Got letter from TBB today..

[seamusm53]

This thread jumped from 2015 to last week without any new reports of 'letters'. Have I missed something?

member of HDA

[MichiganCornhusker]

This thread jumped from 2015 to last week without any new reports of 'letters'. Have I missed something?

member of HDA

Not a damn thing.

[thecroweater]

Have I missed something?
member of HDA

Not a damn thing.

Me either

[Reverend Newer]

This problem with online ordering of still equipment mirrors closely something that happened in the early 1990s. For folks wondering what the Feds might do, you can research "Operation Green Merchant". I realize that "operation" was more like shooting fish in a barrel as the internet was in its infancy and there were not many indoor horticulturalists yet at that time... I guess if you believe there is safety in numbers, then that might be the main difference between the two.

Be safe

[Still Life]

This problem with online ordering of still equipment mirrors closely something that happened in the early 1990s. For folks wondering what the Feds might do, you can research "Operation Green Merchant". I realize that "operation" was more like shooting fish in a barrel as the internet was in its infancy and there were not many indoor horticulturalists yet at that time... I guess if you believe there is safety in numbers, then that might be the main difference between the two. Be safe

Hey, Rev. Bought my still from Brewhaus in February 2017.
Not sure if it's the doings of Brewhaus or being a Missouri resident, but I've never received a letter or notice of any kind.

[zapata]

Just to be clear though, the feds have 3 years to even ask brewhaus for their records. Just cause they aint come yet dont mean they aint never gonna come. But I think the letters were a short lived program that seems to have stopped quite a while back....unless they plan on doing it every few years instead of constantly.

[Reverend Newer]

Yea I understand, though the way I look at it, the octopus is mega-sized yet there is a point of being spread too thinly. I'd like to think the various internet piracies got em busy. Hell, the Silk Road went on for years and they were the pinnacle of blatant.

I think the golden rule best be always remembert: don't tell, don't sell, blue beards and no smell.... wait I mean... well ya know the rule.

[Salt Must Flow]

I recall many years ago hearing (correct me if I'm wrong) that purchasing just a condenser is considered like buying a still. Supposedly records of that purchase is kept by the vendor and records are susceptible for inspection without notice. This is another reason why it is best to build your own.

[still_stirrin]

I recall many years ago hearing (correct me if I'm wrong) that purchasing just a condenser is considered like buying a still. Supposedly records of that purchase is kept by the vendor and records are susceptible for inspection without notice. This is another reason why it is best to build your own.

Well, back in “17”, when this thread was active, retailers were required to collect names of purchasers who bought “still parts”.

Since then, the hobby industry has proliferated to where we are now. Hobby scale home distillation is much less notorious now than then. The ATF lobby is more attentive towards large producers and tax evasion. We hobbiests, who only produce for personal consumption, are not worth the cost of surveillance, pursuit, or prosecution.

Don’t sell. Don’t tell. And always, be safe. It’ll keep “big brother” from coming after you.
ss

[Chauncey]

What ss said.

[Twisted Brick]

Looks like you got some catchin' up to do. A bit of research will reveal that Amazon, eBay, Walmart, Home Depot, Wayfair and countless LHBS and distilling shops have complete whiskey stills and accessories for sale. Yes, out in the open, although the designs available through non-distilling retailers are regrettable and destined for either an immediate upgrade or mothballing altogether.

The reason one builds his/her own still is to build a far more efficient and faster still than what retailers offer based on current designs and experience gleaned here. Oh, and for the satisfaction of DIY while avoiding the ripoff prices charged by distilling shops taking advantage of new folks.

[still_stirrin]

+1 TB.

“Designing” and “Building Your Own” is definitely a BIG PART of this hobby too. But with the TIK TOK society today, a large portion of the newbies simply WANTS IT NOW and with their “disposable income” choses to “throw money at it”. Simply put, they have “more dollars than sense”.

Buy a cheap Chinese still, watch a few Youtubes, make a sugar wash, and BOOM … you’re a Moonshiner!
ss

[Yonder]

In Texas it’s against the law to own anything that may be used to distill alcohol. Bits ‘n pieces, too. Yet my local HBS has two complete stills on their top shelf for sale, along with various and sundry attachments. An I don’t even count the airstill there.
Too many other, vastly more important fish to fry with all that’s going on in this Demented world.

[Yummyrum]

My local HBS used to keep assembled stills on display . … until the Ice makers broke in and stole them .

Cops suggested he leave bits missing off them so not worth their while trying to break in for them .

Cops know who’s a bigger problem .