Calamity Distillery

While the Calamity part is not so ideal, this conceptual distillery includes some commonly desired features integrating manufacturing, managerial and hospitality needs efficiently.

The Design

The design features a tasting room, with views of the distillery. An office area overlooks the tasting room and distillery, giving a bird’s eye view of the entire operation. The equipment “train” is arranged according to process order. A spine serves as a screen to some of the less attractive equipment, a backdrop for the show piece equipment, like the still, and an efficient location for mounting piping and wiring. The barrel fill and barrel storage are positioned such that each day, when a barrel is filled, a bell can be rung and visitors can watch the barrel being rolled into storage.
The Calamity
The video portrays some not so ideal situations where vapor is being released. It demonstrates the classified electrical areas that are described in NFPA 497 and represented by the Electric Sombrero of Death.
The video graphically demonstrates the potential for ethanol vapor to leak from stills, barrels, or tanks, which the code requires us to consider in terms of electrical hazards near these potential leak sources. The classified areas extend 5 ft in all directions from the potential leak source, and 25 ft horizontally, within 3 ft of the floor. Classified areas also are present in nearby pits. Any electrics within these areas must be classified, or the space can be de-classified via proper ventilation. De-classification is something Dalkita recommends in nearly every distillery, as it is the most effective means for a safe distilling environment.