Sulaiman
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metalware for water distillation ?
I want to prepare a stock of distilled water, maybe 20 litres,
I could use an rbf with heating mantle
but I want to use gas and a larger boiling pot.
If I use an aluminium boiling pot (modified pressure cooker)
and copper tubing as a condenser,
each will I suppose add some metallic ions to the water.
what could I NOT use the distilled water for ?
(other than flame tests, I doubt I will be analyzing trace metal contents)
CAUTION : Hobby Chemist, not Professional or even Amateur
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Dr.Bob
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Just remember that water has a huge heat capacity, so it takes a lot of heat to boil, and a huge amount of water and condenser surface to condense.
We used to distill water at work, but the system was very tough to maintain and keep working. We switched to Di water with about 3 stages of
filtering, ion exchange, and a final carbon and polish DI filter, and that does very well, and handle the load well.
But you can do it, just don't expect much throughput, you can also use distilling equipment meant for ethanol, but most of that will be way expensive.
In the US you can buy distilled water at the store for cheap, so that is the simplest solution here.
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Sulaiman
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I have the equipment and I have used it before to make distilled water,
the distilled water that I made using metalware seemed ok but I do not know how much aluminium or copper contamination it contained.
(more surface area for the air condenser next time - lots more)
I work in batches and have stopped dreaming about continuous processes.
If space allows, I would like a permanent setup.
I am hoping that any metallic ions in the distilled water will be negligible for my uses,
because an all metal still is more forgiving of mistakes than glassware.
If this works I can 'afford' to be more 'generous' with my use of distilled water,
especially when it comes to washing and rinsing glassware.
in this case, distillation speed is important only in terms of liquefied gas usage efficiency.
(not too slow, and not too fast)
so
Will I get 'good' distilled water using an aluminium boiling pot and a copper tubing air condenser ?
[Edited on 28-12-2024 by Sulaiman]
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Rainwater
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I use a dehumidifier for basic di water and a modified coffee pot when I need truely
distilled water.
By reworking a little plumbing, and piping the output water into a phase seperator...
fancy name...
I can take off just the steam and return the liquid. It is easy to do and starts
outputing water really fast
The biggest problem i have is volatile stuff in the water coming over. Around here,
we have a lot of old gas stations that contaminate the well water, city water isnt to
clean either but its drinkable, just smells like a swimming pool and keeps my whites,
white.
| Quote: | | Will I get 'good' distilled water |
Nerdrage has a good video about testing the water
https://youtu.be/Nb1w15DHO4g
TDS meters $6~$8000
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=tds+meter
Biggest help i can provide is this.
Always watch your temperature, discard the first 10% of your run, and do not distill to dryness
[Edited on 29-12-2024 by Rainwater]
"You can't do that" - challenge accepted
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RU_KLO
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Maybe a stainless steel kettle?
With the "nose" conected to a stainless steel tube, aided with forced ventilation - ex: 12v pc fan, several...) or inside a bigger tube - like
homemade condenser.
(it seem that stainless steel in used in professional destilation setups)
also found an commercial example: (check picture)
Go SAFE, because stupidity and bad Luck exist.
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Sulaiman
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understood, but I already have an aluminium boiling pot with fittings and copper tubing.
using lpg to boil the water and an air condenser, my costs will be very low.
I have a TDS meter (cheap pen type, similar body to cheap pH meters)
amazingly it still works, with two 'new' cells, after years in storage
I trust it as much as I trust my cheap pH meters 
I remember trying to measure the resistivity of distilled water using a dc supply, meters and metal electrodes.
resistivity plummeted down as soon as a measurement was started
due to metallic ions entering the water....D'oh!
....,............
very few people drink tap water here,
many have a large sand filter (or more modern polymer filter material) immediately after the water meter.
this is a coarse filter, often with carbon.
the water is clean but not drinkable.
either boiling or 3-stage filtering is common.for drinking water.
after re-watching the Nurd Rage video,
I may try fractional distillation using my 5l rbf in an electric heating mantle for some 'good' distilled water
(I have often wondered if fractional distillation would make any difference,)
and use the aluminium and copper still for daily use.distilled water.
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BromicAcid
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I would think metal on the pot side, glass on the receiver/condenser side would solve your problem. Metal impurities are generally non-volatile,
they're picked up through contact or carried over via entrainment due to aggressive distillations/bumping. So might be worth looking at a glass
condenser. I've done quite a few distillations starting from something that I would consider to be garbage from a metals purity standpoint to get
something that's electronics grade pure, it's amazing what distillation can remove. Then again it doesn't do anything for your VOCs unless you take a
forecut.
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Sulaiman
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I like all glass stills,
I even use glass balls as column packing; durable, inert, easy to clean and transparent
(but a poor hetp, and usually I see nothing due to column insulation 
and I can see the benefit of using a glass condenser with a metal pot
but I really fancy an air condenser for minimal power and water usage,
and glass has such low thermal conductivity that I would need a lot of fragile glass.
For most of my experiments I presently use 'battery water'
over the years of this hobby,
water purity has not been a significant cause of my many failures
A current interest is trying to measure the density of mercury to four significant figures,
which requires 'ideal' water to calibrate a pycnometer.
dissolved gasses and patience are my main problems.
(plus, I recently broke my pycnometer 
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RU_KLO
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found this, maybe you can get other calibration liquid.
Attachment: 20160215HYDROMEnglish.pdf (1.9MB)
This file has been downloaded 56 times
Go SAFE, because stupidity and bad Luck exist.
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markx
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Glass or stainless on the side of condenser is probably best approach...the kettle material is of lesser significance.
And to be honest, if large volumes of distilled water are not needed, then it makes more sense to buy DI or battery water that tackle with a
distillation setup. Also reverse osmosis filters are a rather reasonable option compared to brute distillation and currently their price is also quite
manageable.
[Edited on 9-2-2025 by markx]
Exact science is a figment of imagination.......
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