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When you go to one of the official websites of Luxstal LLC, you first of all come across the fact that the company presents only its flagship – the Luxstahl 3 Pro model, and older developments have been given to numerous official dealers. However, they do not eat their bread in vain, expanding the equipment and improving equipment in every possible way. But in this article we will focus on the characteristics of the most advanced model at the moment – the Luxstal 3 Pro moonshine still.
At first glance, we have a modern brew column with a very beautiful appearance. Looking at the characteristics of the device, we note a truly Spartan package – four Chinese pans with the correct geometry for distillation tasks, which allows you to work with any power. This is an obvious advantage.
Questions begin after familiarization with the characteristics declared by the manufacturer (see table).
Where are the “heads” and “tails” in the calculation, as well as at least a mention of the second distillation? If for the manufacturer raw alcohol, squeezed dry from mash, is a “drink suitable for ingestion”, it is worth taking a closer look at everything else.
Stills
Having calculated the maximum allowable heating power from the condition of stable boiling without rapid uncontrolled foaming of the mash, it can be confidently stated that the pans have an almost twofold margin compared to the actual mash distillation capacities.
With the bulk volume worse, the manufacturer somewhat overestimated the bulk volume during the distillation of the mash, leaving only 5-7 cm for steam and foam, which is not even funny for sugar mash, but for fruit mash it’s just a disaster. Based on the fact that the steam zone should be at least 10 cm, it is necessary to limit the bulk of the mash for a 12 l pot – 8 liters, 20 l – 14 l, 30 l – 21 l.
During the second distillation, additional restrictions are introduced by the toy sizes of the tsargs. The kit includes two 38 mm sides 40 cm long, that is, nozzles can fit a maximum of 450 ml in them.
Even if you use not an on-load tap, but a nozzle with a higher holding capacity – SPN 3x 3 x 0,25 mm, then even then the maximum bulk, at which the fusel oil will not slip into the selection, will be 9 liters of raw alcohol with a strength of 40% for 1 drawer side, and 18 liters when using two.
Hence the first conclusion: a 50-liter pan in this set is superfluous. On a 12-liter one, you can get a quite decent product using just one drawer side, for a 20-liter one, you need 2 drawer sides, and for a 30-liter one, you will have to limit the selection of the “body” in terms of cubic temperature to 92-93 ° C, then there is a chance that the fuselage will not break into the selection. The manufacturer’s recommendations look frankly harmful.
True, there is another way – to buy more tsargi and grow the column up to 1,5 meters. Then it will be possible to work on any pan, the bulk restrictions will remain only in terms of creating a sufficient steam zone in the cube. Unfortunately, the manufacturer does not provide such a way.
And the point is not in the drawers, but in the design of the pan: in order for it to become a cube, it is necessary at least to strengthen the lid. A column with one side is already swinging, and if you put two, then the most impressionable users try to tie it up so that it does not collapse. If you put 50 drawers on a 4 liter cube, the design will definitely not withstand.
Moreover, the problem is not new, but Luksstal cannot overcome this barrier in any way, although their dealers successfully do this: a saucepan + a 3 mm thick lid + a thermometer in the right place + a vinasse drain tap = a normal distillation cube.
Other characteristics of the device
Due to the toy size, the rated power of the tsarg is about 1100-1200 W, which means that the reflux condenser must provide the ability to operate the column “on itself” at such a power. But a shell-and-tube refrigerator with 3 x 10 cm tubes utilizes 800 W at best and will not be able to operate at pre-suffocation power during the selection of “heads” – the most efficient in terms of separating power.
We do not even consider the option of increased supply of cold water – this will lead to hypothermia of phlegm and disruption of the entire process. It remains only to go back to the days of coils and control the extraction rate with the heating power supplied. If it were not for the rectification regime declared by the manufacturer, this could still be put up with, and so there are more and more questions.
- What to do with the upper intermediate impurities that accumulate in the apparatus after the selection of “heads”? With small tsargs, holding them back is a big problem, as soon as we increase the power with the transition to the “body” – impurities will be in the selection.
- Does the refrigerator work efficiently with different heating power? The refrigerator in Luksstal 3 Pro consists of three pipes 40 cm long. The power, of course, is not enough. Suitable for a gas or electric stove, but if you put this moonshine on a 3,5 kW induction furnace, the water consumption will be huge, and the output product will be warm. If you embed the heating element and insulate the cube, you will have to change it. In general, the prospects are not encouraging.
