T500 Lid Sealing Issues

Boiler, burner and boiler modification talk.

T500 Lid Sealing Issues

Postby WTDist » Sat Nov 07, 2015 11:06 am

First problem... The bottom of the T500 column didnt seal perfectly with the nut, orings and an extra silicon seal.

Sooo... i finished shaping up my flange that was soldered on to my T500 lid, old T500 column cut to 60mm and soldered on with nut and a flange put on.

I added a 1m packed section to test the seal of my flange while on the boiler.

i filled the boiler right up with water, then cliped on the lid and started pouring water in the top of the column with the hose slowly not to overfill it as im checking the flange seal for a leak and where i soldered it on to the T500 lid.

Voila the flange (which is .5-1mm wider than other flange) did not leak and where i soldered it onto the lid id did not leak also... however...

The silicon seal around the edge of the lid that seals on the boiler was a problem... not from the soldering i did as the heat never got there with SS being so crap at conducting heat, i know i was holding it there while it was red hot in the middle.

It appears the 4 clips are not good enough to handle extreme pressure. when my 1m of packed section was nearly full water started spraying out half way in between all of the clips, making it sparay out in 4 places total. im not sure how much pressure is there from boiling the wash but a boiler full of water and a column also was enough for it to leak majory. They should have 8 clips if you aske me. Another design flaw found. weather it affects us distilling i dont know as water and steam have a very different density. the water weight may have been to much compared to vapour pressure but it is something i thought was worth mentioning for other T500 boiler users to think of and maybe check themselves.

If your worried or want to check this out yourself, connect your still or something (i used a packed section) and fill it wth water. see if it leaks where the nut/connection is and the seal around the edge.

Would be interested to see if this happens to others also

here is a pic before i cleaned the flange up
lid top.png


Cheers
WTD
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WTDist
 
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Oct 05, 2014 11:32 am
Location: Brisbane
equipment: Building a 4" bubbler with 8" glass thumper

Re: T500 Lid Sealing Issues

Postby warramungas » Sat Nov 07, 2015 11:33 am

I have a 2 inch to 1 inch 316 bsp reducer on my lid with a big stainless nut above and below to hold it. I'm an impatient sort and cant be bothered naffing around trying to get a perfect seal so used a good smear of silicone sealant top and bottom followed by a wipe of the excess to seal mine up. As the nut never gets removed its held on well and never leaked.
If you never intend to remove it its a great way of sealing it. I figure if I ever need to remove it it will come off ok or I can always get another lid.
warramungas
 
Posts: 1436
Joined: Sun Oct 18, 2015 9:38 pm
Location: Nor Perth
equipment: 180 litre fermenter x 2
30 liter boiler
PDA-1
2" four plate modular bubbler
2" one meter long LM column
110 liter boiler with 25 liter (max) inline thumper
4" x 4 plate bubble cap still

Re: T500 Lid Sealing Issues

Postby WTDist » Sat Nov 07, 2015 1:39 pm

what type of silicone was it? safe for alcohol contact? this was relatively easy to do, just took a bit of solder but now it is sturdier and wont wobble
WTDist
 
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Oct 05, 2014 11:32 am
Location: Brisbane
equipment: Building a 4" bubbler with 8" glass thumper

Re: T500 Lid Sealing Issues

Postby warramungas » Sat Nov 07, 2015 2:39 pm

Most true silicon's are ok, same as your seals made of, but the contact surface with the actual steam from the wash, if you wipe the inside properly is absolutely miniscule to non existent. The seal it creates is almost completely obscured from the wash.
We use the sealant (cant remember the brand at the moment but its in a green packet) at work with some pretty mean solvents and the stuff seems to last forever. Keep in mind if you decide to go down that path try not to use the one that has the ecetoxi component. It smells like vinegar and sticks to anything which makes it near impossible to clean off well. The regular stuff, once dry, will just peel off stainless if you want to remove it again.
warramungas
 
Posts: 1436
Joined: Sun Oct 18, 2015 9:38 pm
Location: Nor Perth
equipment: 180 litre fermenter x 2
30 liter boiler
PDA-1
2" four plate modular bubbler
2" one meter long LM column
110 liter boiler with 25 liter (max) inline thumper
4" x 4 plate bubble cap still


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