Need for sacrificial run after second cleaning?

Distillation methods and improvements.

Moderator: Site Moderator

Post Reply
japsinok
Bootlegger
Posts: 146
Joined: Tue Dec 20, 2016 3:23 pm
Location: Where the corn is as high as an elephant's eye

Need for sacrificial run after second cleaning?

Post by japsinok »

I have been using my 5 gal alembic for about 3 years now, with fantastic results with lots of UJSSM and a peach wash I ran last summer. Recently I have stepped up to AG, starting with NCHooch's Carolina Bourbon corn/barley/rye mash. I ferment on the grain, strain and press and distill immediately. I have now stripped enough for the first spirit run. Although all but the smallest grain bits are filtered out when I press, some grain bits make it into the boiler. Since some of this ends up high in the boiler and in the dome, I decided I would give the works a good cleaning to make sure nothing is in the arm since I have only ever rinsed with water till now whenever I finish a run. So, I recently took a break from mashing and cleaned the still by distilling a weak vinegar solution. I followed that up by distilling water for about 30 minutes with no cooling in the condenser (just constant steam coming from the worm) to get rid of any vinegar.

OK, so here is the question. After this vinegar wash/distillation, is it best (or necessary) to follow up with a new sacrificial run? I have fermented a 5gal mash of just corn (no malted grains) with the intention of running this as a sacrificial run in the newly cleaned still. But, is that over doing it? I am not greedy, as I take very narrow cuts but on the other hand I do not want to dispose of a gallon of stripped corn likker if I don't need to.

Just wondering what folks thoughts are on the need for occasional cleaning to remove accumulated nasties from inaccessible parts (lyne arm and worm) of the still. BTW, when I distilled the vinegar solution, black flecks of what I assume was copper sulfate came out as a precipitate in the distillate. Is a second sacrificial run needed or desired in this case? Or should I just add the all-corn stripping run to the Carolina bourbon that I have stripped and do a spirit run? Thoughts?

Thanks,
japsinok
Just another pot stiller
User avatar
kiwi Bruce
Distiller
Posts: 2324
Joined: Mon Apr 23, 2012 12:38 pm
Location: Transplanted Kiwi living in the States

Re: Need for sacrificial run after second cleaning?

Post by kiwi Bruce »

6 months late...I only just saw this. Anyway, It is my understanding that the reason for a sacrificial run is to make sure that there is no soldering flux and other toxic waste still in the still...after construction, repair or maintenance. So here, in your case, not needed. You did an acid wash with the vinegar, which will passivate the copper still parts if the apparatus has sat, unused, for 4 to 6 months or more, protecting it from the attack of ammonia (yeast nutrient) that could be in a wash. Copper ammine makes the run a pale blue color. The black specks you found are definitely not copper sulfate which is water soluble,(plus there shouldn't be source of sulfur in a good wash) It could be black copper oxide but even this is very unlikely. Black copper oxide builds a thin layer on unused copper and is quite tenacious, so you most likely just have crud from the wash that pucked into your lyne arm. I use the most disgusting shi# alcohol I have saved, just for a sacrificial run. Scorched, foul and downright disgusting...Stuff even I wouldn't drink...and that's saying something. Just saying, I don't like running a sacrificial run using a perfectly good wash...but what the hell, that's just me.
Getting hung up all day on smiles
Post Reply