Luxstahl 3 Pro hardware configuration overview
The manufacturer declares the possibility of using the device in various configurations, providing 8 modes of operation. Let’s see how true this is.
1. Fermentation mode
The very idea of using an expensive alembic to ferment the mash raises doubts. For most home distillers, a few cheap plastic eggplants or tanks are sufficient, but glass or stainless steel containers are fine for plastic opponents. Yes, and one pot of mash is too little to run a second fractional or fractional distillation. In most cases, 3 distillations of mash give raw alcohol for one repeated distillation. This is the most rational in terms of time and money.
You won’t be able to immediately connect the column and distill the mash in a cube, because filtration and degassing are needed, otherwise there is a risk of getting moonshine with a bitter taste. This means that the fermented mash will have to be drained into another container, the cube washed, then refilled with already filtered mash, and only then do the distillation.
But even if we accept this as an optional, but still an additional option, then given the cost of the device, the manufacturer could replenish the package with a penny modern water seal.
2. Mode of fast (simple) distillation
This is the correct and necessary mode for a BC with a long side, into which the SPN nozzle is filled. Its extraction and pouring before each distillation is a troublesome business. For the tap changer (which is used in Luxstahl 3 Pro) – minute. Therefore, the expediency of the regime raises questions.
It is much more convenient to use the configuration of the 3rd mode for the first distillation, but leave the drawer empty, and do not connect the reflux condenser to water or remove it altogether. An empty drawer in this case will act as a steamer, not letting splashes from the cube into the selection. As a result, the selection will be much cleaner, and the performance of the apparatus will be higher.
A forty-centimeter side with an inner diameter of 38 mm will quite cope with a spray blower up to a useful heating power of 3 kW. Taking into account the fact that the cube is not insulated and heat losses are large, it will not be possible to achieve more useful power on household heaters. And the fridge won’t work either.
3. Fortify Mode
This is where miracles begin. In this mode, the reflux condenser is switched on, and the column is filled with packing. So, we are going to implement the technology of heat and mass transfer. Obvious problems with Luxstahl 3 Pro:
- the cube is not insulated, so heat loss during the selection of the “body” will be 15-20%, reducing the flow of steam into the column, which will reduce the rate of selection;
- the tsarga is not insulated – the resulting wild phlegm will take a good half of the nozzle out of work, and may even disrupt the process of separation into fractions;
- the tsarga is only 40 cm in height. There will be strengthening, but you can forget about the separation into fractions and purification of the product. There is a chance to keep the fuselage only in a cube of 12 liters, and from 20 liters and above, harmful impurities simply have nowhere to fit in the nozzle, which means they will be in the selection;
- there is no adjustment of the water supply to the reflux condenser, confirming the first impression that not only a technologist, but simply an experienced distiller did not participate in the process of creating the apparatus;
- a thin cover will begin to negatively affect the stability of the column;
- a reflux condenser power of 800 W at a nominal column power of about 1100 W will make it necessary to regulate the rate of extraction of the supplied power. The process of selecting “heads” will take place far from the pre-choking power, that is, not in the zone of the maximum separating capacity of the column.
4. Rectification mode
This mode is completely a fantasy of the manufacturer. On such equipment, even with the most advanced nozzle SPN 3 x 3 x 0,25 mm, it will never be possible to obtain alcohol.
What is this configuration capable of? Just for the implementation of the previous, 3 modes: obtaining a purified distillate. The height of the two tsarg will be 80 cm. If you hammer in the tap-changer tighter or apply the SPN, then it is quite realistic to get a distillate with a strength of 92-94% with acceptable purification. But some conditions must be met:
- insulate the cube and the tsarga;
- place temperature sensors at half the height of each drawer – there is no other way to control the process;
- for the lower side, it would be good to provide a thermometer-alarm;
- provide time-stable and power-controlled heating;
- make a separate (parallel) water supply to the refrigerator and dephlegmator;
- install its own tap on each line, on the dephlegmator line – an adjusting needle valve;
- consider a system for stabilizing the water pressure in front of the dephlegmator.
