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