How do I open my five-gallon jug of Culinary Solvent?

We include a strap wrench and instructions on how to use one in every five-gallon order of Culinary Solvent. Follow the steps below to use your strap wrench to open your five-gallon jug of Culinary Solvent. Place your five-gallon jug on a table or other flat surface that is about waist high. You will need to be able to grab the jug and wrench at the same time. Thread the strap through the slot in the handle of the wrench. You want the loop to be just a little bigger than the jug cap. Orient the wrench to loosen the cap. Holding the strap wrench in your hand, the teeth of the wrench should be to the right. Always turn the wrench toward the teeth. The teeth of a strap wrench are designed to bite into the rubber strap, preventing the strap to get bigger and providing a strong grip on the cap thanks to friction. Orientation of the wrench is important; the strap wrench will not work if you turn the wrench away from the teeth . Place the loop of the strap wrench over the cap of the five-gallon jug. Pull the lose end of the strap to tighten the loop around the cap snuggly. While holding the five-gallon jug with one hand (to prevent the jug from moving while twisting the cap), begin to apply pressure to the strap wrench handle in a counterclockwise motion . Ensure the teeth of the strap wrench are biting into the rubber strap by pivoting the teeth at the top of the handle into the rubber strap. This pivot motion will begin to stretch the rubber strap on the opposite side of the teeth. As the far end of the rubber strap stretches, the strap's grip on the cap is steadily increasing. This pivot-and-stretch motion of the strap is necessary for the wrench to have an adequate grip on the cap. Continue to apply constant steady pressure in a counterclockwise motion to the strap wrench handle until the cap's torque is overcome. Gripping the handle as low as possible (furthest away from the cap) will increase your leverage and will be easier. The cap will begin to move slightly as the torque is overcome. Continue applying pressure to the handle until the cap turns freely. The extra tight seal is only necessary for transit, and you can close your jug to a tightness that you can easily open and close by hand afterword. You can read more about using a strap wrench and learn about alternatives to a strap wrench (and why a strap wrench is your best option) here .

About Shipping Food Grade Ethanol via Freight (How to Track and What to Expect)

Culinary Solvent food grade ethanol is available in bulk quantities packed in 5-gallon jugs and 55-gallon drums, offering commercial customers a significantly discounted cost per gallon depending on volume ordered. The volume ordered will determine the available methods to ship to you. Use this page to understand the requirements of shipping bulk food grade ethanol to you.

Tracking A Current Shipment: Use the information at the bottom of the page to track your freight order depending on the destination and service used to ship.

What is LTL Freight delivery?

LTL stand for "less than truckload", and is the service designation used whenever something is shipped that does not consume an entire truck's worth of space (typically about 26 pallets).
LTL freight is the only way to ship big, heavy items.
Products that ship LTL freight are always secured on a pallet, and require a forklift, pallet jack, or other special equipment to load and unload the delivery.
LTL freight deliveries can be scheduled for commercial and residential addresses, and are able to deliver to loading docks or ground level with addition of a lift gate to the truck. Deliveries to non-commercial addresses without a commercial loading dock require additional steps on behalf of the freight company, and for that reason, will typically have added fees or service charges in addition to the delivery cost.

Comparing LTL Freight vs FedEx / UPS

Price per pound to transport: LTL Freight will always offer the lowest price per pound to transport your order if shipping more than 100 lbs. Orders under 100 lbs are typically less expensive to ship using a common carrier like FedEx or UPS.
Speed: FedEx Ground and UPS Ground will always offer faster service than freight.
Accuracy of Tracking Information: While all companies offer tracking information these days, the detail of information provided by FedEx and UPS offers a more reliable estimation on the delivery date expectation.

When is bulk shipped LTL Freight vs FedEx/UPS?

Orders Under 20 Gallons - Always ship via FedEx Ground / UPS Ground. Each 5 gallon jug is packaged individually and assigned a tracking number.
Orders between 20 Gallons and 30 Gallons - Call this a "grey area" where we offer both FedEx Ground / UPS Ground as well as LTL freight options for this volume order.
Orders over 30 Gallons - Ship via LTL freight service.

How do freight orders ship?

Food grade ethanol orders shipped via freight will be secured to a pallet. A forklift or pallet jack is required to load/unload the pallet from the truck. Customers who do not have a loading dock at their destination must choose "lift gate service" at checkout to indicate need for the pallet to be lowered to the ground at delivery.

