Reduce Risk, & Maximize Cask Emptying, with An ATEX Whisky Transfer Pump
A cask of Whisky can take years, even decades, to mature, emptying it, is a matter of minutes. With Whisky commanding anywhere from £15 to over £300 per litre, every dram lost is money poured away. Years of craftsmanship deserve a final step that is just as precise.
The demands of this application are almost unimaginable. With a flammable liquid and strict hygiene requirements to consider, extracting Whisky from horizontally stacked casks presents several challenges. A lightweight, portable pump is essential for ease of access, but it must also be robust enough to deliver reliable, consistent performance.
The pump should be self-priming, yet not damaged by slugs of air. There can also be small pieces of wood present which can easily cause some seals to fail. Every aspect of the pump must be carefully specified, with one final consideration: when transferring Whisky for maturation or bottling, gentle handling is paramount. Maintaining product quality is far more important than simply maximising transfer speed.
A Scottish distillery contacted us looking for a pump to transfer Whisky efficiently and safely from a series of casks to a tank. They required low flow rates for their process but also necessitated easy adjustment to flow for different size casks, and for avoiding spillages and product wastage.
After exploring possible solutions with our customer, we discovered our customer had an air compressor located within a neighbouring warehouse enabling us to offer our ½” ATEX Food Grade Air Operated Diaphragm Pump. The food boxer range of pumps have been perfectly designed for this application – with hygienic parts for the handling of food, conductive and chemically resistant gaskets for the handling of flammable liquids.
An intrinsically safe air operated motor ensures running temperatures remain cool, with a source of ignition removed as an electric motor is not present; while its ability to self-prime from a dry start makes it particularly well suited to the challenges of Whisky cask emptying. The pump’s gentle, low-shear operation also minimises agitation and foaming, helping to preserve the Whisky’s quality and characteristics after years of maturation.
Combining a Foodboxer with an air regulator enabled operators to vary flow between 12-50L/min, and transfer the fluid long distances without loss of flowrate. With the addition of a pulsation dampener, it ensures flow is linear and accurately meterable.
If you have an application requiring the transfer of hygienic, flammable and problematic fluids, speak to us on 01773 302 660 or visit www.northridgepumps.com to see how we can help.
