Copper salts wont go away

[00Buck]

Guys. Im sorry this is the 3rd time Ive made this post with all the issues the site is having its gotten lost everytime.

I have a new 25gal boiler and thumper. I keep getting white powdery blue shit appearing in my boiler and my thumper. When I rinse it out and drain it it drains clear. My distillate is clear. I did my vinegar run at a 50/50 mix. Charged the boiler halfway and let it steam outta the worm 45-50 minutes. Killed the heat and immediately drained and sprayed it out with a hose. 1 hr later did a sac run. Ran it into tails and killed the heat and immediately drained and rinsed out. Couple days later I noticed some white/blue powder in the boiler and thumper so I repeated the vinegar and did another sac run. Couple of days later the same thing. What am I doing wrong and how do I fix this?

[NormandieStill]

How certain are you that thé white / blue powder is copper salts? If you're in a hard water area that could just be calcium carbonate (chalk).

On the rare occasions that I've left my Liebig slightly damp and got a bit of blue in the distillate it's cleared up by the time I'm out of what I'd chuck as fores anyway.

[Bee]

Yeah, your water is probably awful.
Start with RO or distilled water and build your water from scratch.

[00Buck]

Yeah, your water is probably awful.
Start with RO or distilled water and build your water from scratch.

What qualifies as awful water? My tap water here is just a spring source with chlorine added. I rinse my still with that yes. Yes the water is hard. But I dont think its bad. The spring I get water to mash in at is the same source but right from the ground and no chlorine

[OtisT]

If you didn’t completely rinse out all the vinegar, that can cause your copper to turn green. Maybe you have a rust spot inside the riser or boiler. I’d take it apart and check. After vinegar, I like to take everything apart for a rinse and dry to prevent the rust.

Ferments made with certain chemicals can cause your copper parts to rust (develop the green/blue stuff). For example: To much DAP will cause the green/blue stuff to form. I think it’s the nitrogen in DAP that does it, but not 100% sure on that.

[shadylane]

Maybe after rinsing the pot and thumper, once it's dry spay a thin coat of cooking oil on the copper before storage.

[jonnys_spirit]

Can you take a pic or three? That would be helpful to see what you're seeing.

Copper will develop a patina (aka: seasoning) the more you use it.

I'd recommend rinsing before use and then using it alot and often to get the patina developed. Not a blue/green verdigris kind of patina, more of darker coating. This patina is desirable. Cleaning it to a shine each run is not desirable. Typical to just rinse it and let it air dry.

You might towel dry it and see if it still develops.

Cheers,
jonny

[00Buck]

Can you take a pic or three? That would be helpful to see what you're seeing.

Copper will develop a patina (aka: seasoning) the more you use it.

I'd recommend rinsing before use and then using it alot and often to get the patina developed. Not a blue/green verdigris kind of patina, more of darker coating. This patina is desirable. Cleaning it to a shine each run is not desirable. Typical to just rinse it and let it air dry.

You might towel dry it and see if it still develops.

Cheers,
jonny

This is the only picture I have on my phone. This was after I wiped it out and you can see towards the bottom the color Im talking about starting. By the next day it will be noticeably whiteish blue. Im almost starting to see what the above dude said about hard water. It makes sense. Its speckled throughout that part thats very patinad but not picking up real good on the camera. None of the colors are coming through good enough. But that ring around the bottom definitely turns a real lightish blue after a couple of days

[MooseMan]

I personally don't think you've got a big problem here.
Rinse it out after use, flip it upside down on a couple of bricks to drip and air dry, and I think it will be fine.

Do you know the pH of your water by any chance?

[00Buck]

I personally don't think you've got a big problem here.
Rinse it out after use, flip it upside down on a couple of bricks to drip and air dry, and I think it will be fine.

Do you know the pH of your water by any chance?

I dont have a test trip that tells me like dead on but its 6.5-7

[jonnys_spirit]

That looks beautiful thanks!

Is that where the liquid level line is after the run? If so, I think it's pretty normal. I see the patina develop differently above/below the liquid level line. I had it turn purple before if I can find the pic.

