Amberale wrote:Guyross wrote:I use a shifter, and also seal one end of the stack with a 4” plate and fill the column with water and let stand for a while. But basically it takes a bit of tightening.
Also make sure the plate does not sit below or above the seal - has to sit inside the seal. Do you have the right seal, with the inner lip removed? It can be a bit tricky to get the bubble plate dead centre so it does not foul on the seal.
I do recommend the plate to seal the column so you can fill with water and test before you run.
Where did you get your 4” plate?
I remove the parrot and back flush with a hose while connected to my milk can but it uses a lot of water before the pressure builds up enough to flood the column.
Also, how do you then empty the column?
Maybe a tap in the 4” plate?
I made a tool to tighten the clamps from an old spark plug wrench.
The plate you get from 5 star: (presume it is ok to post this link)
https://www.5stardistilling.com/product ... p-end-cap/I pull the entire column of Tees off the still (ie pull,off the reflux condenser, etc) and put the end cap on. 5 plates is about 750mm long. I fill the column from the other end, which will fill right up (4 or 5 litres of water). I let it stand on end overnight to make sure no leaks. Make sure to tie it off so it doesn’t fall. :-D
When it is time to empty it, I just turn it over and the water pours out. I have also cleaned the plates with vinegar and citric using the same system. Seal the column, and pour in the hot vinegar/citric solution, and overnite I get clean plates and column. Pour out, rinse, reattach to the rest of the still.
The hardest leak to seal I’ve had is a sight glass. Finally had to Teflon tape the threads on one. But now that I have done this a few times, it goes pretty fast. And cleaning the plates without taking apart the entire column saves a lot of effort. Uses more vinegar and citric, but saves time and frustration.