200sf distillin' shack

[pistachio_nut]

It looks like we're going to move out of the mountains to a house in town. :shudder: It's time to go underground. I need to build a stillin' shack, no more than 200sf. I was thinking about going with a concrete slab and a steel shed mounted on top, with a wide overhanging roof and ventilation fans that will get the CO out. CO is slightly lighter than air, so I was thinking about making the sides of the shack not quite airtight, and have an exhaust fan at the top. The idea would be to allow airflow in at the floor level, raise the heat and CO up to the roof and blow it out the top.

What do you think?

[The Baker]

I wonder if it would be as important or more important to have the system delivering fresh air.......
And I think you can get carbon monoxide detectors. Would that be effective or would the small amount of CO present just set the alarm off and make it useless?
A while back, in our nearest big town, two children died and the mother was very sick from CO poisoning (blocked flue in gas heater) and that was the first I became aware the alarms are fairly easy to get and not too expensive.

[Kentucky shinner]

Is going electric an option? It may be something to think about.

[rtalbigr]

200sf is a good size shed and if you're using propane I'd want good air flow. Put a vent grill in the bottom of your door.

Big R

[cob]

some discussion here. http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 95&start=0. cob

[Dnderhead]

if at all possible,id use a shroud, it will save heat and can be vented outside.

[still crazy]

Are we talking the CO (carbon monoxide)from a heating source, OR the C02 (carbon dioxide) from fermenting ?

[SingaporeSling]

Carbon Monoxide is produced when a burning flame is starved of oxygen. If you provide sufficent fresh (oxygenated) Air into your shed and vent it outside the amount of CO produced should be minimal.

With that said, how much airflow is required to stop CO production and remove built up CO I'd don't know.

[Braz]

I run a propane burner in a two car garage sized shop with just a 2 foot square window open a few inches to let in new air and I ain't ... dead.. yet... gack... flop.

But seriously, many homes have gas cook stoves and none of them have any special provision for introducing fresh air into the kitchen environment. I just don't think we need to go to extremes to get air in the still shed. A little ventilation should be enough.