Refilling the Essencia Ceramic Filter

[Anavrin]

Hi Guys

After hearing that Easydrinker once managed to re-fill his Essencia Ceramic Filter after the bottom of it came loose, I decided to have a go at mine, it's not designed to come apart, so if you try this and F#%k yours up, it's your own fault!

Firstly I pushed a normal dinner knife down between the side of the ceramic dome and the plastic lip around the bottom edge to ensure there was no sealant around the sides, then gently pushing down a little harder at various places to see if I could break the seal around the bottom of the ceramic dome and the plastic bottom.

I managed to get the bottom off



You can see the sealant around the edge of the bottom plastic cover, I managed to remove this by prizing it off with the same knife as before, I also noticed the filter only about 2/3 full of quite course carbon.

Here's a pic of it once all clean



I couldn't get the normal 900gr bag of carbon I normally buy from my HBS so I had to settle for an overpriced bag of StillSpirits Z carbon, £4.60 for 205gr



There wasn't quite enough to fill both filters in the bag so I filled the ceramic one 2/3 full before applying some food grade silicone rubber around the bottom edge of the ceramic dome to stick the plastic bottom back on.




The rest of the carbon filled the carbon filter about to about 75-80% full.

I'm going to give it 24hrs for the silicone to set then test it out, I also give the ceramic dome a good scrub with a sponge scourer to clean the outside of it.

[Easydrinker]

Nice one Anavrin.
Thanks for taking more time to share than I did.
I am going to make this a sticky

Robert.

[Anavrin]

Cheers Robert, at least there's proof it can be done now, even using Still Spirits expensive Z carbon, £4.60 is less than 1/10th of the cost of replacing the two filters

The Still Spirits carbon is also quite course, not the best quality in my opinion, the Alcotec 0.4-0.85mm version is much better in my option, and it's about £7-£8 for 1.7litre bag.

[Anavrin]

I've purged it today with water and now filled it with neutral, it wasn't going through fast so I'm assuming the silicone seal I made is good with no leaks.

The true test will be in the tasting, the last thing to go through it was Rum, so if my neutral is clean tasting I'll know it's been successful.

[Easydrinker]

I suspect that the sealants we may use are better than OEM.
It is when we attempt to go again that we may find problems..

Robert.

[Anavrin]

Your probably right Robert

I was a little worried because I only used a tiny bit of sealant compared to the original amount, I used just enough to make a complete, all around seal.

[gaza the instructor]

Thanks for the tips Anavrin, am due a
change in mine. Have ordered a new one
will operate on the old one.

[Anavrin]

I can report it's working fine, just like new again

[gaza the instructor]

That's it then scalpel at the ready.
Nurse whats all that red stuff.

[Duffer26]

I understand that you keep the filters covered with alcohol between runs.

How long are you happy for it sitting there in plastic?

Do you take off the 1st 500ml and put it back through?

Is this really still the one to buy?

[Curmudgeon]

while we're on this subject ....

Isn't this made of plastic and plastic is considered bad?

[Easydrinker]

The actual "container" part is HDPE, generally considered safe for alcohol up to 45%, the maximum recommended % to filter alcohol, for carbon efficiency.
The lid I believe is PET, and considered to be generally unsuitable.
Some folk replace with a metal saucepan lid, often found in a charity shop for pennies.

Without wishing to re-ignite the whole plastic/alcohol issue can I simply state.
The reason for not combining the two, is that "plasticiser" from the manufacturing process may leach from the plastic into the alcohol.
Force feeding plasticiser to laboratory animals leads to bad stuff.
There is a finite amount of plasticiser in any plastic article.
Therefore, there is only so much that can come out from a re-used plastic item.
I would not choose to drink plasticiser, and I am not saying that you will be safe from plasticiser if you use an Essencia.
Equally you may wish to consider all the other plastics in contact with your daily food and liquid intake.

And make up your own mind about what is safe, and what is reasonable.

Just sayin',

Robert.

[Duffer26]

I understand all this. I once cooked a pizza with the cellophane still on. It didn't taste great but I survived.

Collecting and filtering in plastic for short periods is fine in my opinion,
but is it not widely considered a poor substitute for glass as long term storage?

It could be a month or more between distillations for me, therefore the filters would be sitting there in alcohol the whole time. Is this ok? I guess I'd just pass it through again.

I'm sorry for being finicky but 80 quid is a lot of money I don't have.

Cheers.

[Easydrinker]

What can I tell you?
I have owned an Essencia for a few years.
Sometimes it is busy, many litres a week,
sometimes it sits empty, (well, let's call it equilibrium), not quite empty, for weeks.
Sometimes I change or recharge the filters in slack times.
There is no need to re-run anything after it sitting through a period of inactivity through this filter.
I understand your concerns, if cash is tight ATM.
I will say that if you wish to Carbon filter, this is probably your best option.

Robert.

[Duffer26]

Thanks Easy.

I think I will take the plunge.

Just as soon as I've used up my Airstill filters.

Hell, Ill put it all through again when I get it.

Smooooooooooth........