Brass

Post by **stillvodka** » Mon Jun 19, 2006 10:24 am

Hello Distillers,

Is Brass OK for stills, do the Brass need to be treated in any way

Thanks

DixieBanjo · Post by **DixieBanjo** » Mon Jun 19, 2006 12:07 pm

It depends.If the fitting was made for drinking water lines and such,then yes its fine to use.If it wasnt made for drinking water lines,there may be a chance of it having some lead in it.Most people will just soak a brass fitting in some vinegar and 3% hydrogen peroxide to get rid of the traces of lead.If it works or not,Im not 100% sure,but I can tell you Ive soaked some brass fittings that stank like "metal" really bad.After a good soaking the smell was gone.

Thelonius Monk · Post by **Thelonius Monk** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 1:44 pm

Wondering about this too...anyone?

CopperMan · Post by **CopperMan** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 5:15 pm

If its in the hardware store with the copper thats meant to be used for drinking i think its fine. I use it to connect my tubing to the lid of the still and noone ever died from it and i've been drinking my own stuff for a while.

Thelonius Monk · Post by **Thelonius Monk** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 5:20 pm

You'll have to forgive me if I don't take your reply for gospel. I'd rather err on the side of caution. In other words, I'm glad you're not dead yet....but I'd rather a slightly more concrete reply.

As I've found merely by reading, things which are ok/made for drinking are not necessarily good for the heat and acidic environment of alcohol distillation.

CopperMan · Post by **CopperMan** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 7:12 pm

If you do a search, alot of people are using brass compression fittings and suck on there stills, i think theres such a low amount of lead in there its not really harmful. Im pretty sure the epa limited the amount of lead in brass to 8% like 15 years ago, so nowadays i think it should be alot cleaner.

CopperMan · Post by **CopperMan** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 7:46 pm

I just searched it and found a ton of threads about brass, brass itself is made from copper and tin i found from google and this thread: http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=577 And copper and tin are safe to use on stills. The only to worry about is the surface lead from the casting/forging process. Clean them in a solution of 1/3 vinegar/hydrogen peroxide and let sit for 15 mins until it turns a dark green/black. Repeat until the brass is shiny yellow or until the mixture stays clear. Thats what i read and did a while ago. A friend of mine somehow tested my homemade stuff and found no traces of lead? I dont know about my micro still but my old potstill with brass ran clean.

Big J · Post by **Big J** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 12:19 am

Bronze is an alloy of mainly copper and tin. Brass is an alloy of mainly copper and zinc but can contain other metals.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brass" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

I chose not to use any brass in my current still. I contacted the company that manufactures almost all the brass fittings here in South Africa and spoke with their production manager about the use of lead in the fittings. He confirmed that there is lead in the brass. Since I have no way to test how much of that lead ends up in my booze, and knowing that lead is highly poisonous, I decided to find alternatives to the fittings.

Here is a quote from the EPA on lead in plumbing:
"Lead is rarely found in source water, but enters tap water through corrosion of plumbing materials. Homes built before 1986 are more likely to have lead pipes, fixtures and solder. However, new homes are also at risk: even legally “lead-free” plumbing may contain up to 8 percent lead. The most common problem is with brass or chrome-plated brass faucets and fixtures which can leach significant amounts of lead into the water, especially hot water."
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/lead/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Perhaps you can contact the manufacturer of your brass fittings as well? It would also be interesting to test just how much lead ends up in booze from a small fitting. I know the EPA limits are around 15 ppb.

Cheers,
J

hornedrhodent · Post by **hornedrhodent** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 2:23 am

IIRC the lead is put into cast brasses and bronzes to make it easier to machine - it causes the chips to break easily.

Thelonius Monk · Post by **Thelonius Monk** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 2:25 am

Hmm....I wouldn't be adverse to contacting the manufacturers of the fittings.

That said, is the only other realistic way to connect fittings/pipes to your pots, etc. via solder? Can you solder copper to stainless? If so, I'll be doing a little more reading up on that.

CopperMan · Post by **CopperMan** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 9:57 am

Just find some copper fittings. There only 1-2 $ here in the US

pothead · Post by **pothead** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 9:59 am

CopperMan wrote:Just find some copper fittings. There only 1-2 $ here in the US

Not for 2" fittings. The price of copper is rediculous right now.

Thelonius Monk · Post by **Thelonius Monk** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 12:18 pm

CopperMan wrote:Just find some copper fittings. There only 1-2 $ here in the US

Huh....that's odd. I haven't even SEEN copper fittings! Had I, I would have bought them. Do regular hardware stores have them like Lowe's et. al.?

CopperMan · Post by **CopperMan** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 2:38 pm

Oh maybe not for 2'' but for my 1'' pieces its only a 1.59. Yes lowes carrys alot of copper. I was just at the hardware store replacing my brass fitting with a copper one and the 2''ers are 4.99

Thelonius Monk · Post by **Thelonius Monk** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 2:45 pm

Oh....well crap, I'll have to take a look for those. I didn't notice them the eleventybillion times I was there the last week building my still -- but then again, I wasn't looking for them either.

TRANSPLANTED HILLBILLY · Tue Jun 27, 2006 4:46 pm

CopperMan wrote:Oh maybe not for 2'' but for my 1'' pieces its only a 1.59. Yes lowes carrys alot of copper. I was just at the hardware store replacing my brass fitting with a copper one and the 2''ers are 4.99

Are you talking about sweat fittings, compression type fittings, unions or what. I ask because i havent ever seen a copper compression fitting, and most unions are half brass.

CopperMan · Post by **CopperMan** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 5:46 pm

Its just a male fitting that i can screw into the lid and the column is soldered into that.

http://www.plumbingsupply.com/images/co ... dapter.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

It was only 1.59 and screws into the lid but is still perfectly solid. no leaks either.

that brass is not copper.