Friday, April 24, 2009

SDA 3C 200 Proof - It Rocks!!!

I received my order of denatured alcohol last week. Two five gallon boxes of SDA 3C 200 proof - Fed speak for Specially Denatured Alcohol with 95% 200 proof ethanol and 5% isopropanol. The final price was a little higher than I expected. When I called earlier, it was $115/box. When I called to order it (a couple of months later), the price was $125. And shipping needed to go though a company that had a special flammable liquids certification so it cost another $95. In total, $345 for 10 gallons, or $8.625/quart. There really isn't a cost saving to buying this rather than Behkol ($6.95/quart plus shipping) but I feel a lot better about the vapor exposure and I think it is a better quality for dissolving shellac. In addition, now I know what it takes to get the stuff, and how much it costs -- nagging questions that are finally resolved. I'd still rather have pure ethanol but I'll have to wait until I become associated with an alcohol tax exempt organization (or set up my own distillery).
I was surprised by the size, I had imagined five gallons would be larger; and the weight, I though 78 pounds of alcohol would be heavier. And, thankfully, it comes with a spigot for easy draining. I typically loose a lot of product pouring Bekhol out of the container, so there is probably a large cost savings there.

(Update April 26 - I mixed my first batch of shellac with it and SDA 3C 200 proof truly rocks! Very low odor, just slightly different than moonshine, and a very fast rate for dissolving shellac, with just a few shakes I was able to dissolve a very high concentration of shellac in a little over an hour - usually you have to plan on 24 hours to dissolve a batch.)

No comments:

Post a Comment