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Cleaning Bubble Plates - no CIP


Still_Holler

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Any advice on cleaning bubble plates without CIP?

I just got a new 4 bubble plate column and am wondering best way to clean it between runs?  I will be running the same product (whiskey off grain) almost daily so not worried about taste of the product coming through in the next batch.  

Do I need to take the plates off to remove the liquid in the bottom  and clean each time?  I talked to some folks who said they dismantle and run theirs in a dishwasher.

Would running water with cleaner (caustic or acid) through the column following the run and then running clean water through the column to rinse it suffice?  If so, how do I ensure no residual cleaning solution from the pot ends up in the plates?

 

Thanks!

 

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Not sure I'd bother if you're running the same thing. Add a little Patcote 376 to you boiler charge to prevent puking and you should be OK.   If you can remove the perhaps a blast with your washdown hose.

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1 hour ago, indyspirits said:

Not sure I'd bother if you're running the same thing. Add a little Patcote 376 to you boiler charge to prevent puking and you should be OK.   If you can remove the perhaps a blast with your washdown hose.

Thanks for the input. Do you know where to buy Patcote?  I can only find 2 oz bottles on the net.

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Are they copper? If so, you are going to want to clean them even if it's the same spirit being run through. Rejuvenated copper makes for a better spirit. We have CIP on all of our stills. We use a commercial cleaner (PBW) and a citric acid wash. With a rinse in-between of course. You could do something similar by hand. You don't need to do it after every run, but you don't want too much buildup or the copper will lose effectiveness.

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Does your product condenser have triclamp fittings?

If so, circulate your cleaners and acids in reverse through the PC, and feed from the boiler drain.

Flooding plates in reverse flow is pretty effective.  Last step is to thoroughly rinse, leaving only water on the plates.

For day to day cleaning, you can use a non-caustic cleaner like PBW first, followed by a rinse, then with citric acid to brighten the copper, followed by a final thorough rinse.

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17 hours ago, Silk City Distillers said:

Does your product condenser have triclamp fittings?

If so, circulate your cleaners and acids in reverse through the PC, and feed from the boiler drain.

Flooding plates in reverse flow is pretty effective.  Last step is to thoroughly rinse, leaving only water on the plates.

For day to day cleaning, you can use a non-caustic cleaner like PBW first, followed by a rinse, then with citric acid to brighten the copper, followed by a final thorough rinse.

We've done the same effectively.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Thanks all for the advice.  It does have tri clamp where I can flush in reverse. After the final rinse, I'm left with clean water in the bottom of the plates.  

I will be running the still 2 days, then 4 days off, then run two days.

I'm thinking if I flush with clean water every other day during the down days it should prevent any problems?

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  • 6 months later...
On 7/28/2017 at 1:14 PM, Rum said:

Are they copper? If so, you are going to want to clean them even if it's the same spirit being run through. Rejuvenated copper makes for a better spirit. We have CIP on all of our stills. We use a commercial cleaner (PBW) and a citric acid wash. With a rinse in-between of course. You could do something similar by hand. You don't need to do it after every run, but you don't want too much buildup or the copper will lose effectiveness.

I tried this method and am getting corrosion on where the water dries off. Looks brand new while in the acid (using cheapCitric.com distillers residue wash). Any ideas? 

IMG_6215.jpg.87b90c9dee841bccd3d62c4644700d44.jpg

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That plate is fine.  Like my grandfather used to say.  Your still gives itself to the liquor.  So here is what he meant by that.  Every time you do a run, the sulfurs and other chemicals in the distillate eat into the copper.  So after a number of years the ethanol eats up the copper.  The same occurs when you clean the plates with citric. The acid eats up the copper when you clean the copper.  So after many years your plates will be eaton up to the point that they will need to be replaced, but that takes a very long time.  This happens to all of the copper components that the vapor interacts with and that are cleaned.   PBW and Diluted citric acid are the right things to use.  Just rinse well.

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