Expensive friends

[Steve Broady]

Hanging out with you folks can get expensive! I just placed a couple orders totally over $600, which is basically all of my hobby budget for quite some time, buying a whole bunch of stainless steel. Some of it is shaped like tri-clamp fittings, some like cam lock fittings, and there's some other stuff in there too. All still related somehow. I told my wife that I was thinking about making some upgrades, and she said "You wouldn't be you if you weren't." Fair point. I'm having as much fun designing and building as I do making product. So now I have a whole bunch of new fun too look forward to!

[rubberduck71]

Hanging out with you folks can get expensive!

I'm with ya. I just got my Discover bill & WTF it's like 3x as much as it usually is...

I just started dabbling with brewing beer & of course there's some overlap with equip, but sooooooooo many nifty accessories!!!

[Salt Must Flow]

I consider it as an investment. I figure I'm saving money at this point. Maybe one day my liver will disagree, but until then ...

[Steve Broady]

I did something I shouldn’t have done. I started adding up what I’ve spent. Probably the better part of $1000 on hardware, several hundred on bottles, buckets, barrel chunks, tools, and the like. $500 or so on BadMo barrels. I figure I’m at least $2000 in at this point. And that’s not counting the cost of the ingredients I’ve used. I’m sure I’ll eventually see that as a savings, but I’ll have to drink a lot of liquor to amortize the bill so far.

It’s still money well spent though. I’m having fun, and it’s cheaper than the same amount of time spent with women.. even before my wife found out!

[RockinRockies]

Yeah it's an expensive hobby

[Bradster68]

Well worth the investment

[Salt Must Flow]

it’s cheaper than the same amount of time spent with women..

That is a fact

[NorthWoodsAb]

I consider it as an investment. I figure I'm saving money at this point. Maybe one day my liver will disagree, but until then ...

Right!! Good quote.
There are lots of hobbies that can quickly chew up far more cash home distilling and be cast aside long before your still even gets a decent patina.
Cheers

[seamusm53]

And worth every penny.

[StillerBoy]

Nothing in life is "free", as there is always a cost, be for a useful endeavor or not, and this hobby is no more expensive than anything else, it just seem as such..

What is the cost of food just to keep one alive, or the cost of car just so one can get from A to B faster..

Mars

[Steve Broady]

Please don’t misunderstand, this was said entirely in jest. I’m thrilled to be able to spend the money, support a small business with at least part of it, and of course I’m looking forward to many years of good use out of everything. I don’t begrudge or regret a dime of it. I was just amused, as that’s the largest single expenditure I’ve made for the hobby (or indeed for any hobby, with the exception of my table saw) to date.

[stillanoob]

I did something I shouldn’t have done. I started adding up what I’ve spent. Probably the better part of $1000 on hardware, several hundred on bottles, buckets, barrel chunks, tools, and the like. $500 or so on BadMo barrels. I figure I’m at least $2000 in at this point. And that’s not counting the cost of the ingredients I’ve used. I’m sure I’ll eventually see that as a savings, but I’ll have to drink a lot of liquor to amortize the bill so far.

It’s still money well spent though. I’m having fun, and it’s cheaper than the same amount of time spent with women.. even before my wife found out!

Haha! Indeed. Anyone who thinks this is the fast, cheap road to award winning liquor has another thing coming! I'll never drink enough to cover my costs. Let alone the hours! But pouring a wee dram for guest and seeing their eyes and hearing them say incredulously "you made this?". Priceless.

[Steve Broady]

I'll never drink enough to cover my costs. Let alone the hours!

The more time I spend at this, the more I appreciate the time that goes into every aspect. If Jim Croce had been a distiller, he would have known that you can indeed save time in a bottle!

But pouring a wee dram for guest and seeing their eyes and hearing them say incredulously "you made this?". Priceless.

That’s it in a nutshell. Being able to surprise and impress people and to be proud of what you’re serving is with a great deal.

[Dee Envy]

I just keep thinking, "What else am I going to spend my money on".

[Ben]

The good news is once you have a decent sized still completed, and "some more" fermenter space, and some grain brewing equipment, and some barrels, and some low wine storage, and some white dog storage... the hemorrhaging slows

[elbono]

Funny how things go. When I started I was sweating how much I was paying for pH paper. A few kegs, sticks of copper, tig welder and electric supply for it and now I'm "look SPP for a decent price!"

I guess it's cheaper than hookers and blow.

[elbono]

Funny how things go. When I started I was sweating how much I was paying for pH paper. A few kegs, sticks of copper, tig welder and electric supply for it and now I'm "look SPP for a decent price!"

I guess it's cheaper than hookers and blow.

[Stonecutter]

I guess it's cheaper than hookers and blow.

