cheap DIY pressure cooker still, rubbery taste
Posted: Thu Aug 31, 2023 5:25 am
So I have connected a pressure cooker to a hot water kitchen faucet hose which connects to a copper condenser spiral.
In my test run with water, I noticed that the water coming out of the condenser, as well as the water that is still inside the pressure cooker, both have a slight rubbery taste to it. If mixed with ethanol, juice or food, you wouldn't even notice it.
The pressure cooker has a huge rubber gasket in it like usual, and the hose is made of rubber or plastic as well.
The source of the rubbery taste seem to be both the gasket as well as maybe the hose. Since the taste at the outlet seems to be somewhat stronger than what the water tastes inside the pressure cooker.
Concerning safety of the materials, obviously the pressure cooker rubber gasket should be by design food-safe. Concerning the faucet hose there also should be no real safety concern, as it runs only 20-30C above max design temperature with water and inside design temperature with alcohol. Plus it is made for drinking water.
I know quite a bit about plastics, and insofar as that the manufacturers did use proper components (silicone rubber, NBR, PEX, EPDM), neither running slightly above design temperature nor running alcohol instead of water produces any noteworthy health concerns due to leaching and such. Even more so considering the small quantities that you consume alcohol in.
I do not want to advertize my setup as good. It was just the absolutely cheapest way to do it ($14), ostensibly in a safe enough manner.
I know this forum has an anti-plastics rule. However, considering that the pressure cooker itself (which is made for food, including stews with wine and such) produces this taste, I think it is appropriate to ask whether or not this is a phenomenon that always occurs whenever any sort of plastics are used, and if going all copper is the only way to produce a distillate with pure taste. Obviously so, foodstuff can be much much more chemically reactive and corrosive than pure ethanol, due to acidity mainly but also diversity of chemicals.
Also I want to ask if copper solder and flux residue will have a slight effect on taste in pure water as well. After all, even just miniscule chemical reactions can change the taste of water. It is also true that mixing stainless steel with copper causes electron migration and consequently corrosion, which releases chemicals from the metal. Stainless steel cooking ware usually has extremely high nickel and chromium parts in it (20%), which I imagine can alter the taste in pure water test runs as well and has very similarly minor health concerns attached to it, compared to appropriate plastic materials.
Have you done tap water taste tests with your metal still? Be that pure copper or mixed metals.
Has anyone experience with rubber gaskets and hoses for hot drinking water?
I also wonder if there is something wrong with my pressure cooker gasket or hose, or if this is basically "just normal".
In my test run with water, I noticed that the water coming out of the condenser, as well as the water that is still inside the pressure cooker, both have a slight rubbery taste to it. If mixed with ethanol, juice or food, you wouldn't even notice it.
The pressure cooker has a huge rubber gasket in it like usual, and the hose is made of rubber or plastic as well.
The source of the rubbery taste seem to be both the gasket as well as maybe the hose. Since the taste at the outlet seems to be somewhat stronger than what the water tastes inside the pressure cooker.
Concerning safety of the materials, obviously the pressure cooker rubber gasket should be by design food-safe. Concerning the faucet hose there also should be no real safety concern, as it runs only 20-30C above max design temperature with water and inside design temperature with alcohol. Plus it is made for drinking water.
I know quite a bit about plastics, and insofar as that the manufacturers did use proper components (silicone rubber, NBR, PEX, EPDM), neither running slightly above design temperature nor running alcohol instead of water produces any noteworthy health concerns due to leaching and such. Even more so considering the small quantities that you consume alcohol in.
I do not want to advertize my setup as good. It was just the absolutely cheapest way to do it ($14), ostensibly in a safe enough manner.
I know this forum has an anti-plastics rule. However, considering that the pressure cooker itself (which is made for food, including stews with wine and such) produces this taste, I think it is appropriate to ask whether or not this is a phenomenon that always occurs whenever any sort of plastics are used, and if going all copper is the only way to produce a distillate with pure taste. Obviously so, foodstuff can be much much more chemically reactive and corrosive than pure ethanol, due to acidity mainly but also diversity of chemicals.
Also I want to ask if copper solder and flux residue will have a slight effect on taste in pure water as well. After all, even just miniscule chemical reactions can change the taste of water. It is also true that mixing stainless steel with copper causes electron migration and consequently corrosion, which releases chemicals from the metal. Stainless steel cooking ware usually has extremely high nickel and chromium parts in it (20%), which I imagine can alter the taste in pure water test runs as well and has very similarly minor health concerns attached to it, compared to appropriate plastic materials.
Have you done tap water taste tests with your metal still? Be that pure copper or mixed metals.
Has anyone experience with rubber gaskets and hoses for hot drinking water?
I also wonder if there is something wrong with my pressure cooker gasket or hose, or if this is basically "just normal".