Filtering Through a Brita

[KatoFong]

He did say that early on.

[Virginia Gentleman]

Fair enough, I read it wrong.

I still wouldn't put anything over 40-50% in plastic.

[level Joe]

Angel_Kefka asked if it was safe to which he also posted:

Anytime 90+% alcohol comes in contact with plastic, there is the potential for trouble

This is false many 90+%alcohols are stored transported and sold in plastic now.

This leads the original poster to believe that there is no potential for trouble with 90+% in plastic and that we are slow and live in caves if we don’t believe it.

[Virginia Gentleman]

Right, level Joe, that's what I was thinking about. And it's just plain wrong. Many of the reasons why have been posted and reposted, and not just here, also in the Yahoo groups (sometimes daily).

[Fourway]

so anyway, I'm a little behind here. been busy in the real world.

What I'm going to ask everybody to do here is take a break from making any type of personal attack on anyone for any reason.

If you think a post is stupid you say "that post is stupid" not "you are an idiot". If you think a statement is wrong you say "that statement is wrong" not "You are a fucking numbnuts cretin who couldn't find his arse with both hands and a flashlight... and your post is wrong."

this is a place to exchange information not a place to engage in pissing contests. if the signal to noise level here gets too high it will be just like reading the yahoo forum "Hi I'm new to distilling and I've just poured a jug of cheap wine into a sears kenmore water distiller, how do I turn it on?"

It's a great idea to correct misinformation when you are participating in a forum that people may use as a reference, but remember... this is supposed to be a fun pastime, it is not a cage death match.

Bullshit will out... people who have the capacity to gather clues will smell it, your gentle warnings and BS alerts will help them know where to sniff.
The Clue free will do the wrong thing no matter how patiently you explain the right thing to them. It's human nature. Trying to ride out on your white charger and slay the bullshit monster is a sucker's game... it will leave you frustrated and covered with windmill shaped bruises.

When Jessie comes around he may decide to do big admin stuff... but I don't think it's needed. what's needed is for people to calm down.

What I'm going to do is try to monitor things for a little while as best I can and simply remove or edit any post that includes name calling... no matter who posts it or whether it is in my opinion right or wrong.

That's the only way I can use my privs on this forum to cool things out while remaining fair.

No personal attacks. one week.
starting now.

[Virginia Gentleman]

Fair enough, Fourway. Thanks for adding a dose of reason to the fray. My apologies for my part in fueling the fire, and any personal shots I took. I'll suffice with "that post is idiotic" from now on.

[KatoFong]

Agreed.
"Windmill-shaped bruises." I like that.

Incidentally, speaking from current personal experience, it's exceedingly frustrating to be the new guy on a forum and to find yourself suddenly under attack. While I found that our guest came off like he was being a loud-mouth, that might have been because he didn't really have a feel for the land yet. It's an honest mistake, and perhaps in the future we should make a note to cut people a break once in a while.

[Fourway]

perhaps in the future we should make a note to cut people a break once in a while.

The board culture as it has developed happens to include an element of "we won't do your basic research for you" and "this hobby is too dangerous for folks who seem immune to catching a clue"

That is sometimes off putting to new users but that does not mean it is a bad thing.
Chasing a few curious would be dabblers away from a hobby which involves hot flammable vapor, multiple felony violations and large quantities of highly refined inexpensive booze is practically a moral duty.

[KatoFong]

: Chasing a few curious would be dabblers away from a hobby which involves hot flammable vapor, multiple felony violations and large quantities of highly refined inexpensive booze is practically a moral duty.

Sure. But chasing along with them the few folks who are misguided but well-meaning, or the folks who are potentially bright but misinformed seems a waste. Worse, berating people who don't know their stuff isn't going to stop them from practicing the dangerous hobby. It's just going to make them more likely to blow themselves up.

Anyway, just my two cents.

[Fourway]

: Chasing a few curious would be dabblers away from a hobby which involves hot flammable vapor, multiple felony violations and large quantities of highly refined inexpensive booze is practically a moral duty.

