Broke thermometer in wash

[Jill The Still]

I was stirring in the yeast and forgot the thermometer was in there and cracked it and the little ball bearings fell out but the red dye inside didn't break. If I filter everything before I run it will it be ok?
I feel stupid,
JTS

[cob]

those "little ball bearings" are usually LEAD, if you can't prove to yourself that they are not LEAD throw the wash out.

[NcHooch]

ball bearings? ... what kind of thermometer has ball bearings in it AND red dye?
I've owned mercury thermometers, that were silver up the scale, and the present glass thermometer I use has the red alcohol in the bulb, and red up the scale .
Do tell.

[Jill The Still]

Thanks for the help looks like this ones for fuel only....BALLS

[NcHooch]

Dairy thermometer are floating glass weighted at the bottom with red alcohol read out. What keeps them upright is the lead at the bottom.

Ah, never seen one of those ....tough luck Jill

[Jill The Still]

I don't know why I just didn't get a digital Thermometer in the first place. Lesson learned.
I guess it can run my lawn mowers this summer
JTS

[Jill The Still]

How do I get rid of 80 litres of wash?

[drpotoroo]

How would a heavy metal come out when distilled? Surely it can't? I understand lead being a problem anywhere it contacts condensed product, but surely not before the vapour path? Please correct me if I am missing something.

[uokka]

How would a heavy metal come out when distilled? Surely it can't? I understand lead being a problem anywhere it contacts condensed product, but surely not before the vapour path? Please correct me if I am missing something.

I would think that the liquid would phase change to vapour primarily at the base of the boiler (where the heat source is) thus coming into contact with the lead balls sitting on the bottom immediately.
(ever watched where the bubbles come from when boiling a pot of water?)

Also the liquid is pretty much as hot as the vapour so I'd assume it would prolly leech from the lead balls before even turning to vapour.

[drpotoroo]

No disputing the lead will leech into the wash. But you can throw as much salt as you like into your wash and none of it will be in your distillate, even though it dissolves completely into the wash. I had understood lead to be the same.

[Jill The Still]

I dumped it down the toilet. I'm not risking it.
Also, its only $35 and an extra day no biggie.
So digital thermometers for me from now on
Thanks
JTS

[astronomical]

Almost zero thermometers are lead these days and many of the mercury looking ones are alcohol or something.. too late I guess... I woulda tested it with a strong magnet as lead is not magnetic...

better safe than sorry

I'd wager it asn't lead if it was made in the last few years, but, I'd dump it if I wasn't sure

the balls are usually stainless steel these days.

[rad14701]

As stated, better safe than sorry... Dumping the wash and chalking it up as a lesson learned was the safest course of action... Whose life or health is worth a paltry $35 worth of ingredients and one days time...???

[Jill The Still]

I tried pulling them out at first with a magnet on a stick and they would not stick. Also there was some small shards of glass that were in there too. I will start again today.
JTS

[drpotoroo]

As stated, better safe than sorry... Dumping the wash and chalking it up as a lesson learned was the safest course of action... Whose life or health is worth a paltry $35 worth of ingredients and one days time...???

Yeah, well fair enough. But for the sake of the science I'd still be interested to know if someone can confirm or deny that lead can't come out in the distillation process. I did search the web and found multiple sites saying that lead is removed by distillation - but they were mostly water purification sites selling distillers so... grain of salt.

Me, I spent weeks on end replacing lead-capped nails on my roof, then emptying our tank afterwards, before I would let my family drink our rainwater. Only to have the samples I'd taken from the tank before replacing the nails come back with already WAAAAAAY under the safe level of lead - like, better than town water less. Still, I feel much better now knowing the water doesn't come into ANY contact with lead.

[retlaw]

How would a heavy metal come out when distilled? Surely it can't? I understand lead being a problem anywhere it contacts condensed product, but surely not before the vapour path? Please correct me if I am missing something.

why can't we distill gasoline and drink it?

[drpotoroo]

How would a heavy metal come out when distilled? Surely it can't? I understand lead being a problem anywhere it contacts condensed product, but surely not before the vapour path? Please correct me if I am missing something.

why can't we distill gasoline and drink it?

It's all about what will become vapour and what won't under the specific conditions a still operates in. A range of liquids will distill in varying blends-as we well know with alcohol and water. Clearly some things are COMPLETELY left behind- if a percentage of everything in your wash came out in your distillate then your distillate wouldn't come out clear.

[astronomical]

I hate to disagree but they are almost always lead. Just like fishing weights. I broke one a year ago and tested with a lead kit and yes it's lead!

It may not go through the column but is it worth the risk? Lead is serious and causes very nasty brain damage, for 35$ no way I would risk it.

Interesting.... Ive broke several and none were lead... this just goes to show that there is no safe answer besides dumping it... You can't tell by just looking at it.