Cleaning moonshine is an age-old task facing connoisseurs of homemade alcohol. The majority ennobles the finished distillate by throwing in potassium permanganate, activated carbon and other means. But you can do otherwise – upgrade the moonshine by adding one module – a steamer. We will look at why and how to use this device. For the construction of the simplest design, only an ordinary bank is needed.
Sukhoparnik (reflux condenser or prikubnik) – an optional part of the moonshine still, connected by tubes to the distillation cube and the coil. It is a container in which the vapors are first cooled, and then some of them boil again and move to the coil. During distillation, the reflux condenser is used to physically clean moonshine from harmful impurities, thereby improving the quality and increasing the strength of the distillate at the outlet.
Why do you need a dryer
The principle of operation of a steamer is based on the fact that the boiling point of most harmful impurities is lower than that of ethyl alcohol. Getting from the dryer first, hazardous substances condense, but no longer boil, since the thermal energy in the dephlegmator is spent on evaporating the lighter fraction – ethyl alcohol.
After distillation, a light brown liquid with a sharp unpleasant odor is collected in the tank of the steamer. Its quantity depends on the raw materials used and the design of the moonshine still. With the traditional distillation of sugar mash, 7 liters of moonshine (45 degrees) account for 300-400 ml of condensate of harmful impurities.
Dryer Advantages:
- cleans moonshine at the physical level, which is more effective than chemical methods (potassium permanganate, soda, activated carbon), but if desired, both methods can be combined;
- serves as a barrier that protects moonshine from hitting mash at too high a distillation temperature (spray entrainment);
- makes moonshine stronger;
- allows you to flavor the drink during the distillation process (it is enough to put orange zest, apple slices, etc. into the steamer)
- easy to install, can be connected to any distiller with an alembic.
Homemade sukhoparnik from a can
The design of the dephlegmator is simple, for the construction you will need:
- a 2-3 liter jar with a tight-fitting metal lid;
- fittings with external thread – 2 pieces;
- nuts – 2 pieces;
- marker;
- heat-resistant glue (cold welding);
- awl.
Instructions:
1. Outline the diameter of the holes in the places of the intended connection. Attach the fitting to the lid of the jar and circle with a marker.
2. Make holes. Drive a sharp awl along the drawn lines until the metal of the lid is rubbed through.
3. Install the fittings, securing them with nuts. For complete sealing, before assembling the structure, treat the holes on the outer and inner sides with cold welding or heat-resistant glue.
4. Hermetically connect the steamer with the distillation cube and the refrigerator (coil) of the moonshine still.
To avoid getting the mash into the moonshine, I advise you to place the inlet tube 10-15 mm below the outlet. This extra precaution will be very helpful for beginner moonshiners.
Detailed instructions for making a sukhoparnik are shown in the video. The author makes holes using a specially sharpened drill, and installs two washers on the upper surface of the cover. The reliability of this design is beyond doubt.
In the factory models of moonshine stills, a stainless steel steamer is used, but it is not easy to make it at home, moreover, this dephlegmator has no obvious advantages over the “can” design.
The efficiency of the steamer largely depends on the degree of heating of the mash. The lower the temperature, the more harmful substances condense at the bottom of the tank. You can also experiment with the volume of the dephlegmator tank and the organization of external cooling. The disadvantage is that this technique reduces the yield of moonshine.