condition of copper pot inner walls

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josh
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condition of copper pot inner walls

Post by josh »

i have a 19gallon copper pot i've been slowly working on for years. its nice thick solid copper but it's rather old 60s-70s maybe older.
i've clean the inside many times different ways the way i got it to look the best shiny and smooth was with a green brillo pad angle grinder discs you know the ones that have flaps more like scales. buy the end the inside looked great and the green synthetic disk was almost melted down to a nub.
so i've never run anything with the pot in the way of distilling but i used it for maple syrup and the syrup i made with this copper pot tasted like a god awful oily penny and plastic. and another thing is i used 55gallon blue plastic food barrels to collect the sap these barrels where previously used for sausage casing and you could smell it.

i changed barrels and used kitchen pots and the maple syrup was fine.

i want to know if i need to go in with a actual sand paper or sanding disk 300 - 600 grit or even higher to get this pot clean for my first run of sour mash ?
i feel like the green brillow or any other of the past things i used are permeated in small grooves of the copper

i've never run the still but i fear this will haunt me leaving my runs tasting like burnt plastic covered pennies

is it best to just sand this thing to a mirror finish inside ? are there any other tricks to polishing up the copper ?

i always planned to use the blue barrels for fermentation but again the sausage smell. i tried all the vinegar and baking soda tricks and they still stunk but hears the thing sunlight and time was also recommend and i left them outside hear and there open and closed for 3-4 years went to smell them a week ago and they just smell like plastic. stuck my head in there and it was an instant reminder of flying threw a plastic park tube slide you know that plastic and rain water smell. ill stay away from 55gallon fermentations and use glass until i learn this craft but if i where to go back to the blue barrels do you think that food smell would come back out ? i know you can get fancy elastic type bags for fermentation but can you just use a large food grade plastic bag ?

i understand you can let the copper on the outside age but should i give the pot a thorough cleaning with citric acid after every run ? or do i kinda just rinse it out with water ? do i clean between separate runs that take place over few hours or days ?

am i right in my understanding that distilling in copper is in a way the opposite of boiling down maple syrup in that the sap is boiled to lift the water out of the sugar rather that lifting the ethanol out of the water and in doing so the impurifications are left on the copper along with the copper taste or dose copper distilled whisky kinda taste like copper ?

at the moment i have some rougher 80 - 250 grit sanding discs can you leave the inside of a pot rough ?

is this posted in the right zone i can never figure out this forum navigation
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bearriver
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Re: condition of copper pot inner walls

Post by bearriver »

No, it's the wrong forum section. The Board Index at the top left of your screen should be your starting point of navigation From there you will see all the sub-forums.

Why are you sanding the inside of your still? That seems highly destructive. Buffing metal is a pain in the butt. Even with the right tools.

The act of using a still will clean the inside. You're boiling a hot, alcoholic, acidic liquid. That cleans it up nicely. It is still always a good idea to rinse the equipment with hot water after.

Do the standard cleaning runs and see what it looks like. Pictures help.

Buy a lead test kit and test the seams, unless you soldered them yourself with a lead free solder. If positive then cut them out and resolder.
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ranger_ric
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Re: condition of copper pot inner walls

Post by ranger_ric »

All good advice from bearriver..
I personally would get some ferment buckets that are the white colored LDPE.. pretty cheap from a brewhouse supplier.. If you are already struggling to get rid of a smell in some cheap ass buckets why not just replace them?
As for the still, IF the solder joints are NOT lead then just clean it really good then run a good water vapor run, then a good vinegar vapor run and a sacrificial alcohol run and you should be good to go..
(please check those old solder joints for lead)

Carry On
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josh
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Re: condition of copper pot inner walls

Post by josh »

i check and re did all the solder
i know sanding is hard work and can wear it down but it was caked in junk from 20+ years in a scrap yard

so it's had these angle grinder rings and grooves from different abrasives just want to know if its best for them to come out
considering using a weaker sander rather than the angle grinder but it's a rather thick still

thinking of just one more go with a 250, 300, 400, 500+ disc flap set it's but proving difficult to find such high grit tools

i buff allot of metal beyond mirror finishes for a different hobby and know its hard work

i guess the main question is. is a mirror finish inside the still ideal ?
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ranger_ric
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Re: condition of copper pot inner walls

Post by ranger_ric »

Been runnin a pot still for nigh on 9 months now. Over the heat of the summer I did NOT run at all. I have a 3/4" riser and after it had sat for 4 months I just use a 20ga shotgun copper brush to clean it with three swipes through and a lot of fresh water. I also did a vinegar run after the brushing. I have NO idea what my copper liebig looks like after that hiatus but i have done 4 strip runs and the hearts from them tasted pretty good. I dont think they need to be pristine especially if you do your water then vinegar, then sacrificial runs.. That cleaning should get you some beneficial patina..

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rad14701
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Re: condition of copper pot inner walls

Post by rad14701 »

I would recommend a chemical cleaning rather than sanding... Why sand away copper that provides rigidity and extended production life...??? You'd be surprised how small of a volume of acid mix is required to clean copper to like new condition... And it'll work it's way through the other gunk as well... If you really think it needs excessive sanding then it's too much work... Not to mention becoming a safety hazard unless you have good ventilation and wear a mask...

Do a test area with plain old ketchup/catsup... Slather it on and leave it, checking it every few hours...
josh
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Re: condition of copper pot inner walls

Post by josh »

i've experimented with ketchup in the past
are there any stronger chemicals ?
I'm more worried about the small slashes and groove left buy the 80 - 100 grit
i wore a mask last time i was in there its gets nasty
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ranger_ric
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Re: condition of copper pot inner walls

Post by ranger_ric »

Joah, I am NO expert BUT the copper does not have to be perfect.. If (and this is a big IF) there is NO lead in the solder then let the water vapor and then the acid vapor (vinegar) do there job before you run your sacrificial alcohol. chill bro....
was there some kind of meth lab run through your still before?
scrub it
rinse it with boiling water vapor
put the astringent to it with vinegar wash
suck the poison out of it with a sacrificial alcohol run..
enjoy the work of your hands with the ensuing distillations!!!

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RR
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corene1
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Re: condition of copper pot inner walls

Post by corene1 »

Think of the inside of your still like a cast iron skillet it has to be seasoned to work well. Get it clean then like everyone else has said do the 3 step cleaning runs with the sacrificial runs then just rinse it and wipe it dry after every run. In time it will develop a patina inside and your liquor will get better. That is the seasoning process. I have a picture of the inside of my copper thumper so you can see what time will do for the copper.
PB300002.JPG
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