StillSmart

Morning All

I thought I'd just share my home made filter for use with Active Carbon.
I know there will be some discussions around health concerns for use of PVC for this as the Alc can absorb chemicals from it but instead of firstly spending $$$ on a stainless version.
The total cost for this to me was $25 excluding the single use stuff (carbon, filterpad)
It clears 5 ltrs at a time and the carbon is good for a 25 ltr wash. The black section at the bottom is detachable from the upper section for 2 reasons 1: storage as assembled it stands at 4-5 foot and 2: so I can fill with active carbon Powder form.
The cup at the end of the black is also removable, so I can place a makeup pad and stop cabon blocking my drip nozzle which is an adjustable water dripper.

Happy to discuss more should you like. Just thought I'd share.

Sorry I have posted this in the wrong section. I have self reported to Admin..

I moved this, instead of deleting, as requested.
This seems an expensive way of doing the thing, to me, and so I invite others to come back with a better way of filtering spirits cheaply.
At some time we must all have dreamed up what seemed the best low cost filtering method, and I think that there have been a few posts here long those lines.
Welcome bongo, don't be afraid of posting anything here, or putting a post in the right/wrong place, if you do it will be moved, no problems.


Please read around this site, there really are better ways of doing this, but it is your choice to make.
Wishing you well.


Robert.

bongo wrote:Morning All
as the Alc can absorb chemicals from it but instead of firstly spending $$$ on a stainless version.

You admit that you could be harming yourself and your friends but you are not bothered because you are doing it cheaply - remind me not to have a drink at your house.

As far as I am concerned the same applies to an Essencia unit.

Carbon filters are easy to build using glass / stainless / copper / cork and you can make them a lot cheaper than 25 dollars.

That does seem a little harsh Brian, IMO.
And knocking the Essencia, which I don't believe that you own? On principle? Come on now..
I am here trying to help folk work out what is best for themselves.
And keep them safe.
I do not want to tell anyone what to do, but may make suggestions, which they may or may not follow.
Not wishing to fall out with you over this, you know that I admire your stilling work for a bunch of reasons.
Maybe you tapped more into your post, or I read more from it, than was intended.

Robert.

Bongo what are you using it for?
You mention that the carbon is good for a 25 litre wash. Are you putting fermented wash through it or distilled product?

I do need to say that I haven't used a carbon filter for many years. You really don't need to.

I would be concerned about the plastic also. If you are filtering correctly (very, very slowly) then if you are putting distilled product through it, then it should be in there a long time.

Remember flow rate should be no more than 1/4 of the liquid holding capacity of the carbon bed per hour, if you are using it for purification purposes.

If your carbon filled tube can hold 1 litre of liquid - in addition to the carbon - that litre should take 4 hours to flow through the filter bed.

I am unsure of why some of the people that I regard as "stilling buddies" seem to be going off at a tangent tonight
Come on Myles, please concede that pot stills, trying to produce "neutral spirit" benefit from carbon filtering the resultant spirit.
I am not asking much. Forget plastic bottles, think carbon.

Robert.

I will agree with you. The neutral out of my AirStill is drinkable without filtering and might be reasonable acceptable if mixed with Coke or something. But it is much improved (i.e. made more neutral tasting) by carbon filtering. I always carbon filter my pot stilled neutral.

Thanx mate,it felt like I was digging my own grave for a moment there!

Robert.

Easydrinker wrote:I am unsure of why some of the people that I regard as "stilling buddies" seem to be going off at a tangent tonight
Come on Myles, please concede that pot stills, trying to produce "neutral spirit" benefit from carbon filtering the resultant spirit.
I am not asking much. Forget plastic bottles, think carbon.

Robert.

Just saying there are alternatives. You can do repeated re dilution and re-run on the pot still and get a good vodka. Not a neutral that is true, but an acceptable vodka.

And if you want neutral you can use a reflux column as an alternative to carbon filtering. I am not knocking filtering in general, it does have its uses for some purposes. Physical filtration is sometimes required.

