Mile hi

This hobby is fun & enjoyable, but it is not tiddlywinks. Be safe!

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T-Pee
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Re: Mile hi

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Diesel410
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Re: Mile hi

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heartcut wrote:A 2" triclamp gasket will require somebody with a razor knife and steady, strong hands to cut off the part that fits in the non existent groove on the keg. If you fail as badly as I did, flour paste will do fine.
Do you know of any ptfe I wouldn't have to do modifications to?
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Re: Mile hi

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Diesel410 wrote:
heartcut wrote:A 2" triclamp gasket will require somebody with a razor knife and steady, strong hands to cut off the part that fits in the non existent groove on the keg. If you fail as badly as I did, flour paste will do fine.
Do you know of any ptfe I wouldn't have to do modifications to?
Another option is to buy a 1'x1' sheet of ptfe and cut your gasket out. I found pre made odd sized ptfe gaskets before but they were were not worth the high price, and not guaranteed to work.

You are best off taking the advice you already got. Unless you are disabled and physically can't do it.
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Re: Mile hi

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bearriver wrote:
Diesel410 wrote:
heartcut wrote:A 2" triclamp gasket will require somebody with a razor knife and steady, strong hands to cut off the part that fits in the non existent groove on the keg. If you fail as badly as I did, flour paste will do fine.
Do you know of any ptfe I wouldn't have to do modifications to?
Another option is to buy a 1'x1' sheet of ptfe and cut your gasket out. I found pre made odd sized ptfe gaskets before but they were were not worth the high price, and not guaranteed to work.

You are best off taking the advice you already got. Unless you are disabled and physically can't do it.
Where did you buy your ptfe sheet?
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Re: Mile hi

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Actually what if I just run plumbers tape around the top of the keg and the bottom of the tower? That should work
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Re: Mile hi

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Silicon is chemically inert. Methylated silicone wont react with Ethanol at all.
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bearriver
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Re: Mile hi

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DuckofDeath wrote:Silicon is chemically inert. Methylated silicone wont react with Ethanol at all.
This has been beaten to death a thousand times over. Silicone is not safe. Read rule #8 in the rules we live by.

http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5090

Read these also.

http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 33&t=26129

http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 33&t=11187

I can tell your not the senior member that you share your name with. A touch disrespectful maybe? :think:
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Re: Mile hi

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Diesel410 wrote:Actually what if I just run plumbers tape around the top of the keg and the bottom of the tower? That should work
That's a great idea I've seen used before. Should work just fine as long as it is sturdy and has some pressure on the seal. :thumbup:
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Re: Mile hi

Post by Soggy Bottom Boy »

ukeman wrote:Hey guys,

I see the 2 inch PTFE triclamp gaskets are pretty available (from Glacier Tanks for example), but what should I use to replace the large silicon gasket between the milk can and the milk can lid? They are currently using Silicone gasket for milk can lids 7 1/4" ID x 8 1/4" OD.

Would I use PTFE for this as well? Will the PTFE form a proper seal in this flat face to face location? Any idea where to get a PTFE gasket this big?

Thanks!
There are tri-clamp gaskets out there that have a rubber core and are encapsulated/enveloped, in PTFE. ......but, be prepared for sticker shock on the price of an 8" gasket.

If you need to have an encapsulated one that is flat (with no o-ring profile), it might be a "difficult to find" item, so I will leave that research up to you. You may be able to find flat versions out there, but I am not sure about that.

Anyway, here is a pic and illustration of the sanitary tri-clamp style of them, for you. .....and other members that may be interested.

This one has rubber exposed at the outer edge of the gasket, as depicted at the lower right corner of the pic.
07_large.jpg
07_large.jpg (11.29 KiB) Viewed 3430 times
Here are some other styles of encapsulated/enveloped tri-clamp gaskets:
types of gasket.jpg
I would think that the PolyFlex version would be the best choice for sealing in the "exterior leaking, and non-contact of alcohol vapor to rubber" department, at least that is my personal opinion. There are also "totally encapsulated" versions out there as well, that are not depicted in the above picture..

There are several manufacturers of them, just do a Google search for "encapsulated tri clamp gaskets"

HERE is one mfg'r of them. If you do get one, make sure to get a pure PTFE one, and not a TFM one, as they are a molecularly modified version of PTFE (read: untested for our purposes).
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Re: Mile hi

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bearriver wrote:
Diesel410 wrote:Actually what if I just run plumbers tape around the top of the keg and the bottom of the tower? That should work
That's a great idea I've seen used before. Should work just fine as long as it is sturdy and has some pressure on the seal. :thumbup:
It should work I think a tri clamp should hold it down for enough pressure.
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Re: Mile hi

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bearriver wrote:
DuckofDeath wrote:Silicon is chemically inert. Methylated silicone wont react with Ethanol at all.
This has been beaten to death a thousand times over. Silicone is not safe. Read rule #8 in the rules we live by.

http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5090 Rule #8 is plastics. Dimethylated Silicon is not plastic

Read these also.

http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 33&t=26129

http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 33&t=11187 Also once again plastic.

