Life expectancy of copper still??

[00Buck]

Just curious before I build or buy one to upgrade. I know everything has wear and tear. But say I build a 10 gallon pot and run it every 2-3 weeks and dont bang it around and whatnot. Does the metal and solder have a decent lifespan?

[Pure Old Possum Piss]

It all depends. Copper is a lot softer than SS. If you've ever used copper mesh you know that the acidic nature of distilling will erode the copper. The solder will last most likely, but a thin copper still won't last a 1/4 of the years that a SS boiler will. You can always add disposable copper mesh to a SS still to remove Sulphur if you have a problem with them. The only reason they used copper 100+ years ago is cause it was the cheapest metal available and so easy to work that a dunce could build with it.

[Copperhead road]

00Buck, just a suggestion if you were to build a beer keg boiler and the still out of copper tubing it will last a lifetime I would imagine as long as it is looked after.

[Yummyrum]

I know Emptyglass used an old copper hot water cylinder as a boiler . Those things are thin as buggery. He’s still using it over 10years later and it is strong enough to hold up a 6” plater .

[Setsumi]

I have seen copper potstills that dates back to the 1800's. Yes, I would not use them. There is no reason copper would not last.

[Saltbush Bill]

A copper still will out last more than one owner.
My oldest would be going on for 13 years old, had a lot of wash through it.
I can't see any sign of wear at all.
I think your over thinking this.
Copper rules !

[NZChris]

Cooper will outlast you unless you abuse it. If it has a chain dragging around the bottom to keep grain in suspension that will shorten the life of the bottom, so use thicker copper if you are doing that.

If there has been erosion of any of my copper over the past forty years, it hasn't been noticeable to me. That said, I seldom aggressively clean my copper with chemicals or scrubbies, only doing that after doing modifications.

Running every 2-3 weeks might start looking more like a chore than a hobby, which is one of the reasons why I began my distilling adventure with a large fermenter and a preheater so that I could strip and spirit run three or four strips worth of wash in a weekend. My boilers are a mix of copper and SS, which means that I don't have to remember to add copper when charging them, or look after the copper between runs. I hose them out and let them dry.

If you are thinking of building, scrapyard copper bins often look like they contain kitset stilling equipment to my eyes. Small and large boilers, risers, columns, Liebigs, fittings, all at scrap metal prices.

[Saltbush Bill]

Are we talking copper boilers here, or copper still heads, or both?
For the record I dont own any copper boilers, just all copper still heads.