My plastic still

[blanikdog]

Eight pages of bullshit and still it continues. Lunatix has been told of the potential danger. S/he has chosen to drink spirits that are probably contaminated. So why keep on about what folk in scandinavia do and smoking and christ alone knows what else. Who cares? S/he's been told so please let it bloodywell go.


Stay Safe

I suppose I can now expect the SNAG's to again accuse me of rascism in an effort to stroke their new found SNAG ego's.

[The Baker]

I find this back and forth about plastics quite humorous. I wonder how many of the "plastic purists" smoke? I also can't help but think, that over consumption of well......pretty much anything is harmful to our frail bodies. Plastics in my mind are convenient and cheap, however, they are without a doubt harmful.

That being said, I have a nice copper reflux still with which I make beautiful tasting clean liquor. I enjoy the liquor I make, immensely. When I get invited out my friends ask me to bring a bottle, because they enjoy the clean flavor of my product. I doubt the same could be said of liquor made from a plastic still.

This is not a true argument (discussing opposing points of view, as differing from a heated controversy...) at all.

It's a 'non sequitir'.

Apples and baseballs!

[The Baker]

HVPTA? If thats what I think it is listen to the words

Took a long time but I figured it out.

[grunthor777]

It's a 'non sequitir'.

Apples and baseballs!

That depends on whether your hitting the apples and baseballs with a bat, paddle or mallet.

[grunthor777]

Here's the flaw in your thought process with regard to your so called "plastics purists", grunthor777... While someone smoking is a voluntary conscious action performed by an individual the same cannot be said for those who may unknowingly consume tainted spirits provided by an otherwise trusted friend...

Heck, you're free to put a bullet in your own head but it's not legal to do it to someone else... Think about it... Would you be comfortable possibly poisoning a loved one or close friend...??? Would you smoke in an enclosed vehicle with your children or grandchildren onboard...??? Should they be exposed to the same potential harm that you choose to impart upon yourself...??? I think not...

The dramatizations above are not targeted towards you, personally, they are merely made to further prove the point behind not using plastics... Just because you can't see the danger doesn't mean it isn't there...

So you have never smoked around other people? Good for you, i respect that.

Obviously you people have not read my whole post, you see the word plastic and get your back up, nose out of joint (which ever your comfortable with), I stated clearly that plastic IS harmful and was merely providing an alternative reason for using a proper copper still other than -its poison- which we hear over and over and over. I am anti-plastic, i try to use glass containers for food and my water bottle for work is stainless, but that is not the ONLY reason i use copper.

The response i got from this post makes me sorry I even posted in the first place. This is a great site for information, however, right now I'm left with a plastic feeling, and a bitter taste in my mouth.

[rad14701]

I knew exactly what you were saying, grunthor777... I was merely reiterating, yet again, that we don't need to debate plastics... And I also stated that what I posted wasn't directed towards you in a negative way... It was merely an alternate delivery method...

And as for smoking, I have never smoked cigarettes...

[Smokehouse Shiner]

I've never posted in this thread before and I intend to make this my only post. I read the whole thread here awhile back and almost every viewpoint and opinion about plastics in stills has been gone over and over and over except one vital part of the equation: Pride.

I take great personal pride in this lifestyle of the Home Craft Distiller. I say lifestyle because to me it is much more than a hobby. Involving myself so deeply in the act of creating my own spirits is something I hold very dear to my heart and hope to continue to do for the rest of my days. And like most I aspire to one day be in the position to distill legally, either professionally or if it comes to pass, at home without fear of prosecution.

It fills my soul with pride and joy every time I get to hand someone a glass of my best and watch the look of surprise and enjoyment on their face when they realize that the glass they are holding is unlike any spirits they've had before. Easily better than any moonshine they've ever tasted (they all say that) and probably better than any store bought spirit. And although very few people have ever had the opportunity to see them I also take great pride in my stills. Gleaming stainless and deep brown copper sitting there like a monument to the great history of Moonshine and distilled spirits in general, it's just, well, something special. Most of you know what I mean.

All safety and purity issues aside when I try to imagine taking pride in a little shoddy plastic bucket of a "still" that pisses out likker that may or may not taste like my feints jug or sharing the hooch made from that still and watching people as they're face screws up and they desperately grab for a chaser and choke out "ssmooth" then hand it back it, just feels, well, empty. We are Artisans. We are craftsman with a great legacy of the distillers before us. Take some pride in what you do.

That said I would like to make the suggestion that this thread be unstickied and allowed to fade into the realm of all the other threads that have run their course and become irrelevant. I know I'm not the only one who cringes when it comes up in new posts and click on it anyway to see what someone could possibly have to add to the discussion for or against plastics just to see it turn into a flame war. After all it's against the forum rules to even discuss the subject yet this thread continues to do just that every couple months ,I'm assuming, since 2006. Anyway that's my take on the subject and my two cents, if anyone cares.
Cheers, Smoke

[Braz]

Way to go Smoke! Well said.

[blind drunk]

I'll raise a glass to that, Smokehouse.

[myles]

Thats a perfectly good point and well said. Don't you think this has gone on for long enough?

I think all the relevant points have been covered so perhaps it is time to lock this one down.

I think there is enough information in here for anyone to make up their own mind on the issue.
I don't want to wade through it all again, so perhaps someone could sum it all up and close it?

Lets see:

Some plastics are BAD when mixed with hot alcohol
Some plastics are POSSIBLY OK
Some are PROBABLY OK (eg. PTFE) but check the datasheets
Some plastics get soft when hot, Some don't.
None of them look as nice as copper.
Make up your own mind and do what you like if you are drinking it yourself.
If you NEED to carbon filter it you can do better. Don't expect me to drink it!!

[blanikdog]

This has gone on for far too long and is against our rules. I'm coming out of my holiday to fix it up, then back on holidays and I don't give a stuff if anyone thinks that I am a part of the supposed "in group" with special privileges.

Stay Safe. Avoid Plastic unless you have clear. strong evidence to support its jeffing use.