Copper Still Lead Solder

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Orpheus123
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Re: Copper Still Lead Solder

Post by Orpheus123 »

NZChris wrote: Tue Dec 28, 2021 5:45 pm He doesn't actually say that their coppersmiths are in America, he lets the viewer arrive at that assumption.

At 1:38 the bags are marked fràgil, which is not a spelling I that would expect to see in an American factory.
He says they are made in Texas elsewhere on the site, so I assume that means they are in America.

The website also says the copper they use is sourced from Italy, so there's that.

I guess it's possible that the whole website, facebook page, videos and pics are all a ruse, but I dunno. I doubt it.
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Re: Copper Still Lead Solder

Post by cob »

Hopefully a kind member in Houston will read this and do a little recon. :) :lol: 1305 W 11th St #3106 Houston, TX 77008
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Re: Copper Still Lead Solder

Post by NZChris »

Orpheus123 wrote: Tue Dec 28, 2021 7:26 pm He says they are made in Texas elsewhere on the site, so I assume that means they are in America.
I've just used Google to search the site and couldn't find that. Do you have a link?
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Re: Copper Still Lead Solder

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NZChris wrote: Tue Dec 28, 2021 10:11 pm
Orpheus123 wrote: Tue Dec 28, 2021 7:26 pm He says they are made in Texas elsewhere on the site, so I assume that means they are in America.
I've just used Google to search the site and couldn't find that. Do you have a link?
Well...I guess I was wrong. Maybe in one of the emails I get from them, I could swear it was said they make these at their factory in Texas. Maybe it's on the Facebook page.

I dunno, I guess I was assuming. In any case, I'm not looking through all my emails to find that tidbit, so I'll say you are correct, it was an assumption.
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Re: Copper Still Lead Solder

Post by greggn »

Orpheus123 wrote: Tue Dec 28, 2021 7:26 pm
I guess it's possible that the whole website, facebook page, videos and pics are all a ruse, but I dunno. I doubt it.

Orpheus, I'm not suggesting that the "Whiskey Stills" business is a scam that's out to steal your money and not deliver a product.

All I'm suggesting is that in all likelihood the business model is to import Alembic stills at a cheap price then resell at a higher price. Looking at his photos, video, and Google maps all suggests that is true. Maybe "buy American" is a practice you hold dear but, for whatever reason, you're certainly tenacious in wanting to believe your still was made in Texas. I'm not sure why since I recall you're from Nebraska.

Again, getting back to my original point ... you can test for lead or you can go with trust. It's your call because it'll be your product you're drinking.
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Re: Copper Still Lead Solder

Post by Orpheus123 »

greggn wrote: Wed Dec 29, 2021 3:30 am
Orpheus123 wrote: Tue Dec 28, 2021 7:26 pm
I guess it's possible that the whole website, facebook page, videos and pics are all a ruse, but I dunno. I doubt it.

Orpheus, I'm not suggesting that the "Whiskey Stills" business is a scam that's out to steal your money and not deliver a product.

All I'm suggesting is that in all likelihood the business model is to import Alembic stills at a cheap price then resell at a higher price. Looking at his photos, video, and Google maps all suggests that is true. Maybe "buy American" is a practice you hold dear but, for whatever reason, you're certainly tenacious in wanting to believe your still was made in Texas. I'm not sure why since I recall you're from Nebraska.

Again, getting back to my original point ... you can test for lead or you can go with trust. It's your call because it'll be your product you're drinking.
Fair enough, and I appreciate it. I guess it never occurred to me to be skeptical of it, which is actually rather odd for me, as I am skeptical of most things I see on the internet. It just seems like a bold strategy on their part to insinuate that they themselves are building these but are really importing them. You are correct, I like the idea of these being handmade stills in America, though it's not the reason I wanted it, I just liked the still.

In any case, the pot is brazed not soldered, but there is solder on other parts of the still. I'll take that into consideration. Thanks!
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Re: Copper Still Lead Solder

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I emailed the Whiskeystill company about this thread and received no response.

To bad.
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Re: Copper Still Lead Solder

Post by Jason Stone »

It's come to our attention that lesser-quality stills, made in India, are being sold online on sites including Amazon. While these might be a little less costly than our stills, you should be aware that they simply don't function as well. Our hand-hammered dimples, carefully shaped onion dome, high-quality copper, and the other safe, lead-free materials we use to assemble our stills, all go a long way to creating perfect spirits. Plus, all of our stills come with a complete instructional guide, along with a 101-day no-questions-asked refund policy, free outbound and return shipping, and an industry-leading two-year warranty against defects (which you'll probably never need!). 
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Re: Copper Still Lead Solder

Post by Jason Stone »

The still mentioned on this thread was bought from amazon . Whiskey Still Company is not selling on Amazon .
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Re: Copper Still Lead Solder

