Not exactly sure what specifically we'll be distilling yet, but in general you can distill all sorts of good things. <br><br>Distilling is a great way to extract essential oils out of fruits and spices, remove nasty salt deposits from your tap water, and to fine tune home made liquid infusions by concentration or removal of trace impurities (just to name a few). You can also use a home still to make your own biodiesel and split yourself from the BP oil grid!<br>
<br>At a basic level, a still is just a useful tool like any other. An axe is also a useful tool which can also be used to do several illegal things, however it is still really cool to know how to use an axe! Because of the stigma that the guberment has associated with stills, there is little to no information available about how to properly and safely operate one. By the end of the class, I hope people will see how many cool things you can pull off using a still, and can't *wait* to see what people decide to do with that knowledge!<br>
<br>Sean<br><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Dec 21, 2010 at 10:54 AM, Jonathan Foote <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:jtfoote@ieee.org">jtfoote@ieee.org</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;">
Curious as to what you plan to distill if not alcohol. Or is the still<br>
just for show?<br>
<div><div></div><div class="h5"><br>
<br>
On Tue, Dec 21, 2010 at 10:20 AM, Sean Cusack <<a href="mailto:sean.p.cusack@gmail.com">sean.p.cusack@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br>
> Who said anything about distilling alcohol? Distilling spirits is illegal.<br>
> Operating a still is legal. The class is how to operate a still.<br>
><br>
> Sean<br>
><br>
> On Tue, Dec 21, 2010 at 10:11 AM, Jonathan Foote <<a href="mailto:jtfoote@ieee.org">jtfoote@ieee.org</a>> wrote:<br>
>><br>
>> I'm not a lawyer, but the short answer on legality would seem to be<br>
>> NO, at least according to the feds:<br>
>><br>
>> <a href="http://www.ttb.gov/spirits/faq.shtml#s7" target="_blank">http://www.ttb.gov/spirits/faq.shtml#s7</a><br>
>><br>
>> Which is a shame -- ask me about my solar brandy sometime -- but<br>
>> perhaps let's not give the revenooers an excuse.<br>
>><br>
>> On Tue, Dec 21, 2010 at 2:38 AM, Sean Cusack <<a href="mailto:sean.p.cusack@gmail.com">sean.p.cusack@gmail.com</a>><br>
>> wrote:<br>
>> > All -<br>
>> ><br>
>> > I've received a ton of requests to teach people how to distill. So, now<br>
>> > we're going to do it :). I've got a sweet 20L glass still that we'll be<br>
>> > using for this. Its great for teaching since you can see everything that<br>
>> > is<br>
>> > happening, and thus control is much much simpler than those ones you see<br>
>> > in<br>
>> > the 'shiners backyards. A basic outline of what I'm planning on teaching<br>
>> > in<br>
>> > the class is as follows:<br>
>> ><br>
>> > Overview of what distilling is, what it does, and why it works<br>
>> > Things you can distill, and what you can expect out of the other side<br>
>> > Intro to the still, and why thermodynamics are your friend...even if you<br>
>> > don't know what those are yet.<br>
>> > Post- and pre- processing operations, and why your really do need to do<br>
>> > them<br>
>> > (a.k.a. Brita filters are useful)<br>
>> > And of course...hands on use of the still, and a chance to try the<br>
>> > fruits of<br>
>> > your labor!<br>
>> ><br>
>> > Vote for your favorite date for the class at the following wiki page:<br>
>> > <a href="https://www.noisebridge.net/wiki/Noisebridge_Distilled" target="_blank">https://www.noisebridge.net/wiki/Noisebridge_Distilled</a><br>
>> ><br>
>> > A quick note on legality. The short answer is - *yes*. Owning and<br>
>> > operating<br>
>> > a still is legal in CA. Part 23367 of the ABC code allows for this.<br>
>> > There<br>
>> > are lots of things you can make in a still - like distilled water, or<br>
>> > oil<br>
>> > extracts...so yes, there has to be a provision to allow people to own<br>
>> > and<br>
>> > operate their own distilling equipment for these reasons. Full text of<br>
>> > the<br>
>> > current ABC code can be found here:<br>
>> ><br>
>> > <a href="http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=bpc&group=23001-24000&file=23355-23405.3" target="_blank">http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=bpc&group=23001-24000&file=23355-23405.3</a><br>
>> ><br>
>> > Sean<br>
>> ><br>
>> ><br>
>> > _______________________________________________<br>
>> > Noisebridge-discuss mailing list<br>
>> > <a href="mailto:Noisebridge-discuss@lists.noisebridge.net">Noisebridge-discuss@lists.noisebridge.net</a><br>
>> > <a href="https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-discuss" target="_blank">https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-discuss</a><br>
>> ><br>
>> ><br>
><br>
><br>
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</div></div></blockquote></div><br>