Making the dreaded T500 safe

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Andy sut

Making the dreaded T500 safe

Post by Andy sut »

Hi everyone

Now i know all you guys on here seem to slate the T500 for its uses of unsafe seals and plastics, so iv'e decided to replace everything in it to make it safe just to see if it makes a difference.

I work for a laser manufacturer and one of the guys in the drawing office has kindly agreed to draw up the plastic top piece in witch the vapors pass through so i can get it made up in copper, and ive taken every seal out and im currently trying to find PTFE replacements.
plastic cap on the top of the still
plastic cap on the top of the still
All the parts that i am replacing
All the parts that i am replacing
The T500 in bits
The T500 in bits
Hopefully i will have a fully safe T500 and will be able to make some good quality vodka with no off tastes

Let me know what you think guys

Andy
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Re: Making the dreaded T500 safe

Post by rad14701 »

Looking forward to seeing the completed modifications... Keep us posted...
Andy sut

Re: Making the dreaded T500 safe

Post by Andy sut »

Hi People

sorry its been a while been busy with stuff.

i have got the machined part from work and the PTFE o-ring replacements and put it on my still, can't say ive noticed a difference but at least the still is "safe" :D
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let me know what you think

Andy
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Re: Making the dreaded T500 safe

Post by yakattack »

Now if you can figure out the cost to make them... add a small percentage and then sell them to the many of hundreds or thousands of people who bought the t500 you have a way to pay for yours lol
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Re: Making the dreaded T500 safe

Post by rad14701 »

Very nice... :thumbup:

I'm sure for a one-off part like that you have more invested in man and machine hours than the entire still was originally worth... Good idea to offer them if doing so wouldn't be cost-prohibitive...
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Re: Making the dreaded T500 safe

Post by jb-texshine »

What does the clear plastic arch of tubing at the top carry? Im not familiar with operating them
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Re: Making the dreaded T500 safe

Post by Klein »

Nice! I'd be so happy to be able to replace one of the last synthetic parts in my system. Only have to replace the crappy drain on the boiler.


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Saltbush Bill
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Re: Making the dreaded T500 safe

Post by Saltbush Bill »

jb-texshine wrote:What does the clear plastic arch of tubing at the top carry? Im not familiar with operating them
Water from the reflux condenser to the product condenser.
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Re: Making the dreaded T500 safe

Post by mulligan »

Does that copper top piece or the bit it's replaced come into vapour contact?

Even if not, I'd still want one if I had the copper column.
Andy sut

Re: Making the dreaded T500 safe

Post by Andy sut »

Hey everyone

work kindly payed for everything unknowingly of course haha its not what you know its who you know i guess :moresarcasm:

there is a hole through the piece that the vapour goes through to get to the product condenser

i have also acquired part of a machine from work that has a huge fan and radiator in it that i modded and i use as a blast chiller so i can recirculate the same cooling water whitch makes my still alot less costly on water :) jost bought a load of botanicals o make some gin so thats my next experiment :)
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Re: Making the dreaded T500 safe

Post by mulligan »

Saltbush Bill wrote:
jb-texshine wrote:What does the clear plastic arch of tubing at the top carry? Im not familiar with operating them
Water from the reflux condenser to the product condenser.
Somewhere in a corner of my mind, I think I read that someone put a T on there and another water out hose and needle valve to have semi-separate water control over the 2?
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Re: Making the dreaded T500 safe

Post by Avo »

Andy sut wrote: Wed Aug 17, 2016 12:51 am Hi everyone

Now i know all you guys on here seem to slate the T500 for its uses of unsafe seals and plastics, so iv'e decided to replace everything in it to make it safe just to see if it makes a difference.


Andy
This may be a belated post on the subject of T500 safety. But I noticed in one of your pictures, that you have used ptfe tape to seal the gap between the copper replacement and the column. You may have unwittingly made your T500 potentially unsafe! To my understanding, and statements made by 'Still Spirits' the gap is intentional, so as to keep the T500 from building up pressure; in fact to keep the still open to the atmosphere.
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Saltbush Bill
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Re: Making the dreaded T500 safe

Post by Saltbush Bill »

I can see that you know nothing about these stills. They remain open to atmosphere at all times via the product condencer, in the same way that a pot still or a plated column does.
The stills are originaly sealed at that point by an O ring , Some stills including the one I owned leaked at that point leading to high abv alcohol dribbling down the outside of the column. This in its self was / could be a safety issue.
Still Spirits claim all sorts of rubbish...you only need to read one of thier operation manuals to see that.
I can only imagine they have said that to try to cover thier own arses when one does leak.... or that some homebrew shop owner with next to no knowledge of stills has started that myth.
Last edited by Saltbush Bill on Tue Oct 22, 2019 3:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Making the dreaded T500 safe

Post by Yummyrum »

Avo , its a CM still so it open to the atmosphere .
Can you elaborate why you think there is a problem .... last thing we want is a safety issue go un noticed or false info circulating
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Re: Making the dreaded T500 safe

Post by Avo »

Yummyrum wrote: Tue Oct 22, 2019 12:34 pm Avo , its a CM still so it open to the atmosphere .
Can you elaborate why you think there is a problem .... last thing we want is a safety issue go un noticed or false info circulating
Hi I know, and agree that the still is open to the atmosphere. I was quoting 'Still Spirits' when they answered a users questions about leaks at the top of the column; they replied it was intentional and not a problem - it was just an observation on my part that the cap was sealed with ptfe tape which I didn't think should be the case. In answer to Saltbush, I am also aware that stills are open to the atmosphere at the delivery end of the product condenser. The safety issues were raised by the original author and not myself. Sorry Yummyrum if I inadvertently caused you concern. Best regards, 'Avo' :)
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Re: Making the dreaded T500 safe

