New member, new T500

[Tesla101]

Hi all,

Yes, new member with a new T500 - there's a sucker born every day :roll:

I had a scan through the Beginner's Questions section and got most of the answers I was searching for, thanks!

I'm preparing to do my first TPW batch, after doing an initial cleaning run and then a sacrificial "get to know your still" run with the Turbo pack that came with the kit. That will be my first and last Turbo run ;-) I figure it will be a good learning experience and a baseline for comparison for later batches.

I have a few questions I haven't found answers for. Apologies if I missed them...

1. I'm intending to use the carbon filter system (a plastic bucket with an activated carbon filter inside another plastic bucket with a plastic tap) for the sacrificial Turbo run, but after I've used it can I still use it to filter rain water which I want to use to dilute future TPW runs down to 40% ABV?
2. If the answer to the above is yes, should I replace the carbon filter first and how often should I replace the carbon filter?
3. If no, is there any other use for the carbon filter system or should I sell it?
4. Once the TPW wash has completed fermentation I read it should sit to clear for a couple days before distilling. Should the air lock be removed, or is it preferable to keep it "sealed".

Thanks in advance for the help. I'm sure I'll have plenty more questions as I go along.

[Fatguts]

Hi and welcome.Your not a sucker, plenty on here still use a T500 or had one to begin with.
The plastic buckets are re usable. Just give it a good wash after use. I would suggest changing the carbon filter after it has had spirit passed thru it. You can use a new one for a few times if it only gets water passed thru it. I think the filter was about $8 last time i brought one.
As far as the air lock goes, I like to leave mine in whilst the wash clears out. helps to keep any bugs or nasties out. Hope this helps a bit.

[Boardy62]

Hi all,

Yes, new member with a new T500 - there's a sucker born every day :roll:

I had a scan through the Beginner's Questions section and got most of the answers I was searching for, thanks!

I'm preparing to do my first TPW batch, after doing an initial cleaning run and then a sacrificial "get to know your still" run with the Turbo pack that came with the kit. That will be my first and last Turbo run ;-) I figure it will be a good learning experience and a baseline for comparison for later batches.

I have a few questions I haven't found answers for. Apologies if I missed them...

1. I'm intending to use the carbon filter system (a plastic bucket with an activated carbon filter inside another plastic bucket with a plastic tap) for the sacrificial Turbo run, but after I've used it can I still use it to filter rain water which I want to use to dilute future TPW runs down to 40% ABV?

Your filters are best kept for either spirit and water separate, you can use them a couple of times on spirits and they will run real slow when clogged up) and you can boil them with i think Bi Carb soda to rejuvinate again.

2. If the answer to the above is yes, should I replace the carbon filter first and how often should I replace the carbon filter?

see above

3. If no, is there any other use for the carbon filter system or should I sell it?

I dont bother using it anymore, if you want water for diluting and it is hard to get use it for your spirit blending.

4. Once the TPW wash has completed fermentation I read it should sit to clear for a couple days before distilling. Should the air lock be removed, or is it preferable to keep it "sealed".

i now just cover the fermentor with pallet wrap and secure to top of fermentor the airlock can give false readings and you can look straight at you wash to see what is going on, wash clears usually 4/5 days after it stops working! 2 weeks is uasually good ( Tip your wash can stay in the fermentor (dont open the cover) for weeks and be ok, there is no rush (other than to have a drink) to have to run it, i have had washes up to 4 months and be awesome! keep wathing your washes you will get to know when its clear enough.

Thanks in advance for the help. I'm sure I'll have plenty more questions as I go along.

[Tiprat67]

Hey Tesla
I usually rack mine after it has finished fermenting and leave airlock in.

I sold the EZ filter system with all the other stuff that came with it.
I have completed 4 TPW runs and now have 2 WBAB x 25l fermenting atm.

[Tesla101]

Thanks for the replies :)

I've set up my cooling water reticulation system. It's 2 x 240L wheelie bins that are joined together at the bottom by valves and 1/2" hose (I used to use them for farming rain water). One bin has a 400W submersible pump in it that's rated at 9 cubic metres/hour (150L/minute if my maths is right). The reflux column output returns to the other bin.

I did a test run with about 5L of water in the boiler, just to make sure of no leaks and that the system would keep it cool enough. The temp started at around 20 degrees and once the water started to boil and with the needle valve wide open the temp raised to about 25 degrees, so it looks like it will work for a distilling run. I could vary the temp up and down by adjusting the needle valve. Closing it fully raised the RC output 70 degrees within a few minutes before I switched everything off.

I've also removed an repacked the copper and SS saddles in the column. I followed the instructions and just dropped them in without jiggling or tamping them in. I had about 40-50 SS saddles left over after doing this. Now the column rattles a bit if I turn it upside down and right side up again.

Next step is to do a cleaning run. I've searched around the forum for ways to do this. Some say just give the reflux column a citric bath, some say to do the 50/50 vinegar run, some had a combo of the two or even adding some salt to the vinegar/water mix.

I'm a bit confused. What's the recommended way to do a cleaning run on a virgin T500 copper reflux column setup?

[woodduck]

Hi mate, welcome.

I don't think you should do a vinegar run with the T500. I'm pretty sure I've read somewhere that getting it that hot with warp the plastic top on them. I would just give it a rinse then a sacrificial alcohol run.

Good luck

[Tesla101]

Hi mate, welcome.

