homemade pot still ????

[belldar]

for a still I have a 6 gallon stock pot with a mixing bowl that clamps to the top copper running to condenser blah blah blah my ? is to seal the bowl to the pot is it ok to use silicone and if not what good to use cause I cannot find a big enough gasket

[07rangerfx4]

Do a search for the everlasting gasket. Do not use silicone.

[belldar]

thanks

[Halfbaked]

good advice given from 07 rangerfx4

[Bowhunter98]

Did you ever get that gasket? Do you have any pictures of your set up? Think I may end up going this route.

[StillLearning1]

I use this setup, made a big ol everlasting gasket to put inbetween the bowl and stock pot. Clamp it down with 6 cheap vice grips from harbor freight. Works great! Still need just a tad bit of flour putty in places. But I've yet to have a leak with the gasket in 4 runs..

[StillLearning1]

Oh and when your not running store the gasket on the rim of the bowl. It will keep it from warping.

[Bowhunter98]

Thank you. I didn't really see anything on it when I searched. Is it basically a cork gasket? Also how hard was it to find a mixing bowl that matched the pot?

[Bowhunter98]

Ohh I see it now. Actually seems like it would work well. I'll have to give it a go. Thanks for the tip.

[StillLearning1]

No problem friend. Good luck to ya!

[rager]

why not just wrap the bowl and pot with PTFE tape and clamp it?

[Bowhunter98]

I would expect it wouldn't be as durable if it was directly on the ss.

[StillLearning1]

why not just wrap the bowl and pot with PTFE tape and clamp it?

I tried wrapping the rim of the bowl before I made the gasket. Problem is the tape will not stock to the SS bowl, at least the kind I was using won't stick.

[Tokoroa_Shiner]

If you wrap it round a few times tight the tape should stick to itself.

[Ghostpepperman]

I myself have been paying around with the Idea as well.
Have been using the flour paste but it does get messy at times.
So the PTFE tape seals the cardboard and it dont get wet or warp??

[rad14701]

Vise Grips are over-kill for sealing a stock pot... Cheap black binder clips are more than enough and you can buy a dozen or more for the price of one pair of Vise Grips... And they won't ever damage your gear...

Flour paste is anything but messy... I've tried PTFE tape and after struggling with it for several minutes I reverted back to using flour paste mixed at 3 parts flour to 2 parts hot water...

[mrrdan]

I use teflon tape wrapped around the rim of the pot and the bowl and it works beautifully. The trick is to get 1 inch wide tape so you have a little more material to work with.

[Ghostpepperman]

I use the cardboard and wrapped in Teflon tape.
Took me several times of trying several sizes of cardboard to get the right fit.
I use the black binder clips all around it for a great seal...Works wonders... 5***** in my book

[Bowhunter98]

Well I've run a few now. I couldn't find binder clips so I ended up using clamps from Walmart that were about $8 and they work just fine. I've done the Teflon tape and cardboard before and I've run 7 times so far not including cleaning runs. And I am already breaking down the second seal I've made. (So much for the everlasting gasket part) any suggestions on making it last longer? The cardboard inside is getting broken down. And if I don't put a binder on top of it right away it gets warped. I put a bunch of tape on but do I need more?

[frodo]

I came up with an idea that makes a nice tight fit for a stock pot

i cut the outter ring of the stock pot lid off. then i slide it down over the inverted bowl/

i did it this way, so that when tigged, it would not draw or tweak

with the pots lid rim on the bowl, it is a nice tight fit

go old school, seal with flour/water if needed

[rad14701]

I couldn't find binder clips so I ended up using clamps from Walmart that were about $8 and they work just fine.

You were at Wal-Mart and couldn't find binder clips...??? They carry them in every Wal-Mart I've ever been in... Clamps are overkill, in my opinion, and have a greater chance of damaging the pot or lid/bowl...

[Coyote]

On my small 3 gallon still with inverted bowl, I use flour paste.

After the first run it is baked so well that clamps, clips, or vise grips are not required.

It's been more than a year now since I last has it apart, still holding tight and leak free.

I just rinse it out through the riser and let it air dry with a paper towel over the open riser

I see no reason to take it apart every time

Coyote

[ben stiller]

Get yourself some cardboard and ptfe tape. Throw the cardboard in the recycle bin and put two wraps of tape each on the pot lip and bowl lip. Helps to stretch the tape a bit to make it stick. Once you get all the way around the tape sticks to itself. You can use it over and over. If it starts to look worn just add another wrap. My .02 cents.

+1 on the binder clips. So easy to use and no chance to damage anything.