StillSmart

can someone tell me i have a T500 still i am just going to clean the colume and realized there is a leak in the top of the colume were the plastic top is joined to the stainless colume it seems to me the glue was not applied all around the top of the colume it is\'nt 12 months old yet is it going to be a problem with the distilling or the distiller thanks marbaker

I know this is an old post, but I see no one answered. If its leaking water it might still be ok during a run, the still is really low pressure so put boil some water up in it, then go round the top of the column with a mirror. If it fogs up you have an issue.

Lucky this is easily fixed.

1. Take out all the packing.
2. Unscrew the mounts holding the condenser. Remove the condenser if you want it just pulls out.
2. Unscrew the cooling output housing that holds the output temp probe.
3. The top will now pull out with the reflux condenser attached.
4. Give it a couple of wraps of PTFE plumbers tape and then rebuild it.

You'll need something to hold the cooling output in place while you screw the housing back on, a kitchen spatula does the job nicely

CC

Oh yeah, if you really don't want to dismantle the still (its easy, don't sweat it) a bit of flour paste will fix most leaks.
I check with a mirror all the joints throughout a run to check for leaks, the mirror will spot a problem on warm up way sooner than when you spot hot flammable distillate running down the column