We've been through 4 or 5 different system designs and we think we've finally found one that is going to fill all our needs for small scale production.

The whole system needs to be in a warm environment so the mash ferments properly. In this climate, running it in the middle of winter could spell disaster as the thermometer drops to -30 degrees. So we can only plan on running the system spring, summer and fall.

The ATF guidelines dictate that the alcohol production takes place 50' or more from other buildings so setting up a greenhouse makes the most sense. A greenhouse will heat up to help with mash production summers. We can also use the warm spring heat to get seedlings off early and lengthen the growing season in fall.

The spring and fall greenhouse wood heat system is a Rocket Mass Heater based design. This will help regulate the mash temperature via a large sand mass base.

The beauty of the Rocket Mass Heat system is the main fire chamber can do more than alcohol production. It can be used to dry food, pasturize milk, can other foods as well as bake bread or pizza. So the greenhouse is a whole food kinda system - make cheese, pick the fresh tomatoes, green peppers for pizza and then bake it right there.

The Rocket Mass Heater design is at the heart of the greenhouse alcohol production system and we plan on using it for more than just fuel production - it will be for food production. See The Farm Store for Wood Fired Distiller Units.

PRODUCTS YOU CAN MAKE FROM ALCOHOL:

By making a basic gel (soak chalk in vinegar until translucent and slowly add alcohol), you can make the following products - cooking fuel gel, hand-sanitizer/handi-wipes, candle gel and fireplace canned fuel -be sure to add varnish or oil to make a visible flame(!).