Very bad still design on Youtube

[shadylane]

There's so much wrong with this still design

[NZChris]

Crap like that makes me appreciate how lucky I was that the internet as we know it today didn't exist when I was doing my research. I had to use university libraries for distilling research and industrial material suppliers for material safety advice and I am very thankful that I had to do that.

If I said what I really think of that video I'd probably get banned from the forum. Commenting on it while trying to be PC is a bit like trying to ride my bike home from the pub with my left hand handcuffed to my right ankle.

[Yummyrum]

Go for it NZChris . You probably wanting to say what I’m thinking.

The sad thing is , I actually watched that video and that total Pillock George probably just made a few more cents out of me .

Christ knows what ridiculous things folk are going to think its OK to make a still out of after watching that , a silicone seal hell , why not use a bit of old bicycle tube .
George said its OK to use what you got so go ahead people .
Maybe in a few years when you got strange cancers and diseases you can thank George for his good advise .

[NZChris]

I have seen an element in a still with a square of bicycle inner tube used for the seal

[Yummyrum]

Seen the bicycle tube too Chris . The guy that proudly showed me his still had the worst shak’n twitch thing going on I ever seen .

[shadylane]

I'm wondering what the funky greenish blue coating is on the kettle
Unfortunatly, this guy has multiple videos with bad ideas and advice

[NZChris]

Enamel. Probably vitreous enamel.

[Durhommer]

I brought up that guy awhile back and got my head bit off by a few members here....at least I'm not the only one who thinks he is silly

[WidowMaker]

Crap like that makes me appreciate how lucky I was that the internet as we know it today didn't exist when I was doing my research.

with the knowledge of my older generations, i did run some sulfur stuff thru stills like that, but cause of internet as we know it today, i was able to learn for quality and culture.

[Acrylic]

Watched George stumble through this stuff last couple years and it just got sillier and more dangerous - this convoluted information ruins it for everybody and definitely what not to use - it just isn't right and he's gonna poison somebody

Either the materials are accepted and safe, or they are not, and there is no gray area
on George

[LWTCS]

I gotta believe he circulates a bit through this forum.

[Beerswimmer]

I'm not going to watch it and enable him. These videos are helpful for the people that use turbo to get a 20% wash and use a mason jar thumper

[still_stirrin]

...use turbo....a 20% wash....a mason jar thumper

[LWTCS]

I'm not going to watch it and enable him. These videos are helpful for the people that use turbo to get a 20% wash and use a mason jar thumper

Oh boy there is this Rick Gibbson fellow on one of the Facebook distilling groups that is building these contraptions with multiple (3, 4 and 5) mason jar thumpers and all kinds of silly pipes everywhere.
Evidently the dude has sold some stuff to some commercial operators.
They (the distilleries) just haven't figured out that they don't know what they don't know yet is my take on it.
The dude does tidy work, but with respect to safety and production speed,,,laughable.

[zach]

I woke up on the sofa with this video playing Sunday afternoon on youtube.

He showed how to cast a silicone gasket for the funky green stockpot.

Can't believe this guy has a following. I tried not to watch, but it's kind of like seeing a car wreck, every one slows down to take a look.

[shadylane]

I gotta believe he circulates a bit through this forum.

If he do's, I'd like to be the first to welcome him.
There's a lot of good info here.
The more he learns the better his video's will get

[Acrylic]

I gotta believe he circulates a bit through this forum.

If he do's, I'd like to be the first to welcome him.
There's a lot of good info here.
The more he learns the better his video's will get

That's a good point I never thought of that - I learned a bunch on his methanol videos right around the time it wasn't going so well for a few vacation resorts - surprised me how little methanol it takes to do so much damage
So I give him kudos for that effort
I'm gonna be a noob at this for a very long while however my safety and correct material use all began here and I stumbled so badly getting my rig built to this point - there is so much to learn in this hobby
yes, George you should come on in - your videos would spread a better knowledge

[Saltbush Bill]

I learned a bunch on his methanol videos right around the time it wasn't going so well

Let me have a stab in the dark here ...George told you that all of the methanol comes out with the rest of the bad stuff at the very beginning ?

[Dewstiller]

Although I don't care for this particular video, I have seen this George guy on the Tube several times. I thought he seemed to have good intentions and seemed knowledgable. Is he really as bad a whole as some of the comments are suggesting?