Post by CoogeeBoy »

Andy sut wrote: Fri Oct 21, 2016 8:10 am ....... i have also acquired part of a machine from work that has a huge fan and radiator in it that i modded and i use as a blast chiller so i can recirculate the same cooling water whitch makes my still alot less costly on water :) jost bought a load of botanicals o make some gin so thats my next experiment :)
I like that idea but not sure I have the room. I have decided I will do my runs on washing day and use the hot water to wash clothes!
I get about 3 loads of clothes washed using the same amount of water as I use during a distillation!
:angel:
Taking a break while I get a new still completed....
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Re: Making the dreaded T500 safe

Post by stevexxx »

I'm pretty new to distilling and may me a little of the mark so do correct me if I'm wrong. Without the vent hole in the cap and the cap sealed there may be situations where problems could occur for the novice or someone who makes a simple mistake. As you say the system is open and fine while being run as long as it remains open but a situation could occur where the discharge tube is sat in distillate, in such a case if the power is turned off the cooling still could potentially vacuum up as it no longer open to the atmosphere, I was reading about this happening with a thumper where the vacuum destroyed the still... As I said I may be wrong....
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Re: Making the dreaded T500 safe

Post by Saltbush Bill »

The potential for that to happen is there......but it's very unlikely to happen and doesnt present a danger to someone if it did.
The only harm done is a bit of booze out of the last jar sucked back to the boiler
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Re: Making the dreaded T500 safe

Post by Driekus »

@Andy sut: Looking to replicate your efforts with a slight twist. I have a few questions.

Can you advise on the O-Ring size?
I am also looking to 3D print the plastic top piece out of a chemical resistant plastic (Nylon, other specialty plastic). Did you create a design file for the top piece? Would you mind posting it if you have one?

Any help would be greatly appreciated
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Re: Making the dreaded T500 safe

Post by RC Al »

There are no suitable plastics that are alcohol safe that I am aware of that will run through a 3d printer - got a msds of one that is?
TBH, im not sure I would like one carved of ptfe either...
Make it in copper or stainless (please?)
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Re: Making the dreaded T500 safe

Post by Driekus »

I was thinking of using Taulman Nylon. It has excellent chemical resistance.
But you are swaying me to look at getting CNC machined. I am presuming they would use the same CAD file.
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Re: Making the dreaded T500 safe

Post by Saltbush Bill »

Driekus here is a link to the Forum rules......please acquaint your self with them before more talk of plastics.
https://homedistiller.org/forum/app.php/rules
Pay particular attention to Rule I
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Re: Making the dreaded T500 safe

Post by Driekus »

Apologies Bill. Just to clarify, the discussion on the plastic is an issue in terms of the Plastic top. I am presuming that the discussion on replacing the O-Ring is still ok. (In the case of the T500, there is no way around it)
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Re: Making the dreaded T500 safe

Post by CoogeeBoy »

stevexxx wrote: Fri Jul 03, 2020 3:29 pm ...... a situation could occur where the discharge tube is sat in distillate, in such a case if the power is turned off the cooling still could potentially vacuum up as it no longer open to the atmosphere,......

Saltbush Bill wrote: Fri Jul 03, 2020 4:01 pm The potential for that to happen is there......but it's very unlikely to happen and doesnt present a danger to someone if it did.
The only harm done is a bit of booze out of the last jar sucked back to the boiler
Well, if you leave the output pipe in distillate, it does create a bit of a vacuum and, from what I have been told, the boiler crumples up a bit.......just sayin...... :oops:
Taking a break while I get a new still completed....
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Re: Making the dreaded T500 safe

Post by Saltbush Bill »

Speaking from first hand experience Coogee ? .......I never tested the theory personally.
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Re: Making the dreaded T500 safe

Post by stevexxx »

If the boiler crumples, it crumples suddenly and a lot with a loud bang and without warning.. First hand experience but it wasn't a thumper that did it,it was me backflushing the T500 column with cold water from my pumped flow regulator while hot and the lid still clipped on, stupid or what.. I did manage to bash it back out and the boiler is useable but a little misshaped now...
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Re: Making the dreaded T500 safe

Post by Safety panda »

What do you mean by “backflushing”?
Do you mean using the recycled coolant water?
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Re: Making the dreaded T500 safe

Post by Safety panda »

stevexxx wrote: Fri Mar 05, 2021 9:30 am If the boiler crumples, it crumples suddenly and a lot with a loud bang and without warning.. First hand experience but it wasn't a thumper that did it,it was me backflushing the T500 column with cold water from my pumped flow regulator while hot and the lid still clipped on, stupid or what.. I did manage to bash it back out and the boiler is useable but a little misshaped now...
What do you mean by backflushing? Do you mean you were using recycled coolant water?
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Re: Making the dreaded T500 safe

Post by Yummyrum »

On his behalf , I’ll answer .

Back flushing means forcing water back up the spout where the product comes out in an attempt to clean the vapour path inside the still .

Cold water entered hot boiler where it caused it to rapidly cool . Probably due to the still being full of water , the hot steam still coming off the liquid left in boiler condensed creating a vacuum that crushed in the boiler more easily than it could pull the back flush water into if via the still path .

Been known to happen before .
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Re: Making the dreaded T500 safe

Post by stevexxx »

Missed the question, Yunnyrum answered perfectly though....
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