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hey i dont know what the problem is
i have a 15 gallon ss keg, 2 inch copper coloum packed with stainless steel scrubbers, with a nixon head design

im using an 8 kg turbo sugar wash

im running mystill liek normal burning at 79 now the first litre that came out wasclear then progressivly it started getting bluer and bluer

when i was all done and took it apart i noted at the top of my keg especially in the condenser, where there was soder there was a greenish blue powder substance on it!

yu have any ideas. thanks

wash was too alkaline ? (probably too much nutrients makes ammonia)
epically if use chemical nutrients

Your turbo wash either wasnt finished,or had too much leftover neutrents in it.They sell those turbos as a fast way to make a wash,but dont tell you to clear them real good before running them.They take a long time to clear.

Blue distillate is usually caused by an alkaline wash with too many nutrients, like dunder said. Turbos, because they cram the packet full of DAP and other stuff, are especially vulnerable.
You said the blue residue was mostly around the solder joints, right? That sort of makes me think that the flux wasn't totally cleaned off or that the area that was cleaned by the flux just reacted quicker to the nitrogen substances than the oxidized surface.

Ive wondered about turbos if you get them in balk will they separate?
as yeast and nutrients ( i do not worry i do not use them)

You can split them in half without any noticeable difference.

the flux was definately cleaned off, i used industrial orange degreaser x 2 rinsed it, put all parts in the autoclave at work....hehehe...and ran a water run!

you guys are awsome... is it still drinkable after i filter it.

another note, i activated carbon filtered it before the ferment, after the ferment into the keg, and again with distillate, is that too much? am i over killing it? the mash was pink when i lifted the head off...

and i just bought 50 satchets of 8 kg turbo lol guess ill use them up and go for UJSM, it sounds like the next easiest thing

I would not drink it , maybe run again ? I do not use carbon but I thank just
the distillate would be Enif , if you run reflux slow and take good
cuts you do not need carbon and let turbos work all the way out
it will take some time several weeks

CanadianWhiskey,

You said you did a water run but is this the first alcohol run? It will clean things water don't. Might want to discard it if it is.

I'm not expert, I'm just a guy that googled stuff on the Internet -

blue distillate

Personally, I would toss it. Then I would search this site to find out how to clean my still properly. Then follow the advice here about letting the wash settle after it's done.

Since no one here that crafts really good stuff carbon filters anything, I would say your over filtering. But I'm no expert.

i well i apologize i looked and looked over the forum on anything regarding blue distillate and found nothing thanks for the link!!!


toos it ya that sucks this stuff is read 178 proof lol damn!!!

Finding stuff can be tricky. Sometimes the best results are to go to the main site http://homedistiller.org" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow and use the search box in the top right corner. It uses google to search this entire site. I find it very helpful when I can't find stuff using the search feature of this board.

CanadianWhiskey wrote:

toos it ya that sucks this stuff is read 178 proof lol damn!!!

Mate, if your only mucking round for your own and your friends use and you find y'self as fascinated as i do with this hobby, you won't worry bout a bit of hooch gettin wasted.
You'll be wondering how to get rid of it just so you can make some more/different/better stuff.






ItJustGetsBetterPunkin

fascinated??? dude im completely addicted as of 2 weeks ago, i thinki'd let my wife leave me before i ever gave this hobby up !!

Don't toss it...

Its good for many things. I've run a tiller and a mower with some hi test in the gas tank. (it ain't exxon, but it works...)

It starts the woodstove nicely.

Its a good cleaner for the shop.

consider it a liquid match and don't waste it.

Try again for a good drink.

bad hootch works great in the windshield washer fluid container in my truck... dilute sensibly.

don't throw it away. just learn from it.

ok well test results on from the lab i work at..........

my ph is 3.37 so its not ammonia that everyone says blue distillate is...


whats everyones suggestions????

Its usually caused by leftover neutrents that the yeast couldnt use up.
You need to really make sure those turbo washes are finished good,and cleared some before running them.You can run it again and it will probably clean it up.On your next one,use a 1/2 a pack of turbo.It will take longer to ferment,but you will be cutting the amount of neutrents in half,and they should get used up.Never add anything extra to these turbos,or you will have problems with the distillate.Once you use up your supply of turbo yeast,dont buy anymore.PM me and I will give you a recipe for a simple,clean 8-10% sugar wash that will be much better,and cheaper.

