StillSmart

I've cleaned my copper settles with vinegar and salt, and they looked great for a bit, but now they're all greyish and dark again, tarnished from just being in air.

Would it be better to store them in vinegar? Or should I not worry about it - just clean them up before a run?

I just clean mine in a 20% vinegar solution overnight, then rinse with clean water, dry with paper towel and store in a tupperware pot until I use them next. Air oxidation doesn't matter, its getting the nasties off that counts.

I won't fret about it, then. Thanks for the peace of mind.

If you like your copper bits all nice and shiny work on them with a stainless steel scrubber and the surface of the copper will gleam and will be less likely to tarnish. Copper treated this way will acquire a lovely patina from heat in the still and keep it's good looks.

Two things are responsible for marks on copper treated this way; Water marks and the oils from your skin from handling the copper. Solution; dry you copper with paper towel after washing and also use paper towel to wipe the copper after you've handled it with base hands, especially if your hands are warm and sweaty

I'd be careful about leaving copper in Vinegar too long as the acid will start to dissolve the copper and you can end up with copper sulphate (CUSO4) deposits inside which can affect your spirits and there's nothing worse than blue spirits

Generally, the odd timeI do clean mine in vinegar I leave it for no more than 30 mins and even then the vinegar comes out quite blue.

AM

Exactly the info I was looking for, thanks!!

Speaking of blue moonshine, on the show, Moonshiners, a couple guys made a run which came out blue, but evidently tasted fine. Nevertheless they were confounded and decided to ditch it. Could they have run it through again - or through a stainless steel still - to remove the tint?

And... one more thing. Just an update from my other post in fermenting - I added nutrient to those two slow washes a couple of days ago. They're still plugging along at the same speed they have been the last couple of weeks.

That's fine with me. I understand some of mistakes I made with them and will just patiently wait for them to finish on their own. I'm just telling you because you'd expressed an interest.

Oh! One last thing - sorry. I'm reading through oak chip posts and saw you mentioned about washing them thoroughly before use. I bought a little bag of medium toast French oak chips (that was the only choice) the other day in anticipation of making a run soon. Do I need to wash or soak them, or have they already been adequately processed, since they're pre-toasted for the potables market?

Thanks again for all the help, man. You're Afro Samurai cool. (did I just out myself as a nerd?)

The Copper Sulphate cannot be easily be removed AFAIK

Patience is one of the main things we all learn in this craft Washes can often take unexpectedly longer and all we can do is wait as fiddling with them is often counter productive

Oak Chips, these are cut from barrels and packed, often with wood and other dust. My washing of such wood chunks/chips is to remove such dust and by using boiling water I hope to remove anything that may have grown on the wood - fungus etc.

AM