Charcoal filter

All general & off topic posts go here
Live Chat Is Here

Charcoal filter

Postby Lowie » Thu Oct 19, 2017 8:18 pm

I wasn't happy with the quality of my FFV (as a vodka/neutral) straight off the still, even after double distilling it so I bought a few bits and pieces off a chinaman and tig welded some bits and bobs together. The resulting quality of the neutral is absolutely outstanding - no metho smell and a nice smooth bran/wheat after taste. Even the sheilas in the house gave it the thumbs up! I've used s/s mesh either end of the 600mm tube to encapsulate the carbon and plan to attach the end piece to the wifes steam mop to clean the carbon after filtering.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Lowie
 
Posts: 712
Joined: Sun May 24, 2015 1:32 pm
Location: Crow eater
equipment: 4", 4 plate "Frankenfurter" copper bubbler and blockhead on a 50L 3000W electric boiler, 10000W controller - don't even know why I need that much, all grain HERMS system through 18G HLT keg and 50L mash tun.

Re: Charcoal filter

Postby EziTasting » Thu Oct 19, 2017 8:53 pm

Clever!

I like.



:laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling:
EziTasting
 
Posts: 2084
Joined: Fri Sep 25, 2015 5:15 pm
Location: FNWA
equipment: Newbie - Keg Boiler & 4" 4 plate glasser

Re: Charcoal filter

Postby Nino » Thu Oct 19, 2017 9:00 pm

I made up something similar but when I ran my spirit through it it went milky, I am at a loss as to why it did that.
Nice set up by the way :).

Where do you get your carbon from?
Nino
 
Posts: 354
Joined: Sat Jun 13, 2015 10:33 am
Location: Adelaide S. Aust
equipment: Black Mangus reflux still and 30lt boiler. 4" Modular pot still from FSD. Now a 50lt keg boiler with 2 2400 watt heating elements and a controller. 5 plate bubbler with a 500mm packed section

Re: Charcoal filter

Postby Woodsy71 » Thu Oct 19, 2017 9:05 pm

Coconut husk is the best carbon for a funnel filter.

It can be reactivated quite easily by boiling and oven drying. Works a treat!
Woodsy71
 
Posts: 598
Joined: Tue Apr 23, 2013 8:42 am
Location: Qld
equipment: CM and a Pot

Re: Charcoal filter

Postby Stonemaker1 » Thu Oct 19, 2017 9:10 pm

I do like the 100 mile an hour tape on the fridge door.. :wave: :silent:

:laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling:
Stonemaker1
 
Posts: 93
Joined: Thu Sep 14, 2017 2:01 pm
equipment: 50 litre pot still

Re: Charcoal filter

Postby Lowie » Fri Oct 20, 2017 6:05 am

Nino wrote:I made up something similar but when I ran my spirit through it it went milky, I am at a loss as to why it did that.
Nice set up by the way :).t

Where do you get your carbon from?


Cheers mate.
Re the milky. - did you thoroughly clean the carbon before you used it? It needs to be rinsed (cold water ok) then boiled (I boiled for an hour) then rinsed again and allowed to dry out ( I stuck mine in a baking try and left it out in the sun for the day while I was at work). Once it was packed in the column (tap it a number of times to compress the carbon) I then ran boiling water through it (took about 3 kettles worth) until the output was crystal clear then started adding the spirit (water it down to 40% or 50%). You can test the spirit coming down the tube as it will start to cool off. When it gets cooler towards the bottom start collecting your spirit. There you go, Bob your cousins dad or maybe mum nowadays... :laughing-rolling:

Bought the carbon from ibrew online. Carbon rock is better than coconut imho. It can be used many more times before breaking down.
Lowie
 
Posts: 712
Joined: Sun May 24, 2015 1:32 pm
Location: Crow eater
equipment: 4", 4 plate "Frankenfurter" copper bubbler and blockhead on a 50L 3000W electric boiler, 10000W controller - don't even know why I need that much, all grain HERMS system through 18G HLT keg and 50L mash tun.

Re: Charcoal filter

Postby Lowie » Fri Oct 20, 2017 6:07 am

Stonemaker1 wrote:I do like the 100 mile an hour tape on the fridge door.. :wave: :silent:

:laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling:


Yep, beats buying new seals just for a fermenting fridge. :handgestures-thumbupleft: Now if it was my beer fridge...
Lowie
 
Posts: 712
Joined: Sun May 24, 2015 1:32 pm
Location: Crow eater
equipment: 4", 4 plate "Frankenfurter" copper bubbler and blockhead on a 50L 3000W electric boiler, 10000W controller - don't even know why I need that much, all grain HERMS system through 18G HLT keg and 50L mash tun.

Re: Charcoal filter

Postby Nino » Fri Oct 20, 2017 6:38 am

Thanks for the reply, I must admit I have never thought of boiling it before. I have always just rinsed it until the water came out clear. But then I only used carbon filter when I was using turbo.