I don't think you should do a vinegar run with the T500. I'm pretty sure I've read somewhere that getting it that hot with warp the plastic top on them. I would just give it a rinse then a sacrificial alcohol run.

Good luck

Thanks woodduck, will do :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[db1979]

Welcome mate. As mentioned above already, I'd only use your filter for water, don't get any product near it. You can get stainless steel ones that will do the job, or just soak activated carbon in a glass jar for a few days. Run properly with harsh cuts and you won't need to filter at all.

[Tesla101]

So, whilst waiting for the TPW to ferment out for my first batch I was reading up on the forum and thought "oh bugger, I haven't done a sacrificial run yet!" :angry-banghead:

I've done a vinegar run on both the pot still head and the reflux column head (just made sure to follow the "distilling water" guidelines and kept the cooling on the PC running flat out) which both went fine. :-D

I wasn't too keen on using the TPW batch for my sac run, so thought "what the heck, I'll just use the Turbo Pack" it came with. I thought it will be good to just practice doing a stripping run and then a spirit run and then taking cuts. After that I can put it in the poison bottle and use it for window cleaner. :think:

Now, I only have one fermenter which is full of fermenting TPW so I think "no problem, I'll just use Mrs Tesla's spare 35L esky", which has a good tight seal on it but not so tight that the CO2 can't get out. Anyway, I start to follow the instructions and notice that as I'm dissolving the 6kg of Turbo sugar it starts getting black. I'm like "shit, people are supposed to drink this??" :shock:

Next I pitch the Turbo yeast and then there's this packet called "Turbo carbon". I open the packet and I shit you not, this stuff is like tar. I throw it in the mix and stir it around and if the wash wasn't already black enough, now it's like friggin' liquid BBQ coal! Can. Not. Get. Any. Blacker.!! :wtf:

Now I'm sure once it's fermented, Turbo Cleared and Turbo distilled and then put through a carbon filter it comes out clear like water, BUT no freaking way am I going to drink it. :puke-huge:

I just gotta figure out how the heck am I gonna clean all that black shit out of Mrs Tesla's esky and not cop a hiding. :violence-smack:

[RC Al]

:teasing-tease: bleach n foreshots cleans most stuff - thats how i sanitise things
Dunder has some interesting cleaning properties too as its acidic as well

[db1979]

You say it's her "spare" esky? Problem solved. It's now a fermenter :teasing-neener: . Once she gets something to drink from your hobby she'll come round :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Tesla101]

You say it's her "spare" esky? Problem solved. It's now a fermenter :teasing-neener: . Once she gets something to drink from your hobby she'll come round :handgestures-thumbupleft:

lol db, I'm hoping so too. All in the name of science I say :-B

:teasing-tease: bleach n foreshots cleans most stuff - thats how i sanitise things
Dunder has some interesting cleaning properties too as its acidic as well

yeah, it's not so much as a cleaning run, but more practice so hopefully i don't fjook up a real "drinkin" run 8-}

[RC Al]

:teasing-tease: bleach n foreshots cleans most stuff - thats how i sanitise things
Dunder has some interesting cleaning properties too as its acidic as well

That was for the esky :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Tesla101]

:teasing-tease: bleach n foreshots cleans most stuff - thats how i sanitise things
Dunder has some interesting cleaning properties too as its acidic as well

That was for the esky :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Ahhh, d'oh! :oops:

[Tesla101]

Soooo, found out that my T500 is fjooked.

Tonight I thought I'd give it a rinse before its maiden voyage on the weekend, just to make sure everything is ship-shape. Especially since I did a vinegar run in "distilling water" mode the other night. Note that I took all of the saddles out first and made sure that I didn't run it too hot, after reading about some of the problems others have had. I ran my cooling at 2L/min the whole time.

Anyhoo, turned the column upside-down and filled it with water and noticed it was leaking between the plastic and the top of the column. :crying-blue:

I can't believe these things are built from plastic, aside from being unreliable wouldn't it leach into the alcohol vapour as well? To say I'm disappointed would be an understatement. :cry:

I'll be on the phone to the HBS I bought it from first thing in the morning for a replacement! :mad: Then I'll be looking at modding it with something made out of copper.

[woodduck]

Yep they won't take the heat of steam. I doubt you'll get a replacement as you didn't follow the manufacturers instructions.

[scythe]

I can't recall exactly where but i think you can get a silicone cap to replace the plastic one at the top of the column.
Hey 5star, might be a market for them.

[Tesla101]

Yep they won't take the heat of steam. I doubt you'll get a replacement as you didn't follow the manufacturers instructions.

Hi woodduck, thanks for the reply. Actually, I did follow the "Water Distillation" instructions that it came with. They say to remove the saddles, connect the cooling input to the PC cooling input and the cooling output to the PC cooling output, basically bypassing the RC condenser. They also say that a thermometer is not necessary - probably because the thermometer probe is on the output of the RC condenser. (which is bypassed)

I called the HBS, nice guy there. When I told him about the leak he said that "they're supposed to do that, some sort of pressure relief valve. How bad is it leaking?". I told him it was leaking pretty bad. He asked me to send him a photo of it leaking so he can send it back to the manufacturer for advice.

[woodduck]

Ahh that's good then. Hopefully they look after you and get you sorted :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[The Stig]

How many times have we heard “they say it’s supposed to leak like that” :teasing-tease: