my mistake was the easiest, yet potentially the most dangerous one of all, i got distracted. i set up my still, filled it up and set the power up to max. i then popped out for 10 minutes to the shop, leaving my better half to keep her eye on the still. whilst i was driving i noticed the car seemed louder than normal, so i got back, let the wife head off to work, and got my toolbox. i discovered an ice lump or speedbump( i live in northern norway, it's between -25c to -35c at the moment), had ripped the seam on my centre silencer . by this point, i'd forgotten about my still. annoyed i dragged the welder out, jacked the car up and repaired it (luckily the exhaust system is stainless, nice and easy to fix). this took about an hour or so, then another 20 mins of putting the equipment back and a quick drive down the road to check my handiwork. feeling pretty pleased with myself i headed into the house for a well deserved cup of hot tea and to defrost my hands, ears and nose. i walked into the kitchen and my heart almost skipped a beat, there was 95% ethanol dripping off my boilers handle straight onto the gas flame heating my still. it was only small bursts of flame, but enough to be visibly burning. i very very quickly turned off the gas and opened all the windows. i glanced at the thermometer and noticed the still was not at full blast yet, but was at the slowly producing stage. i inspected the still to see where it was leaking from and it turns out i'd forgotten to tighten the stainless bolts holding the column flange to the boiler. i'd only hand tightened them. this meant any liquid dropping down to the boiler, and any rising vapour, was finding its way out through the tiny gap between the column and boiler, running across the lid, down the handle and dripping off onto the flame.
the first thing i thought about was that i'm glad i always turn the water supply on at the same time i fire up the still (exactly to prevent forgetful accidents like this). imagine if i hadn't turned my water on. well, lets just say a hole in my car exhaust would have been the least of my worries!!!!! i'm probably the most cautious careful person i know, especially when it comes to this hobby. but, it just goes to show, the smallest distraction can be a potential firebomb.
anyone else?
oh well, its good to see its there allready. thanks for pointing me to that nonny