Home Distiller

yakattack wrote:Oak lids for the mason jars are a decent idea. And had been done but if your making enough that your considering this why not make some badmo barrels. Easy to do, cheap and work a treat apparently. Just my 2 cents mind you.


Yak

I've not really done much joining, and my cuts are so bad that I'd be leaking everywhere. Know thy limits :]

But lids could be made with a holesaw, and honestly, I'm thinking they might make a decent product to sell.

MichiganCornhusker wrote:Not a bad problem to have.

Tell that to my wife :] "Why is this cabinet overflowing?"

I keep everything in a cabinet above the oven so that it gets heating/cooling cycles, but it's almost full now. I'm gonna need a new solution.

raketemensch wrote: But lids could be made with a holesaw, and honestly, I'm thinking they might make a decent product to sell.

That's what Corene1 did I think she used 2 different size hole saws one to make the thinner part that sits on the rim and another for the larger outer cut.

raketemensch wrote:I keep everything in a cabinet above the oven so that it gets heating/cooling cycles, but it's almost full now. I'm gonna need a new solution.

I'm in the same place, I just cleaned out one of my booze cabinets and moved everything to my booze shelf in the closet, now I'm looking at that shelf and wondering if the screws I used to mount the brackets are good enough to hold all that weight.

There is a bit of the description of the lids I make earlier in this thread , this is the original thread and there is some good discussion in it about various types of lid seals, http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... =4&t=44034
My final lids are made of 1/2 inch thick white oak toasted to 350 then the final shaping is done. I use a lathe to cut the lip but I don't see why you couldn't use a router and a hole saw. The 1/4 inch hole in the middle is to mount it on an arbor and is plugged by a oak dowel when in use. Here is the final lid. After a while you can see the staining on the wood where the vapors have been transferring in and out, and they fit both the quart and half gallon wide mouth jars. These are all 1/2 gallon jars

pfshine wrote:http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... l#p7402281

Thanks man, that's good stuff.

My router table is currently keeping my UJ barrel up off the basement floor...

Oh, and thanks Corene, you posted while I was typing, that's perfect.

Why not just use this between a jar lid and jar? Cut it with scissors (which i assume everyone has) and BAM your done.

https://www.amazon.ca/Slick-Sheet-Ptfe- ... ptfe+sheet" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

I'll wait for the flaming to come!

Unless you have some of those awesome oak lids! My wife will kill me if i buy a lathe. She's into beer (big nerd and science geek!) but helps with me developing a wash to make sure everything is clean, properly balanced, and such. She might not drink what I will make, but she knows what I did wrong!

KeenPin wrote:Why not just use this between a jar lid and jar? Cut it with scissors (which i assume everyone has) and BAM your done.

https://www.amazon.ca/Slick-Sheet-Ptfe- ... ptfe+sheet" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

I'll wait for the flaming to come!

Unless you have some of those awesome oak lids! My wife will kill me if i buy a lathe. She's into beer (big nerd and science geek!) but helps with me developing a wash to make sure everything is clean, properly balanced, and such. She might not drink what I will make, but she knows what I did wrong!

No flaming, PTFE is acceptable. Look back through and you'll see a links to disks already cut out.

KeenPin wrote:Why not just use this between a jar lid and jar? Cut it with scissors (which i assume everyone has) and BAM your done.

https://www.amazon.ca/Slick-Sheet-Ptfe- ... ptfe+sheet" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

I'll wait for the flaming to come.

you'll not get flamed for recommending lab grade PTFE.

that is the thinnest PTFE I have seen so far, and should work well.

posted with snackson

Yeah, I don'e expect a flame, was trying to be funny, which my wife tells me I'm not!

But it is supper thin and I am going to get some for the top of all my jars. Might also work for some other spots on the still too.

KeenPin wrote:But it is supper thin

Wondering how flexible it is.

I ordered it today with some other things i needed. I will post pic's and information once I get it.

Might want to be careful with really thin ptfe sheet.

I use 0.04 inch thick for mason jar lids. When used with just the ring to hold them on, the ptfe disks are permeable to our spirits. I can see it by the abv drop over time.

Want to see something freaky, take some ptfe tape and soak it in some high proof. It will go clear on you. I think what's going on is the spirit is soaking all the way through and the ptfe loses its opacity.

If you are putting a plastisol coated lid on top of a thin ptfe sheet, what gets through the ptfe might solvate the plastisol and perhaps carry some evil back over to your drink.

To be on the safe side, when I'm done contributing my angels share and add a lid on top of my ptfe disk to halt losses, I keep my jars upright and do not shake them.

Interesting reading. Is anyone offering the oak lids commercially yet? I use the ptfe discs and flip the lid over so the plastisol is up. I store them upright and have checked the lids under the ptfe for any signs of corrosion or other nastiness on the plating. Nothing there. I have stored as high as 160 proof. If you leave the plastisol down it dissolves.

Get rid of the lid all together, and just use the ptfe. I can get mine airtight, But back it off a little for pressure relief.

I thought gore-tex was made from something else but according to this it is another form of EPTFE

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gore-Tex" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Teflon lids breath quite a bit. Check your ABV over time and you will see. I think they are more permeable to alcohol than water since I always get an ABV decrease, unlike my barrels, where it will go up or down depending on the RH. I use them as a way to air my spirits for awhile, then cover the Teflon with the metal lid to halt the loss.

