How to clean the Turbo 500 Reflux Column
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- Опубликовано: 2 июл 2017
- I searched for this information and was unable to find it any where.
After several spoiled Distillations due to the dirty Column, I finally found a way to clean it. Now I have perfect product distilled.
This is a Still Spirits Turbo 500 Column.
Music - Carefree by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
Source: incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Artist: incompetech.com/
Happy Brewing 
Хобби
To save taping it up fill a bucket with water and tip upside down, the water pressure keeps the solution in the tube and holds it upright.
Well done an excellent video and you are right there has been no other information as detailed.. Thankyou
Thank you matey, i been searching everywhere to find how this is done, you know what sometimes less said is best! Thank you for your knowledge sharing
Thankyou very very much. Cleaned it today and stilled in the afternoon, so much better. Thanks again.
You are welcome - Makes a difference doesn't it? I just want to share what I have found out.
This method works perfectly. Highly recommended, and many thanks to Still Stuff!
Thanks Aussie Girl.... Cheers :-)
Thankyou for taking the time to make this video. Very well explained and a valuable reference guide for me when using my new T500.
Thanks Heaps. Didnt realize how bad mine was and how easy it is to clean, looking forward to my next batch and will now do after every batch. thank you once again
You are welcome, hope it gives you a good distill
Great Video. I just followed your instructions.Works well.
I have the copper column version of this still, just tried this method of cleaning on mine & the results are outstanding. Thank you very much for this video.
You're very welcome Martin
Nice little film
Thanks again for sharing
Cheers
My pleasure Andy
Thanks ...great video . Time to clean my condenser. Cheers
Thank-you for your effort, much appreciated!
You're welcome Gregory.... Happy Brewing
Thank you. Very Helpful tip
This is an excellent tutorial. You could have shared your thoughts on the subject, but the music was pleasant nonetheless, and your video showed everyone how quick and easy one can clean the T500 fractionating column. Great job!!!
Thanks for the positive feedback. I have several videos where I explain everything but thought this cleaning Vid could say more without words. No one told me how to do this when I started and I could not find anything on line to help. Thought I would just share what I have found out.
@@pauljacobs5390 this is exactly why I was looking, this is the first time I've run my new one and there seemed extremely limited info on how to clean.
At 4 minutes you eft one of the stainless bits out! Nice vid, cheers, very helpful.
Fantastic video and superb information ! At 2:40, no matter how tight I tape the top, it still leaks and drains the column. I see that you do this over a drain. I drilled a slot wide enough for the top tube into a piece of flat timber, (2x4') and put some channels from this slot to the sides. When filling the column, sit the column on top of the timber and sit the timber on our fill jug. Now when it leaks you can catch all the citric acid in a jug and top it back up to ensure there is enough dwell time from the acid with the column, rather than it leaking out.
Hey Ian, I hear you.... I try to slow down the leakage as much as possible (still happens, but I am happy just slowing it down). Nice to hear from you mate.....
Great stuff and similar to what I have been doing. I find a steam nozzle cleaner to be helpful too. After a run and rinsing, I send lots of steam up the main column followed (after draining) by some warm air from a hairdryer. This seems to keep the copper and ss saddles cleaner and increases the frequency between full cleans
Great advise Michael..... Cheers!
Simple and great video bro.
Thank you sir , this was much appreciated
Very nice video mate thank you very much.....i have the copper condenser.
Brilliant!
Awesome!! thanks
Thank you worked great 👍
You may find the screw very difficult to get off.
Use an adjustable spanner, it doesn't need to be big enough to hold the whole screw (horizontally), just vertically anywhere on the edge is enough to get leverage to twist it- even a small spanner works easily
This is a great video! to clean the ceramic anti foam or saddles I use Denture tablets in a cup of water. BTW over time spirits with dry out your hair skin & nails so to counter this mix 2 teaspoons of Gelatine into your morning tea or coffee or any hot food with gravy or sauce. Doing this 2 times a day is also great for any stomach problems like IBS, ulcers or GERD. In OZ you can buy powdered Gelatine from Health food stores or Nana's pantry. Cheers Ed
I don't have a dishwasher,so I guess the vinegar/salt solution work just as fine on the stainless as well?
great stuff
When you removed the saddles inside, did you look inside it? I have a lot of silicone sealant inside, you have that to?
I do something similar, but my T500 head is copper so I use 551 solution (50ml Hydroge Peroxide, 500ml water, and 1 teaspoon of Citric acid). I also use it on the copper packing!
Thanks sir
All the best
All good
When filling column with citric at 3.14, fit a tube to the distillate exit, and have it go upwards to the bottom of the column so the entire thing is flooded for the soak period?
Brilliant, great idea....
So what are you mixing in with copper saddles? Looks like vinegar and water. I can’t tell what the other part is. Can you help? Also water to vinegar ratio would be helpful
Hi there.
Straight forward kitchen Vinegar and Salt. I don't worry about measuring the quantities, near enough seems to do well.
Would you do this strat out of the box , when it is brand new as well?
No need when it is new.
I found that after 3 or 4 distills there was a brown stain that was settling on the Stainless Steel saddles and the copper became very tarnished and dark.
What made me look in the beginning was the Off Smell from the column after a couple of uses, this had to be influencing the overall quality of the run so I decided to make sure it was clean and haven't looked back.
