Help With New Setup

Hi all,

I'm new to SD forum, been reading from afar. My friend and I are setting up a distillery in the UK and would like some help regarding SD products.

I have the task of finding the best setup that will suite or needs.

  • I like the look of the 4" CD, but unsure of the practical use day in day out. Maybe the 4" Dash would be better?
  • If we go for the Dash can I put 1 bubble plate from the CD in, so people can see what happens in the rest?
  • Should we go pro or not?

We're getting 1lt/hr from a T500 at the moment and would like to get 3 maybe 4lt/hr. We're wanting flavour from the beer to come through to the product, so we don't strip run. Not sure how many plates to run,we would like to get 85 to 90%.

We will be setup in a brewery, so we will be putting off beer (to recover costs of wastage) around 4% through the still and dedicated 10-12% brews for distilling. So, it'll be unlikely to be used for clear (colourless) washes.

We have a 220ish litre boiler with 4 x 3kw elements which is used on the brewery side. I'm planning on putting a controller on 1 of the elements so we can achieve different wattage other than 3,6,9 or 12kw.

At the moment the lid on the boiler is flat and the centre hole is for a T500 fitting. Are we better off using the adapter for the T500 to 4" or recutting the hole to fit a 4" ferrule. Does having an adapter affect in any way the efficiency of the still?

I'm sorry, as you can see the questions just mount up. Hope it makes sense. I apologise if these have been answered before, but finding all the answers is difficult (even with the search facility). I appreciate any help you can give.

Thanks

Comments

  • My recommendation would be to slow down a little.

    • Why do you want to start a distillery?
    • How much research have you done?
    • How much money so you have to back up this dream?
    • What do you how to achieve?
    • Why do you think you'll make a success of this?

    Cheers,

    Mech

  • edited April 2015

    Hi Mech,

    When I say distillery, it's not I'm jacking in everything to start a 24/7 distillery, more say part time 1/2 day a week to the project. I have 1 dedicated day to it and he has a member of staff from the brewery who can operate as well. We have spent the last 2 years discussing, planning the way to go. He has many contacts in the brewery business who are keen to get hold of local product. It's a small project using waste product (and dedicated product) from his brewery and others around the area which will be turned back into something decent. Obviously in the UK we need to be legal to sell, so we need a distillers license. We aren't going into this lightly. We understand the risks, it will be small, but hopefully growing quickly.

  • A lot to consider but a 4" for any pro application would be small, I would think. Hope it all works out for you.

  • interested what boil kettle a brewery has that could be made vapor tight?

  • Cotherman - looks like a oversized T500 for shape, 60cm diameter. The rim has been rolled over with a custom made silicone gasket. The lid is also custom made with 6, soon to be 12 clamps ( to take any extra pressure) pulling it down.

  • like this? I would be wary of vapors getting past that seal.....

    image

    stout.jpg
    600 x 600 - 34K
  • edited April 2015

    Similar shape, will have 12 clamps on soon for extra sealing. We can run 3kw element at the moment with 6 clamps with no vapours escaping, put 2nd on for 6kw then yes some escape. Planning on running it around the 3kw, so it should be good for now. We will use this boiler as a stop gap, so we can then upgrade.

  • How much do you need to sell a bottle for to cover your costs at 3-4 liters an hour?

  • Duty is £8 a bottle here and about £4ish for other.

  • I'm not sure its a good idea to run hopped beer, if that's the waste you mean, I've heard oils from the hops can make a mess in a still that takes a lot of cleaning, I'm in the UK and have looked at setting up on a small scale.

  • @Topshot said: Hi all,

    I'm new to SD forum, been reading from afar. My friend and I are setting up a distillery in the UK and would like some help regarding SD products.

    Welcome.

    I have the task of finding the best setup that will suite or needs. I like the look of the 4" CD, but unsure of the practical use day in day out. Maybe the 4" Dash would be better? If we go for the Dash can I put 1 bubble plate from the CD in, so people can see what happens in the rest.

    Day to day use will be little to no difference between the CD and Dash. You can use a sight glass with a bubble plate in it if you want to do as you suggest.

    Should we go pro or not?

    Procaps will allow you to run more power and faster runs for the same product. I would suggest procaps and the super reflux condensor.

    We're getting 1lt/hr from a T500 at the moment and would like to get 3 maybe 4lt/hr.

    That should be achievable.

    We're wanting flavour from the beer to come through to the product, so we don't strip run. Not sure how many plates to run,we would like to get 85 to 90%.

    3 to 4 plates should give you what you want. Remove a plate if you want it at the low end.

    We will be setup in a brewery, so we will be putting off beer (to recover costs of wastage) around 4% through the still and dedicated 10-12% brews for distilling. So, it'll be unlikely to be used for clear (colourless) washes.

    As the others said, a malt mash at around 8% unhopped would be fantastic to feed your boiler.

    We have a 220ish litre boiler with 4 x 3kw elements which is used on the brewery side. I'm planning on putting a controller on 1 of the elements so we can achieve different wattage other than 3,6,9 or 12kw.

    At the moment the lid on the boiler is flat and the centre hole is for a T500 fitting. Are we better off using the adapter for the T500 to 4" or recutting the hole to fit a 4" ferrule. Does having an adapter affect in any way the efficiency of the still?

    Not really, the vapour will just speed up to pass the opening. a 4"is probably better if you can do it, but both will work.

    I'm sorry, as you can see the questions just mount up. Hope it makes sense. I apologise if these have been answered before, but finding all the answers is difficult (even with the search facility). I appreciate any help you can give.

    Thanks

    StillDragon Australia & New Zealand - Your StillDragon® Distributor for Australia & New Zealand

  • edited April 2015

    Thank you for your comments Punkin.

    Just to confirm, do you mean the 4" Super Dephlegmator 260euro or 4" Product Condenser 700euro?

    @punkin said:

    Procaps will allow you to run more power and faster runs for the same product. I would suggest procaps and the super reflux condensor.

  • edited April 2015

    StillDragon Australia & New Zealand - Your StillDragon® Distributor for Australia & New Zealand

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