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I before told you that the distillation of Malt spirits
afforded one of the greatest subjects for improvement.
I think I am now in a situation very suitable
to turn any improvement of that kind to profit.
But I want somebody to assist me in the management
of it. It should be an Englishman it being understood
always that a Scotchman would be still better.
You know of course that the principal object is
to save in fuel. If the construction of the
stills which you are acquainted with appears
to be perfect enough or you can find out how
to make them more so, I wish you would
lay out twenty pounds in that way. The
wood part it could not be adviseable to have
made there unless there is a good deal of work
in a small space: but what is of copper &
iron besides being better done would be cheaper
there than here.
1. The Vapour once condensed should set off immediately
for the receiver, and not be liable
either to be again reduced to Vapour by a superfluent
heat, nor to run down again from
whence it arose.
2. If the advantage of a worm [ or spiral tube]
over a straight one be that if compactness
alone it perhaps is not worthwhile to be at the
extra expence of workmanship to make it in
that form
3. Distilleries in this country are
all at least that I have seen erected where
there is a waterfall by the drawing up of a river,
so that the water runs through the condensing
troughs. The fuel as well as materials are
therefore transported a great way sometimes
for the sake of acquiring this advantage.
4. The cold producible by evaporation is not applied
to condensing nor perhaps is it so expedient
as that of a fluid medium which is continualy
changing. However it seems that without
the necessity of a mechanical force to raise up water
to supply the condensers, the business might be
effected more commodiously by creating the
whole distillery in a floating boat or vessel so
much immersed as for the circumferent
water to serve for the cooling the condenser.
This floating distillery might lie at anchor
anchor in the river which supplies it with
work a matter and facilitates the transport
of its produce.
5. But where the subject to be distilled and
the Sails are at too great a distance
from such a river or lake then perhaps
evaporation from a wetted crating must
be employed for cooling the condenser. So that
the construction of Stills or at least of
distilleries must differ to be adapted to
local circumstances.
If Talk over these things with your friends
before you order the 20 pound's worth, which
whether it will conceit of one or more apparatus
I need not go about to consider; persuaded that
it would cost 1/3 more here. New experiments
however in which the work is out of the usual
fashion may be much cheaper here.
The King will alter stills &c to try experiments
but he wont make new ones.
Maltmaking although the theory is very
simple requires practical knowledge to be
able to go to work with economy.
In the Crim
it would be very advantageous
to distill brandy from the wine as it would
be free of duty. The botanist and I might
do that together.
Kempel's contrivance is I suppose still secret.
Hydraulic rope I knew of.
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Identifier: | JB/540/072/001 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 540.
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1784-06-20 |
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540 |
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072 |
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001 |
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Correspondence/copy |
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