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I use a brass fitting in my still because I could not for the life of me find a good copper replacement. I tinned the brass a few times around to make sure it was not exposed to the alcohol fumes. However today I did some more reading and found this:

"Brass Fittings and Fixtures Brass is an alloy containing a mixture of metals including copper, zinc, tin, lead, and other metals. Traditionally, faucets and fittings were made from brass because the alloy was durable and easy to cast and machine. Depending on the application, between 1.5% – 9% lead was added to brass alloys to make them easier to machine and to improve the tightness of fittings and connections.

In I998 ANSI introduced new standards to reflect changes in North American plumbing codes that were adopted to reduce the lead content in plumbing fixtures. Today’s, “Lead-Free” brass fittings substitute bismuth and selenium for lead in the alloy mixture but even with today’s standards, brass may contain up to 0.2 % lead as a contaminant from the manufacturing process. Please refer to ANSI/NSF Standard 61, CSA Standard CAN/CSA-B45 or the NRC Plumbing Code- 2005 for additional information."

Source: http://ottawa.ca/en/residents/water-and ... king-water" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow - the quoted section is about half way down the page.

Can anyone expand on this? Does the 0.2% lead in the new brass fitting standards still cause alarm? Any information would be appreciated.

A simple pickling of the fitting and you should be good to go. 50% vinegar and 50% peroxide, soak for no longer than 10 minutes and rinse well.

Just because the standards have changed over the years, it does not guarantee that all manufacturing of brass products, changes with it. It is my belief that manufacturing is profit driven and not standards driven, so I personally would not trust that the majority of brass has changed. Recycling of metals is huge around the world and adding in scrap to new brass is common in most foundries, as it increases profits. Governments just dont have the resources to check arcoss the board, the standards are being rigidly followed. Too much risk involved for me to trust that the chemistry in brass meets regulations. I will stick to good old copper and stainless even though some may deem brass safe. ( Im a manufacturing engineer with my own foundry) my 2 cents (I can trust the chemistry of those coins)