How to keep a boiler's lid shut
Posted: Mon Dec 16, 2024 12:04 pm
Im going to be building a bokakob still soon. Lots of copper and scrubbies, and some tri clamps, on the way along with a needle valve, and a new pump.
Really looking forward to documenting the build process, I've never worked with metal before (unless soldering circuit boards counts)
The last step of my puzzle is figuring out how to keep the lid down on a stock pot I plan to transform into my boiler, after hiring local metalworkers to drill + insert + weld a triclamp friendly flange to the stainless steel pot lid lol
Given the weight of the column could I just put some bricks or other weights on the stock pot's lid and call it a day?
Or would I be better off asking local metalworkers to add "trigger latches" to the stock pot and inserting an "everlasting PTFE gasket" between boiler and its lid?
Or maybe add a PTFE gasket between a stock pot's body and (modified lid) before weighing it down with cheap weights?
I have zero metalworking skills, zero plumbing stills, but I just wanna move on past my $100 chinese pot still. If you guys got any feedback I would sure as hell appreciate it. Sorry if this is the wrong subforum btw but "I don't want my homemade still to leak alcohol vapors out everywhere" felt like a safety issue so I'm posting it here, haha.
Really looking forward to documenting the build process, I've never worked with metal before (unless soldering circuit boards counts)
The last step of my puzzle is figuring out how to keep the lid down on a stock pot I plan to transform into my boiler, after hiring local metalworkers to drill + insert + weld a triclamp friendly flange to the stainless steel pot lid lol
Given the weight of the column could I just put some bricks or other weights on the stock pot's lid and call it a day?
Or would I be better off asking local metalworkers to add "trigger latches" to the stock pot and inserting an "everlasting PTFE gasket" between boiler and its lid?
Or maybe add a PTFE gasket between a stock pot's body and (modified lid) before weighing it down with cheap weights?
I have zero metalworking skills, zero plumbing stills, but I just wanna move on past my $100 chinese pot still. If you guys got any feedback I would sure as hell appreciate it. Sorry if this is the wrong subforum btw but "I don't want my homemade still to leak alcohol vapors out everywhere" felt like a safety issue so I'm posting it here, haha.