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Hey guys,

I'm about to do my second run with my still and I read a little bit about adding extra packing while doing a search but didn't find much info.

Does anyone have any tips on using stainless steel pot scrubbers in the column of a Still Spirits Reflux Still?

Also on a side note the column/condenser has this pungent almost caramel like odor to it. I tried distilling some water in the still for a couple of hours but that didn't do much, any tips on how to clean it? It's a second hand still, and sounds like it hasn't been used for a while.

Cheers,

-denimglen.

do a vinegar run, rinse with water and dry
is it a copper still?
I don't think the scubber thing is a problem

Use copper mesh for your packing, and you will never go back to pot scrubbers. With most any still ( even if you are using new copper mesh) the first run will not be as good as the following runs.
I use a reflux with 32 in colum and only run for a couple of months each spring. Just enough to replintish my stash. I usually don't bother making cuts on the first run, just throw out about 6 oz of forshots. Every thing else is saved and run in the next run. The cuts are easier to make, the whiskey taste better and you get more of the good stuff, and you have plenty of heads and tails for the next run. I use the mashback method so I can usually plan on making one run per week.

stoker wrote:do a vinegar run, rinse with water and dry
is it a copper still?
I don't think the scubber thing is a problem

It's a stainless boiler with a copper condenser. I'm a bit reluctant on using vinegar because I'm scared of corrosion.

To clarify my question on the pot scrubber I'll use some pictures to help explain myself.

This is the still i have:



The red circle in the following picture is where the marble sits (the only packing at the moment)



Should I put the mesh/scrubber in the green or blue area or both?

Thanks for the help so far.

my still is very similar design, made by the same mob

I have these ceramic saddles that were supplied, hence using, and there is a mesh at the very base to prevent the saddles falling into the wash. i have filled the column to just below the outlet port, then bung the thermometer in.

I got 80abv% out of it, constantly

as for cleaning, i just wash it in warm soapy water, then rinse with cold water every time i use it.

Cheers.

I soaked it for about 20 hours in total in the water and the smell seems to have gone now.

I wouldn't let soap near my still or fermentin' gear for any ammount of money.

mate ditch the marble grab yourself a pot scrubber and tease it till it crys make it look like a sausage then get a peice about 5 inches long and stuff it up into the still bellow the marbell holding things in my still i can pull eighty five percent out of it all day.

Cheers mate.

Just the sorta answer I was after.

I wouldn't let soap near my still or fermentin' gear for any ammount of money.

I'll second that THM
On another note, that is a pot still, why are you packing anything at all. Just double run for flavored spirits and triple for neutral.

knuklehead wrote:On another note, that is a pot still, why are you packing anything at all. Just double run for flavored spirits and triple for neutral.

They sell it as a reflux still with one marble for packing.

If I can increase the alcohol level and purity of the spirit coming off from 70% to 80 - 90%, like some people have, by doing some minor modifications to it, I will.

Cheers, will do.