Blue Vineagar - Cleaning Run

[aknewb1s]

I'm doing the cleaning run with 50/50 white vinegar and its coming out a shade of blue. Any ideas as to what's going on? I've found references to blue spirits and wash, but I'm just running vinegar. After running a few gallons, its still blue although it may be clearing but that might just be wishful thinking.

Ideas and/or thoughts?

[Rivver]

Keep running it and then run a sac alchohol run. I recently built a new head out of 2" copper and ran a vinegar run. Obvious flux and dirty shit coming out. Ran till it ran clean, then did a sac alchohol run and the first 1200 ml was yellow. Run it till it's clean!! May take several runs!!

[aknewb1s]

I suspect the pipe is dirty, but other than being blue, its perfectly free of obvious flux and "dirty shit". I just don't know if this is normal and to be expected or not. Do I keep it "cleaning" until its no longer blue or just switch over the the sacrificial run?

[Truckinbutch]

I'm interested in answers to this too . I got interrupted by other obligations and have had to let my rig sit for several days with vinegar/water in it . Got spots of blue vitrols on most of the exposed copper . Been planning to just start cleaning all over again .

[aknewb1s]

That was part of my concern. That the vinegar was doing something I didn't want to the copper and that running more vinegar would be like trying to comb/groom a long haired dog -- the hair would only stop coming out when there was no more fur.

[Hyko]

Blue color comes from the copper. In this case, with vinegar, it is probably copper acetate. As the inside of the pipe gets oxidized with use, this will stop happening. The oxide layer that forms from the heat and oxygen will protect the "fresh" copper underneath.

[BentJar]

Read up on cleaning with citric acid or orange juice.

[aknewb1s]

Ah, now there are enough breadcrumbs to follow.

What concentration of of citric acid (the powder/crystals) to water? For preserving, the container suggests 1/2 tsp per quart. Use the same?

Is the blue vinegar useful for anything?

[frozenthunderbolt]

Is the blue vinegar useful for anything?

Making sour smurfs

[aknewb1s]

Jumped right in head first with a 1 tbsp per liter citric powder water ratio. Next question -- how long?

[Brendan]

This doesn't even have to be using hot vinegar during the cleaning run.

I cleaned a few bits in vinegar for 15 mins or so just to shine them up a bit...without rinsing them off, they were covered in blue crap the next day...

Just keep running the vinegar through, and then move onto the sacrificial alcohol run...if it's still not completely clear, you will want to run another sacrificial alcohol run or else you'll be drinking it

[Truckinbutch]

I ran a second cleaning run today for 2 hours/4 1/2 quarts of distillate of v/w mix . First quart came out pretty blue . Second had small tinge . Others were clear . Gonna start alc cleaning run in the morning .

[bellybuster]

rinse te still with clean water after the vinegar run or you will get blue again in the morning.

[Truckinbutch]

rinse te still with clean water after the vinegar run or you will get blue again in the morning.

I'm too late gettin this . Just shut the shop gown for the evening and I'm worn out . Will sac run with alc clear it tomorrow ? I could have boiled it out with fresh water while if I was doing other jobs getting ready to run tomorrow if I had only known .

[Brendan]

Even giving a quick hose out with cold water will stave off this problem, doesn't have to be boiled water vapour or anything.

Just leaving that vinegar residue overnight, gives you the blue junk everywhere the next day. Even give it a wipe before running (where you can reach), which will get some of it before the next cleaning run...