New still cleaning & sacrificial run?

[Borneogoat]

I've got a shiny new FSD Neutralizer on the way. Web surfing has suggested that I need to clean the still with a water/vinegar run and then a run with disposable booze. The internet is, as usual, full of contradictory info. Consensus seems to be 3 parts H2O to 1 part vinegar. But what volume? My boiler is 100L, but I assume I don't need 100L of vinegar water mix... I have the same question for the sacrificial booze run too. I assume I just make a TPW with bread yeast, ferment it out, run it through the still, and then :crying-blue: dump the lot. Sound correct?

[scythe]

At a guess i would say 20L vinegar "wash"

50L sacraficial wash i reckon, although 25L will probably do.

[Zak Griffin]

20L vinegar and 50L TPW.

Use the TPW to learn a bit about how the still works, its definitely not a complete waste :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Also make sure the copper mesh is cleaned first ;-)

[Borneogoat]

20L vinegar and 50L TPW.

Use the TPW to learn a bit about how the still works, its definitely not a complete waste :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Also make sure the copper mesh is cleaned first ;-)

Sounds good. Do you mean I should clean the copper mesh prior to vinegar run or sacrificial run? Or just that I should include during those cleaning runs prior to the real deal runs?

[brewster2]

i use leftover dunder on a cleaning run.drop a piece of tarnished copper in some comes out clean.makes low wines but cleans internals great.ask a mate for a couple of buckets of dunder.you can buy him a drink from your new still and not waste vinegar.

[Borneogoat]

Don't know anyone else who distills to provide dunder, so I guess it's vinegar for me. Is distilled vinegar or sacrificial run neutral spirits any good for anything? Lighting the barbie, cleaning solution, rocket-fuel that smells like salad dressing, etc?

[copperhead road]

Fence line weed killer, turf the lot :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Zak Griffin]

Perfectly good for lighting the Weber or cleaning your windows :handgestures-thumbupleft:

The vinegar isn't good for much. Give it a good vinegar steam first (no cooling running). DO NOT run alcohol without the condensers on.

[Borneogoat]

I was assuming, maybe incorrectly, that I load the vinegar/water mix and just run like a practice for the real deal. Rinse her out and then run the sacrificial TPW the next day, again running like it's a "real" run.

[Zak Griffin]

Dump the 50L of TPW straight on top of the hot vinegar/water (after the vinegar run) and save yourself an hour of warmup time, do it all in a day.

Let the vinegar run through for a while with the condensers off, steaming out of the PC.

[warramungas]

I've been naughty ever since I got our (her) dishwasher. Vinegar run, shminager run.
I whack everything in the washer with two tablets and do a dedicated still parts run. The caustic makes em come out real shiny. Tip for new players, make sure your wife is out for long enough to do the wash and pack away before she spots you. I still do a sacrificial run though on all my new parts.

[Borneogoat]

I've been naughty ever since I got our (her) dishwasher. Vinegar run, shminager run.
I whack everything in the washer with two tablets and do a dedicated still parts run. The caustic makes em come out real shiny. Tip for new players, make sure your wife is out for long enough to do the wash and pack away before she spots you. I still do a sacrificial run though on all my new parts.

Now that is appealing! We got a fancy-pants new dishwasher a couple years ago and hardly ever use it. Not enough dishes between the the two of us, so we usually just hand wash them. I wouldn't even need to hide it, SWMBO would be happy to see it used! Maybe just take all the metal parts (minus O-rings & gaskets) and run the machine on the highest cycle with two tablets?

Note: Our pug hates the dishwasher, so she will sit in front of it the whole time growling. It's good to have a guard dog....

[tipsy]

I've been naughty ever since I got our (her) dishwasher. Vinegar run, shminager run.
I whack everything in the washer with two tablets and do a dedicated still parts run. The caustic makes em come out real shiny. Tip for new players, make sure your wife is out for long enough to do the wash and pack away before she spots you. I still do a sacrificial run though on all my new parts.

That's what I did

[warramungas]

I wash the lot. Gaskets, glass, stainless and copper. Just not external bits not exposed to the etoh like tri clamps, sight glass retainers (though probably could), etc.

[copperhead road]

When you say (2 tablets) what type are you talking about,
Surely vinager is far better that dish washing liquid (finish gel capsules)

[warramungas]

When you say (2 tablets) what type are you talking about,
Surely vinager is far better that dish washing liquid (finish gel capsules)

Those Powerball thingies.

Vinegar is acidic. Powerballs are caustic. Different sides of the same coin really. Hot caustic with a final hot rinse in something designed to remove dirt and grease from all parts of the stuff plonked inside. It'll also clear all the oxides from the outside of the metal soldered parts nicely.

[P3T3rPan]

Why you shouldn't make your PC too long. Ha ha

IMG_2768 (480x640).jpg

[copperhead road]

Why you shouldn't make your PC too long. Ha ha

IMG_2768 (480x640).jpg

I hope that shot is before and not after

[P3T3rPan]

Why you shouldn't make your PC too long. Ha ha

IMG_2768 (480x640).jpg

I hope that shot is before and not after

Before