Sure. But chasing along with them the few folks who are misguided but well-meaning, or the folks who are potentially bright but misinformed seems a waste. Worse, berating people who don't know their stuff isn't going to stop them from practicing the dangerous hobby. It's just going to make them more likely to blow themselves up.

Anyway, just my two cents.

sho nuff

[brewmaster2014]

Very interesting discussion, but looks like everyone just kind of stirred away from the main point here. The question was about filtering through Brita, not storing in it,so contact time will be what? 30 minutes max,I've seen George from barley and hops doing it with similar one,in short,go for it,just maybe no more then 50% alc.

[Saltbush Bill]

,I've seen George from barley and hops doing it with similar one,

Brewmaster you have been here long enough and made enough posts to know this forums stance on plastics.
Just because you saw someone who is known to give bad advice on you tube use one does not mean we have to find it acceptable here.
Suggest you have a good look at the following link and read rules I and L carefully.
https://homedistiller.org/forum/app.php/rules

[cob]

Very interesting discussion, but looks like everyone just kind of stirred away from the main point here. The question was about filtering through Brita, not storing in it,so contact time will be what? 30 minutes max,I've seen George from barley and hops doing it with similar one,in short,go for it,just maybe no more then 50% alc.

this is bad advice. George is not an acceptable resource.

So please don't quote his uninformed opinions.

And plastic and ethanol still don't mix, rule i, or 8

depending on where you look.

[brewmaster2014]

Very interesting discussion, but looks like everyone just kind of stirred away from the main point here. The question was about filtering through Brita, not storing in it,so contact time will be what? 30 minutes max,I've seen George from barley and hops doing it with similar one,in short,go for it,just maybe no more then 50% alc.

this is bad advice. George is not an acceptable resource.

So please don't quote his uninformed opinions.

And plastic and ethanol still don't mix, rule i, or 8

depending on where you look.

Sorry,I did not ment to step on anybody toes,maybe this advice of his wasn't the best,but watching many of his videos,I would say he knows some stuff,I personally learned few things gs there,I just don't think is fair to discount somebody as valuable resource all the way.lets keep open mind ,everybody can learn something frome somebody else at all times.

[NZChris]

Very interesting discussion, but looks like everyone just kind of stirred away from the main point here. The question was about filtering through Brita, not storing in it,so contact time will be what? 30 minutes max,I've seen George from barley and hops doing it with similar one,in short,go for it,just maybe no more then 50% alc.

this is bad advice. George is not an acceptable resource.

So please don't quote his uninformed opinions.

And plastic and ethanol still don't mix, rule i, or 8

depending on where you look.

Sorry,I did not ment to step on anybody toes,maybe this advice of his wasn't the best,but watching many of his videos,I would say he knows some stuff,I personally learned few things gs there,I just don't think is fair to discount somebody as valuable resource all the way.lets keep open mind ,everybody can learn something frome somebody else at all times.

He might appear knowledgeable to a newbie, but the videos I watched were full of common newbie assumptions and mistakes, some downright stupid. The best advice I saw him give, was to check that what he said was correct. I strongly encourage you to do that, because he hadn't done it before making the videos I watched.

[Saltbush Bill]

,I would say he knows some stuff,I personally learned few things gs ther

Like you learned from him that it was a great idea to run alcohol through a plastic filter of any kind?
If you thought that was right how do you know what else he taught you is wrong?

[brewmaster2014]

,I would say he knows some stuff,I personally learned few things gs ther

Like you learned from him that it was a great idea to run alcohol through a plastic filter of any kind?
If you thought that was right how do you know what else he taught you is wrong?

