Cobbler:

I seem to have the same side effect to my vodka using copper net packing.
From some research and previous discussions with fellow distillers, it seems that copper is simply exceedingly hard to clean after a run. While ceramic packing can be easily boiled and cleaned, copper ,due to its make up, soaks up many components while distilling ,such as sulfur,. While this is great for your end product, after a couple of runs the copper will start to impart that flavor back into the distilling gasses.

As far as I"ve seen, the best way to clean your copper is to first boil it in water ,or run it under hot water,, then boil it in some sort of food grade acid ,like a strong vinegar,, then boil again and rinse. While copper is a great addition to a run in terms of stripping unwanted elements, it seems to be a serious pain to clean.

As for speed, I find it varies a little from still to still depending on your columns width and the size of your condenser. Over all the range seems to be around 3-5 spoons a minute, so it seems like your running a little fast. Theoretically if you keep the collected gasses at around 174 you should be getting a pretty clean run. I found the best way is to simply measure your ABV after the run, anything over a 92% is pretty damn clean.


Hope thin helps.


-Alex