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How to Clean a Pre-Owned Still
Hey guysI’m a proud owner of a second hand T500 stainless steel still. I guess it’s an earlier model as it came with the ceramic saddles. So how do I clean it before the first use?I’m reading advice about vinegar run and sacrificial run, but I guess that applies for new stills? Is it the same procedure for an old one?Also, how do I clean the ceramic saddles? I read they were not better or worse than the stainless steel saddles, but just harder to clean. BTW, I don’t notice any unpleasant smell. In fact the copper saddles smell more.
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4 Replies
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I’d just blast steam through it with the packing inside the column. That is if you are confident that it was actually “used”. If it were used then it has been “cleaned” regardless whether the original owner did proper cleaning runs or not. If you want to be absolutely confident without knowledge of the history of that still, do a 1:1 water/vinegar run then a sacrificial alcohol run. That is probably going to be the consensus which usually errs on the safe side.4″ VM Build
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The sacrificial cleaning protocol is designed to get rid of toxic fluxes and/or machine oils after a new build or modification. It won’t do any harm if you repeat them unnecessarily.
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I’d do a water run and use steam to clean the second hand still and packing.For 2 reasons, 1 for cleaning, 2nd for the practice and to test for leaks and possible problems.
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I’d go belt and braces and do the std clean protocol as if it were a freshly made still. You don’t know what previous life it’s had, so it’s far safer to just do it all and be sure. As mentioned, the practice won’t hurt anyway.Make Booze, not War!
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