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"Ideal" Hobby Distilling Space

Hello all,

I'm trying to find a list of criteria for an "ideal" hobby size distilling space from people who have made the plunge.

What would you do differently than initially planned? If you could re-design your space or design an ideal space from scratch what would your priorities be?

If this has been asked already, please forgive my failure to find the previous topic.

Thanks

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Comments

  • A bunded, wet area with floor drainage and hot/cold running water for easy wash down is up there for me.
    A smart layout with wall mounted lines is a good idea too.
    Piping to drain, use of pumps and a good CIP process will make dumping and cleaning a joy instead of a pain.
    A bit of thought into process flow will make things easier down the track too.
    A list off 'What pisses you off about your run day/distilling area' might be a good start.
    Prioritise them and find a solution for them.

  • And the most important. ...... A wife whom does not get pissed off saying that it is cheaper to buy it at the shop and it tastes shit.

    But make sure it is not done in the house, especially the bathroom. Saw a picture two days ago of this. My wife would have my balls.

    And to a lesser extent not in the courtyard with the wife saying you're messing all over the place.

    ^:)^

  • My brother would say in his own large shed with all of the characteristics that Jackson said and a long way away from his ex-wife.

  • edited March 2016

    agree with @jacksonbrown re: easy drainage. If that's just a pipedream, I suggest a tap and a plumbed drain really close to where you are working. Good lighting for those runs that take twice as long while you are learning! shelving - sh*tloads of shelving. a blackboard (or whiteboard) too.

  • +1 floor drain, wish I had 100 amps instead of 50

  • high ceilings, floor drain to city sytem (or waaay over-engineered private system), 200A service, insulation and ventilation, and decent water supply....

  • edited March 2016

    Hobby space, not commercial grade.

    My system only uses batteries for the thermometers, a Bayou Classic propane burner, household water supply from a standard hose bib, drains to the yard, and disassembles into component parts to be stored away in a mechanics tool chest.

    Dedicated layout makes for some mighty fine evidence photos.

    I'm more like I am now than I was before.

  • edited March 2016

    Hobby? In order of priority:

    Climate control

    Radio

    Comfy chair

    Drain and slop sink

    Hose bib for hot and cold water

    50amp 240v

    Enough space to keep equipment setup

    Racks

    This usually translates to the laundry room

  • Climate control... =))

    I'm more like I am now than I was before.

  • edited March 2016

    I don't mind the heat, but running when ambient is 20-30f is tough on the fingers. Unless you huddle around the Bayou burner.

  • Or you could live on a tropical island.

    I'm more like I am now than I was before.

  • edited March 2016

    I set out to build a workshop/brewery/distillery attached to my shed where a little wooden pergola was. The doors came from the tip and the window at the front is a caravan double lexan unit with internal venetians i got from a garage sale, the side window was a gift from a mate who had a few spare.
    I used reclaimed tin i already had for the bulk of it and bought new tin for the front face of the roof as i didn't quite have enough.

    All in i reckon it cost me well under $1000

    There's a big build thread on Artisan but i wouldn't know how to find it.

    I have a feeling it was 6m x5m or so, i wanted room for a workbench as well. I set out to make an extension frame for the garage the same as i did to put a carport in front of it and still had the jig for the roof trusses.
    I ran power to it, but only the 10 amp circuit i had available, so LPG gas was my choice of power for the stills and brewery.
    I knew i wanted a floor drain/wash trough so i connected that to the storm water umm i mean sewer system to the main pipe out front of the house.
    I ran hot water from below the temper valve on the solar hot water system into the brewery.
    And i installed a gantry crane for lugging in drums of mollasses etc.

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    The deck wood was recycled from an old deisel storage shed we pulled down and moved to a mates farm. He used a slab to reerect it so the floor was up for grabs.

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  • edited March 2016

    No ones mentioned water for recycling yet. I wished i put a 1000l tank in instead of the 500l. It's connected through the wall to a 200l poly drum and the level in the drum is maintained at fill level of the tank giving me about 600l of coolant. I used to pump from the drum with 12v bilge pumps and return to the tank when pot or VM stilling and it worked fine.
    I found when i upgraded to the SD 4" rig that i needed some more water so sunk a 240v sump pump in the main tank.

