Bubbler cleaning

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Bubbler cleaning

Postby Wellsy » Sun Jun 20, 2021 8:06 am

Good Morning Guys
Need to break down the bubbler as I need the bits for a small Gin run later today, also need some more distilled water for diluting my spirits. Question is what do most of you all do about cleaning. I have just given the glass sections a wipe out and rinsed the plates and seals in warm running water and am allowing to dry. Sure the bubble plates are not as shinny as when new but there is no real discolouration anywhere. Even after allowing to sit for a week between runs.
I figure give the plates are in full reflux for 20 minutes before a run starts and the first 200 ml is pitched and the next few litres end up in feints any crap is not going to make it through to the final spirit.
Do most follow a similar process or am I just being lazy
Thanks
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Re: Bubbler cleaning

Postby bluc » Sun Jun 20, 2021 8:26 am

I only do one full clean/new seals per year. Vinegar run sacrificial run.
I dont flush with water until right before switching from brown spirits to vodka. I would rather early tails sits on plates between runs then water. Water has tendency to go rancid and dont want those nasty smells flavours in the mix.
As you say full reflux cleans everything and dumps it into boiler. Anything still left is caught in heads :handgestures-thumbupleft:
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Re: Bubbler cleaning

Postby Wellsy » Sun Jun 20, 2021 8:54 am

Thanks Bluc
It’s a bit like my BBQ , a light grease film helps stop it rusting then a heat up and wipe down kills off any bugs before cook up.
Treated water often does more harm than good because of the crap they put in it to make it what they describe as clean water.
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Re: Bubbler cleaning

Postby The Stig » Sun Jun 20, 2021 9:20 am

Clean ???
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Re: Bubbler cleaning

Postby BigRig » Sun Jun 20, 2021 9:40 am

The Stig wrote:Clean ???


:text-+1:
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Re: Bubbler cleaning

Postby bigcam » Sun Jun 20, 2021 7:23 pm

The Stig wrote:Clean ???

:text-+1:
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Re: Bubbler cleaning

Postby Clickeral » Mon Jun 21, 2021 10:16 am

Just packed down my kit from last nights run

Typically I empty the boiler hot but sometimes if I am time poor I let it cool overnight

Turn power off (or gas if you use gas)

Open RC full bore as I go into pot mode end of run to cool RC and knock back any output

Open 2" tri clamp port on boiler to release pressure
(I do this always, generally stainless is fine with vacuum and my column will let air back in when its not running but don't want to risk it and its a good habit to get into, also allows excess steam to vent and cool faster)

Walk outside and turn hose off and unhook hose so the shotgun/rc can drain. I counterflow chill so cold goes in the top

Empty boiler into buckets (old 25kg queensland molasses buckets or bunnings green buckets as they are able to handle the heat) and empty down my outside sink

Once empty ill unhook the ends of my water in connections over a bucket (hose to adapter to splitter etc) and drain any water

Then do the same with the water out over a bucket

Once that's done generally the other components are cool enough to handle, if not ill leave it till the next day.

If I am doing another run ill just take the shotgun/parrot and the RC/4'-2" adapter off and then undo the connection to my boiler so the column stays together (4-5plate only more then that and ill break it down into 3 tee sections etc always remove the packed section separately)

So I can refill, if not doing another run then ill break it down completely after a quick flush with water. I dry my plates before they go away so not to phased about water sitting on them. All my tees etc get wiped down inside as well.

Everything gets put away cleanish, normally any shit left over gets collected in fores/heads anyway. If there is anything caked that will come through the whole run I suggest a clean

Can also soak stainless in PBW or straight sodium percarbonate, ill sometimes boil the stainless scrubbies I have packed in my packed section in sodium per-carbonate if I feel they need a clean. (think ive done it once in 7years)

Whenever I feel the plates are too tarnished or ive done a rum wash that's left lots of rum oils/shit on my plates ill flush everything. Plates get disasembled rinsed in hot water, scrubbed with a green scourer and then soaked in citric acid at 5g per L (I use boiling water for this) normally let them sit over night but have done just a few hours before. I then scrub/rinse them again and dry them before reassembly. (done this maybe 1 once a year at the most)

Then the plates get put away

I only do vinegar runs with full new equipment, normally new equipment ill clean before hand separately with a mix of straight alcohol, sodium per-carbonate and vinegar/citric acid as required.

Never had and issue, my 3v beer setup gets more thoroughly cleaned and more regularly, but I find boiling temps and 90%+ alcohol kill most things

People tend to work out what works for them so this is just what I do
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Re: Bubbler cleaning

Postby Wellsy » Mon Jun 21, 2021 5:22 pm

Thanks again guys
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Re: Bubbler cleaning

Postby RuddyCrazy » Mon Jun 21, 2021 6:31 pm

About once a year or two I just put the 4" blanking plate I use for the fill port on my boiler ontop of my 4 plates then turn it upside down and put a citric acid solution in so it can soak for a few days. Then just drain out the citric acid and do several flush's with fresh rain water and leave it out in the sun to dry. After I put the still back together I just 1/2 fill the boiler with rainwater and make some distilled water to use in my batterybanks. This does serve also to give the still a good rinsing with steam to do the final clean and after a couple of runs the patina comes back again.

Basically as others have said still are basically self cleaning when the foreshots and heads go thru so I don't bother being too anal about stripping my still down and spending hours scrubbing it spotless as the patina will return no matter what one does.
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Re: Boiler cleaning

Postby RuddyCrazy » Sun Aug 22, 2021 2:12 pm

G'day Guy's,
Well one will notice rather than start a new thread on the same thing I just changed the topic slightly :laughing-rolling:

I noticed today i hadn't emptied the boiler after the last TPW strip over a month ago :angry-banghead: so yesterday emptied the boiler but as I have the drain on the side of the keg there is always some left and the days of tipping the still over to drain are over as I dont need to break the still again by being lazy :angry-banghead:

So today found an even easy method :laughing-rolling: since my water tanks are over flowing by cycling water thru the boiler and letting it drain after a few cycles the contents in boiler is just plain rainwater :laughing-rolling:

After it fully drains I'll give the boiler a scrub then cycle more rainwater thru so it's ready for my next run all squeaky clean :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling:

Cheers Bryan
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Re: Bubbler cleaning

Postby BlasphemousB » Sun Aug 22, 2021 7:23 pm

I pull mine down when anything that's been "puked" on needs a clean and slap it in the dishwasher on a Machine Care cycle sans tablet but with some vinegar and bicarb in the base.

Cleans both the Dishwasher and the kit :handgestures-thumbupleft:

I've tried soaking in the past but find that I get way too much copper oxidation (blue green crystals).
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Re: Bubbler cleaning

Postby B-Man » Tue Sep 07, 2021 7:55 am

I pump my tails out then when I'm nearly finished put it in full reflux for a few minutes to load the plates with a higher abv and shut it off.

Drain the boiler and rinse with rain water and just leave the plates.
Have cleaned the stainless scourers when they are removed but other than that no cleaning plates still look good. No funk on them.
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