When I first started using a column after discovering this forum I ended up with what I thought were copper scrubbers but in fact were copper coated. The result was blue distillate and a nasty mess in my column. You might want to unpack your column and make sure your scrubbers are Okay. Maybe there's one bad one in the lot.

Good luck

well its not the scrubbers there stainless steel

and for the remark on when i use my turbos up.....i have 50 sachets....
lol guess i got alot of destilling to do!!!

but your right, i didnt let it clear up. i gave it a week. this time ill wait 10 days , rack it in a secondary, and give it another 4-5 days. i wanna see this crystal clear ferment everyone talks about...

if you sit wash where cool after it is finished fermenting it will clear quicker

In my experience it will never be crystal clear, opaque at best.

CoopsOz wrote:In my experience it will never be crystal clear, opaque at best.

ya thats what i thought, atleast one person is being honest..

do you use a settling formula from the brew shops though?

No, but I make shit vodka! Maybe that's the reason why. I don't try anymore, just stick with UJSM, DWWG and failed all grains.

most is beer without
hops yeast falls out it will be clear like beer but mite take a while
back on subject acid can turn copper green but usually has-to set
" as washed copper with vinegar and did not rinse "

CoopsOz wrote:In my experience it will never be crystal clear, opaque at best.

I have never had a completely clear and colourless sugar wash, they always have a slight yellow or red tint to them, depending on the exact wash recipe. They are clear of solids and sediment, but not colour.

im getting a tequilla taste to my distillate, is that normal?... i didnt notice that when first tasting it when it came out of the still directly!

what should i good sugar was distillate taste like at 88% abv

I've got crystal clear 88% coming out of my valved reflux. The problem is when I mix 50% distilled water. I understand that I've got some kind of impurity in it but what is it that causes it? Is this related to the turbo wash/nutrients? Thanks

I would say fusel oil stay mixed in high alcohol when diluted separates ( do not run so far in tales)

Mine is a smaller ss keg, with an element. but I use the prestige vodka yeast and make the wash to 13% pot alc. Ive had good results with or without settling the wash, and have run it the day the bubbling fell off to one or two times per min. then run my temp at high for about an hour or until the collum comes up to about 160-165 f then I back the temp way down(i have a reostat that Ive marked) It takes the better part of a day but I get almost a gal. before the proof falls to 120. Some times I quit collecting product at 140 proof then I push the tails through. My spirit never needs filtering, and if i don't mix the first part of the run (say 2qts), it is really stripped and runs around 175 proof(i think thats what your looking for if you are looking for a vodka) Most of the time I just mix them together in a bigger jug for cutting. If you want to use a turbo (for sugar only washes) then try the prestige, it has less volatiles...... hope this helps.

CoopsOz wrote:In my experience it will never be crystal clear, opaque at best.

I know they are not looked upon fondly here, and I only use them for vodkas but I have never had problems with turbos, providing you do a shit load of treatment.From my experience with turbos, you have to let them fully ferment. Then you have to clear them. As coops said, they are not clear as in see through, it refers to clearing the left over sediment from the body of the ferment. It will turn out an opaque light yellow, but all the solids will be on the bottom. When you have a look at the shit left over from racking you will realise why turbos have a bad name. To fully clear the ferment you are encouraged by the makers of the turbo to buy their "clearing agent" And they work! After you have cleared, rack for a few days before running. Then run through carbon( courtesy of the turbo makers brand). I tell you, these turbos work as they say they do on the packet IF you follow it to the letter and buy all the other incidentals(clearing agents,carbon). They are good for the odd batch of vodka, but they are such a lot of pissing around and so expensive that it is a much better and cheaper proposition to make the stuff from the "tried and true recipe" section. If you have 50 pkts you are loooking at 50pkts of clearing agent@$6.50 and then carbon. Dear in any ones book. They are good and have their time and place, but if I were you I wouldnt be looking to use them all up before moving on to the real mcoy. Just jump in and save turbos for when you need a vodka.