Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

Hey folks.

Am trying to test the solder in my (2ndhand) homemade reflux still for lead. Boyfriend gave me a lead test designated for testing paint for walls, and unfortunately I'm come away with inconclusive results - but some VERY badly (and probably permanently) stained metal and copper on my column :doh:

Would anyone know of a more specific test I could use that would also be cheap?

The guy at my local HBS said that if it DID have lead in it, I could simply find a plumber etc who could melt all the existing solder off and replace it with proper stainless solder - is this true, and how much do you reckon it might set me back?

Cheers :)

Hi FireKitty,
try this one

Thanks mate :)

The bf has just delightfully informed me that my reflux was probably welded, not soldered... Is this still a worry, and how can I tell anyhow? Solder would just be soft yea?

Any chance of a photo. We might be able to recognize it or at least advise based on that metals its made of

If it has been welded(braised) then your safe.
And not all solder contains lead. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Yummyrum wrote:Any chance of a photo. We might be able to recognize it or at least advise based on that metals its made of

this the photo is here
viewtopic.php?t=4765 (just a guess)

I'll try and get a close-up once I've cleaned it properly, I'm afraid the metal tests that I did on all the metal turned it from a silver to tarnished colour, might have to go at it with a metal brush to clean the joins as brasso seems to have only cleaned up the copper :-(

Here's a pic of some of the (dirty) joints - are usually more 'silver' in appearance.

Yeah, its not looking too promising, I would definitely test it for my own peace of mind ;-)

it does not look to good at all, I think it would be wise to sweat it all apart clean it off as best you can and re solder it back together using aquasafe lead free solder.

A good test is to see how easily the solder will scratch with a nail or screwdriver, if it's pretty soft it's more than likely lead solder.

Even soft silver solder is reasonably hard to gouge out with a screwdriver, it's not an accurate test but will give you an indication of what it really is.

when I tried to do paint test I initially used a blade to try and scrape off some samples, was near impossible - will go to Bunnings shortly to get a swab test and see what happens...

How did it turn out FireKitty?

Great news! Tried the test from Bunnings and it's negative, no lead! :dance:
Having said that, am still planning an upgrade down the track... Something less ancient ;)

FireKitty wrote:Great news! Tried the test from Bunnings and it's negative, no lead! :dance:
Having said that, am still planning an upgrade down the track... Something less ancient ;)

That is good news FK, and I hope this thread alerts the new guys n gals on here to the risks posed by buying second hand gear from unknown sources and other dodgy stills off ebay :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Thanks for keeping us informed :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Great news FireKitty :clap: :clap: :clap:
good to hear :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Good news FK .

If its not to much bother, for the sake of completing this ,would it be possible for you to try the same test on a sample of 50/50 plumbers or 60/40 electrical solder that does contain lead and post the test results .Preferably with side by side pictures of the lead sample and the non lead sample .

It would help others that may use these lead test kits to get an idea of what shows up in the results .

Yummyrum wrote:Good news FK .

If its not to much bother, for the sake of completing this ,would it be possible for you to try the same test on a sample of 50/50 plumbers or 60/40 electrical solder that does contain lead and post the test results .Preferably with side by side pictures of the lead sample and the non lead sample .

It would help others that may use these lead test kits to get an idea of what shows up in the results .

Sorry mate don't have said solder on hand :-(
Will crawl Web when I get home and see what I can find that'll help :-)

FireKitty wrote:

Yummyrum wrote:Good news FK .

If its not to much bother, for the sake of completing this ,would it be possible for you to try the same test on a sample of 50/50 plumbers or 60/40 electrical solder that does contain lead and post the test results .Preferably with side by side pictures of the lead sample and the non lead sample .

It would help others that may use these lead test kits to get an idea of what shows up in the results .

Sorry mate don't have said solder on hand :-(
Will crawl Web when I get home and see what I can find that'll help :-)

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

You could go to bunnings etc and rub it on a stick of the plumbers lead solder it's not wrapped, it's just a big fat stick :handgestures-thumbupleft:

sam_and_liv wrote:

FireKitty wrote:

Yummyrum wrote:Good news FK .

If its not to much bother, for the sake of completing this ,would it be possible for you to try the same test on a sample of 50/50 plumbers or 60/40 electrical solder that does contain lead and post the test results .Preferably with side by side pictures of the lead sample and the non lead sample .

It would help others that may use these lead test kits to get an idea of what shows up in the results .

Sorry mate don't have said solder on hand :-(
Will crawl Web when I get home and see what I can find that'll help :-)

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

You could go to bunnings etc and rub it on a stick of the plumbers lead solder it's not wrapped, it's just a big fat stick :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Good advice Sam :laughing-rolling:
"Security ,Security , isle 23 , plumbing and accessories,..... "



BTW FK ,no biggy if its too hard but a little card of solder is pretty cheap ....