Successful cleaning

[bluefish_dist]

This is probably old news for many here, but I just had a successful cleaning of my boiler. It had more than 75 runs on it and even though I sprayed it out with caustic after each run it had a dark film buildup on the walls. Even my pressure washer would not remove it. I tried filling it with b-Brite at the recommended dose and that didn't do it either. But I did notice that I had heated it up before fully filling it and at double the dose it did clean it.

Armed with this information I added the cleaner at double the dose, heated to 180 deg and the boiler is now completely clean. Probably worth doing every few months to keep the buildup under control.

[Bushman]

Thanks for the info, I was shocked a while back how dark my packing had got. Guess it's like having a set time to change batteries in a fire alarm in your house. Rinsing my column from both ends did not show what the bulk of the packing really looked like.

[bluefish_dist]

I didn't think I had that much build up and it didn't come off by scrubbing or pressure washer, so I was not concerned. Now after cleaning it I can see how much it had built up. Cleaning was easy once I upped the concentration of caustic. A few hours to warm up and it was clean. Definitely worth doing more often.

[Mikey-moo]

Now that you've exposed all the copper afresh again... do you notice a difference in the taste of what you're producing? Is it better?

[pfshine]

Do have any before and after pics?

[Single Malt Yinzer]

What caustic did you use? I use PBW but it never seems to do much of anything.

[bluefish_dist]

Sorry if I was not clear, my boiler is stainless steel. I used B-Brite. It didn't do anything at normal dose. It took the double dose and heat to remove all the baked on gunk.

No photos. Sorry.

[Bushman]

I hope LWTC hops into the thread he had a product he highly recommended and I am not sure of the name.

[Kareltje]

Sorry if I was not clear, my boiler is stainless steel. I used B-Brite. It didn't do anything at normal dose. It took the double dose and heat to remove all the baked on gunk.

No photos. Sorry.

But then again: did removing of all the dirt do anything for the taste?
If not, it is purely cosmetic, isn't it?

[Pikey]

I didn't think I had that much build up and it didn't come off by scrubbing or pressure washer, so I was not concerned. Now after cleaning it I can see how much it had built up. Cleaning was easy once I upped the concentration of caustic. A few hours to warm up and it was clean. Definitely worth doing more often.

Congratulations on a great job

Interesting thread Bluefish. I thought most never bothered cleaning their kit and was feeling a bit "left field" because mine all gets scrubbed bright every run - unless I'm doing back to back.

I Assume the "Caustic" is alkali based on something like NaOH ? Have you ever tried an acid instead ?

But the reason I find it interesting is that I have a detatchable top on my boiler (also stainless) and am building an upgrade in copper.
I nearly have myself talked into just having a fixed dome and a fill port with possible access posrt I can get my arm into.

SO much less work in fabrication and in the cleaning between runs abd setting the top back on again.

This thread is pushing me back to "Detatchable top" again.

I know your kit is HUGE comapred with mine - but

Would you ever go down the non-detatchable top route ?

[bluefish_dist]

Actually my stil has a welded top. It has a 6" opening so I can spray it out. I also added a 4" port at the bottom if needed for cleaning. Knowing how to clean it now, I think a closed top is fine.

I have heard that copper needs to be treated more delicately. It reacts more to the caustic and acid. So stainless for me.

I have not tried acid, but since the washes are quite acidic, I am not sure it would do much. The B-Brite stripped everything right off. I expect pro brewer wash would work the same. It was really a accident. I filled it half way with water and a full done of B-Brite. The bottom half was shiny and clean, yet when I filled it all the way and heated it up, the top half did not come clean. That suggested I just needed a higher dose of B-Brite. I did that and it all came clean.