I flunked my vinegar test.

[bnthere]

I fired it up with a 2:1 water vinegar charge. I had steam pouring out of the top of the VM column but nothing out of the liebig..not a drop. The temp was 210 F then I dropped it to 160 F the powered it back up to 210 F again. I ran it like that for and hour then shut it down. I took it all apart and there is still a lot of black nasty oily stuff in the column. I am trying to figure out a way to soak it but the sections are too big to fit in my large cooler. I would use a 55 gal drum but that would be a hell of a lot of vinegar. I have no idea what may contaminate the liebig yet as not a smell of vinegar vapor even attempted its virginity. The water flow is good with only a slight warming at the upper temps in the column. My condenser is 11 inches of double wound 1/4 inch tube. I didn't insulate the column but the ambient is about 55 F right now. I did not use packing as instructed by the cleaning posts. The reducer was hot where it enters the liebig but after that it is cool to the touch. How is the vapor going to find it's way into the liebig anyway? There is nothing to push it that direction as there is no pressure in the system except heat below and cold above I have many gallons of ferment waiting but I want the still to be cleaner than clean before I see if will work with BW, DWWG, All Bran etc. I have read the OJ makes a good cleaner but again I don't have a container that fits all of the parts for soaking. I have 7 gallons of hot vinegar water solution that should be used for something.

[bellybuster]

bath tub

[rad14701]

For a VM you probably won't get vapor out the product branch with straight water unless you lightly block off the reflux condenser section vent... What you are seeing is the unique part of properly designed VM columns... Once the alcohol is depleted the output stops... Keep the VM branch valve wide open and block off the vent and you should get steam and/or condensed product out the product condenser...

[bnthere]

Thanks Rad. I really don't have a vent per se but the entire top is open and the condenser just slides in and rests on the in/out ports of the condenser. I will try stuffing some rags in there (top of the column) with the product valve open and see what happens. If that doesn't clean it I will switch to a strip run and see what I get..

[bnthere]

How about if I just forget the vinegar and go to sacrificial alcohol. Would that clean it well enough?

[dirtweeder]

Cut a length of PVC pipe to a little longer than your copper pipe, cap one end drop in your copper (I slid my 1/2" inside my 3/4" inside my 1", etc.) then poor a little salt in, fill with vinegar and cap the other end. It's a perfect fit for all the copper to get cleaned at once and you don't waste a bunch of vinegar.

[bnthere]

That is a good idea. I am off to Lowes to get some 4" pvc. I tried a 5 gallon batch of BW for a sacrificial. It began as 1.08 and ended up as .99. I got 2 oz of alcohol with the temp steady at 176 F. Mucho vapor came from the top of the still so I increased the water flow to max and turned down the heat. Once it stopped it stopped for good. My original idea was to blast it it with hot alcohol. Too bad I didn't have any. Since this is my first run it is entirely possible that I am doing something wrong or my still design is bad. I have more ferments waiting but I hate to waste them all trying to figure this out. Do I need a cap on the top of the still?. The 2 oz I got smelled sweet but I fidn't taste it. The temp never left the 176 zone and the liebig was wide open..

[rad14701]

That method doesn't allow for the hot vapor component that a true cleaning run provides... You going to have to do cleaning runs until it's clean and that doesn't always happen with one round of the cleaning routine described in the New Distiller Reading Lounge... Don't rely on a simple dip/soak...

[maheel]

remove your coil grab a bit of rag make a "plug" and stuff it in the top

open the VM valve and it will force steam out the liebig
run your liebig for a while


then do a ALC cleaning run


you can also put the column in a bucket and continually pour a cleaning solution "weak" acid like citric acid using a jug down it to get a lot of muck out prior to a ALC run
fill your jug from the bucket and keep pouring it through

[bnthere]

Thanks Maheel..that worked great!!..My still has no cap above the condenser so the rag did the trick. Not only that but I did a strip run with the rag in place and collected all I had hoped for. I will fashion a cap for the top with a vent and that should do it. In the mean time the rag works great. It looks a little flunky but then again I like the backyard approach. I couldn't figure why I had so much vapor escaping from the top. That was a simple solution to a novice problem and I thank you..Off and running..

[bnthere]

I have been doing my strip runs with the rag stuffed into the top of the column. Should I eliminate the condenser and just use the liebig for the strip runs. I am getting product but it seems a little light. I just run it slow enough to keep the return water warm until it almost stops dripping. I am trying to collect enough for a spirit run. I am tossing the first pint per 10 gallon charge as foreshots and keeping the rest..Thanks

[RonH3154]

Maybe I missed it when I read cleaning post but how long do you usually let the copper soak? By the way I'm not talking soak to replace hot vinegar/water steam but in addition to.