I don't necessarily think its 100% bad idea,I just did not see any hard evidence against it,all I see is just opinions, also how do uou explain all the little bottles of alcohol sold in liqueur store,or served on the plane or mini bars in hotels.they are 90:% of them are plastic,with 40% alcohol in it? I dont think J
WALKER would package them like that if there was real risks.ues I agree,maybe running 90% through Brita is too much,but 40% .And yo answer your question ,I learned from him custom gaskets ,and bunch of other stuff,I never said he's always right,I didn't even said he's right 30% of the time,but to say right out he's mo good at all? Its really narrow minded and reductive ,no person will ever grow and learn with that kind of Attitude.

[cob]

,I would say he knows some stuff,I personally learned few things gs ther

Like you learned from him that it was a great idea to run alcohol through a plastic filter of any kind?
If you thought that was right how do you know what else he taught you is wrong?

I don't necessarily think its 100% bad idea,I just did not see any hard evidence against it,all I see is just opinions, also how do uou explain all the little bottles of alcohol sold in liqueur store,or served on the plane or mini bars in hotels.they are 90:% of them are plastic,with 40% alcohol in it? I dont think J
WALKER would package them like that if there was real risks.ues I agree,maybe running 90% through Brita is too much,but 40% .And yo answer your question ,I learned from him custom gaskets ,and bunch of other stuff,I never said he's always right,I didn't even said he's right 30% of the time,but to say right out he's mo good at all? Its really narrow minded and reductive ,no person will ever grow and learn with that kind of Attitude.

It has all been discussed before, here on HD the britta's, the little and big bottles, look it up, its here.

As for george, to many hours are spent by good knowlegable people here trying to undo the bad advice george

drops on the net for all to see. WITH NO VETTING again look it up.

[MartinCash]

Gotta love the George fans.

At the risk of being narrow-minded, I'll go right and say he is a moron. He is a perfect example of the Dunning-Kruger effect.

[The Baker]

Dunning-Kruger effect.

Looked it up.
Could be.

Geoff

[NZChris]

I learned from him custom gaskets....

I hope he wasn't recommending gasket material that would not be recommended for distilling by the manufacturer of the material. He did that in a Youtube I saw. He says to check that what he says is correct, but he hadn't taken his own advice before making that Youtube.

[Mashable]

I’ll admit, I was one too. As a novice to the hobby, I quickly gravitated to a few of his video’a thinking he was a credible source, who was I to know right? Happily I found this forum, registered, did all the required reading, and have found that with a little effort, sticking to some general forum recommendations(and knowing that debating said recommendations is futile), there is ton of information to educate myself with.

I’m a long way from being in a position to share advice, so for now all I can share is my experiences as I go, hoping that in doing so, someone might pick something up.

What I will say is this, what I have found that has helped me in this forum the most? Google search! Learn it, use it, love it, even if your not sure what your looking for, fire in a search word and learn.

I did also just recently read a post about thread resurrection, did a George comment resurrect a thread that had been dormant for 16years? Not that I’m criticizing, just trying to learn if this is what folks would consider appropriate, commenting on this thread or posting a new topic? Thoughts.

[MartinCash]

We had a bit of a discussion about ths just recently. It's not generally frowned upon, especially if you've got fresh info on a topic.

[cranky]

It's amazing how often someone comes in and tries to to use the plastics in commercial alcohol, which is a known material, as an excuse to advocate the use of unknown plastics.

One thing I would like to add here is one day I was watching an old episode of Good Eats and Alton Brown actually recommended the same thing Who knows, this might be where George got the idea Now one thing I noticed about the newer and updated episodes of that show is he goes back and tells what BS some of those old shows were but I don't know if he ever corrected that little faux pas.

[tiramisu]

Alcohol is an extremely effective solvent. Hot alcohol vapor even better. Being cautious is good practice. Can you vs should you. Probably best to read the MSDS where possible. Cole Parmer is often a good place to start but may not have the temperature ranges you are looking or all of the distillates that you want to cross reference. Often there are no valid studies on outcomes from a health perspective. If you aren't a professional chemist the stuff can be unreadable. So...

Avoiding the problem of whether stuff that is leached out of a petrochemical by the carcinogenic solvent that we are drinking is bad for us is the simplest solution.