Yes, of course.....my meaning was safety first and foremost....I am just holding my breath waiting for the first craft distiller accident and I sense a real surge in hobby built equipment attempting to move mainstream as artisan distilling takes off. This ain't the beer and wine biz and I am afraid the notion that bad stuff always happens to the other guy is leading to a recklessness in operations.
How many people have ever witnessed or seen the aftermath of a still explosion? I've seen two, one in Manila and the other in Sichuan Province in China. The latter resulted in the death of two factory workers and the culprit was substandard equipment coupled with poor ventilation.
I consulted for a start up distiller in Southern California a few years ago, mainly for some fermenting issues given the high desert heat in summer, and I was stunned to see their operation using beer keg stills with tar paper and flashing on seams and pipe joints. Worse, the smell of airborne ethanol vapor led me to believe that vapor leaks were being treated as just a necessary evil in producing hi shot alcohol. When I mentioned that the ethanol vapors posed a risk for explosion, the assistant to the distiller told me that it was the liquid that was worrisome in creating explsions, and not the vapor......I meam "wow!"
I believe associations shoud be more than just places to exchange information. I believe they should help move the industry forward by developing standards for equipment and, yes, even approved equipment registries. Best standards and practices should also be developed and members wishing to display the ADI seal shoud have to earn it, not merely by taking an online course but subjecting themselves to rigorous peer review and adherance to institute standards.
Absent this framework of professionalism and a real seal of approval I m afraid it is only a matter of time before some unfortunate....and avoidable........accident renders this avocation indefensible to government regulators and the public at large.