Sydney-based distiller, Finders Distillery, has had continued success with ContiTech’s hoses after initially discovering issues with its initial choice of hose. Adam McCleery writes.

Distilling, among others, has proven fertile ground for the Continental’s hoses.

Distilleries rely on robust and high-quality industrial hoses to mitigate the risks of process failures, ensure product purity at all stages of production, and ensure hygienic and reliable transportation of fluids.

When Finder Distillery, a Sydney-based producer of gin and vodka, first launched operations a handful of years ago it quickly discovered issues with its choice of industrial hoses.

While testing the hoses with water the company discovered it was tainted and discoloured at the output end, prompting them to contact Continental to help identify the issues and come up with a viable solution.

“We have a commitment and desire for producing only the highest quality products at Finders,” said Kyle Ford, distiller at Finders.

Clayton Brown, area sales manager for Continental, worked with Finders Distillery to achieve those exact goals.

“We recommended our PureOne Hose which handles up to 98 per cent alcohol. They’ve been using it ever since and with no complaints, it also rectified that initial issue they had,” said Brown.

Continental’s Granby hand-built distillery hose is used to transfer base spirit from main storage tanks to a 300L copper still where the distillation process can begin. The base spirit which is raw product measures 98 per cent ABV.

“It’s super important that you use the right hose with the right rubber compound,” said Brown.

“If they use a rubber compound that can’t handle the high alcohol content it’ll break down the tube lining of the hose quickly, which will have adverse impacts on their product.

“You could get flaking of the tube, the rubber could impart taste onto the product, which we call leaching.”

The impacts of contamination can be felt right across the company, meaning the right choice of solution is critical, no matter the cost.

“If you’re not using the right hose those things can have huge financial and operation impacts. The risk to the overall brand is there too,” said Brown.

“People choose cheaper alternatives because they look at the front-end cost and only see the savings but at the end of the day paying the extra to source and use a quality product is going to have long term positive impacts on your business and product.”

The flexibility and light weight of the Continental product, plus the capability to handle high-proof alcohol as necessity to not taint product made the Granby hand-built hose ideal.

“The hose tube is what is super critical in this high proof alcohol application because it needs to be able to handle that high concentration,” said Brown.

“The PureOne hose uses a specific compound to handle that, and the construction is corrugated, which means that it’s super flexible and light weight making it easy to handle.

“Because it has a steal helix in the reinforcement is can also handle full vacuum and it’s capable of doing 200psi, which is more than enough with the pumps that distilleries use to transfer their product through the process.”

The hose is also able to handle being dragged around a facility because of its high abrasion resistance, helping to extend the life cycle of the product even more.

The flexibility of the hose also makes it a perfect solution for smaller distillers.

“It’s important to point out a lot of distillers are micro and operating in very small spaces so having a super light wight, and flexible, hose is super important,” said Brown.

Scott Weston, national business manager for Continental, said some cost implications can also depend on where in the production system the hoses are installed and used.

“You may have to also clean out filters and pumps, and there are added costs that come with those replacements,” said Weston.

“And that isn’t just time but also physical assets. Most Australian distilleries are producing spirits in batches. A faulty hose can taint the entire batch, meaning a loss of hundreds of bottles on the market.”

In summary, the PureOne hose is perfect for distillers and other beverage manufacturers. It’s suitable e for suction and discharge service, and it can also handle the majority of common industrial chemicals used.

On top of this the product is also perfectly suited for potable water applications and other food applications such as transferring high-proof alcohol.

Most importantly, the use of correct industrial hoses mitigates the risk of process failures, which in turn forces shutdowns, resulting in product and monetary losses.