However, removal of chemical components with active carbon, whilst an option that does work, is a different scenario. If you are going to carbon filter to remove heads for example, then you need the correct type of activated carbon, an appropriate filter housing to put the carbon in, and you do need to use the carbon in the correct manner. There are many different types of activated carbon and they don't all work for this application.

If you are subsequently going to clean and re-activate the carbon yourself, you can do so, but it smells really bad. I have done it myself.
If you keep replacing the carbon you soon get to the point where you could have made a packed column for the same price you have spent on carbon, and rendered the carbon obsolete.

I honestly believe that the carbon filtration system was first introduced to the home distillation scene by the same folks that introduced some awful design stills which were so bad you were obliged to carbon filter.

I am not saying don't use carbon filtration. I AM saying that if you are going to think about doing so, then consider the equipment upgrade which means that you no longer need to bother.

Lets face it, if you have already built a copper or stainless filter housing, you are already half way to a packed column!!!!

Filtering with activated carbon is simply one of the stages that folks go through on the route to better equipment.

OK folks I haven't seen this on here and don't know if it is still available or not, so I will put it up.

If you are going to filter with activated carbon then I do recommend that you follow the techniques mentioned to get the best out of your carbon.

Miles wrote "I honestly believe that the carbon filtration system was first introduced to the home distillation scene by the same folks that introduced some awful design stills which were so bad you were obliged to carbon filter."

Having faffed around with carbon filtering and recycling carbon I agree with you Miles. If you don't put it in you don't need to take it out.

Pushing the wash % too high (I try to keep mine round 8%)
Digging deep on the strip run and then putting it all into the spirit run
Keeping too much outside of the hearts cut in the final jar

All lead to off flavours

Easydrinker wrote:That does seem a little harsh Brian, IMO.
Robert.

If I see a child in a busy road I do not look the other way. If I see "Distilling Buddies" putting them or others at risk I do not look the other way.

I honestly believe that the owners, management and more experienced members of this forum have a duty of care / responsibility, call it whatever you like, to warn less experience members if they see a possible health issue. In this instance the Original Poster acknowledges the issue himself but goes on to say it is OK because it is cheap.

To look the other way and leave this post unchallenged for others to see in the future, in my opinion, is wrong. Whether you fall out with me or not is immaterial, I believe it is still wrong.

Myles - That PDF has been posted here several times, and every time I see it, I tell people not to follow that guys example of how to make a plastic funnel.

I can assure you that I will continue to act in what I believe is a responsible manner, if you don't like it or want my comments..............

I leave you with an extract from a poem by Don Merril

If you see a risk that others take,
That puts their health or life at stake,
The question asked or thing you say
Could help them live another day.

If you see a risk and walk away
Then hope you never have to say,
I could have saved a life that day
But I CHOSE to look the other way

Full poem here http://www.scrapbook.com/poems/doc/39507.html

YHB wrote:Myles - That PDF has been posted here several times, and every time I see it, I tell people not to follow that guys example of how to make a plastic funnel.

I absolutely agree with that. My intention was nothing more than to draw attention to the section dealing with the soaking and use of the carbon itself. Pages 22 to 27.

Not the equipment the carbon was put into. I should have made that clear.

Well I've been using some of that guidance for years, successfully.

I didn't need to use the instructions for building, because I bought my Z filter unit some time before finding Gerts ebook.

The connecting pipes on the Z filter are alcohol resistant apparently, and the filter/carbon holder section are HDPE.

The scare from some time back, was about using kit made from polycarbonate, which used to use a plasticiser called Bis-Phenol A in the production. These days polycarbonate is usually BPA free and the materials that have been found to be alcohol resistant for short periods (though I don't know what the definition of a "short period" would be) is HDPE/high density polyethylene and PET/polyethylene teraphthelate.

Don't know what the difference is, other than PET is usually clear/glass-like in appearance (and used in pop/soda bottles, better bottle fermenters, etc) and HDPE is translucent and used in fermenter buckets, 5 gallon cans and even 1000 litre IBC's.

I'd guess that the short period thing is more about the alcohol being an efficient solvent that might start to break down the plastics after a while - but as above and I don't keep my spirit in plastic long enough to have to worry. I get it down to drinking strength then carbon filter it straight into glass for storage........