StillSmart

Could there be a link between the increasing discolouration on the bottom of my airstill and the venting of steam when the lid lifts slightly?

Yesterday I ran 3X strip runs of my normal TPW through the still with no obvious problem today I have ran another strip run of the same wash through it and first noticed an increase in the amount of tinging noise coming from the still this was followed by the top of the still rocking slightly with the spout moving up and down by a few mm so I stopped the run and cleaned the seal and neck of the still and fearing a boil over moved it outside before starting again.

Once it started producing every five minutes or so there would be a hiss as steam vented from round the neck of the still there was no boil over just vented steam, after a while I gave up the run allowed to cool and washed the still out to find the bottom which has been slightly discoloured for a while looks like the photo below could this mean the still is over heating? or is the seal that is failing having had about 20 X 25 litter washes through it?

That looks like my mate's one when he didn't leave the wash to ferment out all the sugar, in other words his wash was burning, and puking.

Whatever you put in there was not finished or cleared sufficiently. That could well cause the problems you were seeing. Try heating some citric acid and water in it to clean it up. If you use the same wash again, you will likely get the same result. As for the seal, I have used mine many more times (close to 2 years now) and it is still going strong.

Chuck

+1 on Chuck's suggestion. If the discolouration disappears and you'll need to check your wash management.

If the discolouration is not removed run your finger over the discoloured metal and if it feels completely smooth then I suspect the steel has been tarnished by overheating but if there is anything burnt onto the steel it will feel rough to the touch.

If it is overheating you need to go back to your supplier because it could get dodgy.

AM

The pic does appear to show overheating,worrying if that appeared between similar washes.
You say it has been dis-colouring for a while,take some steel wool,or a brillo pad and clean it up,between uses.
Monitor the results,and come back for sanguine comments.
I have one of these beasties,have not encountered this problem,but would be glad to help,if I can,not least,because it may help me.


The blowing the seal thing suggests a wash not ready to distill,-too fizzy,too cloudy.
Hope that helps in some way.

Robert.

The coil might need cleaning too.

If it's burnt sugar on the boiler, then add some citric to water and run the boiler without lid to try and clean it off. Might take a few goes.

Thanks all for your suggestions.

I tried the brillo pad as I am happy with my ferment / wash management and I was unable to remove the staining, I gave the still a good clean and flushed the coil out and ran it again today with distilled water in it and the same thing is happening so I guess it is over heating so its back to the supplier tomorrow to see what she says about it.

If the brillo would not remove it, it must be due to overheating. Acid will remove it (e.g. citric acid) but that won't help with the overheating. My guess is that the thermostat is gone.

Chuck

Hope it's still in warranty and if it is don't take any excuses from the supplier. They may try to tell you that you have to return it to the manufacturer but your contract is with the supplier and you're entitled to have it replaced.

AM

I think I can guess at your supplier,you shouldn't have a problem getting this resolved.
Even if like me,you ditched the original packaging before the warranty expired.
I hope you are soon back to distilling.

Robert