What to do with Backset after distilling - Other uses

[Koula]

Hi, I tried to find answers to this question but to no avail, HD nor DuckDuckGo. I guess nobody has asked the question this way, and it's probably obvious (dump it). But that's what I'm wondering, Are there are any other uses for backset after distillation? Creative answers welcome. How many uses can we come up with? Cheers.

(Tag to help other newbies when they search: what to do with wash after distilling)

[kungpo]

I dump mine in and around the garden (once cooled). None of my plants seem to mind and there's probably some good stuff still in there.

[HookLine]

Hot waste backset cleans still parts. Soak for a while, then rinse well.

When the backset is cool, onto the garden. Different place each time.

[Jimbo]

If you make a habit out of dumping backset and spent grains in the garden you may have to add some lime from time to time to sweetin the earth back up. Backset is pretty low pH.

[Koula]

Great, thanks for the feedback. I chose not to dump it on my wife's organic biodynamic planted by mooncharts and blessed by fairies garden. Instead we shall see if it "helps" a few palms instead around the pool. Cheers!

[Ben Stillin]

Our ground is all stratified limestone. I think I would have to make alot of backset to dissolve that stuff over time. I consider it a challenge

[pfshine]

Kill weeds with it while still really hot. While about 25% goes back to ferment.

[BentJar]

Poured hot on the patio bricks, it keeps the little weeds from growing up between the cracks.

[45frank]

Feed the turkeys and deer and bear in the woods right below my house!

[jb-texshine]

Freeze by the milk jug full for later use to sour mash with...too obvious?

[aceswired]

How do you get the turkeys to drink it?

[45frank]

How do you get the turkeys to drink it?

I just mix it with the mash that's left and spread it over a small area and after a few days it's all gone.

[pfshine]

I was gonna guess feeding tube. Imagine an internally whiskey marinated turkey yum.

[carbohydratesn]

foie gras au likker

[Rrmuf]

Any reason one can't dump backset into the septic system? It is either good for the septic or bad. Any guesses? Asking for a friend

[OtisT]

I don’t have a septic system any more but I would not want to dump a lot of backset into the system I had. Backset is acidic and enough of it would really mess with the balance of things underground. If that happens, things can start backing up.

One big word of caution is do not dump it hot. One guy on HD wrote about cracking his toilet with the sudden dumping of hot backset. Ouch!

Otis

[Rrmuf]

I don’t have a septic system any more but I would not want to dump a lot of backset into the system I had. Backset is acidic and enough of it would really mess with the balance of things underground. If that happens, things can start backing up.

One big word of caution is do not dump it hot. One guy on HD wrote about cracking his toilet with the sudden dumping of hot backset. Ouch!

Otis

Thanks, on both counts. I, I mean my friend, would not have dumped through a ceramic but I was wondering about the septic culture itself. I imagined some down the drain from time to time would cut grease, so I thought it might be not a bad idea, if not for compromising the septic culture.

[Deplorable]

I regularly pour hotbackset down the kitchen sink drain after preheating the drain with hot tap water. On city sewer that is. On septic, I'd dump it in the weeds hot.

[contrahead]

Any reason one can't dump backset into the septic system? It is either good for the septic or bad. Any guesses? Asking for a friend

Salesmen and stores sell septic system bacteria to gullible customers. The idea being pitched – is that this concentrated conglomeration of bacteria will help break down solids like poop, hair, chewing gum, cigarette butts, toilet paper and a thousand other things that go down the drain. Ideally, bacteria break down the solids and the water transports these smaller particles down the “laterals” and into the soil. Topsoil is important. Soil with high clay or shale content, complicates septic system efficiency.

The addition of extra bacteria can not but be considered helpful to this digestion, but possibly the idea is oversold. A septic system tank is but a covered cesspool or cesspit and billions of new bacteria are flushed down and into the system every day. It's impossible to keep new bacteria out.

Every septic system is doomed to fail eventually. The leach field will eventually become saturated and clogged with micro-particles that just won't evaporate or disappear. Bacteria and their enzymes aren't very good at breaking down toilet paper either. If there are any women in the household, you can bet that the septic system contains a large volume of paper. Septic tank trucks are a common sight, because eventually (say after 20- 30 years) septic tanks get clogged with solids – and then need to be sucked out.

A little acidic backset poured down the drain is highly unlikely to have any effect on a septic tank with thousands of gallons capacity (the minimum tank is 1,000 gallons). Backset is also mostly liquid and has very few solids. Laundry bleach and detergent is probably a far bigger threat to bacterial growth that is backset.

But why on earth pour backset into a septic system? To hide one's hobby from prying eyes? Backset is rich in vitamins, minerals and undigested carbohydrates. It makes excelent plant food. Pour it on the grass, on your roses or on some trees. Hell, pour it on the driveway, rather than into the septic system.

[Rrmuf]

Thanks. I live in the woods and it is my ha bit and simple enough to dump it outside but it so happens today i have a sore back and was wondering if there is any reason why i could not just dump it down my shop drain. It just avoids the 15m boiler haul to the back door.

So, from answers so far:
1. Take care with hot backset and exploding toilets
2. Hot backset has weedkilling and other uses
3. backset is probably not initially great for the septic, but not a big deal.
4. The acidity might even be helpful with some of the paper products.... and might actually clean some of the drains.

[jonnys_spirit]

You could always adjust the pH closer to “7” then dump it into septic if you were really concerned about acidity causing issues with the bacteria. Better yet, take a sample from your septic tank and measure pH and adjust backset to the same.

[Rrmuf]

You could always adjust the pH closer to “7” then dump it into septic if you were really concerned about acidity causing issues with the bacteria. Better yet, take a sample from your septic tank and measure pH and adjust backset to the same.

I'll get right on that!
.... I think I will just assume 7.