lead solder outside of rim

[josh]

i bought a still from a scrap yard.
its about 16 gallons and copper i plan to make a pot still with it for corn whisky.
there was lead solder on the lid and i completely removed it.
now iv discovered that the top rim of the cylinder has a steel ring held firm with lead solder.
there is no copper on the inside of the cylinder.
will i have to chop off the top containing lead and make a new rim ?
or is this safe ?

[Dnderhead]

if im looking at the right place there is no contact with vapors,distillate so no problem

[Ayay]

RIM.jpg (7.86 KiB) Viewed 1002 times

Looks like the copper has been folded over the outside of the steel band (yellow arrow) and that's good, but how does the lid fit on? The lid appears to fit over the outside of the rim. If this is true you will need a good seal using flour paste. Lids should be male on top and female below because the liquids running down the sides will more easily jump over the joint. If the female is on top then the liquids can get out more easily and stopping them is harder.

[rtalbigr]

Ayay has a good point. My cape fits "over" the top of the pot, so I need to be pretty careful about sealing. Generally I don't have any problems unless I get a "hot break" with my wash, so I have be pretty careful with my heat input. I do all my runs, even strips, pretty slow. I use pre-made pie crust which makes an excellent seal, it releases easily when the run is over, and is very easy to clean up requiring only a wet sponge.

What I like about my setup is that the mass of the cape and head is sufficient to maintain the seal, I don't have to clamp anything together. I also consider this a safety factor. If for some unknown reason I get any pressure buildup the cape releases very easily. My riser column is also a long was away from the liquid so I don't have to worry about pukin through my arm and worm. If I do get a foam-up it simply breaks the seal at the cape. In well over a hundred runs I've had this happen twice, got distracted (bad,bad,bad, not a good thing) but fortunately the pie crust actually reseals ( lots of vegetable oils in the dough keeps it together), repairs were simple, and I didn't have to stop the run, but I did have a mess on my stove.

Big R

[Dnderhead]

it looks to me like one time it had a band,similar to a open top drum.

[josh]

thanks allot for the info.
the lids male just a funny camera angle

[Prairiepiss]

So the lid fits down in it? I take it the metal band around the top of the pot. Is to keep it tight and not stretch out over time. That's a pretty good idea for a slip fit cooper pot. I like it.

And also if that's true the solder wouldn't come in contact. So I would say it would be fine.