by RC Al » Sat Jan 25, 2020 9:38 pm
There are some rough and ready calcs on home distiller.org based on the math in the book "the complete distiller" that can be found in the library here
There are a few setups around that require a ladder
Ceiling height is of great concern, as is boiler capacity, the 1.6m column would easier in both regards, I can't find the answer to liquid capacity of a column vs packing density currently but a large column can run the risk of holding more product than the boiler can provide ie 40l@10% is only 4l of alc, I personally don't see an issue with using water to push it through, but for some reason people seem adverse to that concept. Stripping wash and then running the boiler at 40% abv gets arrond this issue (whatever the issue is)
Also of concern with larger diameters is weight, of the column itself and of the packing, scrubbers will crush under the weight of the product above over long legnths, unless it's sectioned off and supports are added. Using scoria rock instead will combat that somewhat, but this makes the column much heavier overall too
How much power are you planning on? A 4" would want at least 4kw, potentially much more
Not trying to put you off, just making you aware that as you scale up, things get interesting