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Using Sanimixer Magnetic Coupled Mixers in a Whiskey Distillery

Published on Feb 19, 2021 1:02:20 PM

Magnetic Coupled Mixers in a Whiskey Distillery

One of our OEMs came to us with an opportunity.

A well-known distillery was redesigning their touring area and tasting room to provide a more visitor-friendly experience. They needed mixers but, they had some very specific requirements.

Mixing Requirements 

The design of the touring area and tasting room included 4 new tanks with clear tops that would protrude through the floor, allowing the viewer to look down into the tank and see a part of the process taking place. The process required mixing but, the distillery’s designers did not want the mixers in the headspace for several reasons.

  • noise in the touring room (can you imagine trying to carry on a conversation over the constant hum of four mixers?)
  • heat in the touring room (what if someone touched the mixer and burned their hand?)
  • mechanical seals or stuffing box leaking into the touring room (yeah, that would look and smell good!)
  • limited space between the tanks and the ceiling

How did that lead them to a bottom mounted magnetic mixer?

This eliminated top entry mixers. Their design included a bottom entry mixer which solved some of their problems but, created others. The process had a high percentage of solids, which is not ideal for mechanical seals. The distiller was also worried that the solids would build up in the mixer mounting nozzle of the bottom entry mixer.

Steridose mixing solutions

A bottom mount mag mixer does not have a nozzle or a seal and, it’s out of the headspace.

Steridose mixer bottom mounted

How to find the right mixer

As always, we still had to be sure that we could address the process requirements. The application was to keep the mash (essentially, crushed corn and water) suspended and to aid in heat transfer (there were heating coils inside the tanks).

Since these are both flow-driven requirements, we were able to size the mixers using well-established sizing techniques. The end user loved this solution and the OEM gave us an order for four Sanimixer magnetic coupled mixers. The Steridose Sanimixer is the Sterimixer, minus some features that are essential for pharma customers but, not required by food customers.

Contact the team to learn more

Customers in non-traditional Steridose markets also have pain points that we can address. If you need assistance with a project, application or need help selecting your mixing equipment, then please contact our team.

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Posted by Matt Baumber

Topics: Beverages, Magnetic Coupled Mixer