Ok my brass fittings had Spartan DR stamped on them. Spartan is the NZ manufacture of these parts. Contacted Spartan and Spoke with a friendly chap Wayne who has been in the industry for over 20 years.
According to Wayne, There is no such thing as lead-free brass. They have lowered the amount of lead in the brass but it is still required. Fittings stamped with DR or DZR are dezincification resistant.
From Wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brass : "The so called dezincification resistant (DZR) brasses are used where there is a large corrosion risk and where normal brasses do not meet the standards. Applications with high water temperatures, chlorides present or deviating water qualities (soft water) play a role. DZR-brass is excellent in water boiler systems. This brass alloy must be produced with great care, with special attention placed on a balanced composition and proper production temperatures and parameters to avoid long-term failures."
So this brass is designed to be corrosion resistant but will still contain lead and arsenic at low levels.
So on that note, I’ll be getting the bushes machined so the copper from the condenser and column meet (therefore no brass will be in the vapour flow), and I’ll be disassembling the needle valve and pickling.
Thanks for the heads up Hoody