[zed255]

Yes, the more of George I see the more I shake my head in disbelief. Not wanting to bash him, but he is not an example of a good information source. A competent stiller will see right through his mistakes, misinformation and misunderstandings, but a noob will swallow that stuff up as the gospel. His mention is in the right place:

What NOT to use/do? George's 'information' and watching his videos!

[LWTCS]

Although I don't care for this particular video, I have seen this George guy on the Tube several times. I thought he seemed to have good intentions and seemed knowledgable. Is he really as bad a whole as some of the comments are suggesting?

Sure. I think he does have good intentions.
His videos are nicely done. He has a good disposition, nice delivery and seems to be sincere in that he is trying to help.
Much of what he says is informative which is why he appears to be credible to the noobs.
But the info he provides is rife with issues that simply would not go unaddressed here.

[Acrylic]

I learned a bunch on his methanol videos right around the time it wasn't going so well

Let me have a stab in the dark here ...George told you that all of the methanol comes out with the rest of the bad stuff at the very beginning ?

nope! I learned that here

[zed255]

nope! I learned that here

Unfortunately that is an example of dated information on this otherwise sound source of information. Methanol actually comes out relatively steadily throughout the run, with evidence that it may even be slightly more concentrated in the tails. There are threads here with links to show this. Let Google be your guide.

An even more salient fact is that most normal fermentations produce almost no methanol anyhow, with only fruits really producing anything other than the faintest of a trace. Methanol is not nearly as toxic as people seem to think either, so the minuscule quantities we are talking about are quietly metabolized and excreted. Not to mention that when you are imbibing on your favourite tipple you are actually consuming methanol's antidote, ethanol.

Of course there's still nasty compounds in the foreshots that should be collected and discarded, but saying that you are being rid of the methanol is not strictly true. Besides, if you drink any fermented beverage that does not go through distillation, like beer, wine, mead, etc., you are drinking ALL of the methanol and other foreshots compounds and not benefiting from the (imperfect) separation distillation affords us.

Sorry for the off-topic, I'll go back into my hole...

[Acrylic]

Thanks zed

[6 Row Joe]

I thing George means well and he is knowledgeable to a point. I think the idea of the galvanized pot still is that you can (probably shouldn't) build a still with hardware store components. He produces a lot of videos and he probably wondered if he could build a still like this and be successful with it. I am a long ways from being much more than a novice and there is a need for what he does. If you as a hobby distiller, want's to get better at what you do, you will hang out here and jump to that next step with a ton of reading and experimentation. The information that he shares is all here in these forums. It's part of the industry.

[LWTCS]

I thing George means well and he is knowledgeable to a point. I think the idea of the galvanized pot still is that you can (probably shouldn't) build a still with hardware store components. He produces a lot of videos and he probably wondered if he could build a still like this and be successful with it. I am a long ways from being much more than a novice and there is a need for what he does. If you as a hobby distiller, want's to get better at what you do, you will hang out here and jump to that next step with a ton of reading and experimentation. The information that he shares is all here in these forums. It's part of the industry.

There is no need for bad info. There just isn't.
George presents himself as an expert and yet some of his content are well documented flaws.
If he were the expert he presents himself to be, he should know better.
The difference here is that HD chooses to utilize best (known) practices for all things distilling. A main priority (aside from education) is to demonstrate that hobby distillers are responsible and that hobby distilling is safe if the hobbyist adheres to best practices with an end game of legalization.

In some ways George is undermining the credibility of hobby distilling.

[Yummyrum]

The difference here is that HD chooses to utilize best (known) practices for all things distilling. A main priority (aside from education) is to demonstrate that hobby distillers are responsible and that hobby distilling is safe if the hobbyist adheres to best practices with an end game of legalization.

In some ways George is undermining the credibility of hobby distilling.

Nicely put Larry

[6 Row Joe]

Something that needs to change here is the fact that so much of the good information is buried in pages and pages of posts. Often times the correct information changes 2 or 3 times in the same thread. It's easy to get confused reading through a 15 page thread and keeping the facts straight. There should be information updates in the first post to keep the correct information up front. Look at how many times the UJSSM recipe has changed since it was first posted. The procedures as well.

[Chauncey]

Thats how i feel bout the issue larry. Ya about took the words out my mouth. George is also becoming a dead horse being beaten in a swarm of flies.

-chauncey

[Saltbush Bill]

It's also worrying to look at the comments made under his YouTube clips......seems he has many hundreds of followers who think he knows what he is talking about.
No wonder so many newbies are turning up here with a head full of wierd ideas and saying " but George said so"
As already stated.....he's a menace to the hobby in general.