I am not trying to reinvent the wheel but with the shipping, those pre-cut PTFE lids will cost me some money. Do you guys think this will also do a fine job?

https://www.amazon.com/Teflon-Sheet-Pre ... flon+sheet" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Thanks a lot for your help!

angus_young wrote:I am not trying to reinvent the wheel but with the shipping, those pre-cut PTFE lids will cost me some money. Do you guys think this will also do a fine job?

https://www.amazon.com/Teflon-Sheet-Pre ... flon+sheet" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Probably PTFE coated E-Glass. Can't say what the long term performance will be, but if the coating is compromised, you don't want fibre glass in your booze.

SaltyStaves wrote:

angus_young wrote:I am not trying to reinvent the wheel but with the shipping, those pre-cut PTFE lids will cost me some money. Do you guys think this will also do a fine job?

https://www.amazon.com/Teflon-Sheet-Pre ... flon+sheet" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Probably PTFE coated E-Glass. Can't say what the long term performance will be, but if the coating is compromised, you don't want fibre glass in your booze.

Thanks for the comment SaltyStaves! I guess I will go ahead and order the ones from usplastics.com

i use this, 0.3mm ptfe sheet cut to size, works good
https://www.ebay.ie/itm/PTFE-Teflon-Fil ... 2749.l2649" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

I think you are all right to be concerned about plastics . Here the mason jars ( up to 2 litres) come from Italy , and I read the tag on them , it clearly says "not suitable for alcohol above 22% ABV " .In the same supermarket they have glass carboys 2 and 3 litres , with a cork stopper ! .I shall be using these in future for long term bulk storage of product .I think you are all right to be worried about every day use of plastics in our food and drink .
For instance the aluminium problem , plastic lining in tin cans -- they say don't buy tomatoes in tins , as the acid can let the plastics leach out.Plastic wrapping in fast food , there is Bisphenol A in nearly every plastic , flagged as a possible carcinogen .With all this good information on our forum , I am sure everyone's product beats the industrial stuff hands down .Keep up the good work friends esxman

If not copper, then most piping that carries our household water supply is either PVC, which is used for cold water, or CPVC (chlorinated polyvinyl chloride), used for both hot and cold water. I don't see the logic in being concerned about the BPA (Bisphenol A) in a jar lid sealing ring when we are drawing our entire water supply for bathing, drinking, cooking, cleaning our utensils, brewing, and distilling through BPA laden PVC/CPVC pipes. As with canning food, if we allow proper head-space between the product and the jar lid, and the jars are stored in the upright position, our distillate should not be in direct contact with the lid or the BPA in the lid except when we give the jar a shake or invert it briefly to circulate the liquid over the oak. But if you're still a bit concerned about PVC sealing rings on jar lids, you could use the expensive German-made Weck jars with glass lids and rubber seals. However, although the Weck jars and seals are popular in Canada and Europe, they have not been studied for BPA content and are NOT USDA Approved. Short term storage, use glass jars with canning lids and keep them upright, long term, use oak barrels.

Brum wrote:and the jars are stored in the upright position, our distillate should not be in direct contact with the lid or the BPA in the lid except when we give the jar a shake or invert it briefly to circulate the liquid over the oak.

The liquid is not nearly as concerning as the volatile vapour that exist between the liquid and the lid. It takes very little time to breakdown anything that does not resist it. The higher the proof, the greater that threat is.

I encourage you to suspend a piece of citrus in a sealed jar above a small amount of high proof clear spirit. Come back in a couple of days and tell me how you feel about your plastic and tin lid and whether you'd be happy to drink it.

This lid issue has certainly been beaten back and forth over the last few years and no real consensus about a safe material (except the oak lids).

What about a cork disc adhered to the mason jar lid?

https://www.aetnafelt.com/collections/a ... cork-discs" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

I don't know if these particular discs are pure cork or some kind of composite.

AlZilla wrote:This lid issue has certainly been beaten back and forth over the last few years and no real consensus about a safe material (except the oak lids).

What about a cork disc adhered to the mason jar lid?

https://www.aetnafelt.com/collections/a ... cork-discs" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

I don't know if these particular discs are pure cork or some kind of composite.

you can tell by looking that is composite cork. and what is the PSA made of?

use composite cork as a search term.

this also has cork info and another search term.

search.php?keywords=agglomerated+cork

Even natural cork at that thickness would be worthless. It doesn't stop vapour passing by it (if that is your goal).
You'd end up drinking glue and plastisol eventually.

Cheap options for precut PTFE discs and fit mason jars very well.

https://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item. ... emid=33144" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

https://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item. ... emid=33143" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

S-Cackalacky wrote:I've been using these - http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.a ... &catid=720" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow . The 2.725" size fits a regular mason jar and the 3.5" size fits a large mouth mason jar.

I use these for aging on glass - http://www.widgetco.com/jar-cork-stoppers-standard" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow . The 3.5" (size 48) fits a 1 gallon large mouth pickle jar.

Thanks for the links

Hello, I'm pretty new hear and was surprised to read about not using the mason jar tops. Sorry if this is a stupid idea but being a wine and beer brewer, would it be a bad idea to use a 375ml or 750ml wine bottle and cork it? Or maybe a beer growler and the cap that comes with it that has the seal on it? Just looking for a way to store my efforts. Also, it will look more innocent in a wine rack than a bunch of mason jars if you have a visitor.

Thanks for you time

Eddie Haskel

Eddie Haskel wrote:Sorry if this is a stupid idea but being a wine and beer brewer, would it be a bad idea to use a 375ml or 750ml wine bottle and cork it?

Perfect sizes for finished products.