having trouble with first triple still wash

[fredytee]

hi there, been having a bit of trouble with clearing this wash iv started... il list what iv done so far anyways..

made the wash as per instructions,
left it fermenting for about 9 days till it stopped,
added some kwik clear, gave it a stir, waited half hour, added the other part and stirred again.
left 2 days,
it was still all black so i put some turbo klar in the other day as well but... its still black and cloudy! am i missing something?

feel really stupid because i brewed some vodka star wash (i think thats what it was) about a year ago and it worked great...

really hope to be able to save this bin of wash and get it distilled before xmas...

any help would be really appreciated, i normally just brew cider and its pretty simple lol. im sure im doing something so stupidly wrong but dont know what!

[billmcc]

Hi Fredytee Have a look here this may help
i think you added the part 2 finings too quick but you can start over

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCpaVVzh ... detailpage

[fredytee]

thanks bill that vid was very helpful, i think what iv done wrong is not degassed it enough... i just gave it a half hearted stir after adding finings a. then waited a few hours and added the b sachet. i have a pulpmaster like this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pulpmaster-an ... 500wt_1287
do you think that would be ok to use to degas it properly? i think what im gonna do tomorrow is give it a good blast with the pulp master to properly degas it then add some more turbo clear... hopfully that will do the trick! you reckon that would do it mate?

[i dont drink]

best thing for degassing a wash is an electric stick blender !

works perfectly for me

al.

[fredytee]

do u reckon the pulpmaster or just a stirring spoon mounted to power drill would be sufficiant? should i just go ahead and degas it as best i can an just add more turboclear u think? thanks for the feedback!

[i dont drink]

both will do attached to the drill !

al.

[fredytee]

oh wait a min i actually have a stick blender as well lol... brains not working so fast today .. head is bangin!

[fredytee]

gunna go give it a whirl with the stick blender now and see how it goes... will keep you posted

[fredytee]

yea i gave it a good scrub and steeped it in boiling water for 5 mins.

just blended the hell out of it for about 5 mins and gave it a good stir too. i think the motor in the blender was ready to explode judging by the heat of it haha. have sachet a in now and going to get the other one in later... hopefully it clears this time. have it sitting in the garage too which is freezing so that should help too...

[mozr]

I will just mention if using a paint stirrer attached to a drill, be careful to not touch the bottom or sides of your plastic ferment vessel when degassing.

If you do it will gouge scratches into the tub. Not only will that introduce plastic particles into your wash (very bad), but will make it much harder to clean, meaning infection becomes a higher possibility down the road.

Personal experience...

[Jimmy]

I've had trouble with them if I don't follow the exact order for clearing - first step should always be to rack off into a new container. If you don't do this, when you degas you'll stir up all the crud and there will be too much for the Turbo Klar to handle. Once you've racked it off, whisk the hell out of it to degas it, and then use the clearing agent. Make sure you only stir very gently or you'll break apart the long chain thingybobs which are how it works - you'll be able to feel it pulling on the spoon. Good luck!

[Admiral Toad]

Good idea jimmy to rack it off first

I use the mixing paddle in a battery drill and it seems to work fine

Have only used still spirits finings but alway work well

Personally I siphon down to about a couple of litre then rack this with quite a bit of black crud into a demijohn

Then it settles nicely for the last airstill run or next T500 waste not want not !

[fredytee]

ok heres a bit of an update, i know it was only last night it degassed and added more turbo clear, but it looks ever so slightly clearer at the top of the bucket... but one thing iv noticed which i think could be a problem... theres little tiny bubbles coming to the surface every now and again... does this mean i havnt degassed it properly? or could it still be fermenting? i left it fermenting for about 2 weeks on a heating tray so i dont know how there could be any more fermenting activity... i would have dipped a hydromenter in it but i stepped on it when i was pissed a while ago

[Jimmy]

LOL, I've broken a hydrometer but not like that!

I've had that too - sometimes the fermentation seems to stop but when you whisk it all up it gets a second wind - my advice would be to leave it until the bubbling stops, rack it, then degas and add more finings. If the worst comes to the worst, it'll clear itself in a couple of weeks anyway without any intervention.

[fredytee]

lol. think im just gonna leave it as is for a few weeks to settle... already threw 2 packets of turbo clear into it. waiting on delivery of another bin so while thats sitting there im just going to make up another wash of vodka star and hopefully have better results with that. really dont want the other bucket of stuff to go to waste though so before i start the vodka star il rack it off back and forward between the 2 buckets a few times and hope for the best...