my new setup

[pa paw ed]

pics of my pot still. I have ran it twice now (+ 3 cleaning runs ) and I just read not to use any rubber gaskets on it.
any suggestions or thoughts ? I am concidering food grade or aquriam silicone .

[heartcut]

Nice rig. A little flour paste will seal the lid to your pot. Cork for the thermometer. Might want to consider extending your product takeoff to get farther away from the flames- you want to watch the news instead of be in it.

[RonH3154]

From everything I read here posted by the guys that do this all the time flour paste is versatile and cheap.
The only synthetic recommended on this site is PTFE (Teflon). Silicon is not good for the higher concentrations of alcohol.
Some people make gaskets out of cardboard and wrap them with PTFE plumbers tape and say it works well.

[buddahj]

From everything I read here posted by the guys that do this all the time flour paste is versatile and cheap.
The only synthetic recommended on this site is PTFE (Teflon). Silicon is not good for the higher concentrations of alcohol.
Some people make gaskets out of cardboard and wrap them with PTFE plumbers tape and say it works well.

I made a large PTFE/cardboard gasket for my lid & it works great.

[pa paw ed]

THANKS guys . going to home depot. I bought this from Rocky Top Stills three months ago. I do need to do some mods to it BUT
it does work really well.

[pa paw ed]

ok. round two . I have removed rubber gaskets and used "dough" to seal lid to pot. Just ran second ferment through , only got 1 qt out (hotplate cooking su*) but whith it raining ooooooooooooo well. I took all 3 qts from first runs added to pot . waiting an hot plate ?????????????????????

[Iahkaferoaster]

I got a Rocky Top still. Not the best, perhaps. Within my budget, yes. I got the HD 5. Gaskets are short lived, but considering how much it will be used, they can be replaced easily enough and are a danged sight more tidy then a paste job. When time is available, I will do a PTFE tape & cardboard gasket. Not ready for the flour route yet. As for the packing the column for some reflux, I stuck stainless steel scrubbers in it. I am new at this, but take good notes. I have found it is not possible to get what I want on one run with a pot still, even with packing. I averaged 140 proof first run, 164 second, and 176 proof final run. Very slow and deliberate. Initial run was 7 hours. Separated the cuts on the last run by 250ml. Starting with a 5 gallon wash, ended up with 3L first, 2.5L second, and eight 250ml beakers of cuts for last (2L). I kept 3-6. Will save 1,2,7, & 8 for next run. Held my temp tight discarding the first 120ml of each run, shutting the run down at 190F (>Time, >heat, & output dipped significantly after that). Turned out nice & clean. I use gas but under a commercial ducted vent, and have my output decently far enough away. If I want "flavor", I will work for that. But, I like vodka, not whisky, so I am good. I am profoundly proud to be able to offer up my first go to my CLOSE friends. If you are with yours, that is all that matters. I added some Liquor Quik Coconut Rum Essence to a bottle, and me happy. No hang-over is the incentive.