Simple test for methanol and ethanol

[kirr45]

Hey guys. Hoping to get some incite from your experiences.

Is there a simple test for distinguishing if your drink has ethanol or methanol? I thought it was the flame test but apparently youtube says its not accurate.

[Kareltje]

There is a test with several, at least 5, reagents. And of course gas chromatography.
But when you use fruits, your drinks have both methanol and ethanol.
When you use grains or sugar there should be hardly any methanol present.

But all in all: when you ferment carefully, you do not really have to worry about methanol.

[kirr45]

anything simple for someone who doesn't have reagents? Any household items can work?

[still_stirrin]

anything simple for someone who doesn't have reagents? Any household items can work?

Read Kareltje's response again.....



There is no SIMPLE tool to determine the methanol vs ethanol in a spirit. Also, methanol forms an azeotrope with ethanol, so it is not easily separated without expensive lab equipment and significant lab experience.



The BEST way to avoid methanol in a distillate is to simply "don't make it". That is, pay attention to the fermentation processes and avoid ingredients which will contain higher amounts of methanol, such as fruit stems and sticks, etc. Grains and sugar ferments won't have methanol (not measureable amounts anyway).

kirr45, you've got some homework to do....I'd suggest starting with Cranky's Spoon Feed thread hotlinked in my signature. It'll answer most if not all of your upcoming questions (before you even have to ask).

Be safe, responsible, and discrete.
ss

[Pikey]

anything simple for someone who doesn't have reagents? Any household items can work?

Mate you've been reading Propaganda !

No normal recipe is going to make Methanol and you CANNOT "make Methanol" by distilling anything you have fermented.

Kareltje - and Still Stirrin' done told you good !

[goose eye]

Methanol is smeared threw out.

Heads you can get you a 1/2 pint jar an
put some in. Bend over it an put you eye
over it. Do it sting. That's how the ole boys
was taught. Course that was then an not now.
Mite not be so today


So I'm tole

[kirr45]

Then what about all those cases of people going blind, etc.. you hear about? I guess I'm just so new at this that I wouldn't even wanna risk .00001% becoming blind. Do you know how many movies I haven't seen yet? Not to mention my favorite...Dumb & Dumber.

[Saltbush Bill]

Then what about all those cases of people going blind, etc.. you hear about?

Could you supply more information or links to some of these cases you speak of?
Don't believe everything you read or are told about methanol poisoning by the media and or governments.
Let me ask you a question, something for you to think about.
The only country where it is legal that I know of to distill is New Zealand.
I would presume that as it is legal there ,many New Zealanders would distill on a daily basis and even more of the local people would drink the results of that distilling.
We can also probably assume that a lot of those people are not members of this or other forums and some of them might distill in a fairly rough and ready way. Some of them may even be making booze that has a little higher than average methanol content.
Now my question..........How many cases of methanol poisoning do you hear reported by the media in New Zealand each year?
Without delving to far into it I reckon the answer will be close to Zero.
By the way an interesting fact for you ....the antidote for methanol poisoning is Ethanol.

[fizzix]

Then what about all those cases of people going blind, etc.. you hear about?

Back in U.S. prohibition days, unscrupulous people out for a buck were making drink out of all kinds of things like embalming fluid and industrial alcohol
without concern about poisoning people. As a result of drinking something like wood alcohol, the extremely high amount of methanol would metabolize
into formic acid in the body, attacking the fragile optic nerve causing blindness or even death.

You won't even approach that level of methanol when administering this hobby.
And you know what the cure for methanol poisoning is even if you did? Ethanol. The very drink you're distilling. {Posted with Saltbush Bill}

Make decent cuts and you will eliminate more nasty alcohols than what you buy at the store.

Put away your fears. No one here has gone blind, nor will they ever from this hobby.

[Fiddleford]

Could you supply more information or links to some of these cases you speak of?

