Home Distiller

Ok, so I took the day off. I thought I'd make a run. Well, two actually. One BW spirit run with my cm. And one stripping run with my pot still head.

Well, got every thing going.I thought ide use my new parrot that I recently got . It has a longer tail(inlet) than my old one. And its bigger, thought ide give it a try. The base was a roll of electric tape. I Pulled off my fours from the spirit run. Pulled my first jar of 94%. Now, on my second jar. I looked up just in time to see the new parrot falling over towards the keg.... WHOOSH

Instantly, the keg was covered in flames, the floor caught on fire about 4' all around the keg. And the propane line going to my 100lb bottle had flames on it

I faught fire for several years, but still, it was enough to make my ol heart jump.

Luckily, I always keep the water hose handy, and charged. It took about 30 seconds of full.blast spraying to get it all put out.

Maybe somebody will read this and be reminded to be safe and to keep a water hose or fire extinguisher handy...

Holy SH** dude! Glad you are smart.

good save ...glad your ok and a quick thinker!

Close call! Glad it worked out. Doesn't take much, does it ...

Wow, good reason not to leave anything unattended. Sure glad my new still is electric!

I had a similar incident years ago. Thanks for sharing your experience, this is why we tell people not to load their boiler with anything higher the 40%.

Glad you are ok.

I keep a fire extinguisher handy as my hose is connected to my condensor.

Safety first!

Thought i'de bump this one up so y'all could give me a hard time about it. It happened today.

Safety first!!!

wacabi1 wrote:Instantly, the keg was covered in flames, the floor caught on fire about 4' all around the keg. And the propane line going to my 100lb bottle had flames on it

That would probably freeze most people for a few seconds, glad you were quick handed and quick minded. Really glad we aren't reading about the aftermath in the paper!

Well, I'm not bragging just telling facts, but I've been in some of the worst fires our country has ever seen. I've seen 300' walls of flame, been in fires moving 50 mile an hour, been in fires so big that they make their own thunderstorm. Yep, I've been there...
But, when it happens so quick and unexpectedly, it kinda catches ya off gard.
I guess what really helped in the situation is that I was prepared and i dont leave the still unattended. I always have the hose handy, and have an extinguisher beside the bench. I've stepped away from it for a minute before, but I think in the future, my minute away will have to be very short. If I hadn't been right there, I'm not sure how long it would've taken to burn through the gas line, but I bet it wouldn't have taken long...
I should have listened to my instincts about the stability of the parrot. I knew it wasn't stable, but I went ahead and used it anyway. After the fire, I simply put it in my old base. Easy fix that I should've done in the first place.

My extinguisher hangs on a post behind the boiler. I've been meaning to move it. After reading this thread I am going to do it first thing this morning. Thanks for the nudge.

Glad you are okay, Wacabi!

I'm glad your alright.... This is the #1 reason I use electric and not an open flame..... Safety first

Yep that why my leibig is around 6ft long , so the take off point is the hell and away from the flames

wacabi, 30 seconds of spray from a normal size garden hose? that's a hell of a lot of water - it must have been a scary moment!

Your one lucky muchacco.

Electric only for me, 2 fire sprinkler heads in the overhead
always hooked to the garden hose before anything else
happens. Fire extinguisher mounted near the door, long liebig,
all inside an old walk-in cooler known as the Man Cave .

Starting a fire in this country and it could run for 20 miles before
it got stopped

Dang that would be hell to explain!

Glad your okay dokey!!

Coyote

a change of shorts was in order after that I recon
glad to hear it wasn't more serious .
Have fun & stay safe yall.

Glad you're okay.

Thanks for telling the story. We need to hear them so we can learn what to look out for.

Too close for comfort wacabi1, glad your OK..

Posts like this really do drive home the lesson in safety to all of us. Makes you just step back and double check everything before and during a run.

Complacency is in errant in each one of us, there's just no room for it in the hobby.. Great you had your wits about you... Phew...

Wow, glad your ok. I hope everyone takes heed and takes a few minutes to assess their situation and try to avoid anything unsafe, and keep an extinguisher handy just in case.

Wow, glad you're OK. Along with the safety aspect, the police usually aren't far behind the firemen. Good ending.

Thank ye ta all ye fellers... thanks for the well wishes... it is evident to me, that y'all understand why I posted the thread. I've been a firefighter fer several years...real fires, not just wannabees... I've seen more than most... but even with my experience, when it happens so quickly, it will make ya shit yer pants!!!

What helped in my situation is that I was prepared...plain an simple...I was prepared not so much with my experience, but with a simple, charged, water hose....

I think that anyone.., who had taken the time at setup, to check their extinguisher or charge and layout their hose, would be able to automatically do what I did. If you make it a habit, to "check and charge", I think when the situation does arise, you will automatically take control of the situation and alleviate the problem...

Be prepared so that you can automatically take control of the situation......... that goes fer life in general fellers....