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Moscow Food Equipment Plant (MZPO) “Dobry Zhar” presented a new line of devices, positioned as a “universal system of the new generation.” It includes devices “Absolut”, “Absolute PRO”, “Absolute X” and “Absolute VIP”. All of them are based on standard units for MZPO and differ from each other by a lid, the presence of an additional sukhoparnik – “lamp”, and in the VIP version – a small plate-shaped drawer and the use of copper.
The company believes that one of the main advantages over its competitors is the involvement of highly qualified specialists in the development of its products: designers, hydraulic engineers and shop foremen. The work of the first is obvious: the sites have become more beautiful, more informative, and the devices in the photographs look exemplary. Well, with the main thing – the results of the work of engineers, let’s try to figure it out in this review.
Stills
MZPO offers cubes of its own production made of stainless steel AISI 304 with a ferromagnetic bottom made of AISI 430 as a set for the devices. Volumes of cubes are from 12 to 60 liters. The diameter of the bottom of cubes of 12-30 liters is 301 mm, the rest is 351 mm. This allows you to confidently, without uncontrolled foaming, distill sugar mash at heating powers from 3 to 5 kW, respectively.
The geometric dimensions of distillation cubes are acceptable and convenient for operation. True, it is worth noting some redundancy of the proposed sizes of pans. It is unlikely that anyone will seriously consider purchasing a 2” column complete with a 12 or even 20 liter cube. It turns out too big a difference in the productivity of the column and the volume of a single pile of a cube, as well as an excessively high relative value of recycled alcohol due to head restraints during rectification. In this case, the purchase of small pots is simply irrational.
Cubes are well protected from fakes. The inscription “Dobry Zhar” embossed on the surface and the tank fill level scale ensure this.
The complete set of cubes is standard, with the same shortcomings. Let’s start with the lid. The cover, according to the manufacturer, is reinforced. But this does not apply to its thickness (only 1,5 mm), but to the shape and stiffeners.
The lid is equipped with a nipple for an electronic thermometer (according to the terminology of the MZPO – “hermetic conduit”), a clamp connection for attaching the column and an emergency pressure relief valve from the pressure cooker. In this configuration, only a 2” clamp can be praised, and the rest, as has been repeatedly discussed in other reviews, is simply archaic.
The thermometer in the steam zone, with an unknown error that changes during distillation, tries to measure the temperature of the liquid in the tank, and the valve will only work when the pressure in the cube exceeds the dangerous level by 3-5 times.
The clamp that secures the lid to the cube through a 5 mm food grade silicone gasket has step adjustment, and this, of course, is better than without it at all. But the latest generation of stainless steel clamps have a more perfect smooth adjustment with a screw and are widely used by many manufacturers.
As for the bard drain valve, its main advantage is ease of dismantling. Imagine the situation: they put a 60 liter cube on the floor, heated it with heating elements, and a full column was assembled from top to ceiling. Question: how to drain the stillage through a tap, the spout of which rests on the floor? New and shiny is not always better than old and proven.
A separate conversation about the bottom of the cube. Multi-layered, absolutely flat, 2 mm bottom with a ferromagnetic insert. Sounds nice, but very subtle. I would be wary of the idea of heating any grain mash on a gas stove, and possibly thick fruit mash. However, for heating with a heating element, this does not matter; it is enough to purchase a suitable false bottom. There are offers in the “components” section on the official website of MZPO and the prices are quite competitive.
In the basic configuration, the cubes are equipped with a clamp mount for a heating element. A power of 1,5 or 2 kW is sufficient for cubes with a capacity of up to 30-35 liters, and from a 40-liter one, the manufacturer offers an additional 2 kW tie-in heating element.
At the same time, one heating element is connected through a control unit with smooth adjustment of the heating power, and the second one is an accelerating one, directly to the network. To reduce the load on the sockets, it is recommended to connect the heating elements to different power sources. This is a simple and effective solution to the problems of old wiring in apartments. The only negative is the lack of voltage stabilization at the output of the control unit, which makes it practically useless for those who want to do rectification. Unfortunately, a stable voltage in our networks for any 10-20 hours is something from the realm of fantasy.
Refrigerators and dephlegmators Dobry Zhar Absolut
Refrigerators and dephlegmators of the “Absolute” line are made 50 and 20 cm long, respectively. Inside they can contain 5, 7, 9 or 12 tubes with a diameter of 10 mm. I will explain this approach figuratively: there is such a term in artillery – shelling “in areas”, if it is not known exactly where the target is, then they shoot at squares, maybe they accidentally hit.