I've seen some of the stuff on youtube I watched to and was just baffled at the whole ordeal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DQUrg0Yhu4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
I don't know how a man drank 2 liters of 160 proof liquor but apparently it happened and it stoked the anti distilling propaganda

[Pikey]

Could you supply more information or links to some of these cases you speak of?

I've seen some of the stuff on youtube I watched to and was just baffled at the whole ordeal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DQUrg0Yhu4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
I don't know how a man drank 2 liters of 160 proof liquor but apparently it happened and it stoked the anti distilling propaganda

Thanks for that Fiddleford

What a load of old bollox !

"Ethanol spontaneously combustible"

We know that "moonshine" made from Corn and sugar - WILL be Low methanol

Drank 2 litres at 80%abv then felt unwell !

He was a youngish man I think - (80 kg body weight) - 2 litres @ 80% is almost certain to have killed him !

He would certainly have been comatose !

I certainly could not drink more than 1/2 litre at than strength and remain coherent ! - That would put me to sleep and I'm half as heavy again with a long history of "drinking"

No idea what that guy's motive is but he says heating the wash to 173 degrees will harvest the ethanol and the methanol. We know that is comletely untrue as well.

To the OP - Read these threads

https://www.google.com/search?rls=en-us ... A6EY4P-r0Q

We've been here so many times it just gets boring !

[Fiddleford]

https://homedistiller.org/intro/methanol/alc_poison" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow according to the BAC calculator he would have had a BAC of 2.17 which is just silly

[BamaBill]

Why couldn't you bring a pot of water up to temperature (around 170) and sit your jar in that? Thats above the Methanol boiling temp and below the ethanol boiling temp. If there were any in it, it shouldn't be for long.

[still_stirrin]

Why couldn't you bring a pot of water up to temperature (around 170) and sit your jar in that? Thats above the Methanol boiling temp and below the ethanol boiling temp. If there were any in it, it shouldn't be for long.

Try it.

The methanol won't boil because it is in solution with ethanol and some water, among other constituents like esters, oils, aldehydes, etc. As a result, the boiling point (of the mixture) is higher than the boiling point of pure methanol. This is a fundamental rule of distillation...even if you don't like it. It's the physics of distillation. Review Raoult's Law to gain more knowledge.
ss

[Pikey]

Why couldn't you bring a pot of water up to temperature (around 170) and sit your jar in that? Thats above the Methanol boiling temp and below the ethanol boiling temp. If there were any in it, it shouldn't be for long.

You've been here a year and a half - That is sooooo obvious - why do you think nobody else has suggested it ? apart from dumb you-tube vids !

As SS says "try it "

[Pikey]

Why couldn't you bring a pot of water up to temperature (around 170) and sit your jar in that? Thats above the Methanol boiling temp and below the ethanol boiling temp. If there were any in it, it shouldn't be for long.

You've been here a year and a half - That is sooooo obvious - why do you think nobody else has suggested it ? apart from dumb you-tube vids !

As SS says "try it "

[Edit - I'm getting drawn into this now !

There's no Methanol worth a spit in anything we distil !!!!!! ]

[thecroweater]

Methanol is smeared threw out.

Heads you can get you a 1/2 pint jar an
put some in. Bend over it an put you eye
over it. Do it sting. That's how the ole boys
was taught. Course that was then an not now.
Mite not be so todaySo I'm tole

Ole eyes much divergent of new ones ?

@ kirr45 you been reading the government's fairytales, maybe google destructive distillation. Making methanol in any unsafe amount (with ethanol) is darn hard and with the advise within this forum practically impossible, some trace amounts of methanol is in virtually everything, even your own gut produces some. In almost every case of methanol poisoning something was added either out out greed or ignorance and guess what the most common cure is? Ethanol, ain't that something

[Alchemist75]

Even commercial booze has some methanol in it, just not very much. The stuff we make has some in it but probably even less than commercial since the hobbists tend to be more particular about cuts. Actually, even the purest, fractionated product isn't pure ethanol. You'd have to synthesize it in a lab to get pure etoh/h2o stuff.