smells funny do i need copper??

Buddah · Post by **Buddah** » Tue May 24, 2005 6:37 pm

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I'm getting a slight metho smell and tang in my vodka, I make a white sugar wash 10kg 30L using 48hr turbo yeast (this takes about 2 weeks) my sitll has a 1200mm x 50mm stack packed with s/s scourers and produces at 96% (i'm so proud) I chuck out the first 50ml take about 500mls heads then collect the middle run, i dont collect anything over 80degC for my drinking middle run, i collect a small amount of tails to chuck in with the next batch. Even after filtering (a shit load) i still have this smell, the only thing i havent tried is changing to copper scourers as i have heard that hight % booze can make the copper give off copper sulphate??? is this true? Will it make a difference??? any help would be greatly appreciated.

boozer · Post by **boozer** » Tue May 24, 2005 7:31 pm

Hi Buddah;
You haven't told us what material your column is made of, is it SS?
From my reading and experience I only use structured copper mesh in a copper column. My reading tells me that copper removes sulphides from your product.
What type of Turbo do you use that requires 10 Kgs sugar, Highest Ive found is 8Kgs, maybe you're pushing your ferment a bit hard there and getting some hard to distill out substances.

Bottoms up: boozer

buddah · Post by **buddah** » Wed May 25, 2005 1:02 am

Thanks for the reply i use the 48hr stuff it can take it, alot of peolpe i know do 2 25l washes to one paket of yeast in summer and eats the all the sugar now worries all my still is ss except for a small cooling coil in the top for temp control which is copper, do you think i should try using all copper scourers?? does the booze eat away at the copper over time and end up in my brew???

boozer · Post by **boozer** » Wed May 25, 2005 1:33 am

Buddah;

Yes I would deffinately use copper mesh. do a search for "copper mesh" on google or buy it through Amphora (link on home distiller home page.) It is 150mm wide and you need about 650mm rolled up to fit in a 50mm tube, so 6 bits @ 650mm = 4m, just under a lb weight. Buy 2 lbs and add a new role to the top occassionally as you remove the most degraded roll from the bottom.

Copper has been used in distilation for eons. I suppose if it were a problem some one would have blown the whistle by now.

Bottoms up; boozer

linw · Post by **linw** » Wed May 25, 2005 3:41 am

Hear, hear. Get the copper structured packing.

Rocky_Creek · Post by **Rocky_Creek** » Wed May 25, 2005 7:23 am

Funny smell like sulphor? Funny smell like flowers? Funny smell like caramel?
Funny smell like, cardboard? Be more specific.