new boka and need impute

[xthestewx]

Hey there, i just finished building my first bok type still and although its not pretty i think its ok... im goin to try and post up some pics and was hopping for a bit of impute. I also had a few questions, as i feel i always do. Iv never soldered before so the work looks very rough and i wasnt sure if that would be a problem(the solder is lead free 97%tin,3%copper)? Also iv soaked and ran vinegar steam through the hole still but it kindof discolored the solder and copper. I was wondering how i could better clean the copper and solder? And make certain all the flux is off? Finally i measured my coil and its only 61/2" long and when i ran 50/50 vinegar/water in the still it only knocked down maybe 85-90% of the steam, is that reasonable?
Anyway let me know what ya think and as always Thanks to everyone for the impute and a big thanks to the people who have taken their time to respond to my PM.

[xthestewx]

oh i forgot to mention all the pics are after the steam cleaning and a 10hour soak in vinegar.

[maheel]

use a small wash and run some alc up it, that will clean out the flux and crap and just throw it out
then do a quick water boil again and your set to go.

you can polish the outside but dont worry about the inside so much it will get it's own patina on it's own.

your soldering can be cleaned up if you want with some sanding or filing.
it looks to me that you tried using to much solder when building, but thats ok

[rad14701]

Sand and file the joints if you're so inclined, but some guys like taking the ugly girl to the dance so the choice is yours... If it works, who cares what it looks like... Back when I used to make tools and farm related equipment nothing got cleaned up and painted until it was proven to work and worthy of the effort... But by the looks of your rig, so far, it's gonna work...

You're headed in the right direction... Take your time, but hurry...

[Braz]

taking the ugly girl to the dance

They were the ones who were the most fun after the dance.

[rad14701]

taking the ugly girl to the dance

They were the ones who were the most fun after the dance.

[MuleKicker]

Finally i measured my coil and its only 61/2" long and when i ran 50/50 vinegar/water in the still it only knocked down maybe 85-90% of the steam, is that reasonable?

thats fine, it will perform better with alcohol. if you are getting vapor out the top with an alcohol wash, you will have to turn the heat down.

[xthestewx]

Aw man i just got back from a short outa town trip and i must say i was a bit nervous to see what kind of response id get. needless to say thank you guys and Im rather encouraged. im thinkin ill do one more vinegar steam clean, then flush with water, then do a alc test run, and after all that it should be ready to start stripping some mash
just side note i was thinking, since my coil is just a tad short, you think i might help to add some ice to the recirculating water bucket? i dont think i mentioned that im using a pump system to supply the water to my condenser...

[Kal]

If you want to improve the condenser a bit add some copper mesh inbetween the inner and outer coil. I did it on mine (between coil and coldfinger) and it improved the performance. I was getting a tiny bit of vapour escaping when the still first heated up, the mesh stopped that. I think it just helps disturb the vapour more as it passes through?

[knucklhed]

since the question was raised in the OP, but didn't quite get a full answer, I'll ask it again...

Setup:
I also just completed a bok, 2.5" dia (reclaimed plumbing from a boiler), 15 gal keg boiler, 11" condenser w/ 1/2" cold finger (over all I used 15ft of 1/4" tube for the coil)
I soaked everything in a vinegar bath in the tub before assembling and last night I ran a 50/50 vinegar bath that totaled 6 gal - took off about 1.5-2 gal, the first quart or so was greenish, after that it ran pretty clear.

Today I opened up the top end and there's more of that green tarnish at the top end of the outside of the condenser pipe and a little on the coil here & there. Some of the green "drip lines" on the inside look kinda crystallized, evaporated acetic acid I'd presume...

I put 4 copper scrubbers (verified that they are 100% copper) in the lower end of the column, they are also more of a green than a patina... do I have a problem? Does all of that green need to come off before I run my sacrificial vodka clean out?
My first wash is 30 gal's of hookrum, so I didn't want too many scrubbers in it... maybe I don't need any at all?


Also, it seems to me that I remember reading that it's likely that you'll loose a bit of vapor out the top vent when doing a steam or vinegar run right? There wasn't a whole lot coming out, just enough to detect with a mirror a couple of puffs every few seconds... I'll also add some scrubbers between the coil and CF to improve efficiency.

It seemed to run pretty well, I had a slightly bigger than pencil lead stream running the whole time with a fairly modest flame under it, just high enough that I could hear it boiling.

Thanks for the help!!

~knuck

[xthestewx]

Hey guys, so this is a bit unrelated, but as an update i just made some birdwatchers SM and inverted half the sugar cuz it seamed fun. apart from that thank you all for the impute and i will wait for more.
@ Kal: i seen and heard of the mesh before and i think ill try and put some between coils; the only problem i foresee is i dont have much room to squeeze it in so if a tight fit is ok? then ill do it.
@ Knucklhed: As you said im still not sure about the discoloration(you see best on pic #3), but for as for the steam, im no expert but if it is only detectable with a mirror then is should be ok when alc. is put in. Also i use backing-soda after contact with vinegar to neutralize the acid, so im not sure but that might help prevent the greenish tarnish from coming back.
Finally i remember reeding that when making rum with a bok. you only need maybe a 3-4" copper scrubber placed at the bottom of the column.
If i am miss informed i hope someone else will chime in and correct me, but hope that helped.

Apart from that i hope someone can answer the question about the discoloration in copper(even after a vinegar bath) and in the mean time i look forward to more impute and critiques.
thanks

[Coaster]

@ xthestewx,

If you find the vinegar/water is not cleaning your Still sufficiently suggest trying soaking your Still parts in a citric acid solution.

If you want your Still cleaned up inside and out suggest obtaining a suitable length of vinyl gutter and two vinyl gutter end caps. Cut the vinyl gutter to the correct length to hold the Sill column parts and install the vinyl gutter end caps. Place the Still parts in the vinyl gutter and fill the vinyl gutter with sufficient amount of solution of one ounce of citric acid to a gallon of water to complete cover the Still parts. Have the parts remain in the citric acid solution until the Still parts are cleaned. If the one ounce of citric acid to a gallon of water solution is not strong enough to sufficiently clean the Still parts a slightly stronger citric solution can be used by adding more citric acid to the water.

Regards,
Coaster

[Prairiepiss]

Another thing to consider. After cleaning with vinegar it any acid based cleaner. It needs to be rinsed really good. It would be a good idea to even rinse with a baking soda water mixture to counteract any acid left in it. Do a vinegar run then right after do a water run. Something along those lines. If your jot getting all the acid or vinegar out. It will turn it that green. And putting it away wet where a liquid sits in one spot it will turn green.