I can tell your not the senior member that you share your name with. A touch disrespectful maybe? :think:
- I am the one and only DuckofDeath
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Re: Mile hi

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Oh I guess your right... :oops: He's a rubber duck. Dunno how I f'd that up...

Anyways yes, silicone should be safe with ethanol. But we are not distilling pure ethanol. There is a myriad of other chemicals in their vapor form that will degrade your silicone and leech into the distillate.
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Re: Mile hi

Post by ukeman »

Thanks Soggy! Appreciate the input! Looked at the link you provided but I am guessing it will be pretty expensive to have something shipped from India. Something local would be ideal.

Has anybody on here actually replaced the silicone gasket on their Mile Hi milk can boiler? If so, what did you use? There are so many options and opinions out there.
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Re: Mile hi

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ukeman wrote:Thanks Soggy! Appreciate the input! Looked at the link you provided but I am guessing it will be pretty expensive to have something shipped from India. Something local would be ideal.

Has anybody on here actually replaced the silicone gasket on their Mile Hi milk can boiler? If so, what did you use? There are so many options and opinions out there.
What if you just wrapped plumbers tape around where you need a seal?
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Re: Mile hi

Post by Soggy Bottom Boy »

bearriver wrote:Oh I guess your right... :oops: He's a rubber duck. Dunno how I f'd that up...
You must have confused him with English Bob, the "Duke of Death"
unforgiven87.jpeg
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....Duck, I says!
Unforgiven_Final_Forum_01.jpg
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Re: Mile hi

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http://www.ebay.com/itm/TEFLON-TRI-CLOV ... 4897.l5662" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
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Re: Mile hi

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Be mindful to dog your clamps down good and tight,,,, particularly with an open flame.
Teflon sil gaskets frequently leak till they come to temp.

Nobody makes money on gaskets btw.
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Re: Mile hi

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Well I got my ptfe gaskets in (the ones in the link from my above post) and I have never held them before but they feel like plastic to me. And not like the plumbers tape material. Also they came with no paper work so I don't know. Does this sound normal?
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Re: Mile hi

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Diesel410 wrote:Well I got my ptfe gaskets in (the ones in the link from my above post) and I have never held them before but they feel like plastic to me. And not like the plumbers tape material. Also they came with no paper work so I don't know. Does this sound normal?
Yes .
They are quite rigid.


LWTCS wrote:Be mindful to dog your clamps down good and tight,,,, particularly with an open flame.
Teflon sil gaskets frequently leak till they come to temp.
Trample the injured and hurdle the dead.
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Re: Mile hi

Post by Diesel410 »

LWTCS wrote:
Diesel410 wrote:Well I got my ptfe gaskets in (the ones in the link from my above post) and I have never held them before but they feel like plastic to me. And not like the plumbers tape material. Also they came with no paper work so I don't know. Does this sound normal?
Yes .
They are quite rigid.


LWTCS wrote:Be mindful to dog your clamps down good and tight,,,, particularly with an open flame.
Teflon sil gaskets frequently leak till they come to temp.
Ok thanks
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Re: Mile hi

Post by Diesel410 »

It would've been nice if they would've at least sent me a receipt or certification letter for the gaskets
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Re: Mile hi

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I've got a tower from mile hi and had it for a few years now and have made many runs thru it. The gasket they sent with it and the bung in the top of it have worked fine for me. I haven't noticed any off flavores from the bung and the silicone or rubber gasket whatever the hell it is. The shit hasn't killed me yet so I guess it's good :)
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Re: Mile hi

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Hoo boy. :silent:

tp
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Re: Mile hi

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Perry85 wrote:....... I haven't noticed any off flavores from the bung and the silicone or rubber gasket whatever the hell it is. The shit hasn't killed me yet so I guess it's good :)
May not have tasted it
May not of killed ya...
Doesn't mean you haven't drank any of its Nasties.....
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Re: Mile hi

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The Rules We Live By wrote:8. These forums take a very strong negative view on the usage of plastics and synthetics in distilling. It simply is not safe to use in any area of hobby distilling (however HPDE buckets are acceptable for fermentation.) There simply are too many types of plastics and lack of reliable information about plastics, for us to reliably advocate their use anywhere in the distillation apparatus. Also, from past posting history, this topic seems to quickly boil down into an almost religious flame war. Thus we simply will not put up with it, and posts about any form of plastic use will be edited, deleted or locked. There is a forum for proven info for or against any material (material/safety.)
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Re: Mile hi

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Perry85 wrote:The shit hasn't killed me yet so I guess it's good :)
Had the shits lately? Image

tp
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Re: Mile hi

Post by heartcut »

Lots of folks survived car radiator shine, lead solder and anthrax, doesn't mean it's a good strategy.
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