Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

Posted: **Sun May 18, 2014 10:38 pm**

TheMechwarrior wrote:Top thread Mac,

Got me thinking about how to get the best out of the still without having to pull everthing apart and scrub etc.

At the end of the day there's no foolproof way to avoid the need for cleaning, build-up will occur.
You can always add more copper to the internal surface area and prolong the need for a clean, but the eventual clean cannot be avoided.

What would be interesting is to note at what point during continous use and only a water rinse in between, at what point the user could detect the carryover of sulfides into their drink.
We may find we are over-cleaning, until you do the test I guess you won't know?

Mac, how many runs did you put through and did you pick any flavour taints towards the end?

I think the colour is a dead give away mate, I check my plates after every few runs and would never let them get as bad as mac has in this example.

Being a whiskey drinker with a 5 plater there is always one clean plate to use as reference :handgestures-thumbupleft:

I got a few hundred litres to run before cleaning but the first clean will be as above- acid bath

I think if you run light flavours through to heavy flavours and have a system going, then dismantle and deep clean it after the last rum, this will see you through without over cleaning like some blokes

Posted: **Mon May 19, 2014 6:41 pm**

Well I'm pretty happy with how it's turned out, time to put them back together and look after them a bit better :D

DSC_0386.jpg

Posted: **Mon May 19, 2014 6:53 pm**

Come up nicely was there much scrubbing involved?

You should post the before pic as well, Before and after :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Posted: **Mon May 19, 2014 6:56 pm**

1 2many wrote:You should post the before pic as well, Before and after :handgestures-thumbupleft:

It was in the first post mate :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Posted: **Mon May 19, 2014 6:58 pm**

sam_and_liv wrote:
1 2many wrote:You should post the before pic as well, Before and after :handgestures-thumbupleft:

It was in the first post mate :handgestures-thumbupleft:

I know :teasing-neener:

Posted: **Mon May 19, 2014 7:04 pm**

1 2many wrote:Come up nicely was there much scrubbing involved?

I only used the dunny brush on the flat plates :oops: I couldnt find anything else except the mrs hair brush :naughty: but it worked ok, other than that no scrubbing at all. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Posted: **Mon May 19, 2014 7:31 pm**

Any results for the copper mesh :-B

Posted: **Mon May 19, 2014 7:31 pm**

Before

yuk.jpg

After

DSC_0387.jpg

:teasing-tease:

Posted: **Mon May 19, 2014 7:32 pm**

1 2many wrote:Any results for the copper mesh :-B

Fark you're a pushy bugger :teasing-nutkick:

Tommorow :teasing-neener:

Posted: **Mon May 19, 2014 7:45 pm**

Damn your Photoshop skills have improved. :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling:

Posted: **Mon May 19, 2014 9:50 pm**

1 2many wrote:Damn your Photoshop skills have improved. :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling:

:obscene-birdiedoublered:

Posted: **Tue May 20, 2014 10:44 am**

:scared-eek:

DSC_0364.JPG

:-B

DSC_0392.JPG

DSC_0393.JPG

Posted: **Tue May 20, 2014 4:06 pm**

The copper rolls look OK too, not bad for just a soak. I wonder how a citric acid ultrasonic bath would go on those rolls to get to the middle. :think:

Posted: **Tue May 20, 2014 5:41 pm**

For the new mesh I'd just stuff the packed section full, set it up in pot still config. and do a good cleaning run, as should be done with any new parts :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Posted: **Tue May 20, 2014 8:02 pm**

Mac...
Thanks to you and this thread I now believe I know why my first and only 2 pot still runs tasted like shite!

My pot still was 100% stainless apart from my recycled reflux condenser that I used as a pre-condenser on my pot still...
I looked at it today and it looked awefully black...I soaked it in citric and black crap coated on the copper smelt just like the "taint" in my liquor!
So now I know what sulfides smell...and taste like :puke-huge:

Live and learn.

Posted: **Wed May 21, 2014 6:49 pm**

Mac,

What if the sulphides can be reduced or removed before distilling.

Im thinking just maybe you can add something to the wash to reduce the sulphides. Im sure I have heard of sulphides in drinking water and they removed them by adding a chemical. From memory it was an oxidising agent of some kind.

Posted: **Wed May 21, 2014 7:38 pm**

This post made me have a good look at the insides of my old Bubbler, those who have seen it will know I cant just pull it apart for a quick clean.
The top plate and surrounds are looking pretty black, The plate below and its surroundings are not as bad. The third plate down isn't as to bad, and the bottom one is still quite clean.
From what I'm seeing on mine it seems that most of the reaction between the copper and sulphides / sulphates ,is occurring in the top half of the column.
What ever the case I think its time for some sort of a clean up in there.

Posted: **Wed May 21, 2014 8:26 pm**

SBB wrote:This post made me have a good look at the insides of my old Bubbler, those who have seen it will know I cant just pull it apart for a quick clean.
The top plate and surrounds are looking pretty black, The plate below and its surroundings are not as bad. The third plate down isn't as to bad, and the bottom one is still quite clean.
From what I'm seeing on mine it seems that most of the reaction between the copper and sulphides / sulphates ,is occurring in the top half of the column.
What ever the case I think its time for some sort of a clean up in there.

Or is it because when you clean it the bottom gets cleaned better than the top? :think:

Posted: **Wed May 21, 2014 8:38 pm**

SBB wrote:This post made me have a good look at the insides of my old Bubbler, those who have seen it will know I cant just pull it apart for a quick clean....

Recon you need to take off your sight glasses and lay it in a big bath of citric acid.

Seeing as it is a big bastard. You could lay a sheet of plastic in your bath tub and fullit up to cover it....Just an Idea as it would stop th acid corroding your bath tub...then pull the plug and give it good rinse

Posted: **Wed May 21, 2014 8:55 pm**

I just bought 5kg of citric acid thanks to this thread.

Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

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