Contents
I want to share my experience in choosing a moonshine still. It seems that the topic is understandable, but it’s a bit difficult to immediately figure out what equipment to choose for the preparation of alcoholic beverages. I’ll try to summarize what helped me.
What are the types of moonshine
You need to understand that moonshine stills are divided into two groups – distillers and distillation columns. They differ not only in design features, but also in the quality of the final product, performance, and, of course, in price. I recommend studying, at least superficially, what kind of devices they are, how they work.
Distillers
This is the equipment with which many people associate moonshine. The design consists of a container or a cube, connecting elements, a coil, in which cooling takes place. To improve the quality of the product, a sukhoparnik is added to the system. Its purpose is additional purification of the distillate. Of course, this element is not superfluous, but I can’t say for sure how effective the purification will be.
About distillers you need to know:
- The product will have a specific aroma of raw materials, impurities. Additional purification of the distillate is required.
- Fortress up to 60% and for these indicators additional distillation may be required.
- Budget. Moonshine stills are inexpensive.
Distillers differ in volume, material, before purchasing, you need to study the technical characteristics.
distillation columns
I would classify such moonshine stills as more professional equipment for moonshine, as they work on the principle of heat and mass transfer. If the principle is explained in a very simple way, then if in the distiller the vapors are almost immediately cooled, then in the column some of them condense, turn into reflux and flow back, mixing with the liquid. At the onset of temperature equilibrium, the resulting mixtures are taken from the upper part of the column and cooled.
Distillation columns are now equipped with various additional designs to improve performance, product quality, and can also be controlled remotely.
About distillation columns you need to know:
- The resulting alcohol product has practically no impurities, which explains the absence of any aftertaste.
- Final strength 93-96%.
- Minimal alcohol loss.
- Improved models are available on the market that allow you to safely and comfortably receive a high-quality product.
Compared to distillers, columns have a higher cost, but this is due to their performance, the parameters of the final product.
What is important to consider when choosing a moonshine
Having decided to engage in independent production of alcohol, you need to highlight the following positions for yourself:
- What drinks would you like to produce, requirements for their strength, purification.
- What volumes, because the required volume of the distillation cube, as well as the planned performance, will depend on this.
- Cooking conditions. The presence of running water, space for equipment and so on.
- Decide on the material of the device, there is a choice of stainless steel or copper.
- Budget. Quality, convenience and practicality cost money, you need to understand this.
From the main one, I noted, but also you yourself should not be lazy, study the characteristics of the devices, indicators and, most importantly, decide on the seller.
Cool moonshine that I met
If I had not chosen a normal apparatus for myself, then I probably would not have dared to give advice. I thought it over and decided on the OptiSam S3 column type distiller.
What captivated me about it:
- Possibility of choice by volume due to modules, material – high quality stainless steel.
- High performance, both in the first distillation mode, when you need to get raw alcohol, and in the column mode. Several modes are also convenient.
- The process is completely under control, and you can install the application and monitor everything that happens remotely. The system will notify you when you need to open the valve of the selection unit, it signals a change in temperature. In general, all information is reflected on the displays of the gadget.
I liked that the device is equipped with modern devices to produce high-quality alcohol at home or in the country.
I wish you to choose the right moonshine!