Post by Saltbush Bill »

Jason Stone wrote: Fri Jan 07, 2022 7:53 am It's come to our attention that lesser-quality stills, made in India, are being sold online on sites including Amazon.
You mean you weren't aware that almost identical stills were being sold until this thread popped up ?
I still see absolutely no solid evidence that these stills are made in Texas or anywhere else in America for that matter, here or on any website that I have looked at.
All that the above tells me is that they are not made in India.....that leaves a lot of the world still open.
Jason Stone wrote: Fri Jan 07, 2022 7:53 am While these might be a little less costly than our stills, you should be aware that they simply don't function as well. Our hand-hammered dimples, carefully shaped onion dome, high-quality copper, and the other safe, lead-free materials we use to assemble our stills, all go a long way to creating perfect spirits.
Maybe you could explain how and why your stills are capable of making a more perfect spirit when they look identical in every way to the multitudes of imported Alembic stills available from numerous other retailers on the internet.

Can you unequivocally say that these stills are made/ manufactured in the USA..
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Re: Copper Still Lead Solder

Post by Dancing4dan »

Saltbush Bill wrote: Fri Jan 07, 2022 3:50 pm
Jason Stone wrote: Fri Jan 07, 2022 7:53 am It's come to our attention that lesser-quality stills, made in India, are being sold online on sites including Amazon.
You mean you weren't aware that almost identical stills were being sold until this thread popped up ?
I still see absolutely no solid evidence that these stills are made in Texas or anywhere else in America for that matter, here or on any website that I have looked at.
All that the above tells me is that they are not made in India.....that leaves a lot of the world still open.
Jason Stone wrote: Fri Jan 07, 2022 7:53 am While these might be a little less costly than our stills, you should be aware that they simply don't function as well. Our hand-hammered dimples, carefully shaped onion dome, high-quality copper, and the other safe, lead-free materials we use to assemble our stills, all go a long way to creating perfect spirits.
Maybe you could explain how and why your stills are capable of making a more perfect spirit when they look identical in every way to the multitudes of imported Alembic stills available from numerous other retailers on the internet.

Can you unequivocally say that these stills are made/ manufactured in the USA..
Does it matter?

The issue is lead, not the country of origin or the race of the individual doing the hammering.

Unless you care to enlighten.
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Saltbush Bill
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Re: Copper Still Lead Solder

Post by Saltbush Bill »

It matters if people are lead to believe that these stills are made in Texas and then they are infact made in a completely different place or country.
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Re: Copper Still Lead Solder

Post by Corn Cracker »

I see a lot of lead test comments in various threads, the advice i don't see
Is the safety aspect of the test kits themselves. The national lead hotline told me the lead test kit residue is more harmful than the lead itself.
So make damn sure you get that stuff washed out!
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Re: Copper Still Lead Solder

Post by Saltbush Bill »

Just an add on to this thread / topic.....some input from another thread about the same stills. posting.php?mode=reply&f=32&t=85750#postingbox
tommysb wrote: Mon Jan 24, 2022 1:58 pm
texas stills.png
It is indeed Portuguese construction. Making stills like this is somewhat of an artform, and you need to learn as an apprentice via an old master. There just isn't the tradition of this type of construction over in the good ol' US of A. And probably even less so at a way that you could pay the artisans who make them a fair, living wage.

I'm based about an hour away from Al-Ambiq and have actually personally visited them. I bought a small 1.5-2L still from them, and it kick started my foray into this world.

There's loads of small producers of this type of still in these parts of the world, they are completely commodity items. Not that many/any of them have the web presence that Al-Ambiq do.

For those curious - have a look on the local free-ads site with the search term 'Alambique'

https://www.olx.pt/ads/q-alambique/

(Ok, now we're getting off topic). But worth a look to see what the price of new, home distilling size units are over here, and also for some weird and wonderful larger scale systems that come up for sale!
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Re: Copper Still Lead Solder

Post by EdGrog »

I got a 5 gallon copper still that I want to turn into a thumper it's beat up some now need to test for lead to be safe hopefully it's okay
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Re: Copper Still Lead Solder

Post by fzbwfk9r »

Jason Stone wrote: Fri Jan 07, 2022 7:53 am It's come to our attention that lesser-quality stills, made in India, are being sold online ...
Our hand-hammered dimples, carefully shaped onion dome, high-quality copper, and the other safe, lead-free materials we use to assemble our stills...

Jason Stone
Owner Whiskey Still Company whiskeystill.net
Where are your stills initially manufactured?
Are the individual parts made elsewhere?

Are any part of your stills made in the USA?

it is one thing to say they are assembled in the USA, but completely another to say they are crafted in the USA.

Also, you use brass... is every piece tested for lead?
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