Distilling blues

Post by **Dnderhead** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 9:34 am

Try not cleaning still leave "patina' "oxidized lair on inside
just rinse with hot water

Bsnapshot · Post by **Bsnapshot** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 9:38 am

So the green stuff the forms on the inside and condenser is ok to leave? I been washing with vinegar before every use. I will give that a try and just rinse with hot water when I get done.

Post by **Dnderhead** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 11:30 am

Mine is brown i leave that on and just rince
if i take this off i get "penny in mounth tast"

Post by **Dnderhead** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 12:48 pm

now you are talking
green shuld not be thire sea main site distill -
cloudy spirits

Bsnapshot · Post by **Bsnapshot** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 1:06 pm

My sprits are crystal clear when they come out but when I get done with the still and leave it sit the condenser has some green powder on it and it forms on the inside and outside in spots. Not many but they are there. So I clean every time with vinegar and rinse with hot water before a run.

stoker · Post by **stoker** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 1:58 pm

do your sprits taste like metal, or like anything that could be a stilltaste?

Post by **Dnderhead** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 2:48 pm

yes stoker it toke some time but mettle taste in distillent

at fur st all i got was bad taste

Bsnapshot · Post by **Bsnapshot** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 3:23 pm

Yes I am getting a metal taste. But I can not place it. Maybe copper or iron. No smell. then as I run it just gets real bad and the odor get bad to.

terryt · Post by **terryt** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 3:39 pm

I know I'm just a new guy and for sure don't know much compared to the old hands on here, but I couldn't help noticing in the pics that Bsnapshot's condenser coils are pretty well flat. I'm not sure how that would affect the operation of the still, but could it be possible that the smell/taste is from "burning" the wash ? It looks like any cooling effect from the water flow through those coils would be seriously choked off. No?

Old_Blue · Post by **Old_Blue** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 3:55 pm

I went down and read Dooley your problem. He said (and I quote) "That copper is just like an old frying pan. You got to let it condition. If you clean it back to new every time, it will be like new every time you use it."

I interpret this to mean that new cooper will give you a taste but after you use it for awhile the taste will go away.

Bsnapshot · Post by **Bsnapshot** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 4:22 pm

Yes the condenser is flattened and it may very well have something to do with my problem. I can tell you some info in it. I have ¼ ID hose attached to my faucet. When the water is turned on full it fills a gallon in one minute. When it is on the lowest flow then it is a gallon in 2 minutes. The top of to column is always cold to the touch and the water coming out of the condenser is usually at 62 F on full and 68 on low.

tracker0945 · Post by **tracker0945** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 2:10 am

I'm with Dooley on this one.
I don't clean my column, packing or coil at all any more. The initial stabalisation period, along with chucking the foreshots etc gets rid of anything which could worry me and my taste has greatly improved since doing this. This has only been with sugar washes though. My practice would probably change though if I started having grains or fruit pieces puking up my column.
Cheers.

wineo · Post by **wineo** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 8:15 am

I have just finished a long stent of stripping runs,and a spirit run on some clean sugar washes,and have noticed something in the process.I usually just rince my column and condencer with hot water,and sometimes a bottle brush.I do clean my packing.The washes ive been running were made with tartaric acid with a ph of 4.5-5.It seems that Im getting more reaction with the copper in the still,and any residue thats left from previous runs.I think some of the tails residues have gotten dissolved off the copper and went back in the booze.I wouldnt have noticed it on whiskey but on this very clean stuff,I had I run where I could taste it.
I have a friend that has been running the same washes,and on one of his,the residue from previous runs dissolved back into the distillate,and even colored the distillate some.After a good vinegar/acid water soak,His copper was clean,and had no problems/flavors on the next runs.I had to clean mine also.Like I said,If I was running something heavy with flavor,I would have missed it.Some of those off flavors can come from the buildup in your copper,even if you rince it good.

Woody_Woodchuck · Post by **Woody_Woodchuck** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 9:30 am

I’m in the let the inside copper age camp. I used to give it a cleaning with a soft sponge using baking soda. Did a nice job of cleaning without removing the brownish patina and was easy to rinse out.

Post by **Dnderhead** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 10:01 am

If you look up the different metals you will find most
put on a protective oxide coating including stainless
It mite be your wash is too acid or alkaline or too
much nutrients."did not get used up in ferment"

wineo · Post by **wineo** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 10:31 am

That was the point of my post.Possable reactions with the oxide layer and residues that may be residing on it.I normally wouldnt have gave it a 2nd thought but did use a different acid in the wash,and since I was running neutral,I could taste it.The same washes that I used citric acid in did not do this at the same ph levels.The tartaric made a cleaner tasting neutral with less off flavors,but a slightly different flavor profile.I would say in most cases just a good rince of your copper will do,but if your doing clean neutral runs for vodka,you might want to do a little cleaning first.I didnt clean it to the point of being shiney.It was still dull,but a little lighter colored.

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