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
Cheers
WTD