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Question about cleaning copper packing
Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2016 4:56 pm
by groundhog47
Hey I have been trying to clean up my copper mesh packing today. It has got fairly dark and I noticed a Metallic type flavor in my spirit last run and packing has started to have a funny smell even when I wash it between runs it keeps that little bit of funny smell so anyways I have 5 pounds of citric acid started out with 4 ounces per gallon ended up soaking some packing for 1 hour and it still is somewhat dark. Have I got ripped off on my citric acid or what because everything I read says it should clean up in miniutes not hours any ideas?
Re: Question about cleaning copper packing
Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2016 6:38 pm
by aquavita
Perhaps it's not pure copper.
Re: Question about cleaning copper packing
Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2016 6:38 pm
by groundhog47
Idk it came from mile high
Re: Question about cleaning copper packing
Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2016 6:44 pm
by Salty Dawg
Did you try asking them for advice?
Re: Question about cleaning copper packing
Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2016 11:33 am
by groundhog47
Yeah they say just to clean it with citric acid I might buy some off mile high because I got this citric acid from eBay and I think it's not 100% citric acid even though it says it on the bag
Re: Question about cleaning copper packing
Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2016 1:48 pm
by DAD300
Buy the cheapest quart of lemon or lime juice you can find local and try that!
Re: Question about cleaning copper packing
Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2016 1:58 pm
by Rastus
next run soak it in your hot, left over wash from your boiler.
that works well and converts what would be waste into something useful.
i have also used vinegar and soaked mine in that ... you can get white vinegar in the store for cheap... works well.
best of luck
just before i built my Flute, i bought a 100 foot roll of copper mesh was a good price... now i never even used it for stilling. i just cut some off whenever mama needs scrubbing power in the kitchen.
but if it is a problem... maybe get some spare mesh ... here is where i got mine:
http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/stuff ... -1463.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
i called and verified it is pure copper. great price i thought. now i think the roll will last a lifetime just using for dishes... haha
Re: Question about cleaning copper packing
Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2016 9:42 am
by DWelsh
I have had the same issue, and the way I solved it was by adding a tablespoon of citric acid and tablespoon of salt to a 12oz mason jar and shaking it with warm water. Then put all of your copper packing in this mixture. It will instantly remove most of the dark oxidation. It doesnt need to sit more than several minutes. Rinse the hell out of the copper packing after this.
Re: Question about cleaning copper packing
Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2016 10:24 am
by greggn
As suggested above, I'd recommend using vinegar. Stuff your packing into a mason jar, fill it with white vinegar, screw on the lid and shake it for a minute or two. It'll clean right up.
Save you citric acid for use in your ferments.
Re: Question about cleaning copper packing
Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2016 11:21 am
by Bushman
This thread got me thinking as I have been running my current still for about 3 years and only rinsing the packing with water after use. I have never experienced off flavors as some have described. On my 4" the dephlagmater drops in from the top so I can see both ends of my packing and neither end looked really black. I decided to pull it all out and was surprised how the middle of the packing was black. Currently soaking in just hot water but will give it a vinegar bath later. Below is a picture of the packing.
Also this brought another item to my attention that I will discuss in a new thread in the safety area.
Re: Question about cleaning copper packing
Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2016 11:31 am
by der wo
Bushman, your packing looks like a dead welsh terrier!
- welsh_terrier.jpg (5.37 KiB) Viewed 5386 times
Re: Question about cleaning copper packing
Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2016 4:51 pm
by Mikeinkaty
I mix Real Lemon Juice 50:50 with distilled water and give them a good boil in s SS pot. They come out pretty shiny. You need to clean your scrubbers after about 2 runs. They collect lots of the Fusel oils.
Re: Question about cleaning copper packing
Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2016 6:28 pm
by groundhog47
Thanks for the great info guys I'm going to try several of these methods this weekend and I will tell you how it turns out
Re: Question about cleaning copper packing
Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2016 4:28 pm
by Rastus
der wo wrote:Bushman, your packing looks like a dead welsh terrier!
welsh_terrier.jpg
I about choked when i saw your reply there DW.,.... good call!!!
Re: Question about cleaning copper packing
Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 2:57 pm
by Bushman
While doing stripping runs of my rum I decided to clean the packing for the final spirit run. Sorry I found this method on the Internet and copied into my notes so I don't have the source to credit but it worked great.

Cleaning of mesh: (also used to clean copper utensils that have been badly stained or tarnished)
* Prepare 1 litre of hot (55-70 deg C) 130-150 F water.
* Add 50 gram table salt (non-iodated) to it and;
* 50 gram of citric acid and;
* stir to dissolve.
* Soak the copper parts to be cleaned in the hot solution for about 30 minutes.
* Keep the mixture hot for the duration (Reheat it with your microwave oven when it cools down to quickly).
* After this, rinse the copper parts with clean water and let it soak for about 12 hours in a bucket of (5L) water to which 15ml of bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) has been added.
* This will neutralise any citric acid left over.
* Finally rinse again with clean water. Your copper will now be bright and clean as the day you started.
I kept the water hot as it was done in a stainless pot on the oven. Also I used the preportions above but with a 4" column I needed 8 liters of water thus also upped the other ingredients. It only took about 15 minutes for everything to come out clean then I rinsed and soaked in cool water.
Re: Question about cleaning copper packing
Posted: Mon Mar 13, 2017 9:51 pm
by butterpants
For the beer brewers with extra PBW or Oxiclean and StarSan on hand, give it a try. 2 hour hot soak of PBW then hot rinse and finally 10 minute soak in Star San seriously cleans up copper. Pulls off most of the CuSO4 and leaves the water blue.