 Rank: Junior Member Groups: Registered
Joined: 2/19/2013(UTC)
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Just cut out the top of my keg and my ss bowl ain't sealin worth a crap. Apparently the top of my keg ain't flat. I tried tapping it flat with a hammer but the bowl still rocks on the top. I have cork gasket on there but it still isn't touching all the way around. Am I missing something simple? Any tips or tricks mucho appreciated.
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Rank: Junior Member Groups: Registered
Joined: 2/17/2013(UTC)
Posts: 78
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Why did you cut your keg?, most stills just clamp on the outlet, unless you have a special type?. Silicone sheet might be a better option, its more forgiving and softer than cork. Have you tried soaking the cork over night in water?, I was having trouble getting my cork seals to seal and soaked them and it worked great. Night have to let people know what sort of clamping system you have to, will help them understand if they can help :-). Good luck.
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Rank: Junior Member Groups: Registered
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Originally Posted by: googe  Why did you cut your keg?, most stills just clamp on the outlet, unless you have a special type?. Silicone sheet might be a better option, its more forgiving and softer than cork. Have you tried soaking the cork over night in water?, I was having trouble getting my cork seals to seal and soaked them and it worked great. Night have to let people know what sort of clamping system you have to, will help them understand if they can help :-). Good luck. I'm buildin my still and plans called for cutting and inverting a ss mixing bowl and clamping to the top. Should work fine and give great access for cleaning the keg. I'm using clamping cauls across the bottom of the bowl and clamping to the keg handles. puts good even pressure on the bowl. Damn keg top ain't uniformly flat though. It was b4 i cut it. I put the bowl on it and it was just right. After I cut it the cut out has low and high spots so the bowl doesn't contact all the way around. It's pretty close but this ain't horse shoes. I did a trial boil with water last night and steam just pours out from the edges of the bowl. Thinking bout packing wet towels around the edges if I can't get a better idea. Anybody with an idea just jump right in,,,,I'll try anything. I can't have all my alcohol vaporizing right above that propane flame. (BOOM) Swoop out
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Rank: Junior Member Groups: Registered
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Flour paste. Cardboard gasket...idk sucks you it..you really don't need to clean your boiler unless it's left unsealed for a long period of time.
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Go to lowes or HD and find the A/C area then find the roll of rubberized insulation strip, it's about a half inch wide and a qter inch thick, it has a sticky back to it, that worked for the boiler I made like that! And double layer if you have too!
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Rank: Junior Member Groups: Registered
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Thanks, I will try to find the rubber gasket at lowes. For now I am gonna try wet towels around the edges of the bowl. I'll post how it works. Seems like it should since theres really no pressure on the steam. Swoop out
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Rank: Junior Member Groups: Registered
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I hope you've got electric heating, sounds dangerous if you have gas. The rubber would have to be food grade and heat resistant also wouldn't it heeler?.
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Rank: Senior Member Groups: Registered
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"Googe is right about the seals needing to be food grade and heat resistant. The types of vapor you are createing will corrode most plastics and rubbers, note the problem with engine seals when ethanol fuel was introduced. If the seals are not food grade then any deterioration of the seal will be in your product.
Take a piece of what ever your going to use and put it in a jar of fores, heads, hearts, and tails andheat it up to 200 degrees then let it cool down. do this daily for a week and see if there is a change in the material structure, color/shape, and if there is then don't use it.
I did this when I was makeing my essential oil/ in line thumper still several months ago and still have the same piece I used in the same solution showing no wear on the baking sheet seal material.
For custom seals I go to wally world and buy the silicon cookie sheets, they are about $10.00, then cut the seals I need out of it. They are food grade and good for 450 degrees."
