Home Distiller

I have a simple 8gal pot still (charged with 4-5 gallons) & use an electric heat source on, but recently moved to a new house that has a propane furnace for the house. I've never had propane or natural gas heat in a home, much less distilled near a propane furnace. How weary should I be? How risky would it be to try?

Since the still will be heated with electric, I guess my concern is a leak that gets to the pilot light of the furnace?

Edit: When I say "distilled near a propane furnace", I mean relatively. There is 1 room between the still's heat source (12-15ft away, separated by a wall and a door).

It would have to be one hell of a leak to have a that much of a concentration to ignite at that distance. Also there is not many gas boilers left with a standing pilot, most are hot plate ignited for efficiency. Many domestic hot water heaters are still using a standing pilot. But at that distance.

acfixer69 wrote: ↑Mon Nov 14, 2022 3:29 pm It would have to be one hell of a leak to have a that much of a concentration to ignite at that distance. Also there is not many gas boilers left with a standing pilot, most are hot plate ignited for efficiency. Many domestic hot water heaters are still using a standing pilot. But at that distance.

Awesome thanks, that's good news. I've never had a big leak before, small ones that I had to patch with flour paste, but nothing major. The bad thing is this is all in the basement, so no windows or anything to encourage dissipation, just a door that I could open.

The water heater is electric & 35-40 feet away, so no worries there.

We haven't turned the heat on this year yet. But looking closer at the furnace, there is an electric outlet with an on/off switch next to it. So I think you're right, I don't see a pilot light and maybe that electric plate ignites when the thermostat kicks the heat on. I'll probably turn this switch off during running, just for my own peace of mind. hahaha

You would literally have to spill enough to run over next to the furnace. and then somehow get the fumes into the combustion chamber, which would have a positive draw and if newer a cold air intake to further dilute the fumes. My guess is you would have to throw a jar of heads on the furnace to possibly get a fire.

I would say that the potential danger is not so much a leak, but IF your cooling water stopped while the element continued running while you're not at your still. That would allow vapor to escape the still. After a wile the vapor could cloud the air. IF all of that happened and then the furnace ignited, it could cause a serious fire. That nearly happened to me in my heated garage. Tomorrow I'll list a link to that story, it was a stupid near accident and I was damn lucky. I'm glad you're concerned about potential hazards distilling indoors. As long as you take certain precautions, learn from other people's mistakes it's unlikely to happen to you.

Here's the link I was referring to.