StillSmart

Re: my homemade carbon filter

2014-09-09T04:45:49+00:00

I always prep my carbon now. I get lots of sulphur-ish and other odours coming off and oily looking slicks that go down the drain. It is worth an at-home comparison test to see if the different matters to you.

Chuck

Statistics: Posted by chill — Tue Sep 09, 2014 4:45 am

Re: my homemade carbon filter

2014-09-09T04:07:15+00:00

I don't know of anyone preparing activated carbon to re-charge an Essencia filter,just pour it in dry and soak.
In my early days before one of these,I would pour dry activated carbon into a bottle,and shake several/many times a day,for several days.
There would be some fine particles suspended,which were a bugger.
Putting the bottles in a freezer for 24 hours really did seem to make a difference when it came to decanting off.I used to loose maybe 50 mil from 1000,without filtering.
Enjoying the simplicity of a full T.Roll as a filter here.
Just wondering what may wash or leach out of it when soaked in spirit.I think the cardboard inner worries me most...
When making my version of Southern Comfort I routinely filter through a few sheets of kitchen roll,seemingly without adverse effects.
But what do I know?
Robert.

Statistics: Posted by Easydrinker — Tue Sep 09, 2014 4:07 am

Re: my homemade carbon filter

2014-09-08T22:25:16+00:00

Full details on carbon and prepping it here: http://homedistiller.org/activated_book1.pdf

Ingenious stand!

Statistics: Posted by chill — Mon Sep 08, 2014 10:25 pm

Re: my homemade carbon filter

2014-09-08T20:07:59+00:00

Thanks Chill

I didnt realise I had to boil it before first use, thought you just did this if you wanted to reuse it for a second wash etc.

Ill boil it and try again.

By the way... I fashioned a filter stand from just a roll of toilet paper (full/ with the paper still on the cardboard roll) popped over the neck of a spirit bottle, then rest the cut carbon filter bottle in the top half of the roll. Filters straight into the bottle.

Statistics: Posted by makum101 — Mon Sep 08, 2014 8:07 pm

Re: my homemade carbon filter

2014-09-08T17:44:28+00:00

It sounds like (a) not accounting for the remaining water and (b) not using enough tightly packed cotton wool so that you are getting too fast of a flow rate. The grey colour also suggested that you did not properly prepare (boil and rinse several times) the carbon.

Chuck

Statistics: Posted by chill — Mon Sep 08, 2014 5:44 pm

Re: my homemade carbon filter

2014-09-08T15:51:28+00:00

Ive just made myself a wine bottle filter. put in 300gms of Alcotec 0.4 - 1.4mm Activated Carbon.

First I ran 700mls of warm water through it - took 15 mins before it stopped dripping. Then ran 700 mils of twice stilled spirit watered down to 40%

Results were dissapointing... It smelt very strange like a chemical smell. It came out grey - obviously has carried some of the carbon with it. And the strength has dropped to 30% which means that there was still quite a bit of the water in the carbon.

What am I doing wrong?

Statistics: Posted by makum101 — Mon Sep 08, 2014 3:51 pm

Re: my homemade carbon filter

2014-09-01T15:28:35+00:00

I have used bakers yeast with tomato puree up until now, this is just an experiment to get a cleaner product. One mistake I now realise I made was not using finings and hence getting yeasty off flavours in my output. I will do some more perusal of the forums to ascertain the best was recipe for neutral.

Statistics: Posted by Aethelstan — Mon Sep 01, 2014 3:28 pm

Re: my homemade carbon filter

2014-09-01T15:12:18+00:00

I think I understand.
You need to put the carbon in the wash to take out the bad tastes that the yeast that came in the same packet put in?
But if you didn't put the bad tastes in, you would not have to use the carbon to take them out?
I may be missing something but I think I will stick to my bakers yeast and not have to worry about the carbon and it is a lot cheaper.

Sorry Athelstone, I could not resist it and welcome to the forum I hope you stay a while.

Brian

Statistics: Posted by YHB — Mon Sep 01, 2014 3:12 pm

Re: my homemade carbon filter

2014-09-01T14:35:36+00:00

The triple distilled kit has a sachet of activated carbon that goes in the wash, it says so on the instructions.

Statistics: Posted by Aethelstan — Mon Sep 01, 2014 2:35 pm

Re: my homemade carbon filter

2014-09-01T12:52:04+00:00

Hi,

Generally

Charcoal is used to add a specific flavour, Think JD.
Activated Carbon is used to remove unwanted flavours.

Why would you want to put Carbon in the wash?

Brian

Statistics: Posted by YHB — Mon Sep 01, 2014 12:52 pm

Re: my homemade carbon filter

2014-09-01T12:34:31+00:00

Hi, new here and this filter looks like a good bit of home engineering. I was looking into creating some kind of carbon for using within the wash and again for filtering. Is it possible to charge the filter with ground charcoal? I have some lime wood that I can make charcoal with as it was going to be incinerated anyway and as I understand it, charcoal is the same as activated carbon.

Thank you

Statistics: Posted by Aethelstan — Mon Sep 01, 2014 12:34 pm

Re: my homemade carbon filter

2014-08-31T19:53:56+00:00

I followed this youtube vid to cut my wine glass (I did it over the bath rather then the sink just in case I needed to drop the bottle quickly). It worked just like in the video - Easy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHWYjMlYH50

Statistics: Posted by makum101 — Sun Aug 31, 2014 7:53 pm

Re: my homemade carbon filter

2014-08-27T00:00:08+00:00

My own cheapy filtering method before the essencia was to pour a couple of teaspoons of carbon into each litre of "neutral".and leave bottles in a place where I would shake several times a day,for several days.At the sides of your TV watching chair would be good....
Then put bottles in freezer for 24 hours,before decanting,(trick learnt from HD forum).
Similar result to the Essencia,more work,more excercise.
Robert.

Statistics: Posted by Easydrinker — Wed Aug 27, 2014 12:00 am

Re: my homemade carbon filter

2014-08-25T12:10:03+00:00

I ran some product thru a winebottle/carbon filter the other week. Even tho the drip rate was 1 drip a second I found it too ineffective for my needs.

In the end I just dumped some carbon straight from the bag onto 5L of 45% (diluted from 95%) in a demijohn. Gave it a shake every day for a few days, and used the wine bottle with some cottonwool as a filter to seperate the product off the carbon.

The product is totally tasteless and no smell.

Statistics: Posted by Boozoid — Mon Aug 25, 2014 12:10 pm

Re: my homemade carbon filter

2014-08-25T11:19:51+00:00

Cheers Anavrin...

Ive got the essencia filter aswell, and find it very good, a few friends are just starting out and i would pass info on to them to make starting out cheaper.

I'm also gonna set up a homemade filter to get more on the go at the same time.

still learning...but with you guys to help me along i know i'll be fine

Statistics: Posted by PJB — Mon Aug 25, 2014 11:19 am