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Comment by wtbob | Hacker News Reader

Yeah, catastrophic fires are an issue. And yet we've no problem with home storage of gasoline for lawn mowers (and yes, we don't typically collect gasoline in gaseous form over heat sources).

Catastrophic fires are also an issue with deep-frying turkeys, and in fact with deep-frying anything.

And we do already have a well-formed body of law dealing with responsibility for fires, damage to neighbour's homes &c.

'Someone might maybe do something wrong' isn't really a good reason for there to be a federal ban on most behaviours. I'd be much less incensed were it at the city or even neighbourhood level.

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I mentioned fires as a point I would be concerned about.

While distilling is heavily regulated at the Federal, state, and local levels, the Feds did not ban it due to concerns over fire safety. Rather, a chief reason is "to protect the revenue," which, in the case of Federal excise taxes, is substantial. ($13.50 per proof gallon; a proof gallon is 1 gallon at 50% ABV.)

The Feds don't really concern themselves with fire safety. Rather, just as you desire, that's regulated at the state and local level. The TTB outlook is that you have to satisfy the local and state levels as far as fire safety is concerned.

Sort of off-topic, but back when I worked in a lab, we often needed 200 proof ethanol that wasn't denatured with methanol or some other noxious substance. The company I worked for had an ATF license to purchase ethanol without the associated tax.

The cost of 1 gallon (3.79 L) of 200 proof ethanol was $8. You could dilute this with 1 part water and end up with the equivalent of vodka for $4 per gallon. It goes to show how much alcohol taxes are.

That being said, the 200 proof alcohol was pretty vile. It smelled like the cheapest vodka you could buy. I remember a few gallons going missing over the years, so somebody didn't mind the taste.

> And yet we've no problem with home storage of gasoline for lawn mowers (and yes, we don't typically collect gasoline in gaseous form over heat sources).

I'd have a problem if someone was doing that in my building (and they'd be violating the terms of the lease if they were).

> Catastrophic fires are also an issue with deep-frying turkeys, and in fact with deep-frying anything.

Which is why chip-pans were the biggest cause of home fires when I was growing up, and nowadays no-one has them.

> 'Someone might maybe do something wrong' isn't really a good reason for there to be a federal ban

Sure, I don't think it should be illegal. But it's bad advice.

> > And yet we've no problem with home storage of gasoline for lawn mowers (and yes, we don't typically collect gasoline in gaseous form over heat sources).

> I'd have a problem if someone was doing that in my building (and they'd be violating the terms of the lease if they were).

Well, sure, but if you live in a multi-tenant building, you won't have to mow a lawn, either. These days, though, a battery-powered mower is just as good as some gasoline mowers. Not having to deal with gas and oil is a large bonus.

Also, houses are made of wood and have carpeted floors. Highly flammable.

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