You will get a good beer column for the 3rd mode for cubes up to 20 liters, and for a 30 liter one you need to switch to the SPN nozzle, otherwise the holding capacity will simply not be enough to contain the fuselage. For a 50 liter cube, among other things, you will have to increase the height of the drawer to 1,5 meters.
In the configuration proposed by the manufacturer, this equipment looks like a distillation column no more than a pug looks like an Irish wolfhound.
5. Whiskey production mode
It differs from the 3rd mode only in the attachment. Everything is right here, a copper nozzle is useful when distilling grain mash. True, it, however, like stainless steel, is not included in the kit. By and large, this is not a mode or a configuration, but just another advertisement: “We have a copper tap changer – do not forget to buy it!”
6. Strengthening with aromatization
It is also of an advertising nature, since the diopter itself with a plate and a basket for flavors are not included in the kit. But still, let’s figure out what kind of device it is and whether it can bring at least some benefit.
The aroma basket is assembled using ordinary steel nuts, so dealers who receive complaints from customers habitually change them to stainless ones. To place an aroma basket over a reflux condenser, as recommended by the manufacturer, can only be done by someone who has never washed it and the nozzle from the liquid flowing down, condensed on the zest of a lemon or orange. This again indicates the lack of experience and proper qualifications of the compiler of the instructions, the apparatus itself can be assembled correctly by removing the reflux condenser and nozzle from the column.
7. Double distillation mode
Another fantasy of the manufacturer of the device. The diopter placed in this place performs the functions of a dry steamer, in which splashes and wild phlegm settle. Steam, passing through them, bubbles and strengthens a little. According to the manufacturer, the lower part of the steamer is a copper cap plate.
The figure shows the base of a dry steamer and the simplest diagram of a cap plate. The differences are significant.
The claimed cap-dish column made of copper is one cap covering a pipe protruding above the bottom, without an overflow device and a return of reflux. Therefore, if you place a dry steamer at the bottom of the column, when the reflux condenser is running, choke will occur.
Even with a reflux condenser, the efficiency of one real physical plate in the selection of the “body” is about 50%. For one step of strengthening, you need at least two of them. Well, without a dephlegmator, we are dealing with wild phlegm and splashes from the cube. This process cannot be called double distillation. It’s just a diopter combined with an aroma basket and an unnecessary bubbler.
During the operation of the dry steamer, at first there is a slight accumulation of phlegm, then the steam passing through the limited space between the pipe and the cap locks its drain into the cube. By the end of the run, the level of phlegm rises significantly, as in a conventional canned bubbler. These “tears” are about the amount of phlegm that evaporates again. In addition, the cork created by phlegm forces you to work at ultra-low power, otherwise the vaunted and innovative steamer will simply choke.
When asked by colleagues about what to do with this miracle of design thought, I advised you to remove the cap and calmly work on. This helped, the flow of phlegm returned to normal and raised the performance of the apparatus several times to an acceptable value.
The manufacturer’s claims that this cap is re-distilled are nothing more than unfair advertising.
8. Strengthen mode with diopter
In fact, this is still the same 3 or 5 mode, but a diopter is installed under the reflux condenser. The column becomes even heavier and sways more on a thin cover, but it looks beautiful.
Also, phlegm is even more supercooled, and wild phlegm is added. Apparently, this does not bother anyone at all – there was no good separation and purification of the distillate on a 40 cm column, well, it will become a little worse, nothing will fundamentally change.
conclusions
To summarize, out of the declared 8 modes, they are also equipment configurations, all except the fast distillation mode are rather the manufacturer’s dreams and need preliminary modernization, re-equipment or rework of equipment.
Along with design miscalculations, there are many technological errors, empty promises and unfair advertising. Luksstal 3 Pro does not meet the declared characteristics.
What to do for those who have already bought this equipment
Shake the noodles off your ears and understand that this is just an ordinary beer column that needs to be exploited in accordance with its real capabilities. During fractional distillation in bulk, no more than 18 liters of raw alcohol, having assembled the column in the maximum configuration (with two drawers). When using a steamer, pull out the cap, which in everyday life can be used as an ashtray, that is, for its intended purpose.
It is also possible to modify the device, there is potential for this.
And in general – do not be upset, this is far from the worst beer column that is on sale.
The review of the device was prepared by IgorGor.