Home Distiller

Ok so this is my first post and I have been reading for the past month and feel like I'm ready to start my first still. I'm planning to build a 2" copper bok with a electric 25L SS boiler with 2x 1500 watt elements. I plan to use lead-free solder for all of the copper parts.

But my problem has to do with the boiler. What I am trying to do is seal a stainless steel sink drain to the lid of my boiler in order to attach my column to it; as well as seal the heating elements and create some kind of gasket for my lid. I have read that silicone is bad, but I would like some clarification. Would this sealant work for any of what I am trying to do and is it safe?

Link:
http://www.mcmaster.com/#caulk/=9z88hh

Model:
74975A56

Description:
"(106) High Temperature—Use for sealing heating elements, for aerospace gasketing, as insulation, and as a protective coating. Also for oven conveyor belts, industrial ovens, and bag filters on smoke stacks. Temperature range is -75° to +500° F. FDA compliant and USDA approved. NSF 51 certified for use with food equipment. UL recognized. Begins to harden in 20 minutes and meets MIL-A-46106B, Group III, Type I."

I do not have any experience welding, but if this stuff is not ok I will try to find someone to weld it all.

Thanks in advance for any help! I'm sure I will have additional questions, but so far this site has been incredibly helpful.

If you have to use a sink drain, do not use the material you have found. Get someone to weld it for you or use flour paste and paper clips to seal it. Mud

jbro wrote: FDA compliant and USDA approved. NSF 51 certified for use with food equipment.

Problem is, while a substance may have been tested and OK'd for food contact, for the most part they haven't been tested for contact with hot alcohol vapor. So we just don't know if it is safe in our applications or not.

Sounds good. I'll just get someone to weld it. I just had to ask though cause it seemed like a tempting solution.

A lot of stainless pot lids are a bit flimsy to take the weight of what you are going to attach to it. One option is just to cut a new lid from a heavier weight copper sheet. Joining copper tube to copper sheet is real easy.