Still in flames !!!

[rednose]

Today happened to me something that I would like to share with you all.

I was in a 100 Ltr UJSSM run with 2 additional gal of heads and tails with the "Apollo" still and Bok Column.

Everything went fine untill the electric energy went, a very common issue here in EC, the electric company is brilliant for her incompetence.

Well, the light went and I use a 12V pump for my condensers, it's a very good one, a Shurflo but it has a neg point:

After a while the car battery was getting discharged and I connected a stacionery solar powered battery which has 150 A/H and the pump got hot and stopped working after a while.

That caused that ethanol got out of the Bok column but I couldn't see it as this part was pretty dark at night.

Suddenly the Bok got in flames at the open part of the condensers top.

I kept cool head and took the condenser off, closed the propane gas flow and took a pot lid to set it on the top of the column.

There was no way that oxigene could enter anymore and the flames stopped immidiately.

In the heat of the moves my parrot fall and the alcoholmeter got damaged, also the cable of the thermometer got a little burned but it still works fine.

I stopped the run and let everything cool down and will run it tomorrow again as it's missing half of the run.

As I had a cool head and reacted as I should, nothing more happened, take in account that I only distill in open air (outside) , I don't know what could have happened if this occoured in a home's kitchen.

First, when this will happen to you, keep cool, have waterflow closed to you as ethernol will deluted fast and will shutt down the flames.

Have a fire extintor closed but not TOO closed in case that it will light anything else than the likker vapor (was not my case).

likker which already is bottled keep far away that it can't fall and damage and produce a real desaster.

Sorry that I didn't take pictures but I was trying to have the damage as low as possible.

[blind drunk]

Glad you're not hurt and everything turned out OK. bd.

[rednose]

Thanks BD but this experience make me more confident that stilling is really safe as long as you are prepared to whatever can happen.

It's not difficult for me to jump on the horse again.

We only need to know that this good tasting stuff is worse than gasoline.

There is no way to have an explosion as the vapor comes out of the top without mayor pressure and only get lighted so be confident to stop the flames tapping it with whatever you have on the hand and isn't flameable when it happens.

Joe

Glad you're not hurt and everything turned out OK. bd.

[stock doc]

Hey Red,
Things could have gone south very quickly.
Glad you were not scorched, that's an experience you will never forget.
Be careful dude.

[rednose]

It's not that dramaticly, SD.

anyhow I wanted to share this with you all that you are prepared when it happens (hopefully never).

Worse thing that can happen if you are ouside is that the flames eat a certain ammount of your booze if you aren't fast to stop the energy source (in my case propane).

Hey Red,
Things could have gone south very quickly.
Glad you were not scorched, that's an experience you will never forget.
Be careful dude.

[blanikdog]

I also had a nasty experience early in my distilling 'career', rednose. No flames but it could have been nasty. Haven't had one for years now so I huess I learnt from that incident, and I've don a lot of stilling since them.

It's a good experience in safety, as long as we survive and don't have fireys coming around and finding your stock. The buggers might drink it all.

blanik

[rednose]

I'm happy that it happened when I was alone with the still, only a staff around.

I planned to still in front of visitors in my hotel as a tourist atraction.

That idea is eliminated now, only cold presentation, no runs.

Or: a special place with a lot of security area.

I also had a nasty experience early in my distilling 'career', rednose. No flames but it could have been nasty. Haven't had one for years now so I huess I learnt from that incident, and I've don a lot of stilling since them.

It's a good experience in safety, as long as we survive and don't have fireys coming around and finding your stock. The buggers might drink it all.

blanik

[blind drunk]

I planned to still in front of visitors in my hotel as a tourist atraction.

Now there's a hotel I'd visit bd.

[HookLine]

anyhow I wanted to share this with you all that you are prepared when it happens (hopefully never).

Appreciate you sharing this info. Reports of safety problems help others learn and be better prepared and safer all round. The hobby stilling community can't learn from safety problems if we never talk about them.

Safety concerns are the only possible legit ones the authorities can be concerned with. Proving we can still safely, and that safety is our top priority, is the key to getting this hobby legal.


