StillSmart

Iv'e read how a few of you have changed the thermometers and probes on the T 500

Not in a huge hurry but wondering where you got them from.

I feel an ideal scenerio would be one where at least on the outlrt probe you could set it with a minimum and max temp setting with an alarm so you could sit next door in the lounge rather than glancing every few minutes to see if its in the desired range.
I must say I found the temperature to be fairly stable but never wandered far away for long

Any ideas guys ?

I swapped mine out due to breaking the originals, rather than making a conscious decision to upgrade, the temp at the top never rang true with the boiling point of ethanol, when I changed it, it was where I expected. - proving to me the T500 probes are not all that accurate.

The temp probes on the T500 are 5mm in diameter, probes tend to come in 3.2mm or 6mm so if swapping out the top one you either need to drill out the hole, or seal it with something - I did the latter, making up a little flour paste as the still is heating up is really no fuss at all.

The cooling probe could be sealed with ptfe tape - this one really doesn't need to be all that accurate, as long as its consistent - find the range that works on your still and your laughing. I did find a 5mm plastic probe that I swapped this one out for - with an alarm too, but never managed to find a stainless one for the top.
Also if your buying one, make sure it doesn't auto power off - that's a real PITA.

I would advise you against leaving the still unattended - if a seal goes it doesn't take long to fill the room with combustible vapour, or if you forget to swap a jar the overflowing 90+ABV is also not good.
I've just spilled a jar before and stained the worktop as the varnish from the wooden bread bin came right out - the troosers was not impressed.

Fair comment cap'n not far away from still but know where you're coming from
Have I seen someone mention co ie alcohol fume alarms ?
Talking to a pal of mine last night who owns and runs a classic motorbike shop, a real Dibnah type, he swears by silicon sealer as it is ,he says,when cured effectifly a derifitave of glass so he actualy uses it to seal exaust manifolds studs etc on air cooled heads
I wonder if it could be of use to us ?

Admiral Toad wrote:Have I seen someone mention co ie alcohol fume alarms

Yeah that was me, a carbon monoxide alarm is very sensitive to alcohol vapours. I normally read a book when next to the still on a long run, so in case attention wains the alarm can detect a leak before I do, I run the cooling so the waste runs into water from a height so I can "hear" the cooling if it stops for any reason, I can also hear the flow rate of the distillate on the parrot.

If for some reason the column became blocked, I would hear the output drop off before the still over pressurised. My keg stripper has a 3bar pressure relief valve for added safety - when running my T500 boiler with a gin basket in the head I leave the front 2 clasps undone, the weight of my heavy condenser makes it vapour tight but would easily "give way" with a problem- I check for leaks with a compact mirror alot.

I also considered with the T500 adding a clear tube to the drain valve and leaving it open with the tube going up the side of the still - as a sort of sight level, any over pressurisation would push the wash out the tube.

I've had seals go mid run & gin botanicals blocking my T500 column - the above may seem overkill to most, but I'd rather be overly careful than have a still full of combustibles blowup in my garage or kitchen.
I'm not trying to tell anyone what to do, just throwing some ideas out there.

Admiral Toad wrote:Talking to a pal of mine last night who owns and runs a classic motorbike shop, a real Dibnah type, he swears by silicon sealer as it is

Silicon is good, you just have to be sure the grade your using doesn't contain any additives that are harmful, The T500 lid has a silicon seal- and I use either PTFE or platinum cured silicon seals on my tri-clamp fittings.
The Pt cured silicon is softer and good where you have trouble making a good seal, the PTFE has a better resistance to alcohol though.

this is a useful site for checking these things http://www.coleparmer.ca/techinfo/chemcomp.asp

CC

Cheers mate good advice . Where did you get your alcohol alarm ?

Tesco was cheapest at the time