Pickle canning jars can take heat if it is distributed evenly, and gradually, a sand bath works to heat them.
I have distilled from gallon pickle jars, the sand bath is a big pot couple of inches of sand in bottom of pot, the pickle jar is set on the sand, then sand poured around the out-sides of jar (between jar side and pot, a lid of thick Teflon can be cut (turned on lath), for a lid of the jar, tight fit down in jar (small lip to keep from whole lid from going into jar), (Teflon tap wrapped around the lid to seal at jar lip, then Teflon wrapped around outside of jar and Teflon lid to complete seal, black electricians tape over the Teflon tape, then cloth bandage tape over the electricians tape, the sand bath pot has handles on each side, I take a number 12 solid insulated copper wire, wire to one pot handle over jar lid to other pot handle, this wire holds down my lid as the lid may want to push up with the pressure from boiling liquids, a hole is drilled in the Teflon lid for a chemical resistant plastic hose (tight fit), this hose is where the gases flow from our distilling boiling pot, a few loops of this hose is down in a bucket of iced water (condensing gases), the end of this hose is put into a tall glass bottle (receiver condenser), like an old clean wine bottle, a small amount of liquid in this bottle lets the gases that get out of the tube saturate into solution (bubble into solution), the bottle also captures our condensed liquid from the tubing.
An electric (Hob) hotplate is my heat source.
In fact most of my lab glass is from canning jars and kitchen equipment, I do have some fancy lab glass, I bought packed in boxes, and maybe one of these days I will fix up a fancy lab.
I have a fancy distilling rig, but never used it; I like the pickle jar distiller.
I love seeing picture's of kadriver's lab, and I just dream someday, I will retire my shade from the oaktree and get a real lab.
