CBBaron said:
The thing is if you are using alot of water (like brewing or general household drinking water) a distiller uses a ton of energy to heat the water while an RO system just uses some water down the drain. RO is usually more cost effective than distilled and produces nearly the same result.
Ofcourse you can't make whiskey with an RO system
Craig
Well yes there are some costs involved in boiling water for distillation purposes.
Boiling wort is not cost free either. I don't know that I would classify that as a ton of energy.
However a RO (Reverse Osmosis) unit is not as cost free as you seem to be suggesting,
this unit
http://www.h2ofilter.net/usro4-50.asp
which also contains a sediment filter and activated carbon unit only warrants the
RO unit for 1 year at a replacement cost of $44.95
The Nov. 2006 BYO magizine states that RO units allow the Choloramine
NH2CL a disinfectant of choice in municpal drinking water sytems and which causes off flavors to past thur the RO membrane. That is where a carbon filter comes in because it removes NH2CL.
The other filters in the unit also need replacement as well the sediment filter $3.95 the carbon filter $16 and the post RO filter $12.
Something that is very important and rarely discussed by the seller of these units and most magazine articles is that these units provide and ideal breeding ground for bacteria hence the reason they need frequent replacement.
Another thing that I like about a distillation unit is that you can use them to extract essential oil from plants and herbs.
I do have a back ground in water treatment I let my Class 2 water treatment lic. expire as I sincerely hope to never have to work at a govt job again.
I am not trying to convince anyone to buy a distillation unit just stating what I'd do with my $ and why.
I'd also like to thank everyone that responded it really got me to thinking about the govt. proabition on distillation. Maybe I'll start a thread about it.