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Rank: Junior Member Groups: Registered
Joined: 2/19/2013(UTC)
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No sir not electric, propane. If it can't blow up and kill you then it ain't much of a hobby!!LOL But really I am gonna make sure the seal is under control b-4 makin alcohol. Right now I have cork gaskets on there from auto parts store. Good point about checkin it out in some likkr to see about degradation. Only prob is I can't make likker till the problem is solved. I'm gonna pack wet towels around the bowl edges tight and I'm sure it will keep the steam in. Just have to be sure to keep them wet. And naturally this is an outside still with a charged water hose at the ready. Thanks Bushy for the info on the cookie sheets, I'm definately gonna look for them. Anyone KNOW of a problem the wet towels are gonna cause? I'm still listening. Preciate the info from you guys. I'll report on my findings. Hell I may just clamp my bowl down ON some wet towels. Swoop out
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Rank: Junior Member Groups: Registered
Joined: 2/17/2013(UTC)
Posts: 78
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First thing I can think of is the vapor soaking into the towel, boom!! Bye bye swoop jack. You need it to be sealed mate, any little leak is just an accident waiting to happen. If you havnt done much reading on how stills work and the safety issues, I sugest you do. I don't mean to sound like a kill joy but don't won't to see anyone hurt when it can be prevented. good luck.
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Rank: Junior Member Groups: Registered
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Rank: Advanced Member Groups: Registered
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Hi swoopjack,
What did you use to cut the keg? Did it get hot and warp or why do you think it went from being nice and straight to being warped?
Captinjack
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Rank: Junior Member Groups: Registered
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A rubber gasket are you kidding me? Sure why not put holes in your Colulmn and use propane too.
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Rank: Junior Member Groups: Registered
Joined: 2/19/2013(UTC)
Posts: 11
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Hey cap jack, used an angle grinder and ss cutting wheel. Didnt really get hot. I think when the top came off the keg lost a lot of structural integrity and just warped. The body of the keg is kinda beat up with some dents in the frame. Think that just caused the warping cause the frame of the keg is MUCH tougher than the tank. The tank is really kinda flimsy. I guess it can be since it is protected by the frame. Any how I got it figured out now. Found someone that is using bolts all around the rim of the bowl to clamp it every 3 or 4 inches. That and I have ordered food grade silicone sheets online to use for gasket material. I'll be in business in a week or so.
Nice smart-ass comment Wewtster. I don't know what you are talking about and I'm pretty sure you don't either. Ain't nobody said anything bout holes in the column. Just tryin to make someone look like a dumbass ain't you. Have a nice day......Swoop out
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Rank: Junior Member Groups: Registered
Joined: 2/17/2013(UTC)
Posts: 78
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That'll work well :-). You gunna put wing nuts on it for ease of access?. What sort of still are you building?.
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Rank: Junior Member Groups: Registered
Joined: 2/19/2013(UTC)
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Wing nuts yes. 2 inch column offset head reflux with 3 inch condenser column. Valves for reflux and Iollection. 12 feet of quarter inch wound in double wrap condenser. Ended up bout 8 inches long. I'll post some pics when i get it all up to speed. Swoop out
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Rank: Junior Member Groups: Registered
Joined: 2/19/2013(UTC)
Posts: 11
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Condenser is 8 inches long. Column is 42 inches tall
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 Rank: Newbie Groups: Registered
Joined: 2/14/2013(UTC)
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Did the rubber gasket work? I have the same problem. How many hold downs are you using
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Rank: Junior Member Groups: Registered
Joined: 2/19/2013(UTC)
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What is working for a gasket is 2 layers of cardboard completely "mummy-fied" with plumbers tape. You know the teflon thread tape. I cut 2 big doughnut gaskets out of cardboard and wrapped the crap out of them with the tape. Used 3 rolls of tape. Then hammered them flat with a piece of 2x4. Sealing perfectly. The plumbers tape is safe to use with the steam and all and won't leach any nasty stuff into your drink. Got the idea from a post somewhere on here. Good luck to ya. Swoop out
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Rank: Advanced Member Groups: Registered
Joined: 7/1/2012(UTC)
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That's good ingenuity swoop! Glad you got her going!
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