Bentonite Powder(?) vs Granuals

[Scooter68]

In looking to purchase more Bentonite I ran across a seller on Amazon that listed Bentonite Powder.

I didn't purchase for two reasons:
1) It wasn't identified as for use with wine making but as for facial scrub/facial Masks
2) The container picture identified it as "Sodium Bentonite" which was interesting because most sites don't list it as anything but "Bentonite" or Calcium Bentonite. Knowing the addition of sodium to wine as something to be avoided, I purchased my bentonite from a Home Brew site.

Pricing on the sellers offer was reasonable $18.88 / 5 lbs (Way more than I need of course)
Several people asked if it is "Food Grade" and the seller and other stated that nobody lists Bentionite as "food grade" because the FDA does not do that sort of testing/accrediting. True or False I don't know but for now... I steered clear.

So this is sort of a question and warning (?) A lot of offers out there listing bentonite including some interesting ones like a Diaper Cream that contains Bentionite. OR For internal use as a detoxing product. (Cannot imagine swallowing the stuff)


Comments?

 

[cmason1957]

I went to ebay and found many results when searching for Bentonite Food Grade (and that search was suggested by ebay). Didn't find any quite as cheap as the $19 / 5 lbs, but did find $24/ 2lbs of calcium bentonite food grade (http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5338413729&icep_item=132889539120). It talks about ingesting it as well, I'm with you, that isn't going into my body, at least not on purpose.

There were quite a few returns for the search Bentonite Clay Wine Making as well, not quite as inexpensive, but I think I would go with that. Sizes were more like what I might need for a long time 8 oz/ $6.

 

[Scooter68]

I bought This one 1 pound $6.73 : https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074Q35J3L/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20


And Passed on this one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XASKJMI/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

DId you know bentonite can be used to seal pond liners - Whoa that's some heavy stuff.

Pond seeler: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HSFQR1K/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[Johnd]

DId you know bentonite can be used to seal pond liners - Whoa that's some heavy stuff.

We use it down here in the south on a huge scale in ponds lakes. Sometimes in a pond or lake, there's a vein of sand, or multiple veins, which allows water escape from the pond / lake, making it impossible to maintain proper water levels. Bentonite is frequently brought in by the truckload and broadcast across the surface of the pond, finding its way into the sand veins, lodging between the sand particles, and blocking the flow of water out of the pond. It can take some time to succeed, but is very effective.

Bentonite is also one of the key ingredients in oil production drilling mud. It's mixed into a slurry which is pumped down the drill shaft and carries the particles created from drilling up and out of the well shaft.

Pretty versatile stuff.........

 

[cmason1957]

Fun Facts not related to winemaking at all.

That drilling mud application is where I first ran into it, right out of college (lo those many years ago). It was always some nasty, nasty stuff. That worked really well.

Yes, first job was working as oil field trash (a term of endearment), I worked for a company that goes out after the oil well is drilled and put instrumentation into the well, then remove it slowly to tell the group owning the mineral rights where, if anywhere the oil and/or gas had been found. A fun job, paid really, really well for the times, but a 24/7 job. Was asked to not work there anymore when oil was predicted to be at $70-80/barrel and actually was $25-30/barrel.

 

[mainshipfred]

Another use is foundation waterproofing. If you see a large hole in the ground for typically underground parking, bentonite blankets are placed against the shoring and a one sided concrete form is erected. If and/or when water hits the blankets it does the same as the pond, finds the leaks and seals them.

 

[sour_grapes]

Not to mention kitty litter!

 

[Scooter68]

Thinking of use as kitty litter - Given how sticky it gets when wet - If wrongly prepared I could see some very unhappy cats with bentonite mud on their feet.

So I learned a lot about this stuff and our fellow forum members:
Oil field work is always something I heard pays very well but often has a lot of physical risk and/or horrible hours / conditions. Nice job when your young but I can't imagine many 60+ year olds doing that work.

Thanks to all for comments. Wife wants a pond some time now I now how to make sure it holds water. AND what NOT to eat to "CLEANSE & DETOX" ???? the body. Gag!

OH and if I could get it down around the basement wall leaks - I know what I could seal them with..

 

[Johnd]

Thinking of use as kitty litter - Given how sticky it gets when wet - If wrongly prepared I could see some very unhappy cats with bentonite mud on their feet.

Had a cat in a former life, and the stuff works incredibly well. Pee clumps up and gets hard as a rock, and you scoop the clumps out..

 

[mainshipfred]

We really do get off topic don't we. Reminds me of the commercial where the guy is cleaning the litter box with a mini sledge.

 

[Scooter68]

Off topic.... Nah not much....

Johnd - Assuming the cat hits the 'target'

We invested in an "Automatic Litter Box" yeah right. The cats seemed to know how to defeat the thing and without going into the details... we retired it after a year or less.

Well that was a wander afar but it is interesting to know and be aware of products that we use that have variants that could be mistaken for the right stuff with perhaps undesired results.

At the extreme like someone who buys powdered "Hawaiian Punch Mix" to make a tropical wine.... Will it ferment.....Yeah... Will you drink it... NOT ME!

(Hmm did that last comment make sense? Ah well...I tried to bring it back to wine makin related.)

 

[Johnd]

Off topic.... Nah not much....

Johnd - Assuming the cat hits the 'target'

We invested in an "Automatic Litter Box" yeah right. The cats seemed to know how to defeat the thing and without going into the details... we retired it after a year or less.

Well that was a wander afar but it is interesting to know and be aware of products that we use that have variants that could be mistaken for the right stuff with perhaps undesired results.

At the extreme like someone who buys powdered "Hawaiian Punch Mix" to make a tropical wine.... Will it ferment.....Yeah... Will you drink it... NOT ME!

(Hmm did that last comment make sense? Ah well...I tried to bring it back to wine makin related.)

Yes, we do tend to stray a bit........but the moral to the story could perhaps be not to use cat litter to fine your wine, except maybe Skeeter Pee..............

 

[Scooter68]

That's it - That's why my last wine was so bad....