homemade activated charcoal filter... waste of time?

[dirty_drunk_pirate]

So me and another new member slutbutt have knocked together a filter using a steel watering can with a piece of steel pipe bout 2.5 ft threaded to the spout ending in a tap. It is packed with cotton wool at the top and bottom of the pipe with activated charcoal pellets packed in between. Sound ok? We still have to make a stand but thats easy. Would love some opinions?

[ekul]

I have seen a carbon filter made from a piece of 4inch stainless that narrows down to a needle valve at the bottom. The 4inch tube had a heap of activated carbon inside and the spirit was allowed to drip out very slowly.

Their vodka is the best vodka i've ever tasted. I've given it to a few people now and they've all said the same (one of them only drinks high end vodka too).

So i think as long as the spirit passes though the carbon slowly you should be right.

[MacStill]

So me and another new member slutbutt have knocked together a filter using a steel watering can with a piece of steel pipe bout 2.5 ft threaded to the spout ending in a tap.

:wtf:

Would love some opinions?

Oh I dont think you'll get a shortage of those x_x

[Zak Griffin]

Stainless, copper or glass, guys... Nothing else should be touching your spirit.

[Milky]

Yeah bloke, ever heard of Tetanus? Ingesting spirit that has traveled through steel pipe (mild steel I'm assuming) is bad. Mild steel starts to oxidise when it is exposed to oxygen. So even if it doesn't look oxidised, you could be Ingesting rust... paving the way for a Tetanus infection. Use your friggen brain a have a read as Zak & Mac have eluded to.

sent from tapatalk

[Muppet]

Galvanized steel is just as bad. Remember alcohol is a solvent, zinc, cadmium these types of heavy metals do not want to be ingested. Certain plastics leach chemicals as well. There's a reason spirits are sold in glass and is not because it's cheap. Spend some time reading through the newbies corner. There's a lot of must know safety topics and general new to running guides. Be carefull mate.

[crow]

okey dokey well first of all if you do decent cuts you shouldn't need to filter, my opinion is it just encourages ppl to polish a turd. This means you can make something drinkable that you should not be drinking and will not have the motivation to remove unwanted unpalatable and to a degree harmful elements through refining your cutting skills. That's just my opinion, but using things like steel watering cans with spirit is a recipe for disaster. If you really think you need a filter get some copper or stainless pipe :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[dirty_drunk_pirate]

Before I scare anyone I will mention I forgot to write that it is not gal or mild steel but all materials used are stainless. After all no one likes tetanus.

[peterhobit]

How do you get tetanus? Tetanus is caused by a bacterial infection. Don't think there would be many bacteria in the spirit.

[bt1]

Let's just assume for a mo that the mtls for construction are ok , you well know your cuts and the product is of good quality, well made but does meet your taste requirements.

I'd revise the whole process... A good weetbix wash (better suits a Vodka vs. neutral), A packed section on your still of lava rock or copper wire mesh or copper SPP if you can afford it. Use a packed section to good effect and would say it's a far better Vodka than most commercials and a Grey Goose is not a bad comparo, although mines got less tails influence. This is where I stop it does me but it's a slowly run 6 plate bubbler with a 450mm packed section to get to that point.

Have a good look at your still, there's lots of ways to get some rock/mesh/SPP packing into a still...it's well worth the effort imho.

K so got a good process sorted and not yet happy I'd filter. Simple. Filtering has a stigma attached to it from the HBS influenced Turbo wash area, but it doesn't have to be a fixer of a bullshit process. Just invest a little time in looking at the whole process first.

bt1

[Dominator]

Before I scare anyone I will mention I forgot to write that it is not gal or mild steel but all materials used are stainless. After all no one likes tetanus.

Now that the issue with materials is cleared up we can all move on. DDP there is a big stigma surounding carbon filtering on here and a lot, if not most, people on this forum deem it unnecessary or just plain wrong. This is their opinion not the law. I know The Doctor uses a carbon filter for his neutral and he has more than a few years of experience under his belt and plenty of people rave about his product quality. I am not saying you should or should not but if you find filtering gives you a better product then go for it.

In regards to your filter, there is not much to them and I reckon you've got it right. A storage vessel that holds carbon and a valve on the bottom to control flow.

[MacStill]

DDP there is a big stigma surounding carbon filtering on here and a lot, if not most, people on this forum deem it unnecessary or just plain wrong. This is their opinion not the law. I know The Doctor uses a carbon filter for his neutral and he has more than a few years of experience under his belt and plenty of people rave about his product quality.

No there's not :naughty:

I think you'll find that those against filtering are against the HBS mentality of polishing turds in a plastic container, not trying to create a snowflake high quality vodka or neutral.

Big difference dont you think ;-)

[MacStill]

How do you get tetanus? Tetanus is caused by a bacterial infection. Don't think there would be many bacteria in the spirit.

He could cut himself on the filter I guess 8-}

[MacStill]

Before I scare anyone I will mention I forgot to write that it is not gal or mild steel but all materials used are stainless. After all no one likes tetanus.

Show us some pics champ, never seen a staino watering can before..... :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Dominator]

DDP there is a big stigma surounding carbon filtering on here and a lot, if not most, people on this forum deem it unnecessary or just plain wrong. This is their opinion not the law. I know The Doctor uses a carbon filter for his neutral and he has more than a few years of experience under his belt and plenty of people rave about his product quality.

No there's not :naughty:

I think you'll find that those against filtering are against the HBS mentality of polishing turds in a plastic container, not trying to create a snowflake high quality vodka or neutral.

Big difference dont you think ;-)

Yeah Mac, true. My bad. :violence-smack: