StillSmart

I can't really imagine what it is like to distill for commerce.
For me it's a hobby,for you it is more important.
I don't think that I would welcome the extra pressures,It may not seem so,on a daily basis,but I think I have easier ways to make a living,albeit in a less exotic place!
Best of luck there.
Robert.

RumJohn wrote:Due to multiple requests, I have just done a release of mango flavoured vodka. With luck this will be a final release as I intend to drop vodka and gin. They are too much effort and rum is so much easier to make.

With your setup I'd imagine having to produce multiple products could be a pain in the ass and Rum has always been your mainstay Hope it all settles down to the way you want it.

As I don't consume what I make anymore I'd love to be able to produce commercially and sell what I make legally but no chance of getting a licence in this country

AM

Started a sweet feed wash of this evening ready to pitch a yeast starter in the morning, its a 40ltr wash
8lb cracked corn
6lb rolled crushed oats
6lb rolled crushed barley
2ltr molasses
5kg sugar
all into a 60ltr fermenter and covered with 5 gallon boiling water and stared up for about ten minutes(I use a drill powered plasters mixer, will top up in the morning add some dap and adjust the PH level if needed then check the SG an pitch the bread yeast starter
Iv done this wash many time over the last couple of years with good results
regards alan

Im very interested in this one Alan, it's the kind of wash i make up,with variances.can i be so bold to ask? What volume of wash do you pull, to put in your boiler for production.? I notice you use similar to me, t500 with pothead,
i use V_T's design

cheers B-D

Hi B-D I syphon off about 28-29 ltrs into a clean fermenter and let it clear if I have any left over after filling my still I run it through my smart still, I always have a good 6in covering over the grain to stop it drying out then after my strip run I use 1 gallon of back set to melt my sugar and 1/2ltr of molasses ready to start my second run I normally use this mash 4/5 times before starting again with fresh grain.
regards alan

cheers Alan, just seemed an odd volume,but all makes sense now.

cheers B_D

spent an hour this morning plumbing up the simple pipework to feed a cold and hot (via didy undesink heater) water in the shed im fitting out to brew (beer) in,
attached it to the supply and the water heater sprung a leak, checked the documentation and it needs a limited pressure oops, blew £20 on a prv and used up almost every bit of plumbing kit in the spares box to hack it into the hot water feed a real frankenstien job in place of the neat n simple original layout , only to discover the water heater still leaks, so ive bust it - not in a good mood, BUM!

Commiserations on the plumbimg mate.
You would not believe the awful time that I had last week,merely updating a CH system that I put in 20 years ago.
(Not really merely;updated by a systems engineer,He theory,Me plumber,-extra boiler,valves,stats,PCB's,More by-passes than you can shake a stick at and a shed load of extras)
It now works,but is certainly not soldering work to be proud of.Due to space constraints, (blatant excuse!)
It got to the point that I didn't care so long as it didn't leak.
And it did for a while.
For which I do not charge.
Didn't seem very professional,but client now happy,all working in the end.
Happy to be away from pipe joining for the next spell of work.
Onward and upward.
Robert.

Cheers EasyDrinker, I just needed to vent and neither the g/f or the cat would have understood.. so this place got it,, i should have RTFM, kicking myself blue for not doing so.
all the hicups will just make the beer n booze out that much sweeter just been a bit too much of 2 steps back with each one forward recently.. ive got 60kg of grain and 10 gallons of clear sugar wash sat waiting for the shed refit to be complete..

so far ive got insulated and wipe down walls n ceiling. rubber floor, and a 90l trub sink big enough to allow easy scrubbing out of a 100l boil kettle sorted, just need to sort out the internal wirring and its good to go..

I know the feeling Fil.. I was going to fit H/C water into the outhouse for brewing by laying the two pipes under the patio.. The distance from the supply to where I needed it was not great...15/18 feet, so all I did was drill through the wall where both supplies are and fitted two taps. I bought some silicone food grade hose,when needed connect either or both....

Looking good by the way....all that ssssshiny....I use a 100 lts for by boiler but I thinking maybe sell it and build a 50lt boiler...the only reason being is I only do 25lt brews so they fit a corrnie....when I have more time maybe.

Sorry for your troubles Fil, but it will be worth it in the end

AM

Cheers, i borrowed a pressure gauge and knocked up some plumbing bits to connect it to the end of my water in feed, (25m of drinking water hose, similar to icefevers solution) and im only getting 2 bar up at the shed.

Im now feeling VERY STOOOPID!! as the heater can take upto 6 bar and ive chassed my tail on this both buying and fitting a redundant PRV!!!


good job i dont have any guns i would have shot off both my feet by now..

2 bar is 30 PSI which is not bad, what pressure do you have in the house ?

PRV,s do two things the first is what it says on the can, reduces pressure,the second which is normally more benificial to this hobby is to smooth out any fluctuations in pressure when the washer goes into rinse mode or the kids flush the toilet. This appears to be the main reason most people install them and I do not think you have wasted your time and money

Don't give up on it yet.

Yep! 2 bar sounds pretty OK to me too! Just 'cause the heater can take up to 6 bar don't mean you have to supply that much pressure.

AM

Cheers, bit the bullet and ordered a new water heater, did a big ebay buy in fact, scoped out the electrics for the brewshed and discovered the spares box didnt have any hi amp dpst switches and scant few crimp on spade connectors so over £70 spent on bits.. i then sat down with the electronics and measured and labled all the unknown resistors and then finally got the adruino and 3.2" tft touch screen working with the demo code. BREWSHED will be completed this year