I will give your method a try. thanks for the info :handgestures-thumbupleft: .
Nino
 
Posts: 354
Joined: Sat Jun 13, 2015 10:33 am
Location: Adelaide S. Aust
equipment: Black Mangus reflux still and 30lt boiler. 4" Modular pot still from FSD. Now a 50lt keg boiler with 2 2400 watt heating elements and a controller. 5 plate bubbler with a 500mm packed section

Re: Charcoal filter

Postby ekul » Sat Oct 21, 2017 10:13 am

I've noticed that sometimes the carbon filter makes it go cloudy. If you run it through again as fast as possible through the same carbon it goes clear again. No idea what the stuff is
ekul
 
Posts: 108
Joined: Sun Nov 13, 2011 9:42 pm
equipment: none

Re: Charcoal filter

Postby Nino » Sat Oct 21, 2017 2:05 pm

ekul wrote:I've noticed that sometimes the carbon filter makes it go cloudy. If you run it through again as fast as possible through the same carbon it goes clear again. No idea what the stuff is


Thanks for the info :handgestures-thumbupleft: . So what speed do other people run their spirit through the carbon filter, I was told about 1 or 2 drops a second.
Nino
 
Posts: 354
Joined: Sat Jun 13, 2015 10:33 am
Location: Adelaide S. Aust
equipment: Black Mangus reflux still and 30lt boiler. 4" Modular pot still from FSD. Now a 50lt keg boiler with 2 2400 watt heating elements and a controller. 5 plate bubbler with a 500mm packed section

Re: Charcoal filter

Postby warramungas » Sat Oct 21, 2017 2:36 pm

Nino wrote:
ekul wrote:I've noticed that sometimes the carbon filter makes it go cloudy. If you run it through again as fast as possible through the same carbon it goes clear again. No idea what the stuff is


Thanks for the info :handgestures-thumbupleft: . So what speed do other people run their spirit through the carbon filter, I was told about 1 or 2 drops a second.


Yep. Speeds about right. Slower the better.
The 'stuff' I'm pretty sure is minerals and salts that come out of solution at lower abv. You can either filter them out through a fine filter after they've settled or rerun the first couple of liters back through the filter. I usually do the second.
I never 'wet' the charcoal first (rinse it) and pour it in dry but as I said I rerun the first couple of liters that drip out to clean anything that comes through out of it. Its a lot easier to handle it dry and with a few bits of cotton wool in the bottom of the tube it stops any black powder or dust coming out.

Make sure you're under 50% abv or you're wasting your time. I usually aim for 45%.
I've never 'reactivated' my carbon as it just not worth it for the cost and I don't have a high pressure steam generator (which is pretty much the only real way to do it) to do a good job of it. Ovens only 'refresh' it a little but all the microscopic pores are still full of yummy flavours. Maybe the wife's new pyrolytic oven might get hot enough? Might try a small amount on a ceramic lab grade plate once the ovens installed.
warramungas
 
Posts: 1436
Joined: Sun Oct 18, 2015 9:38 pm
Location: Nor Perth
equipment: 180 litre fermenter x 2
30 liter boiler
PDA-1
2" four plate modular bubbler
2" one meter long LM column
110 liter boiler with 25 liter (max) inline thumper
4" x 4 plate bubble cap still

Re: Charcoal filter

Postby Sam. » Sat Oct 21, 2017 8:58 pm

I wouldn't run anything worth keeping through quicker a second time on the same carbon, some of the things I have read said it you run it slow then run it through faster you can strip some back out of the carbon.

Not sure if it's legit or not but makes a bit of sense to me.
Sam.
Lifetime Member
 
Posts: 10405
Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2011 7:19 pm
Location: South Oz Straya
equipment: Original FSD 5 plate 4 inch modular bubbler SSG with hand crafted plates and parrot by Mac.
18 Gal boiler.
2 x 2400W elements and power controller.
.

Re: Charcoal filter

Postby Lowie » Mon Oct 23, 2017 8:41 am

There's a couple of ways you can steam clean the carbon effectively. Hook a hose up to the outlet of your wife's pressure cooker and run it through the tap end or, in My case, use the wife's steam mop and attach that to the tap end. Works a treat. If I recall correctly, Doc cleans his carbon filters too, he has a thread somewhere here.
Lowie
 
Posts: 712
Joined: Sun May 24, 2015 1:32 pm
Location: Crow eater
equipment: 4", 4 plate "Frankenfurter" copper bubbler and blockhead on a 50L 3000W electric boiler, 10000W controller - don't even know why I need that much, all grain HERMS system through 18G HLT keg and 50L mash tun.

Re: Charcoal filter

Postby Lowie » Mon Oct 23, 2017 8:42 am

Nino wrote:
ekul wrote:I've noticed that sometimes the carbon filter makes it go cloudy. If you run it through again as fast as possible through the same carbon it goes clear again. No idea what the stuff is


Thanks for the info :handgestures-thumbupleft: . So what speed do other people run their spirit through the carbon filter, I was told about 1 or 2 drops a second.


The slower you run it the cleaner your spirit will be as it gets more time to spend in the carbon bed. 1-2 drops/second will be fine.
Lowie
 
Posts: 712
Joined: Sun May 24, 2015 1:32 pm
Location: Crow eater
equipment: 4", 4 plate "Frankenfurter" copper bubbler and blockhead on a 50L 3000W electric boiler, 10000W controller - don't even know why I need that much, all grain HERMS system through 18G HLT keg and 50L mash tun.

Re: Charcoal filter

Postby Rolls912 » Wed Feb 27, 2019 9:37 pm

I use the ezi filter. Well used to.

Put the carbon filters in the oven ona relatively low temp and they both caught on fire. God knows what binders they must be using.
Rolls912
 
Posts: 204
Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2017 10:16 pm
equipment: 5SD 4inch Boka
5SD pot still
5SD milk can
Carter head
Charcoal filter
Temp controller


Return to The Dunder Pit



Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests

x