StillSmart

Thanks for the info Opus. I can get my (not so local) HB shop to order some, they are great people, but I can only get in there about once a month.

BOR, when I removed my carbon filter there was a definite off smell and the top filter was black and yellowish under where the spigot from the ceramic filter lets the liquid fall. You definitely need to inspect it and bin it if in doubt.

Ronbo.

Looked at my filter and decided I need a new ceramic filter and carbon filter, o well, Safety first huh, thanks for ur help.
BoR

My local HB shop has had one of these filters in stock for quite a while,I went in there today and they said they would do me a deal on it,when a price of £25 was asked I had to think about it for about half a second before the wallet came out lol.
Optic

That was a super deal Optic. Was there something wrong with it?

I\'m trying to stock these but can\'t find a place to sell them to me. They do seemthe best filter on the UK market.

No its all in perfect order,they where just fed up with it taking up shelf space.

I\'m busy now doing spirit runs so I can have a go with it,the thought of not having all the buggering around with setting the Z filter up is good.

Not sure how much your planning on running through, but I try to maximise the amount as I\'m not convinced about leaving the filter partially filled to keep carbon wet. I\'m not 100% sure but when I left mine for a couple of weeks I think I could detect a slight odour in the spirit. My other experiment with refilling with Alcotec Carbon was a great success, that idea might reduce trade for Ellie though if she finds a supplier. Liked the Parrot, Optic, I\'ve still to have a go at one.
Opus

Hi Opus27

was thinking of waiting until I have somewhere around 20ltrs to put through before it gets used just incase as you say it has a slight odour or wierd taste.

My idea is to do the same and refill the carbon filter,how much carbon are you putting in each time,do you do it by wieght or just by eye?,its just from using the Z filter the carbon swells when wet,so should imagine it needs to be a fairly precise amount to insure it works as intended.

Yes the parrot makes it easier,I have been doing spirit runs filling the still with 57% alc and after dumping 50mls heads,then collecting until the parrot is showing 80%,this is giving me about 2.1ltrs around 83-84%,then I collect until the parrot is showing 25% which gives me around 800mls tails @ 55-60% to go through again once the tails jar is full.

Optic

Hi again Optic

I filled it by eye leaving about 4-5mm below the ridge where the mesh sits. I also left it soaking in some RO water over night to hopefully expel any air.

I\'ve just weighed my bag of carbon after one refill taken out and I have 750 gramms left so I imagine we would get four refills out of a full bag.
Opus

That sounds good to me Opus,dont know about you but my HB shop sells Alcotec carbon for £5 a bag.

Guess what Optic, mines £4.95. Now I\'m of that Oap age even 5p helps. Can\'t complain though as when you get to that magic 65 your tax code goes to £10,000 personal allowance.
Opus

Think I can put up with the extra 5p Opus,wouldnt mind having your tax code though,I have another couple of spirit runs to do at the weekend and have just worked it out that I should have around 25 ltrs once cut back to 40%,so the Esencia will get a test drive soon.
Optic

I am doing my first 25ltr batch through the filter,as Opus said in a earlier post drawing the water off before it reaches 40%abv is a bit of a pain,but the final result is amazing the finished spirit is the most neutral tasting/aroma ive produced.Would never be possible to get this good with my Z filter.

The next time that I prime a new cartridge will do it as Opus said with spirit to save all the faffing about taking off water.
Optic

Just unpacked my Essencia Filter!

Busy flushing it and looking forward to putting the first batch through.

Expecting great things having been using that silly Still Spirits carbon ring that came with the airstill kit for the last XXXXXXX litres! :)

Ran the first 4 litres through and have to say I am impressed. BIG improvement over the silly SS disc. Shame they are so expensive

Having successfully sorted refilling the carbon cartridge I decided to have a look at the problem of that weak thread that snaps off far too easily if you go for a good seal on the O Ring. I took a cartridge with a broken thread and drilled the top off the tube where the thread had detached with an 11mm drill. I took a 10mm x 130mm stainless steel bolt put a food grade seal onto the bolt and slid it through from the bottom of the cartridge. I found that it needed about 5 threads trimming of the end to get a good fit with a little clearance at the bottom of the threaded boss on the container. Result, it works fine. I might consider turning a stainless boss to replace the female thread in the container at a later date.
Opus 27