A refrigerator half a meter long, even with 5 tubes, is capable of utilizing up to 4 kW of thermal energy under nominal conditions, this is all that 2 heating elements recommended by the manufacturer can produce. Well, with 7 tubes, the refrigerator will effortlessly cope with 5 kW, with 9 – it will work with a bang from 6 kW, and even 12 tubes will utilize 8 kW. And we are not talking about the input, but about the useful power. With such capacities, the mash will run away from a pan with a bottom area of 960 cm2 like milk from a careless mistress. Here the goal is covered, the result is guaranteed.
Worse with dephlegmators. When using an on-load tap-changer, the estimated pre-thaw power is about 2,2 kW. At the same time, in order to prevent the deceleration of the flowing phlegm at the dephlegmator outlet by the oncoming steam flow, not to mention its driving up the steam pipes and ejection into the extraction, it is desirable to limit the steam speed to 3 m/s. Based on this, the total cross-sectional area of the steam pipes is selected and their number is calculated.
The blow “on the squares” in this case did not help. At 2,2 kW, the steam velocity in the vapor tubes of the reflux condenser with 5 tubes 10 mm in diameter will be 6,6 m/s, with the 7th – 4,7 m/s, with the 9th – 3,6 m/s, and only from the 12th – 2,7 m / s.
But for a 12-pipe dephlegmator, the problem is different – it is almost 2,5 times more powerful than necessary. Even with a safety factor of 1,2, 9 cm would be enough to completely utilize 2,2 kW. In practice, this means that it will be very difficult to control the selection rate. It’s like hammering furniture carnations with a sledgehammer. However, if we do not talk about rectification, but only about obtaining fortified moonshine, then it will do. The device will work, the trickle will flow cheerfully, but it is better not to think about the quality of cleaning.
It is well known that a reflux condenser 2 cm long and 20 tubes 7 mm in diameter is sufficient for a 12” column. Almost all leading manufacturers have mastered this, and some even install 12,5 or 14 mm tubes. Why reinvent the wheel?
The spout of the refrigerator is made in different versions: it can be slightly bulky, but allows you to work without problems in the “potstill” mode, and it can also be more compact, but problematic. Apparently, the manufacturer himself has not yet finally decided on its design.
Tsarga and nozzle
The devices are equipped with drawers 50 cm long and for some reason 3 on-load tap-changers 58-60 cm long each. It is well known that for a 2” drawer side, the length of each tap changer wad should be about 85 cm. There is no need to talk about serious purification or obtaining alcohol with such parameters. True, you can always get an extra tsarga.
cone cap
In the “Absolute” line, conical lids for distillation cubes are widely used. Their main purpose is to create a heat exchange surface that allows, due to partial condensation, some purification of vapors from heavy volatile fractions. In fact, this is an alambic model.
Two points are important here: material and heat transfer area. Copper allows you to bind sulfur compounds and thereby improve the flavor of grain and berry distillates. In addition, the recombination of esters occurs on the mechanically cleaned copper surface, creating new tint aromas that give the drink a unique character.
However, to get the result, and not to simulate the process, there is no need to rush. The distillation of a noble distillate is fundamentally different from the technology for producing alcohol. For example, for maximum cleaning during rectification, we work at the maximum possible, pre-swallowing heating power. This ensures maximum separating power of the column.
The cone, when the heating power is increased, works exactly the opposite – the amount of phlegm returned to the cube remains conditionally constant, and the amount of steam that passes into the selection and does not even have time to come into contact with the walls grows. The degree of purification falls. Therefore, the combination of a packed column with a cone has a lot of technological contradictions.
By and large, to obtain a balanced distillate composition for further aging in a barrel, one cone is enough without a short side and a reflux condenser. In this case, the speed of selection of “heads” and “body” is adjusted by changing the heating power, which is familiar to the moonshiner.
But let’s not forget that the “Absolute” is a constructor and it is not necessary to assemble it completely. For each specific task, the device can be configured in an optimal way. The older models of this line provide such an opportunity, but in no way oblige to use all parts and assemblies during each distillation.
An additional advantage of using a conical lid, the manufacturer considers the possibility of a larger one-time pile. Yes, at first glance this is true, but is it necessary? The cost of the cheapest cone with a diameter of 351 mm is 6800 rubles (all prices are indicated as of the beginning of May 2019). The cone will allow you to additionally pour 30-6,5 liters of raw materials into a 7 liter pan. The difference in price between 30 and 40 liter pans is 1600 rubles. To increase the amount of bulk, it is much more profitable to immediately buy a pan of the right volume. And from the point of view of technology, additional steam space for foam during the distillation of fruit brews is much more relevant than the bulk volume.
