StillSmart

This site really is a great source of information but something that is always on my mind is safety while stilling, I'm talking about do's and don't and things like ventilation and extinguishers and other things that may get overlooked.

We all need to look out for each other right?

It would be a valuable and worthwhile sticky.

Thanks for volunteering to write it

Then the rest of you can correct me

My contribution would be not to use an infinite still, where alcohol from the still output is routed to the burner to heat the still.

Curmudgeon wrote:My contribution would be not to use an infinite still, where alcohol from the still output is routed to the burner to heat the still.

Oh, you Bad Boy!


I figure that my stillin' is mostly sorted by numbers now.
I went to bed last night, leaving the still running and expecting nothing to appear.
And nothing did.
At 88% it just refused to allow it. No more product at my crudely set boiler input.
PID controllers, who needs 'em?
I do keep a large Fire Extinguisher just inside the door to the still room -
Dragging this back on topic..
And not dissing Brewhunters post, stay safe!
Ventilation and Extinguishers should sort it.
If you all go and blow yourselves up, who will I tap to late at night?

Robert.

Don't Drink and Distill

However it is not possible to say how much alcohol you can drink and run a still.
The way alcohol affects you depends on how fat you are, if you're a grumpy old git or if you've had sex within the last hour.

Alcohol affects everybody's distilling for the worse. It creates a feeling of overconfidence, makes judging heads and tails more difficult and slows your reactions so it takes longer to make cuts.

If you feel you must drink, arrange a group of distillers and choose a designated distiller.

Been thinking about buying an extinguisher or two
Any recommendations? Water? Foam?
I'm guessing a fire blanket would be as much use as a chocolate teapot

Keep a bucket of water handy, the beauty of alcohol is the more water you mix with it the less flammable it becomes, an alcohol fire can be put out by diluting it!

Failing that, a more sensible option might be a C02 fire extinguisher, at last that won't blow your electrics!!!