Home Distiller

Hi Everyone,

After reading in the forums about storing copper mesh or copper saddles, I saw Odin's idea to keep the copper mesh in %50 Alcohol after each use to avoid oxidisation, I did this but
I saw that as soon as I dump the copper mesh in %50 Alcohol copper like plaques appear at the top, so I was not very sure about this process, how do you store your copper mesh,
is this a correct way to store the mesh in %50 alcohol ?


Thanks

Hi artooks. Personally, I clean my mesh with dunder/backset, rinse then hang dry. When they are all dry I gently fold or roll them up and place them in a plastic bin until I need them again.

Otis

This is what happens when I add the copper mesh in %50 Alcohol a plaque emerges i boiled rhe mesh
prior to adding it in alcohol but the same thing happened what is this and why is this happening ?
İ want to store my copper mesh in %50 Alcohol need help thanks

What the heck is that? Do you have critters nesting in your mesh? It looks like rodent fur on top of the mesh.

What are the ambient conditions where you keep the mesh? Have you ever seen those “wooly buggers” that seem to grow under your bed? Some call them “dust bunnies” because the seem to multiply like rabbits. That’s what it looks like on your mesh (in the photo).
ss

still_stirrin wrote:What the heck is that? Do you have critters nesting in your mesh? It looks like rodent fur on top of the mesh.

What are the ambient conditions where you keep the mesh? Have you ever seen those “wooly buggers” that seem to grow under your bed? Some call them “dust bunnies” because the seem to multiply like rabbits. That’s what it looks like on your mesh (in the photo).
ss

How do you store your copper ?

Any other metals in that container? Looks like glass correct?

Wondering if you might have inadvertently created a battery effect.

artooks wrote:How do you store your copper ?

My riser, column, and still heads are all copper. Even the shotgun condenser is copper. For packing I use glass marbles. So, I don’ have copper mesh to worry about.

For the copper pipes and fittings, I have a copper wire that I run through the pipes and then I hang the pipes from the floor joists on a nail. I have them hanging up in the furnace room where it is warm and dry almost all of the time. A quick rinse before setting up the still and all the dust that may have accummulated washes out and I’m good to go.

If you keep your mesh clean (rinsed thoroughly post-run) and then allow to air dry (you could skewer them on a copper wire) and then hang them up in a clean, dry place. Quite simple if you think about it.
ss

Expat wrote:Any other metals in that container? Looks like glass correct?

Wondering if you might have inadvertently created a battery effect.

Hi, No there is no other metal in that container, but I think if the copper gets seasoned it will stop I guess, but let's see.

still_stirrin wrote:

artooks wrote:How do you store your copper ?

My riser, column, and still heads are all copper. Even the shotgun condenser is copper. For packing I use glass marbles. So, I don’ have copper mesh to worry about.

For the copper pipes and fittings, I have a copper wire that I run through the pipes and then I hang the pipes from the floor joists on a nail. I have them hanging up in the furnace room where it is warm and dry almost all of the time. A quick rinse before setting up the still and all the dust that may have accummulated washes out and I’m good to go.

If you keep your mesh clean (rinsed thoroughly post-run) and then allow to air dry (you could skewer them on a copper wire) and then hang them up in a clean, dry place. Quite simple if you think about it.
ss

Thank you SS, this is what I usually do actually I have a big SS mesh basket where I used to keep them for air dry, but reading more and more the forum I saw that Odin suggested to keep the copper mesh in 40% Alcohol to avoid copper rust, but now I see that it has other drawbacks, what I see is maybe the small dust particles that are actually in the mesh where they emerge once I put them under %50 alcohol.

Hi,

Today I distilled my new multivitamin wash, with very good results, my main problem is the copper that I am using and storing, as I mentioned in the beginning of this thread,
that I started to keep my my copper under 50% alcohol to avoid copper rust, but the problem is even after the distilling I take out the copper give it a rinse and add them
to the jars, then I pour %50 Alcohol, but as soon as I do it small particles emerge, which does not make sense, why because we are distilling alcohol with these copper
scrubbers and if alcohol eats away the copper, makes it into small dusty particles then there is a chance that these could end up in the final distillate, anyway I am adding
two pictures where in the first one you could easily see the small dusty copper particles form on the top of the alcohol, why it does that ? and why it gets into some kind of
reaction and creates a plaque of small dusty copper particles ? Really trying to understand this, I appreciate the help

Yep, ethanol can attack metals. I know this because I've actually deliberately tinctured metals in ethanol before. Likewise I've observed evidence of dissolved copper in my still boiler. I once produced a bluish iron hydroxide by putting steel wool in pure ethanol and let it sit about a week. If it's not a "noble" metal e.g. gold it can dissolve and even form complexes in various solvents. Even so called stainless steel is subject to slow corrosion/dissolution given the right conditions. That's copper coming out into your ethanol. Try putting that same mixture in a boiling flask with a condenser on top and cooking it at full reflux, bet it will really dissolve then

Alchemist75 wrote:Likewise I've observed evidence of dissolved copper in my still boiler.

I doubt the ethanol its self is causing that , its more of a case of the acids created by the fermentation process and the heating of the wash that will dissolve copper in the boiler, Ive seen the same thing but in a slightly different situation.

You're likely right about that one. Ethanol can attack metals given enough surface area and time though. "Pure" ethanol isn't totally pure so the water in it might contribute some too. Dissolved oxygen may be another factor.

Copper mesh does not need to be stored in alcohol or any other special liquid. Soak your mesh with a water and kitchen dish soap mixture, or a 50/50 mix of vinegar and water, rinse well, let dry, then store it in zip-lock bags or plastic boxes to keep insects from nesting in it. Rinse to remove any accumulated dust before use. Manufacturers of copper mesh let it sit in plastic bags in warehouses for years with no ill effects.

After 30 minutes @ 100% reflux, the copper packing might be clean