Bronze in Stills

[The Stig]

I was asked yesterday if bronze would be ideal to use in building a still.
My first reaction was no, tin could rust and cause issues.
And I sprouted the mantra of copper, stainless, glass or oak only.
But just putting it out there , what’s the collective brains trust have to say ???
Discuss away
Cheers

[bluc]

What type bronze?

Screenshot_2020-10-01-19-35-05-41.jpg

And just as important how to tell difference..besides lead not sure zinc is great either..

[The Stig]

The first thing I get in google is nasty

[wynnum1]

Bronze as an alloy has a lot of different types so would need to know all of the contents as some seem to be very toxic .

[bluc]

I would say big :handgestures-thumbdown:

[tubbsy]

Tin is fine when used in solder, so will be fine in Bronze too. But it's the other minor metals that could cause issues.

[tubbsy]

Looks like modern bronze is fine to use as its only made with Cu and Sn.

[RuddyCrazy]

I suppose a good test would be just use some scrap copper and find a bit of tin then make a simple casting of bronze. Then soak it in 90% neutral for a while and see if any changes happen.

[The Stig]

No point making your own mix up of bronze.
To test one would need to buy commercial bronze and soak away

[RuddyCrazy]

No point making your own mix up of bronze.
To test one would need to buy commercial bronze and soak away

That is taking all the fun of the testing as if it does work out a bronze needle valve could be a new addition to your store once proven :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling:

[The Stig]

We have plenty of stainless so no need to add exotic metals to the mix :hand:

[RuddyCrazy]

We have plenty of stainless so no need to add exotic metals to the mix :hand:

OK mate maybe an upgrade to the site glass's like on Zac's bubbler may be the go :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling: