Still production

[Craisogaenus]

Hi guys,

I am currently looking for a 250 gallon still to buy and have found one but the production rate they gave me on the quote seems far too slow, they said it will produce a gallon of 96% in an hour, considering the wash will be 18% mead and therefore they'll be 180 litres of pure alcohol (including heads and tails) it would take almost 50 hours (including warm up) to finish a run!

Does this seem right? or am I correct in thinking the flute should be wider? (it'll be 20 inches wide)

Many Thanks.

[kungpo]

250 Gallons? That's a big bit of kit. Are you going commercial?

[rad14701]

We don't discuss boiler sizes beyond hobby scale here in the open forums... You might have better luck in the ADI forums if you're working on a commercial endeavor... We're only concerned with hobby scale for personal consumption here on this site... And hobby scale tops our right around a 15.5 gallon beer keg with a 25 gallons for head space allowances being the maximum tolerated... And absolutely no discussions of production for illegal sales...

[Craisogaenus]

Indeed I am; I've got everything apart from the licence and the still now and I want to make sure it is aesthetic but also that it does the job. I just thought I'd ask some the wiser men than me at engineering but I think the guy in this manufacturers sales department was wrong about it producing a gallon an hour it just doesn't make sense as my small 25 litre still produces about half a UK gallon an hour.

And thanks rad for the advice I'll have a look on that forum thank you, I was just asking incase someone on here had some experience. And there is no talk about illegal selling just to make that clear to everyone.

I used to know a guy up in Scotland who had a 125 US gallon sized still for hobby stilling that was a beautiful family heirloom which he eventually put a hole through and ruined oh well. So you can get some pretty big stills for hobby.

[rad14701]

The output rate of any still is dependent on the amount of heat applied, the amount of distillate generated, and the design of the still head itself... A pot still will have a far greater output rate than a reflux or fractionating still... And it all depends on what type(s) of spirits you want to make... Most commercial flavored spirits should be taken off at 160 proof or lower while neutrals can be taken off right up to 190 proof...

[Bushman]

Here is a guide on the parent site for reflux but once there we have other calculators for different stills.
http://homedistiller.org/calcs/reflux_calc" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[Craisogaenus]

Thanks guys I appreciate your advice and I am sorry for any concerns I gave you, I should have been clearer in the beginning. Thank you bushman I'll look at that with ernest .