Vodka Dash - How do you do it?

Kapea

Quality SS scrubbers can be found for sale at restaurant supply stores.

FloridaCracker

@punkin, that's what I have been doing. I remove my scrubbies after each run and soak in citric acid solution until they are clean. They never get quite as nice as new but a lot better.

CothermanDistilling

but if like @myles says, the citric fresh copper gives it a twang..... well... you have to use it a couple times... and if it is black after a couple times and needs cleaning...

either rinse and/or don't let tails touch it... or use SS???

CothermanDistilling

what about filling a TC section with straight sections of copper tubing (vertically packed with a perf plate holding them up), maybe 3/16" or 1/4" for 4"TC diameter and 3/8"-1/2" for 8" TC diameter?

punkin

Citric fresh copper is fine, i clean my plates with citric and my mesh regularly. It doesn't look like new copper at all. I haven't noticed a problem with brand new copper mesh either, but i've only used it once. :D

FloridaCracker

@punkin said: Citric fresh copper is fine, i clean my plates with citric and my mesh regularly. It doesn't look like new copper at all. I haven't noticed a problem with brand new copper mesh either, but i've only used it once. :D

OK, great. There for a moment I was wondering if all of my stuff is crap and I'm the only one who doesn't know it.

popcorn

I'm with @punkin on this. I use copper mesh in my column and clean it about every two to three spirit runs and haven't ever noticed a twang in my spirt. the way I see it by the time I get to the hearts all the twang has been removed in the heads and fore shots

punkin

@FloridaCracker said: OK, great. There for a moment I was wondering if all of my stuff is crap and I'm the only one who doesn't know it.

:))

Myles

I was really referring to the sort of deep clean that you give after soldering. That really strips the copper back to fresh bare metal, and is probably more aggressive than your routine citric cleaning process.

I tend to occasionally back flush with the acidic boiler contents after the run, and that doesn't cause problems either. ;)

Kapea

@Myles said: I tend to occasionally back flush with the acidic boiler contents after the run, and that doesn't cause problems either. ;)

Retro-puking? :D

Kapea

@Myles What's the skinny on this urethane/carbamate formation on copper in the down path? I just read it alluded to in two different places in my readings in the last 10 minutes. Got any links?

Two of my three stills use copper liebig condensers...

Myles

Bottom line is if you have the precursors in the boiler from the fermentation process, the the copper is a catalyst for the formation of the nasties.

The solution seems to be to include enough copper in the upwards path to use up the precursors, so the carbamate drops back into the boiler.

If the precursors are used up then having copper in the downwards path doesn't matter. Seems to work for the Karl and Holsteins so it should work for us also. :D

Kapea

@Myles said: If the precursors are used up then having copper in the downwards path doesn't matter. Seems to work for the Karl and Holsteins so it should work for us also. :D

I believe that is Carl.

Myles

Well at least you are watching!!!! ;)