Spirits of Hven wood coffey still

[Bolverk]

Howdy all,

Found some cool pics I thought you might enjoy.

I think the fact that they were able to make a modern reproduction of a wooden coffey still is pretty neat.

[Wildcats]

Thanks for sharing this. Wooden columns and square as well. Interesting. That latter looks like maybe 12' so I guess that's how tall?? It's a hell of a set up. The angle iron with all thread rods holding it together, all the piping!!

[Bolverk]

Few more pics that wouldn't fit in the first post

[Bolverk]

Thanks for sharing this. Wooden columns and square as well. Interesting. That latter looks like maybe 12' so I guess that's how tall?? It's a hell of a set up. The angle iron with all thread rods holding it together, all the piping!!

I saw a pic on Instagram that lead me down the rabbit hole searching.

[Bolverk]

One more

[Wildcats]

Nice. I wonder if the inside of the column is lined with copper?

[Renhoekk]

Nice find I’ve only seen drawings of these. Looks like it has had a few leaks!

[Bolverk]

Nice. I wonder if the inside of the column is lined with copper?

I doubt it's lined with copper, but I'd guess it has copper plates every 6-8"

[Wildcats]

Yeah looks like 20 plates, if there is one plate per sight glass. Definitely an interesting set up.

[Yummyrum]

Thats pretty damn cool Bolverk .
I had no idea that they were of wood . I guess it would help insulate it . I wonder what wood it is made from .

[Bolverk]

I've see several Forsyths made from stainless and copper this is the first wood though...

Cypress was used a lot for water tanks, but a lot of wooden tanks in the US used for water storage are made from Oregon pine. This distillery is located on a small island between Denmark and Sweden and I have no idea what wood is readily available over there.

[shadylane]

Found some cool pics I thought you might enjoy.

I think the fact that they were able to make a modern reproduction of a wooden coffey still is pretty neat.

Which forum member is going to be the first at building a wooden column.
Don't look at me, my carpenter skills suck.

[acfixer69]

Found some cool pics I thought you might enjoy.

I think the fact that they were able to make a modern reproduction of a wooden coffey still is pretty neat.

Which forum member is going to be the first at building a wooden column.
Don't look at me, my carpenter skills suck.

Miine too shadylane. More of a badmo thing.

[Bolverk]

I'm thinking about it... I've been wanting to do a continuous for a long time... i just have way too many projects right now. Maybe in a few years.

[shadylane]

Guess I need to start another post about making a wooden bubble cap column, so I don't hijack this one.

[Bolverk]

Guess I need to start another post about making a wooden bubble cap column, so I don't hijack this one.

You can start it here if you want. The whole point was to start a good conversation

[shadylane]

I thought about that, but I figured it might get lost inside this one.
Starting a new post called Wood plated columns would make it easier for folks searching in the future.

[Bolverk]

Fair enough

[Yummyrum]

IIRC , Thecroweater reconds Pussers used Wooden boilers in their Rum Distillery but I believe they were Pot stills in this case and not continuous , presumably steam heated .

Theres a topic around here about which woods are safe to use for aging . I wonder if the same rules apply to distillation or if short term exposure time would allow more tolerance to the type of wood able to be used .

[Saltbush Bill]

Not sure where the photos Crow put up are Yummy, but here are a couple of others.

As for steam , Do you see any problem with running an electric element in a wooden boiler?
Can't see that it would be that hard to mount one.
Keeping the barrel wet and from shrinking would be the only real problem that I can see.
But that to shouldn't be to hard to work around either.

[Yummyrum]

Probably could Salty , IE , use an electric element .
I’m pretty sure though , thats they have a big coil in the bottom like a lot of Scottish Pots and plumb steam through the coil . ……. But I’m only guessing . I think steam has been around longer than Electricity .

[Saltbush Bill]

Not what I was meaning Yummy......just saying it might be easy enough for a hobby distiller to go that way if they wanted......I'm sure the originals would have been steam heated.

[shadylane]

I can see how the angles and tie bolts keep everything aligned and squeezed together.
But what vertical force keeps the square boxes together, so the horizontal joints don't leak?
There appears to be almost no leakage where I'd expect the most.

[Yummyrum]

Not what I was meaning Yummy......just saying it might be easy enough for a hobby distiller to go that way if they wanted......I'm sure the originals would have been steam heated.

Yeah , I missed your point Salty .
At a home level , I can’t see any issues with an element .
Caveat being Grounding or Earthing of Element must be done without question .That is becoming increasingly difficult as not all elements are sold with a Earth terminal .

It is not easy to Ground a wooden Keg . Grounding must be done at the element ….but also , all the metalwork of the still head itself must also be connected to the same Ground/Earth point .

[NormandieStill]

It is not easy to Ground a wooden Keg . Grounding must be done at the element ….but also , all the metalwork of the still head itself must also be connected to the same Ground/Earth point .

I would say that you either treat it as a class II device on the grounds that the liquid inside (which could be a risk of going live if there was a serious fault) is isolated from the metalwork by the wood.

Or you just run an earth bond that links all your metalwork to a common earth point.

[Yummyrum]

It is not easy to Ground a wooden Keg . Grounding must be done at the element ….but also , all the metalwork of the still head itself must also be connected to the same Ground/Earth point .

I would say that you either treat it as a class II device on the grounds that the liquid inside (which could be a risk of going live if there was a serious fault) is isolated from the metalwork by the wood.

Or you just run an earth bond that links all your metalwork to a common earth point.

Thats what I was hopefully saying Normandie .
I would not put any bets on the wood providing any electrical insulation .

[Bolverk]

I can see how the angles and tie bolts keep everything aligned and squeezed together.
But what vertical force keeps the square boxes together, so the horizontal joints don't leak?
There appears to be almost no leakage where I'd expect the most.

Hey shady, if you zoom in on these you can see how the top is secured.

Looks like a square frame sits on the top piece of wood and secured to the angle bracket, same with the bottom

[shadylane]

Hey shady, if you zoom in on these you can see how the top is secured.

Looks like a square frame sits on the top piece of wood and secured to the angle bracket, same with the bottom

Ok, I see it now. Thanks

[Chauncey]

It sure looks like it leaks a lot. Id have to imagine that flour paste could be used there but that'd be a real PITA.

Did we figure what kind of wood?

[Bolverk]

I imagine once the wood swells up from the water/steam it probably doesn't leak... would be unsafe if it did.

No I've written and no response on the type of wood.
This distillery is located on a small island between Denmark and Sweden so I'd guess some European pine or cypress variety.