Home Distiller

any one out there worried about being busted ? where do you do you distilation in yur basement or garage in town i figure if your not selling and not telling anyone what your up to why woiuld the law ever catch on?

Don't tell, Don't sell and hide in plain sight...on my back porch once a month or so and in the kitchen every week...

they still get one every now and then on other stuff and just happen to get the still too, or you piss off someone who knows and they blab (wife or girlfriend who become exes)

It looks easy to just fill out the forms for a permit or license. Why isn't that done? Just asking

fertguy wrote:It looks easy to just fill out the forms for a permit or license. Why isn't that done? Just asking

My thought is that if you fill out the paper work for making ethanol fuel you are officially on a list and an inspection of the property could be done just to make sure you have all your ethanol denatured. If you have any that is not you are fined for not being in compliance. That is my understanding of how it works here in CA. Not sure of other states.

My guess also.

Pilsner9 wrote:any one out there worried about being busted ? where do you do you distilation in yur basement or garage in town i figure if your not selling and not telling anyone what your up to why woiuld the law ever catch on?

Just a few of the things I have seen in the news regarding distillation busts:

Pissed off neighbor, friend, co-worker, wife, ex, or girlfriend that knows you make hooch.
Engaged in some other illegal activity that is being investigated.
Fire Department shows up to put out your burning house, garage, shed.
Plain old bad luck.


Oh yeah! ....and this close call >>>>>
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... =7&t=44337

fertguy wrote:It looks easy to just fill out the forms for a permit or license. Why isn't that done? Just asking

for a fuel permit in my state you have to prove use on premises, so as i live in town on a standard lot not much use for fuel except vehicles and the ones i have arent flex fuel, so no use getting a permit they can easily debunk and send my ass to jail. for a craft distillery permit its cost prohibitive at this time, you have to have all federal,state,and local permits. federal you have to get a tax bond and jump through a bunch of hoops, state is over $ 1,000.00 per year for permit plus a bunch more hoops. and local is more hoops plus fire code, building code, epa, and others, and not sure about local permits. so ill just keep doing it private and keeping it quiet and hope i dont get caught.

2011 my house was robbed...Sheriff got there before I did. My still was apart but lying in the kitchen, milk can boiler, column in corner, hoses in a tub,... He took pictures of the broken back door/glass and the still ended up in the background of pics.

He never said a word. I never mentioned it. Never heard a word from anyone about it.

He either didn't know what it was or didn't care. My ass is starting to unpucker a couple of years later.

fertguy wrote:It looks easy to just fill out the forms for a permit or license. Why isn't that done? Just asking

Many can't meet the requirements. Separate outbuilding, so far from living space, Bla Bla Bla. And what has been said already.

Don't sell. Don't tell. Best advice there is.

Most people only know what a copper pot still and worm look like from watching the Beverly Hillbillies and such on TV. I have buddies that have looked at my boka and asked, "what the heck is that?".

i am sure there are a few ATF agents hanging around in this forum reading and commenting.

I think the biggest deal about the permit is that you are signing a form that gives the government permission to enter your property unannounced whenever they like. And, like Mr. Piss said, there are physical property requirements you have to meet and also approval from your local fire marshal.

About denaturing - It's not a requirement to denature the ethanol unless it leaves your property. The rules for denaturing are outlined in the federal regulations for the permit.

S-C

+1 to SC. The law in our area is bad enough especially since the growth of the past years and now voting us socialist blue. I don't see the need to give the Gestopo explicit permission to come and ransack my property.

Bottom line, it's illegal. In a lot of cases it's a heritage thing that is more important than the law!
So man up, damn the torpedoes and fire up your rig!!!!!!

I happily run a 10' tall (total height) boka in the front yard. Its the country so I have no reason to put it in a basement.

That said I am scared completely of Johnnie Law. With a pregnant wife and a little one, I have alot to lose. Everyone here probably has alot to lose. We all minimize the risks and justify it in our own ways. Some of them just will not be intimidated out of something that they love. God bless em'