I have a pot still I have been working on for some time. Recently I have been having issues with getting my lid to seal, and I am looking for ideas. I reckon coming to the experts is the best thing to do.
The lid has a flange that rests of the boiler, and a lip that extends down inside it. I do not trust my power of explanation, so I will attach photos below.
I realize that flour paste most generally does the trick, but it's a very significant leak- so much so I am uncomfortable doing a run- and it cannot quite stop that amount of vapor. I have considered a fiberglass rope- the kind that are generally used on woodstoves, but i am unsure of how safe that would be.
I appreciate your recommendations, SC
Last edited by South Cackalackian on Sat Sep 18, 2021 9:41 am, edited 1 time in total.
You could use a soft dough of flour, with some salt which helps the dough develop (with serious effort).
Water of course.
And some olive oil which helps the dough soften.
Rest it after mixing.
Form into a 'rope' and fit to the lip of the lid.
Clamp the lid down.
Paper clamps are good. But if the lid and the flange at the top of the pot are not 'flat', so that clamps won't work,
weigh the lid down with bricks tied one to the other so they won't slide off, or use your imagination.
Here is my advice: if possible, try to straighten the parts that are not flat and to find the location that best seals your lid. I'm not sure about those stove gaskets, I know them but I don't think they are suitable and I think they are porous, you need a soft seal that fits the undulations, I would think of a rope of natural material, wrapped with teflon tape. The flour paste is a good option but sometimes uncomfortable, I understand it.
There is another excellent solution but involves a construction on your pot-still, look for "water seal".
Last edited by Demy on Sat Sep 18, 2021 12:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Dough and/or maybe telfon tubing around the lid where I marked it up in red. And as The Baker recommends - clips or something to hold it tight enough.
You might be able to use a strip of cloth like a tshirt and some flour paste sorta like making a cast. The dough will cook hard and seal with the heat.
EDIT: Also lookup everlasting gasket cut to size out of cardboard and wrapped with teflon tape.
I'd use flour paste and strips of cotton cloth.
Slather a layer of paste on, like normal.
Then wrap on paste coated, cotton strips.
Just guessing, figure on needing enough strips to go all the way around several times.
shadylane wrote: ↑Sat Sep 18, 2021 3:31 pm
If I was trying to seal that.
I'd use flour paste and strips of cotton cloth.
Slather a layer of paste on, like normal.
Then wrap on paste coated, cotton strips.
Just guessing, figure on needing enough strips to go all the way around several times.
In a past life, I used wet news paper strips and rye flour paste to make a very effective seal. An old timers trick. Use several layers over the top edge of your pot and it should make a very tight fit with the lid. Then use a rye paste between lid and pot as normal. You’ll still have to weight the lid down against the steam pressure, of course. Your imagination is the limit. Rye is much stronger than flour, btw.
Double, Double, toil and trouble. Fire Burn and pot still bubble.
The leaking seal might be a symptom of a problem with the still head or condenser being undersized for the amount of heat you are using, so creating pressure. Fix that and your leak might go away.