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  • edited March 2016

    Sorry, but you also have to think about fermentation space. When i first built the shed i was experimenting with a lot of different smaller ferments and it wasn't unusual to have 6 or 7 different 50l fermenters going.

    At that time i had a 3 door glass fronted drink fridge that was non functional but held 6 x 50l fermenters. I heated it with a 500 watt lamp on an stc during the winter.

    Later on i was more doing cycles in larger ferments so had 90-200l fermenters and used electric blankets on one or two during winter.

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  • For an alternate sizing say that the ultimate intention is to strip with something say like 600L to 1,000L boiler and distil with a 380L pot.

    Where would the sizing "likes" want to be ??????????

    Minimum 200A.

    I had imagined a process and fermentation floor area of 10m x 8m

    A wet and dry storage area of 6m x 4m

    A presentation / bar area of 6m x 6m

  • Big fucking hobby.

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  • Yah :-$

    At present it is a hobby with a 50L keg boiler with 3 plates and gin basket.

    Ultimately I wish to start a commercial distillery in the next 2 to 4 years so getting a head start on it.

  • edited March 2016

    @punkin said:

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    I enjoy the man cave door with serious lock !!

  • Does the gantry come through the garage door some how?

  • edited March 2016

    The big door was one of a pair of horizontal doors i got for next to nothing, but i built hinges on the far side and now it swings instead of tilts.

    So the gantry is exposed when the door is open, just has a rubber flap to keep the birds out.

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  • Dream house has a mono rail like that leading to a refrigerated mud room.
    I'd be hanging S hooks off it though.
    Park tray under it, hoist up straight from the tray then straight in to chill for a few weeks.
    Hose out when done.

  • Proper area Punkin.

  • edited March 2016

    Thanks @rossco, it was just a matter of having the ability to plan it rather than adapt an existing space. Much the same as the OP is doing.

    She did want me to start improvements inside the house before building the shed, but the first mollasses ferment i did in the laundry had her change her mind.

    I like the smell of fermenting mollasses, but she couldn't handle it and shed permission was swiftly granted.

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  • @CothermanDistilling said: high ceilings, floor drain to city sytem (or waaay over-engineered private system), 200A service, insulation and ventilation, and decent water supply....

    @Kapea said: Hobby space, not commercial grade.

    I say this is for hobby...

    Will never live in a place with a short garage if I can help it, if I build a shed or garage, 12 foot minimum ceilings.. even for home use, 16' with a 10-12' door is better!

    If I bought a new house, I would put a floor drain in the garage, tear out the concrete wall to wall and put in new concrete sloped to that drain... the cost is really not that much considerign the hours and hours and hours of my life I have spent in the past having to move everything in the garage to clean the darn floor...

    200A service - easy and worth every penny unless you were really in the boonies, then solar likely

    insulation and ventilation - I like my creature comforts, keeps temps steady and is very economical to heat or cool..

    decent water supply - can't stress it enough!

  • jezjez
    edited March 2016

    @CothermanDistilling

    I have to agree with you on the height of the shed as it also helps with the temperature control and drainage I have drainage the whole length of my shed yes it is on the outside but it is connected to the sewer with our pool for back washing.

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  • Pretty sure if I built all this, my wife would turn it into a potting shed.

  • Uhhhhh.......that would be illegal sir :)

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  • That's the way it was when we purchased

  • @CothermanDistilling said: 200A service - easy and worth every penny unless you were really in the boonies, then solar likely

    Yes, for all of us hobbyist using 48kW heating elements in our boilers. Or if you're in the boonies - 240 PV panels, but restricted to <6hrs on sunny days.

    Or a Bayou Classic propane burner, and three 200mAh batteries...

    I'm more like I am now than I was before.

  • @Kapea said: Or a Bayou Classic propane burner, and three 200mAh batteries...

    well... not necessarily 200A but unless you're running your bayou in the basement, that might not work for everybody either. considering basement set-up you need 30A for heat, 15A for pump circuit, 15A exhaust fan and prolly another dedicated 15A circuit for controllers, lighting and other crap. So having 75A dedicated is nice.

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