If you can get a pic of it in a worse state at some point that might give folks an idea.

Maybe rub some off onto a clean napkin or something and taste it?

Cheers,
jonny

[00Buck]

That looks beautiful thanks!

Is that where the liquid level line is after the run? If so, I think it's pretty normal. I see the patina develop differently above/below the liquid level line. I had it turn purple before if I can find the pic.

If you can get a pic of it in a worse state at some point that might give folks an idea.

Maybe rub some off onto a clean napkin or something and taste it?


Cheers,
jonny

Thats the weird thing. No. My liquid level goes way on up. I fill it to about 20 outta the 25 gallon capacity. The bottom 1/10 stays a pristine looking pink. Its weird.

Your purple is even weirder but hey. Shit happens lol. Ill keep an eye on it and when it starts getting rougher Ill take a picture for sure

[jonnys_spirit]

Yeah, below the final liquid level at the end of a run is consistently clean/bright and it's more patina'd above that line and patina is bit thicker right around the line. The backset liquid left behind in the boiler is fairly acidic so it's a good cleaning agent and the vapor above the liquid line is more hot ethanol vapor which I guess is also a good cleaning agent.

I think the drip marks are condensate dripping back down throughout the run..

The purple I had was more like the copper changing color, less like a powdery residue...

I'd taste a little and see if it tastes like verdigris... Rinse and spit!

Cheers,
jonny

[00Buck]

Yeah, below the final liquid level at the end of a run is consistently clean/bright and it's more patina'd above that line and patina is bit thicker right around the line. The backset liquid left behind in the boiler is fairly acidic so it's a good cleaning agent and the vapor above the liquid line is more hot ethanol vapor which I guess is also a good cleaning agent.

I think the drip marks are condensate dripping back down throughout the run..

The purple I had was more like the copper changing color, less like a powdery residue...

I'd taste a little and see if it tastes like verdigris... Rinse and spit!

Cheers,
jonny

Id also guessed the drips were the water finding its way back in too. Those streaks are a yellowish-greenish tint similar to what the backset looks like.

I dont think Im brave enough for the taste test lol

[Yummyrum]

I personally don't think you've got a big problem here.
Rinse it out after use, flip it upside down on a couple of bricks to drip and air dry, and I think it will be fine.

Agree .

[bilgriss]

That's minimal. Whatever is there will get washed away by the next cycle, and then it starts over. No worries.

[shadylane]

I personally don't think you've got a big problem here.
Rinse it out after use, flip it upside down on a couple of bricks to drip and air dry, and I think it will be fine.

Agree .

[Corn Cracker]

That's my 5g alembic, it just does it, every time.

[00Buck]

20250516_181553.jpg
That's my 5g alembic, it just does it, every time.20250516_181558.jpg

Yep. I can see it on yours. Same circular pattern and all

[shadylane]

@ 00Buck

Looks like condensation from moist air while setting is making streaks on the natural patina that's trying to form.
Hells of fire, when you said "Copper salts wont go away" I thought it was some kinda nasty build up. Don't worry about the pot and thumper, it's the worm that's going to progressively build up crud and will eventually need cleaned
But less so than potstilling because there's a thumper before it to keep oils from getting to the worm.

[Corn Cracker]

I figured the discoloration was just the wash level leaving oily deposits and discoloring the copper, I've never noticed any off flavors but, I do scrub it before and after each use

[00Buck]

I figured the discoloration was just the wash level leaving oily deposits and discoloring the copper, I've never noticed any off flavors but, I do scrub it before and after each use

I need to engineer a way to scrub it towards the bottom. Its a 25 gallon pot and I cant reach more than a little more thab halfway

[Corn Cracker]

That's a big pot, there are some pretty big copper stills out there, I'm not sure what the easy-reach scrub technique is for them

[MooseMan]

I don't think you should scrub at all, just get the backset out as soon as you can after the run finishes, and hit it with water when it's still hot.

[SW_Shiner]

Rag on a stick will get you the bottom. Shouldn't need to scrub much. Just wipe down with wet rag.