In any case, the proposed cone lids are a big plus in all cases, except for rectification. In rectification, this is just an unnecessary surface that requires careful thermal insulation, and the excessive height of the apparatus makes it difficult to assemble a full-sized column.
Lamp
Like conical lids, the lamps function as an air dephlegmator and allow the use of partial condensation to purify the product from heavy volatile impurities. You need to understand that this is not a panacea, and they, even complete with cone caps, cannot replace 60-70 cm columns with on-load tap-changers in terms of the degree of purification from fusel. This is simply an additional surface to carry out the same functions as the cone cap.
But the lamp is not a complete replacement for the cone. We said above that the recombination of ethers is possible only on a freshly cleaned copper surface. Moreover, mechanical cleaning is needed, this is important. Try cleaning the surface inside the lamp. Treatment with citric acid is not suitable for these purposes.
Using a lamp as a dry steamer for columns with a cone cap is pointless. The cone will handle it on its own. For the basic model with a regular lid, the cone is not included in the kit, and buying it separately is a waste of money. It is much more rational to purchase a cone cover, expanding the capabilities of the device. Against the background of these simple arguments, a stainless steel lamp generally looks like a stillborn child.
There may be objections about the strengthening power of lamps, but this is not serious. The strengthening promised by the manufacturer by 15-20% means that when distilling raw alcohol with a strength of 20%, we will get a distillate of not 69%, but 83% vol. When using the SPN, this corresponds to approximately 1,5 cm of nozzle height or 2-2,5 cm of the tap. What’s the point? Too expensive a stage of strengthening compared to a handful of SPNs.
Features of individual devices “Absolute”
All modifications of the “Absolute” line are column-type moonshine stills of high productivity. They are not intended for obtaining alcohol or well-purified distillates in the basic configuration.
For the apparatus “Absolute” we can recommend a 12-tube dephlegmator. For small cubes with a capacity of up to 30 liters – a 5 or 7 pipe refrigerator, for large cubes – a 9 or 12 pipe refrigerator. In general, for 2” columns, it is better to opt for cubes with a capacity of 30 liters and above.
If you plan to get alcohol or NDRF, you should consider purchasing an additional 1 meter long drawer and replacing the nozzle from the tap changer with the SPN.
The purchase of the device “Absolute PRO” is justified for fans of grain and berry distillates in the configuration with a copper cone lid. An additional drawer will be needed in the same cases as for the base unit.
Dry steam lamps, which are part of the Absolute X and Absolute VIP devices, will not give the effect advertised by the manufacturer.
The cap column, which is part of the “Absolut VIP”, is useful for obtaining fruit and berry and grain distillates. When choosing the number of plates, it should be taken into account that each pair gives only one stage of separation-strengthening. Therefore, when buying a tsarga with 3 plates, you should not hope for a miracle.
If you want to have an acceptable degree of purification, you need to pay attention to the 5-tray column for the product with further aging in barrels. If the goal is to obtain distillates for consumption without many years of aging, then you need to purchase a tray column with at least 7 trays. In the second case, leading manufacturers recommend 10 cap systems with the possibility of reducing their number.
The cap column is not demanding to maintain a stable heating power, it retains its efficiency and separation capacity practically unchanged in a wide range of operating powers and reflux ratios. This is its main advantage in the production of fruit and berry and grain distillates. But the same property makes it impossible to obtain alcohol on a cap column at home, unless someone manages to assemble a column with several dozen plates about 6 meters high.
The main disadvantage of the proposed cup-shaped tray columns is a clearly overpriced price. It is enough to look at the sites of the nearest competitors to be convinced of this.
In general, “Absolute X” and “Absolute VIP” are controversial decisions. It was enough to offer a free complete set of “Absolut PRO” with copper conical covers and dish-shaped columns. However, if we take the basic version of the “Absolute” as a basis, then everything else can be purchased as an additional package.
Conclusions and possible modifications
- In the basic configuration, all devices of the Dobry Zhar Absolute line can be used without modifications to produce fortified moonshine. If you need rectified alcohol or a well-purified distillate, you will have to buy additional equipment.
- For a 2″ column, it is rational to choose distillation cubes with a volume of 30 liters or more.
- As for the capped tray columns, the price stops here. Even from well-known and branded manufacturers, cap columns with copper plates are offered at a much lower price.
- In order to modernize, I would be interested in stills with copper cone lids, added a 7-tube cooler, false bottom, 50 or 100 cm drawer side. The result would be a column-type moonshine, perfect for fruit or grain distillates. To work in rectification modes, I would look for a more suitable dephlegmator or an angular liquid selection unit from other suppliers.
Reviewed by IgorGor.