You got that right

What is the cost of food just to keep one alive, or the cost of car just so one can get from A to B faster..

Mars

I keep trying to tell my wife that hooch is just as important as food but she just won’t listen

[NorthWoodsAb]

[/quote]
I keep trying to tell my wife that hooch is just as important as food but she just won’t listen
[/quote]

Just inform the Missus, (You can't tell them anything) that Hooch is a food group, Vit B = beer, distill beer end up with vit B+, ....shit I'm mistaking food groups with vitamins, cereals is a food group. Liquid cereal + vitamins.
I know it's a bit of a stretch but if you get that confounded deer in the headlights look from the Missus, consider it a win.

[NZChris]

I've been hanging out with a different crowd.

I only use one still that I didn't build, a 3l copper alembic that I bought for a fraction of it's new price. All the rest are based on scrapyard and charity shop finds, (I found an ideal gin basket at the recyclers today when dumping some steel), and were built by myself and tradie mates that I work or drink with. Most of the fittings had to be bought new.

My Charantaise preheater was built very early on, and saved me a huge amount of time and electricity bills over the following three decades.

Most of what I spend on hardware now goes towards upgrading automation.

Her Indoors likes what I make for her, so there is never an issue with how much we spend on ingredients and plants to grow them.

[Deplorable]

I've spent far more on my gun hobby, and most of those rarely see the light of day outside my gun safe. Hell, I've spent more money on my ammo fort than I have on distilling.
If I only count what I've spent on equipment for this hobby, and not the cost of the ingredients, which ultimately gets consumed, this is a far cheaper hobby than any I've had in the past.

Come to think of it, my NFA taxes were more than I have in my still. LOL

[still_stirrin]

… Come to think of it, my NFA taxes were more than I have in my still.

Form 4?

I have a couple stamps myself.
ss

[shadylane]

Please don’t misunderstand, this was said entirely in jest. I’m thrilled to be able to spend the money.

I'd bet good money that as a group, homedistillers pay more in sales tax.
Than we cheat the gobernment out of liquor tax.

[Deplorable]

… Come to think of it, my NFA taxes were more than I have in my still.

Form 4?

I have a couple stamps myself.
ss

Hehe yeah. A couple cans and an sbr.

[Canuckwoods]

The thing is at some point you will stop investing and realize a return on your investment.

[RockinRockies]

… Come to think of it, my NFA taxes were more than I have in my still.

Form 4?

I have a couple stamps myself.
ss

Hehe yeah. A couple cans and an sbr.

It's an unfortunately, artificially expensive part of The 2nd amendment enthusiasm... But so worth it.
The only thing not suppressed in my collection is my WeatherBy 18i shotgun... So far.

I like my SBR AR with can and Fostech echo sport II binary trigger... Just can't afford to shoot it in fun mode these days

[BrewinBrian44]

Please don’t misunderstand, this was said entirely in jest. I’m thrilled to be able to spend the money.

I'd bet good money that as a group, homedistillers pay more in sales tax.
Than we cheat the gobernment out of liquor tax.

Haha! So incredibly true.

[Deplorable]

… Come to think of it, my NFA taxes were more than I have in my still.

Form 4?

I have a couple stamps myself.
ss

Hehe yeah. A couple cans and an sbr.

It's an unfortunately, artificially expensive part of The 2nd amendment enthusiasm... But so worth it.
The only thing not suppressed in my collection is my WeatherBy 18i shotgun... So far.

I like my SBR AR with can and Fostech echo sport II binary trigger... Just can't afford to shoot it in fun mode these days

Dont speak out loud of the NFA tax lest the government bureaucrats realize the tax has never been raised since it's inception. If adjusted for inflation, the NFA tax today would be over $4200 for each tax stamp not the $200 we unjustly pay.

[shadylane]

Hanging out with you folks can get expensive! I just placed a couple orders totally over $600, which is basically all of my hobby budget for quite some time,

I see the problem, Ya need a bigger budget.
You can't be a proper homedistiller until all the money is spent.
And your too poor to afford store bought liquor.

[RockinRockies]

Form 4?

I have a couple stamps myself.
ss

Hehe yeah. A couple cans and an sbr.

It's an unfortunately, artificially expensive part of The 2nd amendment enthusiasm... But so worth it.
The only thing not suppressed in my collection is my WeatherBy 18i shotgun... So far.

I like my SBR AR with can and Fostech echo sport II binary trigger... Just can't afford to shoot it in fun mode these days

Dont speak out loud of the NFA tax lest the government bureaucrats realize the tax has never been raised since it's inception. If adjusted for inflation, the NFA tax today would be over $4200 for each tax stamp not the $200 we unjustly pay.

Hah! Good point