Loading Docks vs Lift Gate Service

Orders shipped freight require a loading dock of sufficient height for a truck to back into and unload. Due to the weight of bulk orders, delivery to commercial destination without a loading dock will require the truck to return with different equipment to lower down the pallet to the ground (lift gate service), and may be subject to additional delivery delays or fees imparted by the freight company. Customers are responsible for additional fees placed by freight carrier if destination address is different from that described at checkout. If you do not have a loading dock, please indicate requiring a lift gate service when selecting freight option at checkout. Lift gate service lowers the pallet to the ground for easy delivery and typically adds approximately $75 to the cost of transport.

Tracking Freight to Maine Address

Freight to customers in Maine is provided by Portland Air Freight (PAF).

Portland Air Freight Contact Us Page
Portland Airfreight Dispatch Operator: 207-510-6900.
Portland Air Freight Dispatch Email: localdispatch@paftrans.com

Freight orders to Maine take only 1 day of transit time after pickup. PAF does not currently offer weekend delivery service.

How to track freight by PAF

Once your freight has been scheduled, you will receive an email with a tracking number called a "Tag Number" or "Tag ID".

Visit Portland Air Freight's "Crown Connect Tracking System" and search for your shipment using the tag ID provided in your order confirmation email. The PAF Crown Connect site requires users to register a free account to use the tracking feature.

Tracking Freight to Non-Maine Addresses

Freight to customers outside of Maine is provided by XPO Logistics.

XPO Logistics Contact Page
XPO logistics Dispatch Operator: 800-755-2728.

How to track freight by XPO

Once your freight has been scheduled, you will receive an email with a tracking number called a "PRO Number" or "PRO#".

Visit the XPO Logistics Track a Shipment page and search for your shipment using the PRO# provided in your order confirmation email.

Back to Shipping Ethanol Rules and Permits - A Blog by Culinary Solvent

FAQs

No, due to the strict regulations required for shipping hazardous materials, we currently do not allow customers to schedule their own freight pickups.

We include a strap wrench and instructions on how to use one in every five-gallon order of Culinary Solvent. Follow the steps below to use your strap wrench to open your five-gallon jug of Culinary Solvent.

Place your five-gallon jug on a table or other flat surface that is about waist high. You will need to be able to grab the jug and wrench at the same time.
Thread the strap through the slot in the handle of the wrench. You want the loop to be just a little bigger than the jug cap.
Orient the wrench to loosen the cap. Holding the strap wrench in your hand, the teeth of the wrench should be to the right. Always turn the wrench toward the teeth. The teeth of a strap wrench are designed to bite into the rubber strap, preventing the strap to get bigger and providing a strong grip on the cap thanks to friction. Orientation of the wrench is important; the strap wrench will not work if you turn the wrench away from the teeth.
Place the loop of the strap wrench over the cap of the five-gallon jug. Pull the lose end of the strap to tighten the loop around the cap snuggly.
While holding the five-gallon jug with one hand (to prevent the jug from moving while twisting the cap), begin to apply pressure to the strap wrench handle in a counterclockwise motion. Ensure the teeth of the strap wrench are biting into the rubber strap by pivoting the teeth at the top of the handle into the rubber strap. This pivot motion will begin to stretch the rubber strap on the opposite side of the teeth. As the far end of the rubber strap stretches, the strap's grip on the cap is steadily increasing. This pivot-and-stretch motion of the strap is necessary for the wrench to have an adequate grip on the cap.
Continue to apply constant steady pressure in a counterclockwise motion to the strap wrench handle until the cap's torque is overcome. Gripping the handle as low as possible (furthest away from the cap) will increase your leverage and will be easier. The cap will begin to move slightly as the torque is overcome. Continue applying pressure to the handle until the cap turns freely.

The extra tight seal is only necessary for transit, and you can close your jug to a tightness that you can easily open and close by hand afterword.

You can read more about using a strap wrench and learn about alternatives to a strap wrench (and why a strap wrench is your best option) here.

Yes, we offer pickup appointments at the distillery for pickups of orders of bulk packaged in 5 gallon jugs.

No. Due to the requirements for safely handling, transporting, and storing hazardous materials at this volume, we do not offer customer pickup for 55 gallon drum units of Culinary Solvent.

No. Due to the requirements for safely handing and storing hazardous materials at this volume, we reserve the right to refuse scheduling delivery to any non-commercial location. Customers uncertain if their delivery destination is eligible for delivery of hazardous materials may use our Contact form where we can assist in evaluating your delivery requirements.

Pure food grade ethanol by Culinary Solvent