Cloudy Ethanol

bizarrojohnson

bizarrojohnson

Well-Known Member
Anyone here use molecular sieves to dry their ethanol? I can’t get ever clear higher than 151 proof here and I don’t have the cash for a distiller quite yet so I decided to use molecular sieves. Size 3a, and now my ethanol is cloudy as fuck.

I’ve done this before but I thought it was bc I had the wrong size. The first time i bought 5a sieves and the same thing happened. Well I kept my ethanol on the freezer bc I figured fuck it I’ll distill it out when I get a distiller and I looked in there yesterday and noticed that all the cloudy residue had settled to the bottom and the ethanol was crystal clear again. That took like a month tho so......

Anyone have a quicker solution?
 
natureboygrower

natureboygrower

Well-Known Member
bizarrojohnson said:
Anyone here use molecular sieves to dry their ethanol? I can’t get ever clear higher than 151 proof here and I don’t have the cash for a distiller quite yet so I decided to use molecular sieves. Size 3a, and now my ethanol is cloudy as fuck.

I’ve done this before but I thought it was bc I had the wrong size. The first time i bought 5a sieves and the same thing happened. Well I kept my ethanol on the freezer bc I figured fuck it I’ll distill it out when I get a distiller and I looked in there yesterday and noticed that all the cloudy residue had settled to the bottom and the ethanol was crystal clear again. That took like a month tho so......

Anyone have a quicker solution?
Click to expand...
you want the 3a size and they need to be rinsed as they will be dusty when you first get them.run them under water and let them dry.are you drying your sieves? i microwave mine for 1 minute bursts,take out,stir sieves,back in the micro for a total of 10 minutes.you can use the etoh you have now,if you pour slow enough the dust will mostly stay at the bottom.i used to use a pipette.now i use "Culinary Solvent".etoh that has already been dried by sieves, no more 3a's for me!
 
bizarrojohnson

bizarrojohnson

Well-Known Member
Yeah I tried rinsing them in isopropyl first. Didn’t work, them I tried to wash them with water and strain them off. And dry I’m oven, didn’t work they are still dusty. It’s like they’re breaking down or something.
 
natureboygrower

natureboygrower

Well-Known Member
bizarrojohnson said:
Yeah I tried rinsing them in isopropyl first. Didn’t work, them I tried to wash them with water and strain them off. And dry I’m oven, didn’t work they are still dusty. It’s like they’re breaking down or something.
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they have either not been rinsed enough or you have junk sieves if you think they are breaking down.that dust is heavy,it will settle even while you pour (while the flask is full). are you using a micro to dry them?
 
bizarrojohnson

bizarrojohnson

Well-Known Member
I used the oven, that’s pretty much why I’ve read to do. Are they really fragile or something? I put a few in my hand and squeezed with very light pressure. And saw a bunch of large chunks on my hands. I think they’re junk sieves, I ordered them on amazon.
 
natureboygrower

natureboygrower

Well-Known Member
bizarrojohnson said:
I used the oven, that’s pretty much why I’ve read to do. Are they really fragile or something? I put a few in my hand and squeezed with very light pressure. And saw a bunch of large chunks on my hands. I think they’re junk sieves, I ordered them on amazon.
Click to expand...
i think they all give off a little dust,over time they clean up.i noticed the older they got,less dust.yes,they break.
those suckers need to get hot to dry.microwave oven hot((stir every minute or they'll become one mass) tbh,they are a pain that's why the 200 proof ethanol is so very nice.good luck
 
bizarrojohnson

bizarrojohnson

Well-Known Member
Thanks those links are very useful. I’ll probably grab a bottle of that culinary solvent for now. Then grab a gallon of one of those organic neutral spirits when I get my distillation rig so I can reclaim it. That shit kinda expensive to just be wasting.
 
natureboygrower

natureboygrower

Well-Known Member
bizarrojohnson said:
View attachment 4077462 So one more question. All the powder has fell to the bottom. But the ethanol now has a yellowish tinge to it. Is this safe to use?
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yeah,that looks bad imo.i'd toss it or save to distill when you get all your rigging.that is a lot of dust on bottom and it doesnt look like it's going to separate.i'm assuming you didnt shake or swirl and it still looks like that?
 
bizarrojohnson

bizarrojohnson

Well-Known Member
Yeah, 24 hours of sitting still and that’s all the powder in the bottom and the ethanol has a yellow tinge. Idk I’d maybe it’s really fine powder that has yet to drop but I kind of doubt it. Guess it’ll put a little in a Pyrex and let it evaporate then see if it leaves any residue. Sucks I’ve wasted about $100 on alcohol and sieves at this point. Don’t get paid til Friday. Might just go look on for 91% iso (can’t find 99% around here) and say fuck it for now.
 
bizarrojohnson

bizarrojohnson

Well-Known Member
Yep trash, evaporated a little and cleaned the container with a paper towel and there was gross yellow residue left behind. Future reference don’t buy sieves from Sorbent Media.
 
natureboygrower

natureboygrower

Well-Known Member
bizarrojohnson said:
Yep trash, evaporated a little and cleaned the container with a paper towel and there was gross yellow residue left behind. Future reference don’t buy sieves from Sorbent Media.
Click to expand...
good to know.i did order mine from amazon as well.i do remember dust in the bag they were packaged in,makes sense,i believe 3 a's are derived from clay?i never had my etoh take on that yellow color before.good call
 
Fadedawg

Fadedawg

Well-Known Member
bizarrojohnson said:
Anyone here use molecular sieves to dry their ethanol? I can’t get ever clear higher than 151 proof here and I don’t have the cash for a distiller quite yet so I decided to use molecular sieves. Size 3a, and now my ethanol is cloudy as fuck.

I’ve done this before but I thought it was bc I had the wrong size. The first time i bought 5a sieves and the same thing happened. Well I kept my ethanol on the freezer bc I figured fuck it I’ll distill it out when I get a distiller and I looked in there yesterday and noticed that all the cloudy residue had settled to the bottom and the ethanol was crystal clear again. That took like a month tho so......

Anyone have a quicker solution?
Click to expand...
Molecular sieve is dusty. Vacuum filter your solution to remove it. Maybe a #1 rough filter it first, to take the load off the 1 micron or less polish filter.
 
bizarrojohnson

bizarrojohnson

Well-Known Member
natureboygrower said:
i use this
View attachment 4077069
The company is out of Maine.Not sure where bizarro lives but they ship.requires someone to be home to sign,of course.$35 for the 190,$41 for the 200.
just used the 200 on my last extraction and it was really nice not dealing with those sieves.
Click to expand...
Ordered a bottle a few days ago. I got absolutely shit yields using 91% isopropyl. Hopefully this makes up for it..... thanks for the advice.
 
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