Something is not right...

[Berserker_75]

Hi all, this is my first post ( aside from the introduction area ) and I hope my question hasn't been answered already. I have used the search engine with no success.
So here is whats happening, I have made a pot still from a 7.5L stainless steel pot and around 2.5m of half inch copper tubing. I have been using it for a while and have started to get tiny dark brown particles or flecks in the product.
I do a vinegar clean on the condenser before each run and to help clean the inside of the coil properly I put a ball of steel wool in the coil, then a ball of paper as wadding and use compressed air to blow it through the coil and continue until there is no discoloration on the paper ball.

But in no time at all the tiny brown flecks are back and the inside of the coil is all crudded up again. It seems the contaminate is developing faster than what I can clean...
My thoughts are that its an oxide? after a day or two the particles settle to the bottom of the bottles.

I use Alcotech tubro yeast washes with clearing agent, then I rack off into another container ready to go in the still.
I keep the still on lowest temp possible while still producing
I did cleaning runs first, then a sacraficial alcohol run.
I store in glass
the copper was new straight from tradelink.

its beyond me whats happening. I don't think its puking as I only fill the pot up 2/3 from the top.....

any help would be appreciated, I cant be the only one this has happened to :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Irritable]

How are you heating-exposed element?
Si

[Berserker_75]

The heating is a small camping cooker run on gas (im in a well ventilated area) Im still searching for an eletric hotplate...

[hillzabilly]

Sounds odd,not scorching the the pot over gas ,thats why they use boiling stones etc with flame heating ,to stop localized burning,big problem with thin bottomed cooking pots,overheating stainless will cause it to oxidize and develop that blackend look wich may find its way thru a simple pot still, I get those tiny little fly's hang around the still output sometimes ,so I put a filter paper in the collection funnel and keep them and other shit out ,give us a pic of the set up and ya may get more help.Ps donot use the steel wool that rusts to clean ya tube ,ss scrubbies would be a better choice. cheers hillzabilly :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Berserker_75]

Thanks for the reply's, the pot isnt scorching either and the steel wool I use is the coarse stuff, ive never seen it rust before... im not sure what its made of but that only gets blasted through the coil in a split second. I will get a photo of it all up tomorrow. Im wondering becuase its solid particulate that if its filtered with carbon etc, is it going to make a difference? ie will it be drinkable... I spose that hard to answer not knowing what the particulate is

[Irritable]

Personally if have to find out wtf it is and why.
It might be harmless but you never know and it's really not worth risking for a few drinks.
Some pictures might help the more experienced here diagnose, my first thought after your cleaning rubs, was burnt particles in wash from internal element, you could dispel any other hot spot concerns by ensuring the liquid is moving the entire warm up time...
Si.

[Berserker_75]

I wish I would get a good photo of it but the lil flecks are much too small to be picked up by any camera I own. I have had this occur once in the past but only for a run or two, after which i cleaned with vinegar and it solved the problem... But now its happening right after a clean :angry-banghead:

[Irritable]

Its a bit of freaking around, but Is it worth making up a makeshift condenser and fitting that - at least that will help rule out 50% of the problem...is the pot 100% stainless it's not Teflon or non stick coated anywhere?
Si

[Berserker_75]

The pot is full stainless but I had to fashion a lid from a cake tin which was nonstick. I used a silicon baking mat as a gasket between the cake tin and the pot. The coil is attached via a bung I bought from the homebrew shop which appears to be nylon or some other hard plastic but are made for the purpous of distilling.
But back to the cake tin, it is nonstick but none of that has come off and my friend had one like this and didn't have the problem I have. Could old turbo wash be the cause of the build up/ oxide in the coil. The wash got to be around a month old before I got to run it but its still clear and smells just like wine

[hillzabilly]

Personaly I clean my condencers after each run ,not befor ,vinigar or citric acid soak ,then good rinse with RO water and dry off quickly ,and then seal them up away from shit and air ,if ya keep copper away from air (oxygen) and moistier it will not tarnish as quickly,useing compresed air makes me wonder when ya last drained ya compressor ,seen some shit come through air lines .non stick cake pan =dodgy,read the safety guidelines .cheers hillzabilly

[Andy]

my guess would be the non-stick coating of the cake tin is causing some problem

maybe a photo and more description of your still could help pinpoint the origin of the flecks

[Berserker_75]

cool, will look into getting something else that fits instead of the cake tin. And my 'air compressor' is actually a pneumatic air gun that I pump up with a bike pump lol its like a miniature potato gun but its a 6mm barrel. I will get it all clean and shiny again, and see how I go, if problems persist im gonna get a T-500. Thanks for the replies all :-D

[Zak Griffin]

Stop, hold up, park that rig in the corner, don't buy a T500.

You need to do a bit more reading on the basics, I think...

[P3T3rPan]

Stop, hold up, park that rig in the corner, don't buy a T500.

You need to do a bit more reading on the basics, I think...

listen to Zak

[Hawkeye]

Stop, hold up, park that rig in the corner, don't buy a T500.

You need to do a bit more reading on the basics, I think...

Best thing I ever did was to sit on my hands and NOT buy a T500!

[Irritable]

Stop, hold up, park that rig in the corner, don't buy a T500.

You need to do a bit more reading on the basics, I think...

:text-+1: :text-+1: :text-+1: :text-+1: :text-+1: :text-+1: :text-+1: :text-+1: :text-+1: :text-+1: :text-+1: :text-+1: :text-+1: :text-+1: :text-+1: :text-+1: :text-+1: :text-+1: :text-+1:

[Whiskyaugogo]

Stop, hold up, park that rig in the corner, don't buy a T500.

You need to do a bit more reading on the basics, I think...

One of the problems getting into this fantastic hobby is everyone has a method or the "right" gear for you. This is the best, single bit of info you will get! :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[andybear]

:text-+1: Don't go backwards with the T500.
To clean my tarnished/oxidised bubbler I poured hot dunder thru it straight after a run then rinsed with fresh water. It done a great job and easy too.
Try a run of TPW and no turbo, worst case you'll get a nicer drop.

[Berserker_75]

Lol I actually went and bought one (a T500) before I saw all these 'don't do it' posts. But anyhow I ran all my tainted spirit through with the rest of the wash and a few bottles of applejack that I wasn't a fan of and it all turnes out well.... Perfectly... All came out at 93% and the kit came with a heap of flavours and wood chips and stuff. I can't fault the taste of the clear spirit at all. I would have built one but I don't really have the time or means. Thanks everyone for the help, I'll probably still use the pot here n there for different experiments so I'm still gonna have to get that coil clean

[Zak Griffin]

Forget that pot still, seriously.

Build a pot still head for the T500 boiler :handgestures-thumbupleft:

And you've still got to do a lot of reading ;-)