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“Converting a Mashtun into a Stripping Still”
I am wondering if anyone has converted their mashtun to work double duty as a low wines still? I use my 2000 litre mashtun 2 times a week( it sits unused for 3 days) and due to the high cost of another Still and lack of floorspace I am thinking of having a lyne arm and condenser fabricated. This would allow me to run low-wines for 3 days and mash for 2 days per week using the mashtun/still. This would allow me to do more finish distillation on my “actual still (vodka, Gin ,Whisky, etc.) A large 12″ butterfly valve would open/close the chimney and a small 3-4″ butterfly valve (12”) would separate the lyne arm /condenser from the mashtun chimney, allowing one of the systems to be used per day. Has anyone done this or seen it done? This is hopefully and short term solution until expansion plans and funds are economically viable.
thanks, Doug
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8 Replies
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Where in canada are you from
Tim
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If you can completely seal up you mash tun so that it has zero vapor leak , then you should be to modify it to be able to use it as a still.
I have seen many pieces of dairy equipment converted into stills over the years that work well enough.
With that said I would encourage you to work with someone who has experience in fabrication and can recommend the right equipment and safety reliefs so that if you build your mash tun into a still it is safe to operate
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12″ stainless butterfly? She’s a rare animal and might cost as much as the still, totally unnecessary too.
You don’t need a fancy lyne on a stripping still, you need a port and piping to safely take vapor to the product condenser. What I mean by safely is that there should be no risk that you would foam, puke, and plug the vapor piping or product condenser – so taking from the highest point, and if there isn’t one, making a highest point (8″ spool, 10″ spool, welded ferrule on the tun).
If you have a vapor tight tank, you are good to go, if not, it’s probably cheaper to covert a dairy tank like the captain says.
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You don’t need a column just a line arm and condenser. We’ve built over 100 combination mash tun stills. There is no need for an 8″ or 10″ spool. We can just run a 4″ line arm strait up 24″ and then 90 over to a condenser. I have all of the parts and componants that you need including the condenser parrot and all of the safety valves. We can use a 4″ butterfly valve to isolate the pot for when you are making mash.
If you want a column that is no problem, because we can do that as well. If we do a 10″ or 12″ column there is no reason to have a 10″ or 12″ butterfly valves to isolate it. We can supply those valves but we have a less expensive way.
Our tig welding and fabrication rate is $65.00 per hr and our parts are priced better than our competitors. The quality of our tig welding and parts are exceptional. We also have great customer service. Because of these reasons we have stills in more than 20% of the distilleries in the US and most of those distilleries have full sets of our equipment. Give me a call or email and we will get you some pricing and a reference list.
417-778-6100 ask for paul or email Paul@distillery-equipment.com
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Wow, Thank you all for the speedy responses!
My local welder has a used 12″ butterfly that he removed from a winery job that he said He would supply for a good deal, we just thought that would be the easiest way of opening/ closing off the main chimney to divert vapor to the lyne arm and condenser. We are thinking of bolting the big valve to the top of the existing chimney with a 3-4″ valve just below and off the side going to the lyne arm and condenser. The condenser would be attached to the lifting mount on the dome, high enough so we can walk below it when not being used. Our 1000 litre low wines tank could be moved in place, minimizing space wastage. A safety blow-off valve would be installed and ported outside.
Is there a math formula for sizing the condenser to a 2000 litre Mashtun? .
The manway has a 3/8 silicone gasket to seal the hatch (chimney is 12″) fully steam jacketed and mixer paddle on the bottom.
We are situated in the beautiful South Okanagan Valley in British Columbia.
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If you are putting around 500,000 BTUs of low pressure steam boiler output into the jacket. I can supply you with what you need to do a stripping run in 3 hrs. My contact info is above. I am glad to give you a quote and the contact info for over 100 references some of which are in Canada.
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One of the many rigs we operate is a specific so if you want any info on the dynamics of how our heads and Lyne arm are detachable/interchangeable drop me a line it may be good insight for your design
Good luck
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Not sure it helps with your condeser sizing but we run 600 gallon stripping still with 150 gallon worm tub with 200 feet of 1 inch copper worm . Half million btu low preasure steam injected , tub water circulates continuously to chiller . Looked at tube and shell condensers , decided to go with copper worm tub .
Tim
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