I would be pretty wary of letting non essential observers be too close during a still run, even if they are paying tourists. Keep them at a fair distance, behind a wall with proper safety glass windows or similar.

[scarecrow]

"I've got my love to keep me warm"
C Am7 Dm7 G7 C Cdim Dm7 G7

Guy Fawks night came early.

Seriously, good to see you are OK. I had a rum wash go boom on me. Not funny. As a matter of fact it hurt.

Can never relax in this job.

scarecrow

[Kentucky shinner]

Glad your ok. I had a very similar experience a couple of weeks ago. Mine was just due to a poor boiler design. I have since corrected that problem and I will never leave my stills side unless someone else competent is there to keep an eye on things.
thanks for sharing your experience.

[still crazy]

Red
Glad to hear you OK that's the main thing.
I appreciate that you shared this story with us. I like learning from others mistakes so they do not make them in vain.
I loved this comment "Sorry that I didn't take pictures but I was trying to have the damage as low as possible"
Your cool head prevailed in this one.
I recently wrote a post about installing an automatic sprinkler head in the stilling area, real easy to do.

As a follow up I have left over heads from some old jobs, they are viable just I can't use a 2001 marked head in a 2010 installation.
I will offer anyone who will send me a request a free head if they can't find one. Send me a PM.

[rad14701]

Keeping a damp to wet towel or two kicking around can help a lot... Rather than using a chemical fire extinguisher, which makes one heck of a mess, use the towels... The reason they work so well is that not only do they help block the air that the flames need but they also shock cool the equipment which essentially makes the vapor collapse more readily... Plus any water that gets into your wash won't contaminate it so you can restart rather than wasting potentially contaminated wash...

Glad everything worked out alright for you with only minor equipment damage...

Note To Everyone: Keep a flashlight within reach or on your person when distilling at night...

[rednose]

This are two very important tips Rad.

That was what I was searching in the first moment in the lab but all towels have been dry.

Now this should be a top important tool in my next runs.

Also the flashlight but I will install 2 fixed 12V bubbles on the "Apollo" rig as mostly I'm running late or at night.

As I said before: this experience was so important for me, it was worth the money of the damaged alcmeter and tempmeter to prevent further damage in the future.

SC, I'm not sure if the sprinkler is a good idea for outside use as it works automaticly, killing the flames is really no biggy if you stay cool and have the right tools like the towels at reach. Anyhow many thanks for your selfless offer but I will pass and someone who still inside may benefit.

Keeping a damp to wet towel or two.
Note To Everyone: Keep a flashlight within reach or on your person when distilling at night...

[rednose]

Jumped on the horse again, finished yesterday's run and started a new one, everything worked fine.

See the wet towels on the right.

The pot head is more secure in my opinion as I have about 3.5 gallons of cooling water in the worm and in case that the electric energy went (it does that almost every day) I still have enough time to start the diesel generator.

Apollo with pot head

[HookLine]

Note To Everyone: Keep a flashlight within reach or on your person when distilling at night...

Good tip, I added it to my safety post (and to the copy in the Reading Lounge).

[Icarus]

It's rather interesting that the 12 volt pump got hot and failed on battery. They are usually are good to 14 volts. Were u recirculating cooling water? If the recirculating water exceeded 35 degrees centigrade, the pump motor will fail.

[Dnderhead]

""It's rather interesting that the 12 volt pump got hot and failed on battery"""
low voltage can heat a motor quicker than high.that is why you shut every thing down during a "brown out"

[rednose]

Yes, the pump is for cooling water, the stationary battery delivers 14.7V when fully charged.

Yesterday I used it for two runs and worked perfectly, cooling the worm.

It's rather interesting that the 12 volt pump got hot and failed on battery. They are usually are good to 14 volts. Were u recirculating cooling water? If the recirculating water exceeded 35 degrees centigrade, the pump motor will fail.

[rednose]

I think that I found the real problem today.

Apollo is a 100 ltr + still and produce a lot of vapor with my 90.000 BTU burner.

If I want a bok to work with it it should be at least 3" if not 4".

My next project will be olddogs's plate still in 4" or wider, will let you folks know what will be the results.

Anyhow, this will take me some time as I don't have access to the needed material at the moment.