Cleaning your copper with vinegar will give you a bright blue distillate initially. It is better to clean it with Citric acid.
Does the silicone tube between the column and the condenser need cleaning after some distillation runs?
If your meaning the tube at the top of the column then no. Water runs through that when distilling.
after kleening like this can u pit it all back together and still straight away or do u need to boil water threw it first
I have used it immediately, but I prefer to put through a pre-boil just to make sure
What was the citric acid to water ratio, please. Good video. Look forward to giving it a go
I used two heap teaspoons in 1500ml warm water. Works well, make sure you rinse out all residue. I also boil up and distill water after cleaning.
when you tape up the top of the column, is that because there is a gap there? on mine the sheet metal is away about mm or half mm from the plastic bit... i thought it was a defect, but looks like yours is the same way
Yep, don't know why but I tape it to stop the cleaning solution leaking out
@@pauljacobs5390 i got to the bottom of it back in December/Jan. Apparently it is a pressure safety device. in normal ops there is a slight vacuum in that part of the column so it acts as a breaker and if the outlet ends up blocked, it will also vent the vapour out. so dont put it under say... a source of ignition :D
what was the purpose of taping the top of the still column prior to the adding acid?
Hey Al, The Column is made by Still Spirits and it is a feature of the design and normal to not be waterproof when inverting the Column and filling with water. The tape simply stops the run-off through the joint so that the Citric Acid can do it's job. I find it always leaks out but is in the tube long enough to do it's job . I too was concerned when I first bought it, but after looking through the instructions I found it to be normal. I might add that if the Citric Acid has done its job, when you pour it out there will be a Blue tinge to the liquid... Rinse thoroughly.
@@pauljacobs5390 Hi Paul, if that top fixture is not leak proof, doesn't that mean alc. vapour leaks out through the same path when distilling? I just got my T500, so not yet very familiar!
That was my first question when I learned how to clean the column. I was assured that it is normal.
My t500 has a small hole at the top between the short 2 hoses.. When i fill just flows out there.. But cant see a hole in yours 🤔
They don't put that in them anymore.
This is for the S/Steel version...what about the COPPER style tube??
Hey John, I have a Video about cleaning Copper at ruclips.net/video/Azt1x0IEW5w/видео.html
ive removed all the saddles and replaced with copper matt and copper scrunchies and makes a noticable cleaner product
That is a brilliant idea brian, will be doing that sometime in the future...
Make sure the scrunchies are full copper. I've heard people who bought cheap ones and they were only copper plated, and after they wore through they ruined batches.
If I took out one item from a clean dishwasher my nuts would be cut off.
Wait for your wife to go shopping then throw in a cleaning wash for the Brewing..... :-)
How often should you cleaned this?
After each distill, I reverse the water inlet and distillate outlet pipes and back wash. Before each following distill I run some water only to distil and clean the system. With me, when I run the cleaning water, if the column still smells I usually clean it shortly after.
I must be a bit slow...ive tried this a bunch of times and it leaks...i used 1/2 roll of electrical tape...and still leaks...what am i missing?
Mine does too but I think he says somewhere that it will slowly leak out.
Would it be better to fill it full of copper saddles ?
Hey Lee...The Ceramic or copper saddles give more surface area for the "Reflux" to happen on. I used what came with the system and had thought about filling the column with Copper saddled but decided to make do with the ceramics. It would have been better with more copper but I worked out it would cost me $150. Some people use rolls of copper that look like steel wool, but the cost again scared me away.
@@pauljacobs5390 but I thought the more copper in the column would make a better product . Havent bought a t500 yet but looking into it and the best setup before buying .
@@leewaters6355 You might to ask your supplier the price difference between the standard SS Condenser, and the all Copper Condenser. Yes, the more copper the better.
@@pauljacobs5390 You can fill your column completely with copper that you can buy (for very little cost) from any local home improvement place that plumbers use to anchor copper pipes to walls.
They look like this....imgur.com/xLfpc3l
You can easily flatten them with a hammer and cut them into smaller pieces in order to put them into the column. It's about the cheapest copper that you can find that will work perfectly.
I clean every run no if ands or butts
I started doing this and after a while I clarified all my washes making sure they were crystal clear before distilling. After distilling I always back wash it and this gives me a somewhat clean tower for the next time.
I have an issue with mine where it drips as you'd expect but every few mins in between, the alcohol rushes out (like 200ml worth), then it goes back to dripping, then few mins later it rushes out again. I have it set to 52C but when it rushes out, the temperature rises to 65c or even more sometimes. Ive tried maintaining a higher temperature, like 60c but still have the same issue. Seems like the alcohol piles up in the column and then when the pressure reaches high enough, it gets pushed out all at once. Anyone seen this behaviour before?
It may be your saddles are packed to tight in your column
Empty the column out then put copper and saddles back in loosely
Sounds like you may be missing the distilling conditioner, that stops the wash from foaming. I had exactly the same symptoms this last batch, and I later realized that it was the first time I'd forgotten to put in the conditioner.
What to do if you don't have a dishwasher?
Employ a heap of kids and pay them next to nothing to clean the SS tubes :-)
@@pauljacobs5390 Very helpful.......... I gave them a citrus bath and they came out fine.
The value of spoken word is extremely apparent in this video
Hey Scott, this was a simple video and early in my history. The world is full of different people with different languages, this was my attempt to get a message across in the easiest way.