Reflux still condensor cleaning

[Gagginforit]

Hi guys, i'm new to the forum and will probly ask some stupi questions. I have been brewing basic spirits in simple for for about 12 months and i have joined the forum to sharpen my pencil so to speak.

I want to talk about the cleaning of the copper and ceramic saddles inside the condenser colum on my reflux still. The still itself does not get used all that much, maybe once a month, and i have been cleaning my saddles after every use. Is this correct? What i have been doing is washing them off in a big siv with boiling water, then spraying some light detergent on them and giving them a toss around then hosing them off, then finaly i run some high percentage alcohol through them and letting them dry. I then add them back to condenser and repeat next time i use the still.


Is this too much? Should i do this every time? Is it good to have a little build up on them? Am i using the right stuff? How do you do it?

And also, how long should i keep them?


Cheers Guys

[maheel]

i would give them the smell test = if sticky then clean

but cleaning every run is good practice :)

i normally just give my boka with ss packing a quick hose out then a jug of boiling water down it
but really i should pull out the packing a bit more and give it a soak i reckon

i have never used saddles but have seen posts by others saying they clean them

[Gagginforit]

What do you use? s/s packing? I am keen to try different things, i just followed what the instructions told me although im pretty confident there would be better ways of doing things.

[maheel]

"most" of us just use stainless steel pot scrubbers for packing
cheap, easy and work

IMO i would consider them better than saddles in most stills as they give more surface area for refluxing
just make sure they are SS some cheap china ones are not...

copper scrubbers a good / better but more $$ and need to be solid copper not plated


i see you have a T500, i am not sure if you can replace the saddles with scrubbers ?
maybe some copper packing might be good (pretty much copper scrubbers) i think 5Star has them for sale ?

[Gagginforit]

Cool as , i might speak to my new found friend in the homebrew shop, he's pretty good to talk to and gives good tips etc. I would like to get a cleaner flavour straight from the still. I filter the bageezus out of mine through carbon and what not to get it nearly 100% tasteless. Im trying to make that easier, but this may be due to the fact i am using packet mixes from the homebrew shop rather than the real deal of course.

[R-sole]

Copper packing is the best to use in a stainless still. You can wash both your packing and your saddles in a citric acid solution (10%) and then rinse with plenty of water.

I wouldn't have detergent anywhere near my still.

[SBB]

This link might help with cleaning http://aussiedistiller.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=115&p=766

[Icarus]

I agree with 5Star. I have been using 1 teaspoon of citric acid in 600 ml of hot water for years to clean the reflux column and packing. I take out the thermomenter & plug at the top of the column replacing them with a blank plug. I then upend the column and lid, fill it with the hot citric solution and leave it soak for an hour or so till the solution has cooled, and then remove the blank plug to drain it, followed by a thorough rinse with clean cold water.

cheers,
Icarus

[Sam.]

Cool as , i might speak to my new found friend in the homebrew shop, he's pretty good to talk to and gives good tips etc. .

I was waiting for someone else to jump on this but, be careful with home brew shops as they have I agenda. Make money. There are not too many people on this forum that frequent brew shops often. Have a read on some of the other posts on this site, it will give you some more options to making your choice of spirit without paying top dollar.

Welcome to the forum as well mate, you can't go wrong here :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[QLD.Andy]

Hey Gaggin,
I tried replacing the saddles in the T500 with mesh and it didnt work.
The link posted above is how I clean my saddles, I tried everything and the sterident worked the best and easiest.
I will clean every 4th run.
Hope this helps.